On Friday, September 16th, 2016, another innocent unarmed African-American male was killed by gunfire at the hands of another White police officer. This time the location was Tulsa, Oklahoma and the victim was 40 year-old Terence Crutcher. The officer responsible for his death was Officer Betty Shelby who somehow believed that Crutcher had a firearm on him at the time she shot even though the police video clearly shows that Crutcher had both his arms raised. So, what will the outcome of this situation be? Will it be just like all the other murders (i.e. Trayvon Martin, Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, Michael Brown) that we speak about for several days then stop speaking about right up until the next shooting occurs?

The issue that has to be addressed here is police training! These police officers are being trained improperly or they are not being given enough training prior to being released out into the field to protect and serve! As a result of this, whether it be systemic racism or just poor training, Black men are losing their lives to police officers at an alarmingly high rate in America.

Why are these officers so quick to shoot? Why are they pulling the trigger with no just cause and killing these Black men with no remorse? My idea is that somewhere down the line these officers were either taught to shoot first or specifically taught who to shoot at. Either way, there is something happening or not happening during the police training that has to be addressed in order for this epidemic to end. I feel that police training should be way more extensive, especially since these men and women are dealing with the lives of innocent people. This is not a sport. This is real life. These are innocent people with families and responsibilities who are being gunned down senselessly.

Terence Crutcher was a man who did not deserve to lose his life. Now he will join the countless other Black men who lost their lives at the hands of police officers. God bless Terence Crutcher and his family during this difficult time. Stop the shooting and address proper police training ASAP!