POLICE VIOLENCE - RESPECT TO SERENA WILLIAMS FOR STANDING UP AND BE COUNTED; WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?

Serena Williams has declared her concern for her nephew's safety, and that of other Black American young men, following the most recent killing of an innocent black young man in the United States. According to reports of the latest killing - and, by now, this one might no longer be the latest one - the sister of the man who was killed, called the police, seeking their assistance with her brother, who is reported to have been suffering from a mental disorder.

The result was that the police came, but, as they had done in at least one previous and similar case, where they shot and killed the mentally ill man, they also gunned down the woman's brother. On the reported pretext that he took something out of his pocket and pointed it at the police. Well, we know how the police deal with people suffering from mental disorder; they have a tendency to kill them, not always as deliberately as appears to have been the case in San Diego killing, but sometimes as a result of their negligent and inappropriate use of force. This is something we have seen, not only in the United States, but also in other countries, such as the United Kingdom.

If a person is suffering from mental disorder, it could and often means that he/she is extremely stressed and is not in full control of their faculties. Therefore, if the police is called to offer assistance with dealing with somebody who is mentally ill, they should not presumed that they are being called to kill the person, but to help to safely get that person to an appropriate facility where he/she can get the treatment they need.

You should not necessarily be telling a person with a mental disorder who is displaying agitative behaviour to drop this and that weapon or implement, and necessarily expect them to obey what you are telling them to do. For heaven's sake, they might not even comprehend what you are saying to them; that is why they are mentally ill. Therefore, if the American police is going to attend to a person with a mental illness, they should take appropriate protective equipment with them, and not rely on using their guns and deadly force as both a first and a last resort piece of equipment.

And so, the American police continues to kill predominantly black young men, irrespective of the wringing of hands and the despair of the many. Quite simply, nothing seems to be having the desired effect. The police continue to be able to use deadly force even when there is a glaring absence of any clear and imminent danger to themselves or to others. Of course, it is not only black American men the police and the criminal justice and 'law enforcement system' has declared open season on; it is the American people, especially the younger generations.