*The word “brandish” is defined by a dictionary as: [To] wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.
According to ICE and this White House administration, the “brandishing” of a gun by Alex Pretti is what led to the 37-year-old ICU nurse being killed during a protest against ICE’s invasion of Minneapolis.
However, they’ve backed off that word because, while Pretti was clearly “brandishing” something on January 24th, it wasn’t a gun (which he legally carried but never revealed or threatened ICE agents with), but a cell phone. And it’s no small irony that it was cell phones that captured the reality of the ICE murders of both Pretti and 37-year-old Renee Good from different perspectives.
This administration lies. The way humans breathe is how the White House has lied to the nation and the world on almost every subject since it came into power.
They can tell us whatever they want. But the truth is corruption’s kryptonite, and in the case of the murders of Pretti and Good, the truth was uncovered through the images found on cell phones.
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Indeed, today, the cell phone has become the primary device for capturing every aspect of our lives, from adorable cat antics to public dance battles and, especially, criminal activities.
George Holliday didn’t use a cell phone, but his video of the brutal March 3, 1991, beating and kicking of 25-year-old Rodney King by four white Los Angeles police (LAPD) officers foreshadowed how cell phones and police body cameras would become essential in capturing crimes as they happen.
It was just past midnight when Holliday, a plumber, was awakened by officers’ assault on King, who, while being arrested after a high-speed chase for driving while intoxicated, was struck with batons about 56 times by officers. (King wasn’t alone; he was with two male friends who were also taken out of the car and ordered to lie on the ground.)
Sensing he was witnessing something that shouldn’t be happening, Holliday (a white man; I mention this because to him, it didn’t matter that King was Black; he saw a crime being committed) grabbed his newly bought Sony Handycam and filmed from the balcony of his San Fernando Valley apartment.
Holliday initially contacted LAPD headquarters with the tape, but they weren’t interested. Neither was CNN. Ultimately, Holliday took the footage to local station KTLA-TV, which aired it on its evening news broadcast.
The footage, captured by the national media, shocked the city and the country, but officers Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno were acquitted. This injustice sparked the L.A. Rodney King riots.
When they were retried, this time in federal court, officers Koon and Powell were convicted of violating King’s civil rights and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Wind and Briseno were acquitted but were fired from the LAPD.
U.S. law enforcement began wearing body-worn cameras in 2012. When they are not inexplicably turned off or disabled, these cameras help ensure that neither police nor suspects can lie about what happened during an arrest.
When it came to the murders of Pretti and Good, remarkably but not surprisingly, the White House tried to make the world believe it didn’t see what is clearly seen on cell phone video.
ICE field agents are supposed to wear body cameras, but many don’t, which allows them to avoid documenting the tyranny they impose on communities. The organization didn’t expect citizens with cell phones to form an unofficial army of cameras recording ICE agents’ lawless actions.
While these untrained thugs don’t seem bothered by being filmed assaulting or arresting innocent people, the footage continues to grow for everyone to see, and that is vital in fighting this unchecked evil.
Chances are, ICE could be headed to your city, community, or even your neighborhood.
Maintain your distance, and brandish your cell phones.
Steven Ivory, a veteran journalist, essayist, and author, writes and discusses popular culture across various platforms, including the Internet, TV, radio, documentaries, magazines, and newspapers. The Last Man on AOL is at [email protected]
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