AFRICAN IN U.S. SHOT 6 TIMES, CHARGED WITH ASSAULT

Another day, another unarmed man of African descent shot by police in the United States during a mental health episode.

Donald Armstrong, a 47-year-old Miami resident, who surprisingly survived the gunshots, now faces charges of aggravated assault by the same police officers who shot him six times in a 7 March incident.

In a bystander’s video that his attorney, Ben Crump, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), Armstrong is seen in what appears to be an agitated state outside a house. He raised his hands to show he had no weapon and pulled up his T-shirt, indicating he had no concealed firearm. His mother had called 911 out of concern for her son, whom the family reportedly said was holding a screwdriver. Police tasered him, and as he stumbled under the impact of the electric jolt, officers shot him six times.

Armstrong is paralysed and detained in a jail hospital with no bond. Crump said he is unsure if the paralysis is permanent. Attorneys call for police to drop all charges.

People of African descent are three times more likely to face deadly police force than Europeans. Critics say the problem is rooted in the lingering impacts of slavery, which continue an apartheid situation. The police killings of African people like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and a string of others triggered historic marches and rallies across the United States. The months-long uprising after Floyd’s 2020 recorded murder is considered the largest in US history.

How can police violence against people of African descent in the United States be stopped? Join in the conversation with your thoughts.