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There’s a disturbing trend happening across the country right now and we don’t like it one bit.
Over the past two years, BOSSIP has routinely reported on Black people who were either killed or seriously injured after being run over by police cars. It’s like beating us, shooting us, and choking us to death wasn’t brutal enough. Here’s another one.
According to WOOD TV, 25-year-old Samuel Sterling of Grand Rapids, Michigan died after a police cruiser ran him over. Police say Sterling was wanted for an outstanding warrant and fled as officers attempted to arrest him. An unmarked police car ultimately crashed into Sterling and he would die of his injuries at the hospital some time later.
On his death certificate, Sterling was said to have suffered “multiple blunt force injuries” as a “pedestrian struck by a vehicle” and his manner of death was described as “accident”. His mother wasn’t trying to hear none of that.
“It’s not no accident. It would never be an accident,” said his mother, Andrica Cage per WOOD TV. “He just was a really loving, caring little boy. … My son was a star. He brought a lot of brightness to this world.”
Other family members demanded that the Grand Rapids Police Department release the video of the chase and the crash that killed Samuel.
“We need to know, what’s so accidental? We need to see the video. We need to see what they saw. Justice. For Samuel. Show the video. What’s the officer’s name?” Samuel Sterling’s cousin Jamar Sterling said Wednesday.
Ubiquitous civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the family and will likely be filing a hefty lawsuit soon.
Meanwhile, the head of Michigan State Police, Col. James F. Grady II has released a statement promising a thorough investigation.
“As an African American male and a father, it’s not lost on me that this is the death of another young African American male following an interaction with police,” said Grady per WZZM.
“As the Director of the Michigan State Police, I want to assure the community that we see you, hear you, and will thoroughly and expeditiously investigate the incident.
