A New Kind of Television

A New Kind of Television

Lying in bed at Audubon watching Better Call Saul the night of the operation before the sedatives wore off.

In bed with my laptop two days later, under the spell of narcotics, watching Star Trek: Picard.

A new kind of television, my cell or my tablet, lying in bed or sitting out on the porch.

Apparently the stories run by the new kind of television are horror stories.

Breonna Taylor was gunned down by policemen’s bullets as they served a no-knock warrant. Breonna’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, awoke to find persons unidentified, heavily armed, breaking into his apartment. Walker picked up a rifle and fired – as is his right according to Kentucky’s “stand your ground” laws – and the police responded with a hail of gunfire. More than twenty rounds were fired into Taylor’s apartment as well as adjacent apartments. 8 of them struck Taylor, killing her. Walker was arrested for firing on the police officers, but later released, when the story hit the national news. The warrant that the police were serving turned out later to be problematic on several counts: the suspect named in the warrant, though known to Taylor, did not live at the location. The suspect was actually in police custody at the time of the warrant service. It also came out later that the warrant was obtained with information falsely attributed to the Postmaster General, who said he had no knowledge whatsoever of the “suspicious packages” alleged in the warrant. Breonna Taylor and Kenneth Walker are both Black.

A nameless Black man was beaten by a cop in L. A. while he had both hands handcuffed behind his back. The cop’s partner, a woman, seemed to make a couple meek attempts to dissuade him from what was very clearly a tantrum. The man’s injuries did not appear serious, as the cop’s blows were largely ineffective. The beating apparently stopped when another squad car showed up.

Several videos of Black folk being beaten by police in New York City (Brooklyn) and New Jersey surfaced in April, ostensibly for not “social distancing”. The same weekend, a video surfaced of New York cops chatting and handing out facemasks to white folk enjoying a beautiful spring day in the park (in Manhattan), but also not social distancing.

Appliance delivery driver Travis Miller was blocked in an Oklahoma City gated community by two residents for almost two hours after making a delivery. The residents demanded to know what his business was there, in spite of the fact that the name of the company he delivers for is on the side of his truck, and he is wearing a uniform shirt with the company’s logo on it. He refused to give them his customer’s information. Miller filmed the entire encounter on his cell phone in case the nature of his interaction with the men was called into question. The men decided to call the police, at which point Miller called the police himself to report being detained, just to make sure the police were aware of his side of the story when they arrived on the scene. Eventually, the customer to whom Miller made the delivery arrived on the scene and asked his neighbors to stand down. He apologized to Miller, but missed the obvious subtext of the situation when he described his neighbors as “over protective” of the community. Travis Miller is a Black man.

Ahmaud Arbery was stalked and gunned down while out jogging on February 23^rd, 2020 in Glynn County, Georgia. While he was on his run, he stopped by a house under construction, wandered around for a short bit, and left. He was spotted coming out of the house by Travis McMichael, who with his father Gregory McMichael and friend Roddie Bryan, pursued Arbery in their pickup trucks, boxing him into the Satilla Shores neighborhood. Travis McMichael then got out of the truck with a shotgun to confront Arbery. Arbery tried to grab the shotgun away from the younger McMichael, and two shots were fired. After regaining control of the gun, McMichael then fired a third shot, hitting Arbery in the torso. Arbery then took a few steps and fell to the ground, mortally wounded. All three shotgun blasts had hit his body. Police on the scene were reportedly ready to arrest the McMichaels, but were stopped by DA Jackie Johnson, who later recused herself from the case due to a previous work relationship with Gregory McMichael. Waycross Judicial District Attorney George Barnhill then took over the case, and also advised no arrests. The case was on Barnhill’s desk from February 27^th to April 2^nd, at which point he also recused himself due to a connection between himself and the elder McMichael. The Cobb County District Attorney’s office took over the case at that point. On May 5^th, a video of the confrontation shot on Roddie Bryan’s cell phone appeared on radio station WGIG’s website. The video had been provided to the station by an attorney acting upon the wishes of Gregory McMichael, apparently believing the video would exonerate him and his son. After the public outrage generated by the video, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested the McMichaels for felony murder and aggravated assault. On May 21^st, Bryan was also arrested. Later evidence suggested that Travis McMichael shouted “fucking nigger” while standing over the body of Ahmaud Arbery, who was a Black man.

Sean Reed was gunned down by officers May 6 in Indianapolis, in a shooting that was captured by Reed on a Facebook livestream purportedly watched by thousands. Reed was observed by officers “driving erratically” on an interstate and began to follow him, at which point Reed went on Facebook Live and asked the viewers to “come get him”. A high-speed chase followed. After Reed stopped his car, he attempted to flee on foot, at which point the video on the livestream became indistinct. Reed was first tased, then the officers opened up and hit him with 13 shots. Reed was reportedly armed at the time; officers on the scene were heard laughing and remarking that Reed would have to have a closed casket funeral. Sean Reed was a Black man.

Austin, TX police responded to a 911 call reporting an armed man sitting in his car doing drugs. When confronted by officers, Mike Ramos exited his car with his hands above his head but refused to walk toward the officers, as instructed. At that point an officer fired a non-lethal beanbag round at him. Ramos got back into his car and proceeded to drive away, at which point an officer fired into the car, striking Ramos. Ramos was then transported to the hospital, where he died. Seventeen days after the shooting, the Austin PD held a news conference to announce that an investigation launched after the shooting found no weapon in or around Ramos’s car. Mike Ramos was a Black man.

San Leandro, CA police responded to a call about a man brandishing a baseball bat and trying to rob a Walmart. They arrived to find Steve Taylor in an agitated state, waving a bat around. The first officer made a token attempt to grab the bat, to no avail. He then attempted to tase Taylor, to no significant effect. The first officer then shot Taylor “in the upper torso”, while the second officer tased him again, at which point Taylor fell. Then officers then hooked him up and, noticing the extent of his injuries, called a Paramedic. Taylor died at the scene. Steve Taylor was a Black man.

George Floyd was murdered by police officers on Memorial Day, May 25^th, 2020. Employees at the Cup Foods grocery store called police, stating that Floyd had passed a counterfeit $20 bill, and that he seemed intoxicated. Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, both of whom were on their first week with Minneapolis PD (both being certified in August 2019), responded to the call, and managed to get Floyd cuffed without resistance. After briefly talking to him as he sat on the sidewalk, they told him he was under arrest and walked him over to the car. Floyd fell to the ground by the car, claiming that he was not attempting to resist, but that he felt claustrophobic. Kueng and Lane picked him up and placed him against the car door. At that point, officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao arrived on the scene. Kueng was struggling with Floyd in the back seat of the car when Chauvin reached in and pulled him out the other side, throwing the handcuffed Floyd face down in the street next to the car. At that point Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck while Kueng applied pressure to Floyd’s torso and Lane pinned Floyd’s legs. Thao watched and kept the crowd at bay, several of whom were filming the arrest. Chauvin continued to grind his knee into Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. Floyd repeatedly asked for mercy, telling them he couldn’t breathe and asking for his mother. He was unresponsive and apparently unconscious for three of those almost nine minutes. Floyd was pronounced dead when the ambulance got him to the hospital. George Floyd was a Black man.

The programming looks the same on all the stations, but they are not reruns

it keeps happening again and again and again and again

Eric Garner

John Crawford III

Michael Brown

Ezell Ford

Michelle Cusseaux

Laquan McDonald

George Mann

Tanitia Anderson

Akai Gurley

Tamir Rice

Rumain Brisbon

Jerame Reid

Matthew Ajibade

Frank Smart

Natasha McKenna

Tony Robinson

Anthony Hill

Mya Hall

Philip White

Eric Harris

Walter Scott

William Chapman II

Alexia Christian

Brendon Glenn

Victor Manuel Larosa

Jonathan Sanders

Freddie Gray

Joseph Mann

Salvado Ellswood

Sandra Bland

Albert Joseph Davis

Darrius Stewart

Billie Ray Davis

Samuel Dubose

Michael Sabbie

Brian Keith Day

Christian Taylor

Troy Robinson

Asshams Pharoah Manley

Felix Kumi

Keith Harrison McLeod

Junior Prosper

Lamontez Jones

Paterson Brown

Dominic Hutchinson

Anthony Ashford

Alonzo Smith

Tyree Crawford

India Kager

La’Vante Biggs

Michael Lee Marshall

Jamar Clark

Richard Perkins

Nathaniel Harris Pickett

Benni Lee Tignor

Miguel Espinal

Michael Noel

Kevin Matthews

Bettie Jones

Quintonio Legrier

Keith Childress Jr.

Janet Wilson

Randy Nelson

Antronie Scott

Wendell Celestine

David Joseph

Calin Roquemore

Dyzhawn Perkins

Christopher Davis

Marco Loud

Peter Gaines

Torrey Robinson

Darius Robinson

Kevin Hicks

Mary Truxillo

Demarcus Semer

Willie Tillman

Terrill Thomas

Sylville Smith

Alton Sterling

Philando Castile

Terence Crutcher

Paul O’Neal

Alteria Woods

Jordan Edwards

Aaron Bailey

Ronell Foster

Stephon Clark

Antwon Rose II

Botham Jean

Pamela Turner

Dominique Clayton

Atatiana Jefferson

Christopher Whitfield

Christopher McCorvey

Eric Reason

Michael Lorenzo Dean

on and on and on