“I really couldn’t see his face.”
By [Note: Description of police violence below the RM line.]
Two deputies and a nurse have been sentenced in connection with the death of Matthew Ajibade.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Mr. Ajibade’s cousin Chris Oladapo wrote:
Whatever sentence is handed down here today makes no difference. These three people are just pawns, and those in leadership most culpable will be left unpunished.
I agree, but this seems insultingly inadequate:
Former deputy Jason Kenny was sentenced to one month in jail, with time to be served at weekends, on a conviction of cruelty to an inmate, along with three years probation.
Oh dear. An entire month of Saturdays and Sundays, ruined.
Apparently that’s the most Justice can do when a law enforcement officer engages in behavior that mimics mob violence against black men, right down to where the officer concentrated his efforts:
Ajibade, an artist and a computer science student, was tasered multiple times while strapped in a restraint chair, according to court testimony.
Jail house security video of the event showed him screaming, clothed only in his underwear and tased in his groin area.
Kenny, the only one who will “serve” time was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter. He testified in October:
…that Ajibade grunted and groaned, adding that “he did say he wanted to go, he wanted to die and he did scream as I was drive stunning him.”
It’s just a guess. I could be wrong. However, I suspect that if someone strapped Deputy Drivestun to a chair, shoved a taser into the vicinity of his balls and pulled the trigger four times, he’d be unhappy too.
