CW: Police Violence;
Yesterday, students, youth, and community members across PA took action at 30 different congressional districts to say #NoForceForUs as legislation was introduced in Harrisburg to change the law surrounding use of force and hold police accountable.
On June 19, 2018, 17-year old Antwon Rose II was shot in the back and killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer. This spring, the officer was acquitted. This is just one of too many cases in which Black Pennsylvanians have been criminalized—and police getting off the hook for using deadly force.
Under current law, an officer can deploy deadly force on a fleeing person who possesses a deadly weapon—whether or not that person indicates a threat to the officer’s life or a desire to inflict serious bodily injury. Cops get to be cops, judge, jury, and executioner at their own discretion when encountering black and brown folks.
These cakes are in celebration of Antwon Rose II, who was killed just before turning 18, and the lives of all those lost to police violence who deserved to celebrate many more years. He would have been 19 this summer.