photo courtesy of ufl.edu

The University of Florida. Home of the Gators taser incident, “Don’t tase me,bro!” and now home to an even more tragic scene.

A PhD student was shot in the head in his apartment last week—by the University police.

Kofi Adu-Brempong had been having delusional thoughts over the past year. He sought help in the past before sending out an e-mail recently saying he believed his students were trying to send him to Africa to be killed. He is from Ghana and doubles as a student and teacher’s assistant. He also uses a cane to walk as a result of childhood Polio.

Police responded to reports of Adu-Brempong screaming in his apartment. Fearing he might kill himself, five police officers forcibly entered to subdue him. This is where things get fuzzy.

Police say that he was swinging a metal rod at them when they tried several times to calm him down. Their soothing methods involved tasers and bean-bag guns. When none of this worked, they shot him with a rifle twice. One bullet landed in his head, while his brother said the other is in his spine, which could potentially paralyze him. Adu-Brempong is currently under police custody in the hospital in critical condition.

Let’s review this:

Five police officers tried to stop one disabled man from killing himself by tasing him, bean bagging him and shooting him in the head with a rifle. And knowing he has a history of mental instability, they sent armed officers instead of someone with experience handling mental illness.

What is most shocking about this incident is the lack of coverage it has received from national news outlets. It remains local news in Florida, only expanding to Miami.

In Gainesville, students and colleagues of Adu-Brempong are rallying support calling the officers’ actions police brutality. His brother has joined the fight calling for an immediate investigation.  Two of the officers involved were already under investigation. One went on an egging spree with other officers off-duty, while the other handcuffed a student jaywalker.

Meanwhile, police charged Adu-Brempong with aggravated assault and resisting an officer with violence.

Police brutality is an unfaltering nation-wide issue. Every so often incidents like these pop up with a knee-jerk reaction from the community,  like this Pittsburgh teen whose face swelled two-fold after a police beating in January. This website tracks the most gruesome incidents from a child tasered to death to a young man fatally shot in the back while handcuffed on the ground.What makes it worse is the officers involved get a slap on the wrist or no punishment at all. These incidents exacerbate the widespread distrust of law enforcement among young people and minority groups.

It is time for police who use excessive force to be held accountable. As officers of the law, when they abuse their authority they lose credibility in the community. How are we meant to feel safe when those sworn to protect us turn their backs in such gruesome ways?

March 9, 2010 by Stefani
Tags: b-listed, breakthrough, culture shockers, Don't tase me bro, Gainesville, Ghana, Kofi Adu-Brempong, police brutality, University of Florida