A Black couple in Inglewood, California was gun down by police while sleeping. The incident occurred during the early morning hours of Feb. 21.
Kisha Michael, 31, and Marquintan Sandlin, 32, were out on a date and were likely tired after a night on the town. They decided to park their Chevy Malibu on the side of Manchester Road to get rest. According to NBC 4, someone called police because they thought the parked car was suspicious.
When police arrived, they ordered Michael and Sandlin to exit the car. But the couple did not respond because they were unconscious. The officers apparently felt threatened by unconscious Black people and decided to shoot inside the car. Michael and Sandlin were both killed.
Officers initially claimed that the couple was combative and that the woman had a gun in her hand. However, there was never an indication of a gun being pointed at the officers. Police who were on the scene were not harmed.
Michael’s sister later said that she never owned a gun. Mayor James Butts revealed that the couple was unconscious when police arrived and was unsure how the incident turned violent. Police have been very secretive on the events that occurred and have yet to say if the couple refused to exit the vehicle before they were killed.
The murder is another incident which proves that some police officers believe that they can violate human rights without consequence. The nation won’t be able to move forward on the issue of police brutality and murder until lawmakers hold all police accountable for unprovoked violence on citizens. There are too many incidents of Blacks being killed by police who were never a threat to officers or the public.
Instead, a father of four and a mother of three are now dead because police officers could not find a way to wake up a couple who had the right to be parked on the side of the road.
