When I became a mother for the first time almost 27 years ago, I knew my mom and I would be able to share many similar experiences and traditions. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be fear of losing your child to police brutality because he was black. I recall my mom’s fear and my older brother’s encounters with NOPD in the 1970s, so when my child had a gun pulled on him by Levee Board Police a few blocks from my family home in Uptown, I was emotionally triggered and overwhelmed with fear. We may have made progress with the New Orleans Police Department in the last ten years or so, however, we have an increase in Neighborhood Security Districts and Independent Police Authorities. They are allowed to patrol our streets, make stops, pull guns, and harass citizens all under the guise of keeping us safer. However, no one is monitoring them. My attempt to determine who pulled a gun on my child was a test of will and fortitude. The Levee Board Police website had no information on how to file a complaint or contact information. It wasn’t until I contacted a trusted NOPD officer, who helped me navigate the situation that I realized the individuals who pulled the gun on my child was working detail for the Hurstville Security District and were employees of the Levee Board and HANO Police Department. When I reached out to the Hurstville Security District a week after the incident occurred, the supervisor had no record of the event, he only heard of the event from me. It seems to me if you pull a gun on a citizen, every Elected Officer of your security district should receive a phone notification within 2 hours of the incident and a written report within 8 hours, or whatever is the reasonable standard. It will do us no good to fix NOPD and then have these other entities continue to harass us only because we are Black, drive nice cars, and live in the neighborhoods that are now coveted.
Bilal Hankins
My name is Bilal Jules Hankins, and less than a month ago I experienced an incident that shall haunt me for years to come. If it was not for God’s Divine Will I would not be here today.
Just over a month ago, a video went viral of George Floyd, an unarmed, handcuffed, Black man, dying while a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 8 minutes and 46 seconds just blocks away from my sister’s house in Minneapolis.
Then on the night of June 13th, not even three weeks after we lost George Floyd, I was out helping my roommate and her 12-year-old nephew, LaTrell, look for their lost dog in my grandmother’s neighborhood in New Orleans. My friend Tahj, LaTrell and I hopped in Tahj’s BMW in search of the lost dog. Shortly into our search, we saw an Orleans Levee District squad car on my street. At that point, we figured the officer could assist in our search and cover more ground in search of the dog. At the same time, with everything going on in our country and being three young, Black men, I was hesitant to approach this officer. We ultimately decided to ask them for help. I informed the officer that my friends and I were out searching for a white chihuahua with brown spots and I gave them my grandmother’s address if they found the dog because I am currently staying there caring for her with my mother.
After driving a few blocks continuing the search, we noticed that the same officer was following slowly behind us. This was odd to me, I figured the officer would separate to cover more ground but ultimately I trusted in the officer to assist us in finding the lost dog. We continued driving slowly, less than 5 mph, whistling and calling for Dutches, the lost chihuahua. We continued for a few blocks when I noticed another set of headlights tailing us belonging to an unmarked truck. I had no clue who this car was nor why it was aggressively tailing us. Both cars soon turned on flashing blue lights. At this point, I knew the officers were not in pursuit of a white chihuahua with brown spots. Suddenly, the officers started to flash their lights and screamed out of their PA system for the driver to “get the f*** out of the car”. We were shaken. My friend, Tahj, instantly pulled over and got out of the car with his hands up and I showed the officer my empty hands raised from the backseat window. Instantly the Levee District officer exited his vehicle with his firearm drawn immediately. The officer pointed his firearm straight at Tahj’s head, then at me in the car, and back to Tahj. The second officer hopped out of the truck and immediately drew his firearm pointed directly at Tahj’s head. In the passenger seat of the car, Latrell, my roommate’s 12-year-old nephew, panicked and peaked his head out of the window. At this point, the officer in the unmarked truck switched his attention to LaTrell and proceeded to draw his firearm fixed on a 12-year-old child. At this point, Tahj, LaTrell, and I feared for our lives. We thought we would end up dead like the 178 people who had their lives taken by the police in this year alone.
Fortunately, I was able to de-escalate the situation. I asked why we were stopped. The officer explained he ran Tahj’s license plate and it showed being registered to a woman residing in New Orleans East and questioned us why the car was uptown. The officer did not believe this luxury vehicle belonged to my friend due to the color of his skin. The officer questioned us more asking what a car registered to a New Orleans East address was doing uptown with his gun still aimed at Tahj’s forehead. I told the officer that cars are used to get to one place from another. I could not believe I had to explain the concept of automobile transportation to the officer in order to protect my life along with my friends. Eventually, we were able to explain that the car belonged to Tahj’s mom which matched the name on the registration. It wasn’t until after the incident occurred, that I learned officers would be notified if the vehicle is stolen or not immediately after running the license plate. Therefore, the officer had knowledge that the car was not stolen prior to calling in backup leading to the assault of two young black men and a child.
So I ask you, how did we go from asking for help looking for a dog to guns drawn? I ask you, what threat did we pose to the officers after we politely asked them for help and they followed us? I ask you, how far were we that night from what happened to George Floyd or Breonna Taylor or Alton Sterling?
My grandmother Lona B. Edwards has lived in and served that neighborhood for more than 60 years. My grandfather Jules Edwards moved his business, Edwards Shoe Service to 3700 Magazine Street, not too far from where this incident occurred, and worked every day until he no longer could. In that same neighborhood, my grandparents raised 5 children that grew up to be a judge, lawyers, engineers, accountant, and CEOs. And in that very same neighborhood I no longer feel safe walking home, to my corner store, or even seek protection because I know as a Black man in America I am seen as a target or “suspicious” and police can draw guns on me even when I ask for assistance.
This does not need to continue to happen. We can change this. You can change this. There is no reason that I or my friends should have been assaulted by the police that night. We were pulled over by officers working private security detail for the Hurtsville Security District who used aggressive tactics that would not be allowed by NOPD officers. It is even more disturbing to find out that the Orleans Parish Levee District officer, Kevin Wheeler, was fired from the NOPD for unauthorized use of force and lying about it to cover it up.
The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. The manner in which police officers improperly confront black men is a major problem in law enforcement. We need to solve police brutality, and with the vote on this bill, you have the power to admit it.