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RACISM
Why Police Struggle to See Black Boys as Innocent Children
In a case of mistaken identity, California police held an 8-year-old at gunpoint.
In a case of "mistaken identity," California police officers pulled over Shanice Stewart, a pregnant mother, who was taking her 8-year-old son, Brandon, to football practice on October 17th. After complying with their demand that she toss her keys out the window and walk toward them slowly with her hands raised in the air, Shanice learned her son was their target. Initially, officers claimed they mistook the 8-year-old for a juvenile with "two felony warrants." The boy, who didn't realize he was their target, began walking toward the officers, explaining that his mother "did nothing wrong." At this point, officers realized they had made a grave error, but the die was already cast. These events left both mother and son unsettled, and according to Shanice, her son Brandon is "traumatized." Like many Black mothers, she feared police officers would shoot her son, even though he hadn't harmed anyone or broken any laws. And it's frightening to consider how close this nightmare came to becoming reality.
Often, police use the excuse of "mistaken identity" to wreak havoc in black communities. Meaning they often claim that a Black person they stop looked like…
