Police Brutality Has Crossed the Line in Central Illinois

On October 9th, 2009 shortly after 1:30 P.M. 15 year old Kiwane Carrington of Champaign, Illinois was shot dead by a Champaign Police Officer. He was shot by an officer after a small scuffle with two teens and officers errupted outside of a Champaign, Illinois home.

Shortly after 1:20 P.M. a neighbor called police reporting a burglary in progress at the house that these two teens were at. They were reportedly trying to enter the house through a window at the house the shooting took place. A police officer and the police cheif responded to the call and made contact with the two teens. No one really knows what really happened after that, but within an hour after the police made contact with these unarmed young men, 15 year old Kiwane Carrington was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The story of what happened that afternoon has slowly came to surface in this community.

It has came to the communities attention that the house that these two teens were trying to enter was that of where the deceased 15 year had resided for many months. Kiwane was trying to go through a window because he had misplaced his key to the residence. The owner of the residence said that he was welcome there. So basically, KIWANE WAS SHOT AND KILLED TRYING TO GET INTO HIS HOUSE. He was an outstanding and loving student of an alternative school in the community. He had many friends and a promising future.

The police investigation is ongoing. Police Cheif R.T. Finney suffered a dislocated shoulder in the scuffle. That injury proves to many he did what should have been done in that situation. He got on the ground and wrestled with the teens instead of drawing his weapon. Unlike the other officer on the scene, the cheif of police never drew his weapon on the unarmed teens.

When the story first surfaced in the media, the media made the comment that "the officer's weapon went off." If you know anything about the Central Illinois Community, you know that most people think that our police can do no wrong. But since the teen that was killed was African-American, the black community is uneasy. As they should be. In Central Illinois statistics show that our police department use racial profiling.

Communities Reaction

Eleven days after the fatal shooting of fifteen year old Kiwane Carrington, a city council meeting was held for the people in the community to voice their concerns about what took place on that rainy afternoon. As I watched it at home on T.V. I could see how mad, hurt, and concerned the people in the community are about this situation.

Even though it was a black teen that was killed in this situation, there was virtually every kind of race imaginable at this meeting. There were very few that actually agreed on how the police department approached this situation. The phrase "enough is enough" was used several times by area preachers, and activist that also came to voice there opinion.

At the end of the city council meeting, the council members decided to discuss at a later time, the police departments policies and protocol. They said they weren't going to be quick to change anything, but to really look into what they can do to stop this kind of thing from happening again.

Investigation

The Illinois State Police Department is still investigating this situation, but said that a complete report should be out within a month of the incicent. Only then will we know what really happened, and possible crimminal charges against the shooting officer may be filled with the Illinois States Attorney.