(AllHipHop News) #BlackLivesMatter has become a global movement. Great Britain was one of the many countries that saw people take to the street in protest against police brutality and systemic racism.
The British demonstrators were not just expressing their objection to the killing of numerous African-Americans at the hands of police officers. BLM protestors in the United Kingdom are also bringing attention to police violence in their own country.
For example, English rapper Jermaine “Wretch 32” Sinclair uploaded a video on Twitter showing what appeared to be his father, Millard Scott, being tasered by local cops on April 21 in a Tottenham area residence. Scott was not arrested, but apparently a 22-year-old man was charged with encouraging another person to commit an offense and a 52-year-old woman was later charged with obstructing the police.
This is how the police think they can treat a 62 year old black man in Tottenham but this 1 happens to be my dad #Nojusticenopeace pic.twitter.com/17bGizKwem
— littleBIGman (@Wretch32) June 9, 2020
Wretch 32 tweeted on Tuesday evening, “This is how the police think they can treat a [62-year-old] black man in Tottenham but this 1 happens to be my dad #Nojusticenopeace.”
The Upon Reflection album creator and his father made an appearance on ITV News to discuss what they see as police misconduct directed at black residents. When asked if the violent April 21 incident would have happened if he was a white man, Scott answered, “No way, no how.”
London’s Metropolitan Police insists race did not play a role in the situation and claim to have found no indication of misconduct on behalf of the officers. However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling for the Independent Office for Police Conduct to investigate.
“I have asked the Metropolitan Police for an urgent explanation of this distressing incident, which is understandably causing considerable concern,” said Khan. “It is absolutely vital that our police service retains the trust of the communities it serves.”
In response to the recent murder of George Floyd by now-charged Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, discussions about race relations and the culture of policing are taking place across the globe. Wretch 32 reflected on still having to talk about racism and police misconduct years after older generations dealt with the same injustices.
“I’ve grown up in a household with my dad and uncle, and I’ve watched them fight against police brutality my whole life. I’m 35 now and we’re still here again today,” Wretch 32 told ITV News. ‘I now have to have the same conversations that my dad and my uncle and my grandparents and my parents had with me when I was a child. That means there is no progression.”
