AURORA, COLORADO- On June 6, 2015, unarmed African American Naeschylus Vinzant Carter was shot, walking along a quiet suburban street, in broad daylight, by Aurora police officers. No claim has been made that Naeschylus was resisting arrest or posing a threat, so his execution by cop seems another pignacious affront to the urgent Black Lives Matter movement. Now police have contacted his ex-wife and seven children to say they will make an announcement July 1st about Vinzant’s premature death. They want his family to stand at their side to urge the public to remain calm. In response, a rally is planned for 4pm Wednesday at a major intersection TBA. If you feel compelled to celebrate the impunity given to police lynch mobs, please keep it down.
UPDATE 6/30: the Jefferson County DA plans to take Vinzant case to a Grand Jury. This announcement was made in a joint statement from the DA and lawyers representing the Vinzant family. The statement came a day ahead of a scheduled protest and “asked the community to be patient and respect the process. Both want peace in the community.” Earlier in the day the same lawyers pressured the family and organizers to cancel the planned rally. The community was preparing to protest this usual method to defer justice, bury the crime and exonerate the officer.
Not My Tribe
The Myth of Middle Ground
It would seem from googling this individual that the officer could have been concerned that a confrontation would have resulted in a gun fight.: Colorado Bureau of Investigation records show Vinzant had an extensive criminal history dating to 1994 that included arrests on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, attempted homicide, first-degree assault, being a previous offender in possession of a weapon and felony menacing.
Vinzant had been arrested in Colorado more than a dozen times since his criminal record began in the state 21 years ago. Those arrests were made by authorities in Denver, Aurora and Arapahoe counties.
CBI records show Vinzant went by the nickname “Tiny Loko” and 29 other aliases. The records say his latest arrest was last August in Aurora in a domestic violence case on suspicion of assault, theft and a parole violation.
If Mr Carter has simply put his hands up or laid down prone….it isn’t likely he would have been shot. I’m against all police violence myself…but this particular one seems to have been justified and vetted by an independent Grand Jury. The community should be thanked for not going to the streets on this one. IMO