A week after the demands of activists, the name of the officer who killed unarmed Black man, Rumain Brisbon has been released: Officer Mark Rine. This man has been on the force for seven years and since killing Brisbon, has been reassigned to nonenforcement duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Prosecutors will determine whether the 30-year-old officer will face criminal charges in the Dec. 2 shooting of 34-year-old Brisbon as he mistook a pill bottle for a weapon.
MUST READ: Rumain Brisbon: Another Unarmed Black Man Killed By Police, This Time In Phoenix
According to reports, Rine was responding to a call that Brisbon was doind a drug deal inside an SUV in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Yes, because that is what people do–call the police when someone is in their SUV at their own home. It’s been said that Brisbon failed to comply to the officer’s commands and ran into an apartment, clutching the pill bottle he probably assumed he was being chased for. But Officer Rine mistook the bottle for a gun and fired off an unreported number of shots. The autopsy determined that the father of four died from a gunshot in the torso.
One of Brisbon’s daughters, 9-year-old Aiyana Rains led a protest in Phoenix to demand transparency in her father’s case. That’s when, almost in storybook perfection, an office clad in riot gear, shoook Aiyana’s hand and said, “I’m sorry.” How sweet, right? But I’m sorry doesn’t bring bring Aiyana’s father, who lost his life for a pill bottle. When will our lives matter to the officers who swore to protect and serve us? This case is obviously similar to those of Michael Brown and Eric Garner’s, who have since become iconic tragedies detailing the disparity of systematic racism in our country.
The officer’s name has been released…now what? Sound off in the comments below.
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