via Wikimedia
The Miami-Dade police department has a reputation for targeting Black people. One of their latest victims is Dyma Loving, a Black mother of three whose 911 call for help quickly turned into a violent encounter with police.
After having a rifle pointed at them by a neighbor, Loving and her friend, Adrianna Green, called the police.
By the time police arrived, the two women were understandably shaken and disturbed. At least, you’d think it would be understandable, but one responding officer, Alejandro Giraldo, saw Loving’s emotional reaction as a threat.
In response to Loving’s pleas to get in touch with her children, Giraldo violently tackled her to the ground and arrested her like she wasn’t human at all.
Fortunately, Giraldo’s body cam was on and the brutal experience was captured on tape. Immediate outrage spread throughout the nation when the footage went viral.
Loving now intends to sue officer Giraldo and the police department for the physical and emotional pain she’s suffered.
When Black women express themselves, insidious methods are often used to silence them. In this case, Dyma Loving was at the receiving end of the violent misogynoir embedded in Miami’s police department and in our dominant culture.