People never forget traumatic events like those that LaToya Ratlieff experienced. She was at a Black Lives Matter protest when she suffered a brutal attack at the hands of Detective Eliezer Ramos, and now things have only gotten more upsetting.
Body camera footage showed Florida police in Fort Lauderdale laughing and joking at the protest, as they shot so-called “less-lethal” projectiles at protesters. They hit LaToya in the face with a projectile, and left her scarred! Of course, the police offered tired excuses for the attack.
The officer who did it said it was an accident, despite the fact police thought the ordeal was humorous. She received an apology for the traumatic attack – which left her laying on the ground bleeding – but is that enough?
The attack nearly cost her an eye, and has impacted her vision. She’ll have to deal with the consequences of the officer’s horrible actions – but he won’t. He was exonerated and there’s been no real discipline. Despite what happened, though, Ratlieff still feels invigorated.
The assault has led her to speak out about Florida’s House Bill 1, intended to crack down on protests. Her story is all too familiar, and a warning that in order to receive justice we’re going to have to think outside of the structures that let us down every single time.