On February 3, 2022, a SWAT team broke down 24-year-old Corey Marioneaux Jr.’s door at 5am in Pensacola, Florida. Thinking they were intruders, Marioneaux fired his gun, then surrendered.
But the trauma of that morning wasn’t just on him – his family has lots to recover from, too.
Police put Marioneaux’s 3-year-old and 1-year-old children in their custody after arresting him for “attempted murder of an officer.” But when their mother, Moiya Dixon, arrived at the scene, she found her youngest baby cut, bruised, and bloodied! "Who did this?" she cried.
According to officers, they weren’t paying attention and accidentally caused the boy to fall out of the car and hit his head. And Dixon says they tried to coerce her out of taking him to the hospital! So now, the family has attorneys involved – and hopes to win.
Marioneaux lost his job, had to figure out a $50,000 bond to get out of jail, and his children were deeply traumatized. So who really caused more damage in this situation? Him or the cops?
Attacks on Black people aren't just individual brutalities, but attacks on Black families. And when police have the right to intrude on our personal spaces and brutalize our families, but we don't have the right to defend ourselves, what kind of country are we living in?