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Dijon Kizzee is one of the latest Black people killed after riding his bike. Police said Dijon was on the wrong side of the street – so they shot him 15 times!
Biking while Black may seem like a rare way to encounter police violence, but it’s not as unusual as one may think.
The Los Angeles Times identified 16 incidents, many of which involved Black men, since 2005 that ended with police shooting a cyclist. Police data shows that Black people biking are more likely to be targeted – and we know what this can mean.
It means the deaths of Black people like Ronnell Foster, who was shot dead by an officer while riding his bike, become all too normal. Police escape accountability for this racist practice, which touches cities like New Orleans, Oakland, Chicago, and more.
We have to refuse to let names keep being added to the list of Black people killed by police for doing the most basic day-to-day life activities. No one should be killed because of a harmless bike stop! What needs to change is very clear.
Black people can’t escape police violence no matter what we’re doing. The solution is challenging systemic, racist police violence as an accepted norm. If riding a bike isn’t safe for us, we need to rethink the acceptance of a violent system that makes this the case.