Timothy Haslett was recently arrested for kidnapping and holding Black women captive in his basement where he starved, whipped, raped, and murdered them.
Miraculously one woman escaped, exposing Haslett. But even with Haslett’s arrest, this horror story is far from over.
Months before Haslett’s arrest, Kansas City Police ignored concerns from multiple community leaders expressing distress about missing Black women. Bishop Tony Caldwell went viral for stating there was a serial killer targeting Black women in Kansas City!
KCPD stated these testimonies were “unfounded rumors.”
KCPDs history of dismissing community concerns inspired Caldwell to co-found The Justice and Dignity Community Center which investigates cases KCPD won’t, as well as provide resources to local the community.
After Haslett’s arrest Caldwell stated, “[That’s] the description of the guy we were talking about and [that’s] the location we said they were being taken from.”
Had KCPD taken Caldwell seriously some of Haslett’s victims might still be alive. KCPD had the AUDACITY to not take responsibility for their inaction, making it clear community concerns don’t matter to them.
Even more telling, the US Justice Department is ACTIVELY investigating KCPD for internal racism allegations.
Our being critical about the police is a matter of life and death. Like Caldwell, we must expose the multiple forms of police brutality while working to protect our own.