SWAT officers were executing a residential search warrant when they raided the home where Diamonds Ford and her boyfriend were sleeping. She could have been killed during this “no-knock” raid – just like the one that took Breonna Taylor’s life – but something else happened.
Diamonds shot back! She said the officers didn’t announce themselves and she believed they were intruders. This has been the case with these “no-knock” raids before. Don’t forget Breonna Taylor’s fiance also shot back in self-defense. The police take issue with this, though.
Diamonds and her fiancé were charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer – despite the facts that the officer’s injuries were not life threatening and Diamonds’ 9-1-1 call shows that she did not know they were police.
Luckily, she has support.
Her lawyers and other advocates are calling for charges to be dropped. Ford, like anyone else who believes in self-defense, was protecting her life. That shouldn’t be a crime, especially given the nature of police raids that leave Black people dead with no questions asked. There’s something important to remember here.
Black people have the right to defend our lives from people who could possibly cause us deadly harm! We know the system is biased against us. That’s why we have to stand up for people like Diamonds Ford when they’re under attack.