vox--2020-09-10--The killing of Daniel Prude, explained

The killing of Daniel Prude, explained

The release of video of the killing of Daniel Prude , a 41-year-old Black man , in Rochester , New York , is raising new questions about the use of law enforcement as ad hoc mental health specialists in light of calls to reform , defund , or abolish the police .
There is still an ongoing investigation into Prude ’ s death , which has led to the resignation of all of Rochester ’ s top police officials .
Prude was stopped by police on March 23 , early on in the coronavirus pandemic , after officers responded to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was infected with Covid-19 .
He was animated and appeared distressed during his arrest , and was ultimately pinned down by officers who ’ d placed a hood over his head until his cries of distress — and his movements — stopped .
The video , released in early September , displays Prude ’ s final moments as captured by an officer ’ s body camera , and its delayed release prompted concerns of a cover-up .
The video immediately sparked intense protests in Rochester and escalated ongoing anti-police violence protests around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the streets in honor of Prude , calling for transparency , resignations , and reforms .
Some resignations arrived on September 8 , when the command staff and the chief of police , La ’ Ron Singletary , retired .
Singletary had previously denied accusations of a cover-up , writing in his resignation announcement that “ as a man of integrity , I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character .
The events over the past week are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s office is continuing its investigation into the killing , having impaneled a grand jury on September 5 .
The new information around Prude ’ s killing comes at the end of a long summer of racial unrest and protest amid a surge of attention to the Black Lives Matter movement .
Additionally , Prude ’ s killing places a particular spotlight on activists ’ calls to defund the police and invest in new emergency response systems that could respond to mental health crises like the one Prude experienced before his death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Chicago native — traveled to Rochester to visit his older brother Joe Prude .
Joe had invited his younger brother in hopes of helping with his mental health issues .
On the train , Daniel exhibited abnormal behavior , according to a Depew Police Department report that described him as “ refusing to listen to orders ” and “ continu [ ing ] to smoke on the train.
” Earlier in the evening preceding his death , Prude had been admitted to — and released from — the hospital over concerns he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ By early in the morning on March 23 , Daniel slipped out of Joe ’ s home , prompting his older brother to call the police for help .
The next time Joe would see Daniel was at the hospital a week later , when doctors asked him if he wanted to end life support .
It would take the family months of legal work to discover the role police had played in his death .
Body camera footage recently released by Prude ’ s family , which were obtained following petitions to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , show what happened to Prude .
The video , taken from several officers ’ body cameras , begins at 3:16 am .
It shows Prude standing naked in the middle of a street wet with snow .
He appears in distress , but is mostly compliant with police .
With a Taser pointed at him , Prude follows police commands , lying down on the pavement and allowing officers to cuff him .
For three minutes , Prude makes a variety of statements , including thanking the officers , asking for gloves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collect money .
Officers then placed a mesh “ spit hood ” over Prude ’ s head , saying they did so out of fears about the coronavirus and their concern Prude might have it ; he reportedly told a Rochester resident he did earlier in the night .
The hood aggravates Prude , and he becomes less compliant , offering prayers , requesting cigarettes , and making pronouncements that officers respond to with laughter .
As the snow continues , officers place Prude face down on the street , applying force from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to restrain him .
Prude begs them to stop .
They do not .
Shortly after that , Prude becomes unresponsive .
Officers move his head and discuss the fluid that has issued from his mouth ; some laugh .
Then officers begin providing medical assistance .
Nearly 10 minutes after the interaction began , they uncuff him and place him in an ambulance .
A paramedic can be heard telling the officers that the drug PCP is why Prude became unresponsive , saying , “ It ’ s not you guys ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep yourselves safe.
” Prude died a week later , on March 30 .
The Monroe County medical examiner and documents filed along with a lawsuit from Prude ’ s family describe the events that night as a homicide , noting that “ complications of asphyxia ” and PCP were contributing factors in Prude ’ s death .
In late April , after conducting a review of the body camera footage , an investigation by the Rochester Department determined the officers involved had complied with their training and acted appropriately .
“ Based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions and conduct displayed when dealing with Prude appear to be appropriate and consistent with their training , ” the report concluded , according to a legal complaint from Prude ’ s family .
( This legal action , filed on September 8 and detailed by local media outlets , alleges an “ internal cover up that began immediately after the incident.
” ) For weeks more , the family was left in the dark as their private counsel pushed the state to release more information .
According to reporting from the New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until May 18 , after procuring an attorney , that the family received the county medical examiner ’ s report explaining that police had killed Prude .
And it wasn ’ t until July 31 that the family was invited to the state attorney general ’ s office to view the body camera footage that showed the homicide .
Before the family successfully petitioned for the video and documents relating to the killing , the Rochester police had classified Prude ’ s cause of death as a drug overdose .
Police told the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died after taking PCP .
Warren cited this misinformation as a contributing factor to the initial creeping pace of the investigation .
“ Experiencing and ultimately dying from the drug overdose in police custody , as I was told by the chief , is entirely different than what I ultimately witnessed , on the video , ” the mayor said after the video was published .
According to a local news report by WHAM , former Police Chief La ’ Ron Singletary called the mayor to inform her of Prude ’ s death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obscuring the truth .
“ This is not a cover-up , ” Singletary said .
“ Let me be clear when I say that : This is not a cover-up whatsoever.
” After the family released the video and demonstrations began , officials took much more aggressive action .
The day after the video was released , seven officers involved in Prude ’ s arrest were suspended , and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she would launch a grand jury investigation .
“ The Prude family and the Rochester community have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” James said in a statement about Prude ’ s death , noting that the grand jury was a prong in an “ exhaustive investigation.
” Similarly , Rochester City Council President Loretta Scott expressed sympathy for “ the anger , confusion , and betrayal felt by the community ” ; in another statement , Warren apologized for the killing .
“ Mr .
Daniel Prude was failed by our police , our mental health care system , our society , and by me , ” Warren said during a press conference .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Prude family and all of our community.
” The mayor also announced reforms aimed at addressing systemic issues around police officers ’ failure to provide assistance to people with mental illness .
“ We are doubling the availability of mental health professionals , ” Warren said .
“ We will take our family crisis intervention team out of the police department and move it and its funding to the department of youth and recreation services.
” Within a week of the video ’ s release , Singletary announced he would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has denied public concerns that he hindered or covered up the investigation , arguing that “ the mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude ’ s death is not based on facts , and is not what I stand for.
” Instead , Singletary said he was resigning because “ his career and integrity [ have ] been challenged , ” by “ outside entities.
” According to Rochester City Newspaper , “ The departures included the chief , one of his deputies , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the demotions of two other deputy chiefs and another commander , and came three days after the state attorney general announced that she would impanel a grand jury to consider evidence in Prude ’ s death.
” Yet the delay in publishing information concerning Prude ’ s case , the initial misclassification of the cause of death , and the long-standing inconsistencies in police descriptions of officer killings ( for example , Laquan McDonald ) have caused concern for activists who say the Prude case was a cover-up .
“ Let ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsible for Daniel Prude ’ s murder and cover up—including Mayor Lovely Warren—have resigned , taken responsibility , and donated their pensions to the families they allowed to be harmed , ” Free The People Roc , a Rochester racial justice advocacy group , wrote on Facebook .
“ Together we have the ability to hold those in power accountable and bring an end to systemic police violence in our community.
” As noted by a popular “ how many weren ’ t filmed ” sign seen at Black Lives Matter protests this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is no hard evidence , the police may very well get away with murder .
Prude ’ s killing is part of police departments ’ long history of using lethal violence against people with mental illness .
According to the Washington Post Fatal Force tracker , this year American police officers have killed more than 100 people with mental illness , including a 37-year-old Army veteran with a machete in North Carolina , an unarmed 20-year-old in a Walmart parking lot in Texas , and a 24-year old holding a toy gun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years the Post has been keeping the tracker , at least 1,254 people with mental illness have been killed by the police — that ’ s 22 percent of all those killed .
Stretching back to the shooting of Eleanor Bumpurs in 1984 , if not earlier , the killing of people with mental illness has long been a problem for police in New York state .
The persistence of this violence highlights one of the key demands of many activists who call for “ defunding ” police : sending funds to mental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to mental health crises .
As Vox ’ s Ezra Klein explained on a recent episode of his podcast , these activists would like to reimagine emergency response for people with mental illness : Yet as Prude ’ s case shows , when someone is having a crisis , they are all too often met with lethal force rather than with deescalation and expert mental health care .
“ I placed a phone call for my brother to get help , ” Joe Prude told reporters .
“ Not for my brother to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

The release of video of the killing of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man, in Rochester, New York, is raising new questions about the use of law enforcement as ad hoc mental health specialists in light of calls to reform, defund, or abolish the police.
There is still an ongoing investigation into Prude’s death, which has led to the resignation of all of Rochester’s top police officials. Prude was stopped by police on March 23, early on in the coronavirus pandemic, after officers responded to a call about a naked man claiming he was infected with Covid-19. He was animated and appeared distressed during his arrest, and was ultimately pinned down by officers who’d placed a hood over his head until his cries of distress — and his movements — stopped. The video, released in early September, displays Prude’s final moments as captured by an officer’s body camera, and its delayed release prompted concerns of a cover-up.
The video immediately sparked intense protests in Rochester and escalated ongoing anti-police violence protests around the United States, with demonstrators taking to the streets in honor of Prude, calling for transparency, resignations, and reforms.
Some resignations arrived on September 8, when the command staff and the chief of police, La’Ron Singletary, retired. Singletary had previously denied accusations of a cover-up, writing in his resignation announcement that “as a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character. The events over the past week are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity.”
The New York state attorney general’s office is continuing its investigation into the killing, having impaneled a grand jury on September 5.
The new information around Prude’s killing comes at the end of a long summer of racial unrest and protest amid a surge of attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, Prude’s killing places a particular spotlight on activists’ calls to defund the police and invest in new emergency response systems that could respond to mental health crises like the one Prude experienced before his death.
What happened to Daniel Prude
On March 22, Prude — a Chicago native — traveled to Rochester to visit his older brother Joe Prude. Joe had invited his younger brother in hopes of helping with his mental health issues.
On the train, Daniel exhibited abnormal behavior, according to a Depew Police Department report that described him as “refusing to listen to orders” and “continu[ing] to smoke on the train.” Earlier in the evening preceding his death, Prude had been admitted to — and released from — the hospital over concerns he might be experiencing a mental break. By early in the morning on March 23, Daniel slipped out of Joe’s home, prompting his older brother to call the police for help.
The next time Joe would see Daniel was at the hospital a week later, when doctors asked him if he wanted to end life support. It would take the family months of legal work to discover the role police had played in his death.
Body camera footage recently released by Prude’s family, which were obtained following petitions to the state under freedom of information laws, show what happened to Prude.
The video, taken from several officers’ body cameras, begins at 3:16 am. It shows Prude standing naked in the middle of a street wet with snow. He appears in distress, but is mostly compliant with police. With a Taser pointed at him, Prude follows police commands, lying down on the pavement and allowing officers to cuff him.
For three minutes, Prude makes a variety of statements, including thanking the officers, asking for gloves, and requesting he be allowed to collect money. Officers then placed a mesh “spit hood” over Prude’s head, saying they did so out of fears about the coronavirus and their concern Prude might have it; he reportedly told a Rochester resident he did earlier in the night.
The hood aggravates Prude, and he becomes less compliant, offering prayers, requesting cigarettes, and making pronouncements that officers respond to with laughter. As the snow continues, officers place Prude face down on the street, applying force from several angles on his back and head to restrain him. Prude begs them to stop. They do not.
Shortly after that, Prude becomes unresponsive. Officers move his head and discuss the fluid that has issued from his mouth; some laugh. Then officers begin providing medical assistance. Nearly 10 minutes after the interaction began, they uncuff him and place him in an ambulance. A paramedic can be heard telling the officers that the drug PCP is why Prude became unresponsive, saying, “It’s not you guys’ fault. You’ve got to keep yourselves safe.” Prude died a week later, on March 30.
The Monroe County medical examiner and documents filed along with a lawsuit from Prude’s family describe the events that night as a homicide, noting that “complications of asphyxia” and PCP were contributing factors in Prude’s death.
Allegations of a cover-up
In late April, after conducting a review of the body camera footage, an investigation by the Rochester Department determined the officers involved had complied with their training and acted appropriately. “Based upon the investigation, the officers’ actions and conduct displayed when dealing with Prude appear to be appropriate and consistent with their training,” the report concluded, according to a legal complaint from Prude’s family. (This legal action, filed on September 8 and detailed by local media outlets, alleges an “internal cover up that began immediately after the incident.”)
For weeks more, the family was left in the dark as their private counsel pushed the state to release more information. According to reporting from the New York Times, it wasn’t until May 18, after procuring an attorney, that the family received the county medical examiner’s report explaining that police had killed Prude. And it wasn’t until July 31 that the family was invited to the state attorney general’s office to view the body camera footage that showed the homicide.
Before the family successfully petitioned for the video and documents relating to the killing, the Rochester police had classified Prude’s cause of death as a drug overdose. Police told the mayor, Lovely Warren, that Prude died after taking PCP. Warren cited this misinformation as a contributing factor to the initial creeping pace of the investigation.
“Experiencing and ultimately dying from the drug overdose in police custody, as I was told by the chief, is entirely different than what I ultimately witnessed, on the video,” the mayor said after the video was published.
According to a local news report by WHAM, former Police Chief La’Ron Singletary called the mayor to inform her of Prude’s death the day it happened. Singletary denied obscuring the truth.
“This is not a cover-up,” Singletary said. “Let me be clear when I say that: This is not a cover-up whatsoever.”
After the family released the video and demonstrations began, officials took much more aggressive action. The day after the video was released, seven officers involved in Prude’s arrest were suspended, and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she would launch a grand jury investigation.
“The Prude family and the Rochester community have been through great pain and anguish,” James said in a statement about Prude’s death, noting that the grand jury was a prong in an “exhaustive investigation.”
Similarly, Rochester City Council President Loretta Scott expressed sympathy for “the anger, confusion, and betrayal felt by the community”; in another statement, Warren apologized for the killing.
“Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by our police, our mental health care system, our society, and by me,” Warren said during a press conference. “And for that, I apologize to the Prude family and all of our community.”
The mayor also announced reforms aimed at addressing systemic issues around police officers’ failure to provide assistance to people with mental illness. “We are doubling the availability of mental health professionals,” Warren said. “We will take our family crisis intervention team out of the police department and move it and its funding to the department of youth and recreation services.”
Within a week of the video’s release, Singletary announced he would be stepping down as police chief. He has denied public concerns that he hindered or covered up the investigation, arguing that “the mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude’s death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for.”
Instead, Singletary said he was resigning because “his career and integrity [have] been challenged,” by “outside entities.” According to Rochester City Newspaper, “The departures included the chief, one of his deputies, and two commanders, as well as the demotions of two other deputy chiefs and another commander, and came three days after the state attorney general announced that she would impanel a grand jury to consider evidence in Prude’s death.”
Yet the delay in publishing information concerning Prude’s case, the initial misclassification of the cause of death, and the long-standing inconsistencies in police descriptions of officer killings (for example, Laquan McDonald) have caused concern for activists who say the Prude case was a cover-up.
“Let’s keep the pressure up until all those responsible for Daniel Prude’s murder and cover up—including Mayor Lovely Warren—have resigned, taken responsibility, and donated their pensions to the families they allowed to be harmed,” Free The People Roc, a Rochester racial justice advocacy group, wrote on Facebook. “Together we have the ability to hold those in power accountable and bring an end to systemic police violence in our community.”
As noted by a popular “how many weren’t filmed” sign seen at Black Lives Matter protests this summer, many protesters fear that when there is no hard evidence, the police may very well get away with murder.
Prude’s case is representative of long-standing problems policing mental health
Prude’s killing is part of police departments’ long history of using lethal violence against people with mental illness. According to the Washington Post Fatal Force tracker, this year American police officers have killed more than 100 people with mental illness, including a 37-year-old Army veteran with a machete in North Carolina, an unarmed 20-year-old in a Walmart parking lot in Texas, and a 24-year old holding a toy gun in New Jersey. In the five years the Post has been keeping the tracker, at least 1,254 people with mental illness have been killed by the police — that’s 22 percent of all those killed.
Stretching back to the shooting of Eleanor Bumpurs in 1984, if not earlier, the killing of people with mental illness has long been a problem for police in New York state. The persistence of this violence highlights one of the key demands of many activists who call for “defunding” police: sending funds to mental health professionals more appropriately trained to respond to mental health crises.
As Vox’s Ezra Klein explained on a recent episode of his podcast, these activists would like to reimagine emergency response for people with mental illness:
The state would have a specific and special competency in, like, people who knew how to help others with mental health. So when those folks were having a really bad night for them and for others, there’d be someone forgiving and gentle and calm — the person you would want to be called out there if it was your sibling with bipolar disorder who had lost the plot and was wandering around.
Yet as Prude’s case shows, when someone is having a crisis, they are all too often met with lethal force rather than with deescalation and expert mental health care.
“I placed a phone call for my brother to get help,” Joe Prude told reporters. “Not for my brother to get lynched.”
ntribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-09-10--Twitter is tightening its rules against voting misinformation

Twitter is expanding its policies against voter suppression ahead of the 2020 election , saying it will take down or label more types of misleading election claims , such as falsely claiming a premature victory while results are still being tallied .
While social media companies make changes to their misinformation policies all the time , it ’ s notable that Twitter is making this change ahead of what could be a contested election , with a record number of people voting by mail due to the pandemic , and with President Trump essentially disputing the election ’ s results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the past few months , Trump has repeatedly tweeted false claims about voting , including the unsubstantiated assertion that mail-in ballots will lead to widespread voter fraud .
He has also encouraged people to vote twice ( which is illegal ) .
While Twitter has labeled some of his posts as misleading in the past , it has done so sparingly — and in situations when Trump has made very specific incorrect claims , like the false allegation that everyone who lives in California will automatically receive a mail-in ballot ( California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ registered voters ) .
Under Twitter ’ s new policies , the company could take down or label a lot more of Trump ’ s more general claims casting doubt on the voting process .
Twitter won ’ t apply the rules retroactively , and it will start enforcing the policies on September 17 .
“ We will not permit our service to be abused around civic processes , most importantly elections , ” Twitter wrote in a company blog post on Wednesday .
“ Any attempt to do so — both foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strict enforcement of our rules , which are applied equally and judiciously for everyone.
” The new rules strengthen a couple of points in Twitter ’ s existing rules against spreading false information about elections .
• Spreading false information about the laws , officials , or institutions that carry out voting • Disputed claims that could “ undermine faith in the voting process itself , ” such as “ unverified information about election rigging , ballot tampering , vote tallying , or certification of election results ” • Misleading claims about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claiming victory before election results have been certified , inciting unlawful conduct to prevent a peaceful transfer of power or orderly succession ” These rules make it more clear what Twitter considers acceptable discourse on its platform .
But as always , what matters is how Twitter actually enforces them .
One big thing that ’ s unclear is when Twitter will actually remove a tweet for violating these rules , or when it will take a lesser action by just labeling the tweet as misleading .
Facebook similarly strengthened its rules against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criticized the company for largely abstaining from fact-checking politicians like Trump .
Twitter has been seen as more willing than Facebook to moderate Trump , particularly after it corrected the record on several of Trump ’ s false tweets , which Facebook chose to leave unchecked .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Twitter is expanding its policies against voter suppression ahead of the 2020 election, saying it will take down or label more types of misleading election claims, such as falsely claiming a premature victory while results are still being tallied.
While social media companies make changes to their misinformation policies all the time, it’s notable that Twitter is making this change ahead of what could be a contested election, with a record number of people voting by mail due to the pandemic, and with President Trump essentially disputing the election’s results before people have even started voting.
In the past few months, Trump has repeatedly tweeted false claims about voting, including the unsubstantiated assertion that mail-in ballots will lead to widespread voter fraud. He has also encouraged people to vote twice (which is illegal). While Twitter has labeled some of his posts as misleading in the past, it has done so sparingly — and in situations when Trump has made very specific incorrect claims, like the false allegation that everyone who lives in California will automatically receive a mail-in ballot (California plans to send mail-in ballots only to registered voters).
Under Twitter’s new policies, the company could take down or label a lot more of Trump’s more general claims casting doubt on the voting process. Twitter won’t apply the rules retroactively, and it will start enforcing the policies on September 17.
“We will not permit our service to be abused around civic processes, most importantly elections,” Twitter wrote in a company blog post on Wednesday. “Any attempt to do so — both foreign and domestic — will be met with strict enforcement of our rules, which are applied equally and judiciously for everyone.”
The new rules strengthen a couple of points in Twitter’s existing rules against spreading false information about elections.
The rules now prohibit:
Spreading false information about the laws, officials, or institutions that carry out voting
Disputed claims that could “undermine faith in the voting process itself,” such as “unverified information about election rigging, ballot tampering, vote tallying, or certification of election results”
Misleading claims about the results of the election, including “claiming victory before election results have been certified, inciting unlawful conduct to prevent a peaceful transfer of power or orderly succession”
These rules make it more clear what Twitter considers acceptable discourse on its platform. But as always, what matters is how Twitter actually enforces them.
One big thing that’s unclear is when Twitter will actually remove a tweet for violating these rules, or when it will take a lesser action by just labeling the tweet as misleading.
Facebook similarly strengthened its rules against election misinformation last week, but many criticized the company for largely abstaining from fact-checking politicians like Trump. Twitter has been seen as more willing than Facebook to moderate Trump, particularly after it corrected the record on several of Trump’s false tweets, which Facebook chose to leave unchecked.


vox--2020-09-10--The Senate failed to pass more stimulus for a struggling economy. Here’s why.

A Senate vote on Republicans ’ “ skinny ” stimulus bill failed Thursday , leaving lawmakers at the same impasse they ’ ve been at for months .
The 52-47 vote , which was intended to demonstrate Republican unity and support for the stimulus while putting pressure on Democrats , was only mildly successful in that aim , with 52 Republicans supporting the bill and Sen. Rand Paul voting against it .
No Democratic senators , who ’ ve long pushed for a more expansive stimulus package , voted in favor of it .
As a result , the bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it needed to advance .
Republicans ’ legislation contained roughly $ 650 billion in aid , according to the Wall Street Journal , including funding for school reopenings , the US Postal Service , and a weekly $ 300 supplement to unemployment insurance .
Democrats ’ more expansive HEROES Act , meanwhile , contained $ 3 trillion in aid including money for a $ 600 weekly unemployment supplement , another round of $ 1,200 stimulus payments , and support for state and local governments , in addition to funding for schools and USPS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a strategic maneuver aimed more at sending a message than producing actual policy , it wasn ’ t expected to pass to begin with .
Instead , it was intended to give vulnerable Republican senators something to point toward as evidence they ’ ve backed more aid going into the election this fall .
The vote was also a way to get Democrats “ on the record ” opposing stimulus , according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — a framing that could be used to cast blame in the coming months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrat-led House passed its own stimulus package months ago .
Overall , things didn ’ t change much this week .
Both parties are far apart on what a possible deal could look like , even as millions of Americans continue to grapple with unemployment and possible evictions .
And increasingly , some lawmakers are acknowledging the possibility that another stimulus package simply isn ’ t coming in the near term .
“ Unless something really broke through , it ’ s not going to happen , ” Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week .
Democrats and Republicans are still far apart on what a stimulus deal should include Thus far , the contours of the impasse over stimulus have stayed consistent : Democrats have pushed for a more expansive package that would guarantee a weekly $ 600 supplement for unemployment insurance as well as additional support for state and local governments .
Their initial offer started at around $ 3 trillion and has since gone down to $ 2.2 trillion .
Conversely , Republicans are interested in something much narrower : Their latest “ skinny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 300 supplement for unemployment insurance , with no additional state and local funds or money for another round of stimulus payments .
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin , one of the chief negotiators for the White House , emphasized over the weekend that the president was still interested in backing a new package , but noted that he was keen to support something more “ targeted ” than Democrats ’ proposal .
Neither party has provided much in the way of additional concessions since negotiations that took place before Congress ’ s August @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like both might wind up staying dug in through the upcoming election .
There ’ s notable electoral risk in doing that — as well as significant impact on millions of Americans who are still navigating the dire economic fallout from the pandemic .
In August , 29 million people were receiving unemployment insurance , and in the next few months as many as 40 million could face evictions from their homes .
According to an August CNBC/Change Research poll , voters in swing states are putting the blame on both parties when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UI support .
Congress only has a few weeks left , however , before lawmakers are poised to head back to their home states and districts to campaign for the election in November .
Given the tight timing they face and the enduring stalemate , the chances of something getting done before their next recess are growing narrower by the day .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as @ @ @ @ @

A Senate vote on Republicans’ “skinny” stimulus bill failed Thursday, leaving lawmakers at the same impasse they’ve been at for months.
The 52-47 vote, which was intended to demonstrate Republican unity and support for the stimulus while putting pressure on Democrats, was only mildly successful in that aim, with 52 Republicans supporting the bill and Sen. Rand Paul voting against it. No Democratic senators, who’ve long pushed for a more expansive stimulus package, voted in favor of it. As a result, the bill was unable to meet the 60-vote threshold it needed to advance.
Republicans’ legislation contained roughly $650 billion in aid, according to the Wall Street Journal, including funding for school reopenings, the US Postal Service, and a weekly $300 supplement to unemployment insurance. Democrats’ more expansive HEROES Act, meanwhile, contained $3 trillion in aid including money for a $600 weekly unemployment supplement, another round of $1,200 stimulus payments, and support for state and local governments, in addition to funding for schools and USPS.
Since Thursday’s vote was a strategic maneuver aimed more at sending a message than producing actual policy, it wasn’t expected to pass to begin with. Instead, it was intended to give vulnerable Republican senators something to point toward as evidence they’ve backed more aid going into the election this fall.
The vote was also a way to get Democrats “on the record” opposing stimulus, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — a framing that could be used to cast blame in the coming months, though it ignores the fact that the Democrat-led House passed its own stimulus package months ago.
Overall, things didn’t change much this week. Both parties are far apart on what a possible deal could look like, even as millions of Americans continue to grapple with unemployment and possible evictions. And increasingly, some lawmakers are acknowledging the possibility that another stimulus package simply isn’t coming in the near term.
“Unless something really broke through, it’s not going to happen,” Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) told reporters earlier this week.
Democrats and Republicans are still far apart on what a stimulus deal should include
Thus far, the contours of the impasse over stimulus have stayed consistent: Democrats have pushed for a more expansive package that would guarantee a weekly $600 supplement for unemployment insurance as well as additional support for state and local governments. Their initial offer started at around $3 trillion and has since gone down to $2.2 trillion.
Conversely, Republicans are interested in something much narrower: Their latest “skinny” stimulus would have offered a weekly $300 supplement for unemployment insurance, with no additional state and local funds or money for another round of stimulus payments.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, one of the chief negotiators for the White House, emphasized over the weekend that the president was still interested in backing a new package, but noted that he was keen to support something more “targeted” than Democrats’ proposal.
Neither party has provided much in the way of additional concessions since negotiations that took place before Congress’s August recess, and it’s looking like both might wind up staying dug in through the upcoming election.
There’s notable electoral risk in doing that — as well as significant impact on millions of Americans who are still navigating the dire economic fallout from the pandemic. In August, 29 million people were receiving unemployment insurance, and in the next few months as many as 40 million could face evictions from their homes. According to an August CNBC/Change Research poll, voters in swing states are putting the blame on both parties when it comes to failure to pass additional UI support.
Congress only has a few weeks left, however, before lawmakers are poised to head back to their home states and districts to campaign for the election in November. Given the tight timing they face and the enduring stalemate, the chances of something getting done before their next recess are growing narrower by the day.


vox--2020-09-10--Trump’s “no panic” Woodward tapes spin would be easier to buy if his campaign weren’t all about pani

Trump’s “no panic” Woodward tapes spin would be easier to buy if his campaign weren’t all about panic

President Donald Trump ’ s response to devastating revelations from a new book that he privately knew the coronavirus would be devastating to the US is to say he was trying to project “ calm ” — a state of being at odds with his entire reelection strategy .
Trump ’ s political brand relies on stoking fear that “ radical left ” Democrats support violent looters invading the suburbs .
In recent weeks , he ’ s proclaimed that Joe Biden ’ s election would “ destroy the country ” and unleash “ chaos , corruption , and economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ads are more akin to horror movie trailers than they are to substantive messages about what Trump hopes to accomplish in a second term .
Biden , for what it ’ s worth , has aggressively condemned looting and reminded American voters that racial unrest is happening during Trump ’ s presidency — not his .
And yet , in the 24 hours since the Washington Post published audio of Trump ’ s interviews with Bob Woodward — interviews that reveal the president had a clear grasp of just how grave the threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet repeatedly misled the public earlier this year — the president ’ s talking point is that he simply felt an obligation to try and keep the country calm .
“ Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months .
If he thought they were so bad or dangerous , why didn ’ t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives ?
” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning .
“ Didn ’ t he have an obligation to do so ?
No , because he knew they were good and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
” That tweet echoed what Trump told reporters on Wednesday , when he said , “ I don ’ t want people to be frightened .
I don ’ t want to create panic , as you say .
And certainly , I ’ m not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy.
” Trump , however , clearly has no problem with whipping people into a panic when he thinks doing so is in his political self-interest .
In fact , later Thursday morning , Trump posted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden is a vote for poor , violent looters to besiege “ America ’ s Suburbs.
” Trump ’ s spin doesn ’ t make much sense , but it ’ s at least something he can use to try and explain away evidence that he knew more about the severity of the coronavirus than his public statements from January , February , and March would lead you to believe — evidence that has brought his government ’ s laissez-faire response to the pandemic under renewed scrutiny .
Trump on Wednesday evening characterized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hit job , ” despite the fact they consist of nothing more than tapes of him talking .
Trump really did have incentive to tamp down panic — but his motives were political , not health-related The Woodward recordings reveal that while Trump spent February and March insisting to the public that the coronavirus would go away on its own “ like a miracle , ” he was more realistic about the threat posed by the pandemic in his conversations with Woodward .
As my colleague German Lopez detailed on Wednesday ( emphasis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to publicly downplaying the real threat of Covid-19 for weeks , even as cities and states shut down and more Americans fell sick , according to excerpts and audio recordings from reporter Bob Woodward ’ s forthcoming book Rage .
“ I wanted to always play it down , ” Trump said on March 19 .
“ I still like playing it down , because I don ’ t want to create a panic.
” In several interviews with Woodward , Trump said he was aware of the threat of the novel coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downplaying the true risk the disease presented well into March , when the US ’ s epidemic took off .
( CNN published audio clips from the interviews . )
On February 7 , Trump told Woodward , “ This is deadly stuff.
” He told Woodward that it was five times as deadly as the flu .
He acknowledged that the virus “ goes through air , ” adding , “ That ’ s always tougher than the touch .
You know , the touch , you don ’ t have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air , you just breathe the air , and that ’ s how it ’ s passed.
” While Trump acknowledged to Woodward that the coronavirus was far deadlier than the flu , publicly he was insisting that Covid-19 wasn ’ t really as deadly as public health authorities were warning and prematurely trying to strong-arm states into reopening their economies .
Trump ’ s comments on Wednesday and Thursday are meant to reassure people that he really had their interests at heart when he told Woodward , “ I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reality , however , Trump ’ s motives were political — he was gambling that downplaying the virus was his best bet to keep the economy strong heading into his reelection campaign .
And perhaps by downplaying the severity of the virus , he may have encouraged people to take more risks — risks that wound up being deadly for some .
He was wrong .
Six months and 190,000 deaths later , the US continues to be uniquely devastated by the ongoing pandemic .
The federal government still hasn ’ t developed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under control , and the president has been more occupied with Twitter browbeating and holding potential superspreader campaign events than he has with tackling the virus .
Meanwhile , he ’ s consistently trailed Biden in the polls .
So , instead of running on his record , Trump ’ s campaign has had to resort to stoking wildly exaggerated fears about Joe Biden .
At the same time , however , Trump wants the American people to buy that he didn ’ t level with them about the coronavirus because he didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taken together , those talking points are incoherent — but by now we understand that incoherency is a feature , not a bug , of Trumpism .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

President Donald Trump’s response to devastating revelations from a new book that he privately knew the coronavirus would be devastating to the US is to say he was trying to project “calm” — a state of being at odds with his entire reelection strategy.
Trump’s political brand relies on stoking fear that “radical left” Democrats support violent looters invading the suburbs. In recent weeks, he’s proclaimed that Joe Biden’s election would “destroy the country” and unleash “chaos, corruption, and economic collapse.” His campaign’s political ads are more akin to horror movie trailers than they are to substantive messages about what Trump hopes to accomplish in a second term. Biden, for what it’s worth, has aggressively condemned looting and reminded American voters that racial unrest is happening during Trump’s presidency — not his.
And yet, in the 24 hours since the Washington Post published audio of Trump’s interviews with Bob Woodward — interviews that reveal the president had a clear grasp of just how grave the threat posed by the coronavirus could be and yet repeatedly misled the public earlier this year — the president’s talking point is that he simply felt an obligation to try and keep the country calm.
“Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months. If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives?” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. “Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers. Calm, no panic!”
Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months. If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers. Calm, no panic! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2020
That tweet echoed what Trump told reporters on Wednesday, when he said, “I don’t want people to be frightened. I don’t want to create panic, as you say. And certainly, I’m not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy.”
Trump, however, clearly has no problem with whipping people into a panic when he thinks doing so is in his political self-interest. In fact, later Thursday morning, Trump posted another tweet suggesting that a vote for Biden is a vote for poor, violent looters to besiege “America’s Suburbs.”
The Democrats never even mentioned the words LAW & ORDER at their National Convention. That’s where they are coming from. If I don’t win, America’s Suburbs will be OVERRUN with Low Income Projects, Anarchists, Agitators, Looters and, of course, “Friendly Protesters”. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2020
Trump’s spin doesn’t make much sense, but it’s at least something he can use to try and explain away evidence that he knew more about the severity of the coronavirus than his public statements from January, February, and March would lead you to believe — evidence that has brought his government’s laissez-faire response to the pandemic under renewed scrutiny.
Trump on Wednesday evening characterized the Woodward revelations as a “political hit job,” despite the fact they consist of nothing more than tapes of him talking.
Trump really did have incentive to tamp down panic — but his motives were political, not health-related
The Woodward recordings reveal that while Trump spent February and March insisting to the public that the coronavirus would go away on its own “like a miracle,” he was more realistic about the threat posed by the pandemic in his conversations with Woodward.
As my colleague German Lopez detailed on Wednesday (emphasis mine):
President Donald Trump admitted to publicly downplaying the real threat of Covid-19 for weeks, even as cities and states shut down and more Americans fell sick, according to excerpts and audio recordings from reporter Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book Rage. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump said on March 19. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” In several interviews with Woodward, Trump said he was aware of the threat of the novel coronavirus as early as January, and continued downplaying the true risk the disease presented well into March, when the US’s epidemic took off. (CNN published audio clips from the interviews.) On February 7, Trump told Woodward, “This is deadly stuff.” He told Woodward that it was five times as deadly as the flu. He acknowledged that the virus “goes through air,” adding, “That’s always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don’t have to touch things, right? But the air, you just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed.”
While Trump acknowledged to Woodward that the coronavirus was far deadlier than the flu, publicly he was insisting that Covid-19 wasn’t really as deadly as public health authorities were warning and prematurely trying to strong-arm states into reopening their economies.
In this clip, Trump:
1. Denies WHO's coronavirus death rate based on “hunch"
2. Calls coronavirus "corona flu"
3. Suggests it's fine for people w/ Covid-19 to go to work
4. Compares coronavirus to "the regular flu," indicating he doesn't get the difference pic.twitter.com/uC9c03zX31 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 5, 2020
Trump’s comments on Wednesday and Thursday are meant to reassure people that he really had their interests at heart when he told Woodward, “I don’t want to create a panic.” In reality, however, Trump’s motives were political — he was gambling that downplaying the virus was his best bet to keep the economy strong heading into his reelection campaign. And perhaps by downplaying the severity of the virus, he may have encouraged people to take more risks — risks that wound up being deadly for some.
He was wrong. Six months and 190,000 deaths later, the US continues to be uniquely devastated by the ongoing pandemic. The federal government still hasn’t developed a comprehensive plan to get the situation under control, and the president has been more occupied with Twitter browbeating and holding potential superspreader campaign events than he has with tackling the virus. Meanwhile, he’s consistently trailed Biden in the polls.
So, instead of running on his record, Trump’s campaign has had to resort to stoking wildly exaggerated fears about Joe Biden. At the same time, however, Trump wants the American people to buy that he didn’t level with them about the coronavirus because he didn’t want to stoke fear.
Taken together, those talking points are incoherent — but by now we understand that incoherency is a feature, not a bug, of Trumpism.


vox--2020-09-10--I did Shop With a Cop as a kid. Now I realize it was police propaganda.

It ’ s September , and Jacob Blake was almost murdered .
He was shot seven times by a Kenosha , Wisconsin , cop who tried to detain him .
Last month , I could have replaced that name with a different Black person ’ s .
I could have done the same the month before .
I scroll through my Twitter timeline and see outrage , but I also see viral videos of cops dancing with protesters , or kneeling , or hugging them just moments before knocking an eye out of its socket .
The video I see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ combat gear doing the Macarena in Atlanta .
My followers mostly retweet to critique , but underneath those retweets , I see replies saying that these moments are special , heartwarming .
That these images of cops and protesters holding up their fists side by side are what America needs right now .
Moments like these — where I witness both revolution and the gross but subtle attempts to keep it from looking like one — remind me of my first experience with the police where I unwittingly participated in pro-police propaganda .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ understanding of my place as a Black woman in this world has sharpened , I look back at this experience with an uncomfortable recognition of how my Blackness was being used .
If I told you I remembered exactly when I stopped trusting the police , I ’ d be lying .
I ’ m sure the distrust trickled down to me the way secrets and traditions do .
I ’ m sure , like every young Black person does , I just observed or overheard it and realized , eventually , people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apartment complex taught me .
We were a neighborhood full of parents , siblings , everyone Black .
We were a neighborhood that came alive in the summer .
We left our bikes in the yard or in the middle of the street or on our neighbor ’ s porch so he could fix it .
We chased down the ice cream truck , chased down coins to buy something , sold lemonade , made no money , tried again the next day .
With all that commotion , police would , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They ’ d inch down each side of the complex as if they were observing every single one of us , every centimeter of our skin .
Some of us would stay where we were , unbothered , waiting for a challenge .
But most of my neighbors , because they knew danger would come , scattered .
When I was about 11 or 12 years old , I was selected to participate in Indianapolis ’ s annual Shop With a Cop program , hosted by the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t old enough to know that Black people often got killed by police .
But I was old enough to recognize that in my neighborhood , when you saw cops , you abandoned the outdoors and went back inside .
I was also old enough to keep some things to myself — to know not to tell my friends or others in the neighborhood that I ’ d be on an all-day excursion with a cop .
Shop With a Cop brings together Marion County police officers from 11 departments to take “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community ” shopping for the winter holidays .
It ’ s a day-long event , complete with a movie showing , meals , and a trip to Walmart or Meijer to shop for more expensive winter needs — or whatever you may point at and ask for .
The PR pitch from a police perspective is that it ’ s a time to give back and to give low-income children a positive police experience .
Last December , the Indianapolis program assisted about 350 families ; it boasts the largest Shop With a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many other cities having a similar program .
Though the holidays were always hard for us , that winter seemed different .
My mom had applied for Christmas help all over the city , and after completing the paperwork and meeting income guidelines , I was chosen .
The same winter I participated , a family also sponsored me through another , non-police-related Christmas program — getting as much as they could off my mom ’ s wish list , which included a few toys and some clothes , since the police department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessities .
What I remembered about my Shop With a Cop experience was that I went with a white male cop to Walmart and the movie theater afterward .
What my mom told me , when I checked more than 15 years later , was that I went with a Black woman cop .
My mom said she probably wouldn ’ t have let me go had it been a white male cop , but the Black woman made her feel comfortable .
The cop pulled up , according to my mom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with both her and my grandmother .
I remember being quiet , just waiting to get the day over with .
What I didn ’ t tell my mom , revisiting this conversation as an adult , was that the police department sending someone who looked like us was by design .
I didn ’ t tell her that all those years later , learning it was a Black cop instead of a white cop didn ’ t soothe me .
I had learned too much about my Blackness and our history , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who had been wrongfully killed by police to be comforted .
I didn ’ t mention that the sole purpose of sending a Black cop to our Black neighborhood was to ease us into comfort .
That it was all for aesthetics — if we see a seemingly nice Black cop , we believe , even if we ’ ve experienced differently , that there is some good in a system that was created with the intent to harm us .
I decided not to bring it back up to my mom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knows all of this , even if she doesn ’ t have the words for it .
Early teens , the beginning of high school maybe .
My best friends and I attended the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration — an annual , almost two-week event of exhibits , performances , and activities — in downtown Indianapolis that we saved our small allowances over for months .
We didn ’ t have money for the actual events planned by the organization , only enough to give our parents gas money , buy some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibly buy an item from one of the exhibits in the convention center .
It was a Saturday evening .
The sun set , the downtown sidewalks got more packed , and we stood in front of a Steak ’ n Shake trying to decide what to do next .
The officers rode on horses , galloping down the road , towering over every Black kid in Indianapolis who could find a ride or was old enough to catch public transit .
I guess we stood for too long .
I guess the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like my friend ’ s tone .
I guess he thought she was old enough , Black enough to slam into the restaurant ’ s wall , her cheek bunching up and mouth still open .
I guess he thought one less of us was better .
He packed her into a paddy wagon along with plenty of other Black teens .
I don ’ t know if we yelled or told the officer to stop .
What I know is we were powerless .
What I know is my first personal experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was physically harmless .
What I know is when you ’ re Black , you never know when it ’ ll be your time , at what age they ’ ll stop performing kindness and start performing hate .
After the introductions at my apartment , the cop and I got into the car to start our shopping excursion .
As we drove , she turned on the sirens like she was supposed to .
What might have been exciting for other children wasn ’ t exciting for me , but triggering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my neighborhood and the fear that arose when they did .
I sank down in my seat until we got to the store .
Throughout the experience , I don ’ t remember saying much .
I remember being excited that I could get a coat .
I remember not loving the movie we saw .
But what I remember vividly is the nagging feeling I had , the urge to keep looking around the store and the mostly empty , dark theater to see if anyone was watching me .
If any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black kid , since I was sitting with a cop and many Black kids my age had already had run-ins with the justice system .
If any Black people around me worried that I was in danger for the same reason .
That whole day , I couldn ’ t shake the feeling that everything — getting into the police car in my neighborhood , being seen at the Walmart — could expose me to ridicule from my neighbors and friends .
I was maybe too young to fully understand why they would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something I didn ’ t : The police may act like they want to support low-income , Black communities , but everything I was participating in was for show .
The experience was supposed to be a positive one , but , in the end , nothing about Shop With a Cop made me any less wary of police .
Even back then , I understood it was transactional : I was there for the items I needed but couldn ’ t afford .
I knew deep down that cops had opinions about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even if I couldn ’ t articulate it .
As far as I know , I never saw the Black woman cop again .
White officers were the only ones I saw in the neighborhood from then on .
When the protests in response to George Floyd ’ s murder began , my Twitter timeline was full of Black people tweeting about their first negative encounter with cops .
They were 11 years old , or 13 , 14 , 16 .
Older if they were lucky .
But most of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them had already been slammed onto the sidewalk by police officers at a young age , for being , for existing .
Most of them figured out quickly what streets to avoid , what neighborhoods didn ’ t want them around , what stores they ’ d get followed in .
Sometimes , if we time it right , we can avoid the cops .
We can live and they ’ ll let us .
Unless we jut outside of invisible lines , boundaries unknown to anyone but them .
From the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teen to the times I ignored that we had officers in our public schools but the other schools didn ’ t , the time I participated in a die-in at Indiana University , the time Michael Brown was murdered and I protested and Alton Sterling was murdered and I protested and George Floyd , Ahmaud Arbery , Breonna Taylor , Dreasjon Reed , and Tony McDade were murdered and I protested , I was forced to learn that Black people weren ’ t the target audience for protecting and serving .
Programs like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Just like the “ good cop ” images floating around the internet and on the news , they serve to make cops look good .
Officers can point at these programs when challenged about what they ’ re doing for low-income , Black communities , or when they kill a Black person .
For some Black people , I imagine , these programs keep them conflicted about whether or not all cops are “ bad , ” even though a system designed to destroy us can be nothing but .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But for me , the few programs offered to “ needy children ” via the Indianapolis police weren ’ t enough to prepare me , or make me accept , the state violence inflicted on Black people .
When you have no choice but to accept assistance from institutions and systems that will inflict harm on you and people who look like you , you realize how much state violence resembles an abusive partner .
They perform affection and support , then harm you .
Then do it again and harm you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough .
Arriel Vinson is a Tin House Winter Workshop alumna and Hoosier who writes about being young , Black , and in search of freedom .
Her poetry , fiction , and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Kweli Journal , Catapult , Waxwing , Electric Literature , and others .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Editor’s note: This piece includes descriptions of gun violence.
It’s September, and Jacob Blake was almost murdered. He was shot seven times by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, cop who tried to detain him. Last month, I could have replaced that name with a different Black person’s. I could have done the same the month before.
I scroll through my Twitter timeline and see outrage, but I also see viral videos of cops dancing with protesters, or kneeling, or hugging them just moments before knocking an eye out of its socket. The video I see most is of National Guard officers in combat gear doing the Macarena in Atlanta. My followers mostly retweet to critique, but underneath those retweets, I see replies saying that these moments are special, heartwarming. That these images of cops and protesters holding up their fists side by side are what America needs right now.
Moments like these — where I witness both revolution and the gross but subtle attempts to keep it from looking like one — remind me of my first experience with the police where I unwittingly participated in pro-police propaganda. As I’ve grown and my understanding of my place as a Black woman in this world has sharpened, I look back at this experience with an uncomfortable recognition of how my Blackness was being used.
If I told you I remembered exactly when I stopped trusting the police, I’d be lying. I’m sure the distrust trickled down to me the way secrets and traditions do. I’m sure, like every young Black person does, I just observed or overheard it and realized, eventually, people were right.
Maybe my childhood low-income apartment complex taught me. We were a neighborhood full of parents, siblings, everyone Black. We were a neighborhood that came alive in the summer. We left our bikes in the yard or in the middle of the street or on our neighbor’s porch so he could fix it. We chased down the ice cream truck, chased down coins to buy something, sold lemonade, made no money, tried again the next day.
With all that commotion, police would, of course, drive through the neighborhood frequently. They’d inch down each side of the complex as if they were observing every single one of us, every centimeter of our skin. Some of us would stay where we were, unbothered, waiting for a challenge. But most of my neighbors, because they knew danger would come, scattered.
When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I was selected to participate in Indianapolis’s annual Shop With a Cop program, hosted by the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #86. I wasn’t old enough to know that Black people often got killed by police. But I was old enough to recognize that in my neighborhood, when you saw cops, you abandoned the outdoors and went back inside. I was also old enough to keep some things to myself — to know not to tell my friends or others in the neighborhood that I’d be on an all-day excursion with a cop.
Shop With a Cop brings together Marion County police officers from 11 departments to take “needy children from all over the Indianapolis community” shopping for the winter holidays. It’s a day-long event, complete with a movie showing, meals, and a trip to Walmart or Meijer to shop for more expensive winter needs — or whatever you may point at and ask for. The PR pitch from a police perspective is that it’s a time to give back and to give low-income children a positive police experience. Last December, the Indianapolis program assisted about 350 families; it boasts the largest Shop With a Cop program in the country, with many other cities having a similar program.
Though the holidays were always hard for us, that winter seemed different. My mom had applied for Christmas help all over the city, and after completing the paperwork and meeting income guidelines, I was chosen. The same winter I participated, a family also sponsored me through another, non-police-related Christmas program — getting as much as they could off my mom’s wish list, which included a few toys and some clothes, since the police department was covering the winter coat and other necessities.
What I remembered about my Shop With a Cop experience was that I went with a white male cop to Walmart and the movie theater afterward. What my mom told me, when I checked more than 15 years later, was that I went with a Black woman cop. My mom said she probably wouldn’t have let me go had it been a white male cop, but the Black woman made her feel comfortable. The cop pulled up, according to my mom, and came into the apartment to chat with both her and my grandmother. I remember being quiet, just waiting to get the day over with.
What I didn’t tell my mom, revisiting this conversation as an adult, was that the police department sending someone who looked like us was by design. I didn’t tell her that all those years later, learning it was a Black cop instead of a white cop didn’t soothe me. I had learned too much about my Blackness and our history, and had protested for too many Black people who had been wrongfully killed by police to be comforted. I didn’t mention that the sole purpose of sending a Black cop to our Black neighborhood was to ease us into comfort. That it was all for aesthetics — if we see a seemingly nice Black cop, we believe, even if we’ve experienced differently, that there is some good in a system that was created with the intent to harm us.
I decided not to bring it back up to my mom because I’m sure she already knows all of this, even if she doesn’t have the words for it.
Early teens, the beginning of high school maybe. My best friends and I attended the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration — an annual, almost two-week event of exhibits, performances, and activities — in downtown Indianapolis that we saved our small allowances over for months. We didn’t have money for the actual events planned by the organization, only enough to give our parents gas money, buy some food while we walked around, and possibly buy an item from one of the exhibits in the convention center.
It was a Saturday evening. The sun set, the downtown sidewalks got more packed, and we stood in front of a Steak ’n Shake trying to decide what to do next. The officers rode on horses, galloping down the road, towering over every Black kid in Indianapolis who could find a ride or was old enough to catch public transit.
I guess we stood for too long. I guess the officer who approached us didn’t like my friend’s tone. I guess he thought she was old enough, Black enough to slam into the restaurant’s wall, her cheek bunching up and mouth still open. I guess he thought one less of us was better.
He packed her into a paddy wagon along with plenty of other Black teens. I don’t know if we yelled or told the officer to stop. What I know is we were powerless. What I know is my first personal experience with the police was shopping, and that was physically harmless. What I know is when you’re Black, you never know when it’ll be your time, at what age they’ll stop performing kindness and start performing hate.
After the introductions at my apartment, the cop and I got into the car to start our shopping excursion. As we drove, she turned on the sirens like she was supposed to. What might have been exciting for other children wasn’t exciting for me, but triggering to the sounds I often heard in my neighborhood and the fear that arose when they did. I sank down in my seat until we got to the store.
Throughout the experience, I don’t remember saying much. I remember being excited that I could get a coat. I remember not loving the movie we saw. But what I remember vividly is the nagging feeling I had, the urge to keep looking around the store and the mostly empty, dark theater to see if anyone was watching me. If any white people assumed I was some no-good Black kid, since I was sitting with a cop and many Black kids my age had already had run-ins with the justice system. If any Black people around me worried that I was in danger for the same reason.
That whole day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything — getting into the police car in my neighborhood, being seen at the Walmart — could expose me to ridicule from my neighbors and friends. I was maybe too young to fully understand why they would tease me, but my neighbors knew something I didn’t: The police may act like they want to support low-income, Black communities, but everything I was participating in was for show.
The experience was supposed to be a positive one, but, in the end, nothing about Shop With a Cop made me any less wary of police. Even back then, I understood it was transactional: I was there for the items I needed but couldn’t afford. I knew deep down that cops had opinions about me or my neighborhood or my family, even if I couldn’t articulate it.
As far as I know, I never saw the Black woman cop again. White officers were the only ones I saw in the neighborhood from then on.
When the protests in response to George Floyd’s murder began, my Twitter timeline was full of Black people tweeting about their first negative encounter with cops. They were 11 years old, or 13, 14, 16. Older if they were lucky. But most of them weren’t lucky. Most of them had already been slammed onto the sidewalk by police officers at a young age, for being, for existing. Most of them figured out quickly what streets to avoid, what neighborhoods didn’t want them around, what stores they’d get followed in. Sometimes, if we time it right, we can avoid the cops. We can live and they’ll let us. Unless we jut outside of invisible lines, boundaries unknown to anyone but them.
From the time I went to Black Expo as a teen to the times I ignored that we had officers in our public schools but the other schools didn’t, the time I participated in a die-in at Indiana University, the time Michael Brown was murdered and I protested and Alton Sterling was murdered and I protested and George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Dreasjon Reed, and Tony McDade were murdered and I protested, I was forced to learn that Black people weren’t the target audience for protecting and serving.
Programs like Shop With a Cop are masterful propaganda. Just like the “good cop” images floating around the internet and on the news, they serve to make cops look good. Officers can point at these programs when challenged about what they’re doing for low-income, Black communities, or when they kill a Black person. For some Black people, I imagine, these programs keep them conflicted about whether or not all cops are “bad,” even though a system designed to destroy us can be nothing but. And I guess that’s the point.
But for me, the few programs offered to “needy children” via the Indianapolis police weren’t enough to prepare me, or make me accept, the state violence inflicted on Black people. When you have no choice but to accept assistance from institutions and systems that will inflict harm on you and people who look like you, you realize how much state violence resembles an abusive partner. They perform affection and support, then harm you. Then do it again and harm you, just to make sure you need them enough.
Arriel Vinson is a Tin House Winter Workshop alumna and Hoosier who writes about being young, Black, and in search of freedom. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Kweli Journal, Catapult, Waxwing, Electric Literature, and others.