David Brown ‘Racist’: Writer Hits Black Dallas Police Chief For Beloved Memorial Speech


David Brown, the Dallas Police Chief who gained national attention after five of his officers were killed at a Black Lives Matter protest, appears to have won the hearts of a nation.

During his speech at the slain officers’ memorial service, he called for protesters to make a difference by joining the police force and tackling some of the issues they perceive to be real.

“We’re hiring,” he said.

Not long after, Twitter users had started a trending hashtag—#DavidBrownForPresident—and individuals on both sides of the political aisle were praising his strength and sincerity.

But for one columnist, the words David Brown said were not only wrong, they were “racist,” even though Brown himself is an African-American.

Brianna Cox of SheKnows argued that David Brown undermined the BlackLivesMatter movement and many of the issues that it continually tries bringing to the attention of police regarding officer brutality directed disproportionately towards black people.

“While this instance was tragic and the largest targeting of cops since 9/11, murders of police are far fewer than those of unarmed civilians shot by police,” Cox argued, adding that “death is an occupational hazard one knows they may encounter when they sign up to be a police officer … One can choose to not be a police officer; one cannot choose to not be black.”

Of that “we’re hiring” line, Cox was particularly annoyed by the implication that most protesters don’t have jobs, arguing instead that they do have jobs and that most are responsible enough to make time for protesting issues of importance around those obligations.

Cox said that it was not “a new cheap shot” to insinuate laziness in protesters. She continued.

“This is, in part, dog whistle-coded language to say that black people are lazy. Protesters, people who chose to exercise their First Amendment rights, must take time out of their busy schedules to demonstrate for causes they deem important — in this case, police brutality in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and in Minnesota within days of each other, both of which resulted in loss of life. That is why there was a protest that night in Dallas in the first place.”

Cox also took issue with the refusal to admit that police brutality is a police problem, attacking Chief David Brown for saying that police officers are being asked to do “too much” in his speech.

Cox argued that if all police were better trained, “taught to de-escalate situations, taught to disarm without firearms and understood how implicit racial bias can affect them in ways they are not consciously able to control, I believe racially motivated police-involved shootings would drop drastically.”

Cox concludes by claiming that David Brown, a black man, is guilty of perpetuating racist tropes in ignoring how the police killing of unarmed civilians is a problem prevalent in Native- and African-American communities.

She claims that the act of living in a society that places the needs of white people above all other races means “you often readily absorb that racism and white supremacy regardless of your own race and ethnicity.”

“This is why there are also black and Asian police officers that have used excessive force against (other) people of color,” she says.

The piece has gotten quite a bit of feedback on social media with some commenters in agreement. Most, however, side with David Brown and think it’s out of line to yoke him with the “racist” label.

But what do you think, readers?

Were the memorial remarks (hat tip Heavy) of Chief David Brown too critical of BlackLivesMatter and protesters in general? Sound off in the comments section below.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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