Families of missing Black men say they 'want the same manpower' from police on Petito case
Source: NBC News through AOL
David Robinson hired a private investigator and has traversed the Arizona desert with volunteers in search of his 24-year-old son, Daniel, a geologist who went missing in late June.
Rasheda Smith in Aurora, Colorado, said she didnt hear from police for more than a week after she reported that her teen stepson, Xavion, had run away earlier this month.
Robinson, Smith and relatives of Jelani "JJ" Day, an Illinois State University graduate student who has not been seen since August, all have something in common: They're Black people who are exasperated after pleading with authorities to do more to find their loved ones.
Their frustration with law enforcement intensified as stories about the disappearance of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old white woman, dominated the national news cycle, the result, some say, of missing white woman syndrome. Gwen Ifill, the legendary news anchor, coined that term in 2004 to underscore the news medias fascination with white women who go missing.
Read more: https://www.aol.com/news/families-missing-black-men-plead-185039783.html
Yeah, this would be good. I guess when Republicans and cop apologists scream "All Lives Matter," it's double speak for "All people are created equal, but some are more equal than others."
Added to this, we don't even record how many Native American women disappear.
Ptah
(33,044 posts)The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox News, among other outlets, produced timelines of her case. National news outlets, including MSNBC, USA Today and the Washington Post, analyzed different parts of her case, including police reports, body cam footage, the search for her fiancé and details of where her remains were found. Other outlets scoured smaller details, analyzing Petito's "van life" videos, her Instagram and her Spotify playlist.
With national media attention came public outrage. People nationwide became fascinated with Petito's case, and TikTok users turned to social media trying to solve it.
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The disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people is a nationwide crisis, and experts say Montana is an epicenter. Indigenous people in Montana are four times more likely to go missing than non-Native people, according to a state Department of Justice report. As of Sept. 15, Indigenous people accounted for 31% of the state's active missing persons population, though they comprise about 6.7% of Montana's population.
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2021/09/23/gabby-petito-indigenous-people-point-out-disparities-missing-white-woman-syndrome-mmiw/5827651001/
DeeNice
(575 posts)tulipsandroses
(5,128 posts)It is a terrible tragedy but I am glad his family has an answer. Just days ago, I was reading that there was a back up which was causing a delay in determining whether the body that was found several weeks ago was Jelani. Its interesting that when the family started getting national attention that it was determined to be Jelani. May he Rest In Peace. My heart goes out to his family and so many others waiting for answers.
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,032 posts)Even before that girl was reported missing. His remains were just identified from dental.
ck4829
(35,094 posts)IronLionZion
(45,558 posts)Except the ones who don't
AZLD4Candidate
(5,789 posts)NH Ethylene
(30,817 posts)But we should be able to make sure police use resources equitably.
This could start with an analysis to reveal disparities and end with some guidelines for police departments to follow. If there is then a deficiency in how a case is being handled, the department should then be sued to cover the cost of a private investigation.