Miriam Carey was a black woman who was shot to death by Capitol police and Secret Service officers, in front of her toddler, after a car chase near the Capitol in October 2013.
Now watching the response from Capitol police this week towards the angry pro-Trump mob who attacked the U.
Capitol is causing her family to relive their anguish by reopening old wounds.
According to CNN, Carey’s older sister, Valarie, is painfully reminded by the stark contrast in how violent rioters- with seemingly clear intent to harm were treated in comparison to her own sister, who was shot five times by officers after hitting one while trying to make a 3 point turn out of a restricted area.
“To see the disparity in the treatment of individuals … who have no respect for our nation’s Capitol, vandalizing and actually committing assaults and they get to walk away unharmed and not even arrested,” Carey stated, “It’s hurtful.”
Carey’s frustrations are being echoed collectively by Black Americans who are way beyond tired of the double standard that allows white (and armed) rioters to leave the Capitol largely unscathed, while Black people, like the 34-year-old dental hygienist-Miriam Carey, often ends in death, serious injury or arrests.
The glaringly obvious difference in the response efforts continues to infuriate black people in America.
Last summer, during BLM protests, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators who gathered to call for racial justice and made thousands of arrests.
This week, Washington police said they made 80 arrests related to the Capitol riots. A majority of those detained were for violating the mayor’s 6 p.m. curfew and not for the wreaking havoc that took place earlier in the day.
Images from earlier in the day, during the breach of the Capitol, showed police letting rioters through gates, escorting them down the Capitol building steps, and even taking selfies with the excited mob.
Carey’s sister, a retired New York City police sergeant, said the Capitol riots clearly demonstrate that many white people don’t experience the same fear of police violence as Black people do.
“They were treated with entitlement and it’s ridiculous,” Carey said. “We all know had it been a Black person or brown person that situation would have been different, Valarie Carey said.
Carey said the disparity in the police response reflects a systemic issue with law enforcement. Carey explained that some officers are either racist or dealing with “culture shock” and don’t know how to interact with Black people.
Carey said she intends to fight to have her sister’s death investigation reopened because she wants to see the police who killed her to be held accountable.
“I am praying that 2021 is the year we get some sort of resolution and get justice for my sister who is no longer here,” Carey said.
