Family accuses cop of racism after a black man was shot. However, the man shot was brandishing two knives going after the cop, and the police officer himself is black! After learning the ethnicity of the police officer the family didn’t back down, instead, they came up with an even more bizarre accusation to vilify the police.
Wisconsin police responded to a call that a man was chasing a woman down the street with two “sai-style” kitchen knives, the time of the call was about 5:30 in the morning. Officers arrived to find 32-year-old Kevan Ruffin armed with two very long knives. He was unwilling to cooperate with the officers on the scene.
According to local news, one officer tried to talk the man down from across the street. The officer negotiated with the deranged man from a safe distance from the armed individual. Ruffin, however, was determined to make sure that only one of them came out of the situation alive.
Sheboygan Police Chief Christopher Domagalski confirmed that Ruffin actually charged the police officer with his knives brandished. The officer tried to Taser the suspect, but Ruffin continued his pursuit. His actions “forcing the officer to use a firearm,” ABC News reports. Ruffin died on scene.
“The officer ordered the subject to stop while attempting to retreat while attempting to deploy his Taser. The subject continued to chase the officer, forcing the officer to transition to his firearm and discharged his firearm on the subject,” said Domnagalski at a press conference.
Family members accused the officer of targeting Ruffin. They claimed Ruffin suffered from mental illness and that the police targeted him because of his skin color. The family insisted that racism was a factor in the officer’s response. They also claim that non-lethal action could’ve been used to stop Ruffin, FOX News reports.
“But because he was black, he was considered as a threat from the beginning,” Sheriyah Appleton, a cousin, said. “This stuff has been going on all around the world, this is why everyone is protesting, this is why we are upset. The color of our skin should not determine whether we are taken into custody or taken to the morgue.”
The Wisconsin Department of Justice identified the officer involved in the fatal shooting. Much to the family’s chagrin, the man who killed Ruffin is Sheboygan Police Officer Bryan Pray, a black man. Pray has been on the force for three years. However, the family didn’t back down instead they implied that the black officer has some sort of self-loathing racism and would’ve treated Ruffin better if he were white.
“We are a threat because the color of our skin. Now if he had to have been white with mental issues, he would have been taken into custody and not taken to the morgue. It’s a whole different story because of the color of our skin,” Appleton said.
Appleton held firm to the family’s allegation that race played a role in Ruffin’s alleged wrongful death. She and Aaron Clayborn, Ruffin’s uncle, insisted that Officer Pray had no reason to use force against him.
“You don’t come to somebody who is mentally ill with your guns drawn in the first place, that’s not how you do things,” Appleton said to ABC News affiliate WISN.
“He is known in this community for several years for having a mental disorder. He’s been in and out of the system. He’s been in mental health facilities in the state,” Clayborn said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Wisconsin has come to the family’s aid. The ACLU called for a transparent investigation into Officer Pray’s actions. The organization suggested that the officer could’ve used a nonviolent tactic even though Ruffin ran toward him with two knives drawn.
“We need to know why Sheboygan police killed Mr. Ruffin instead of handling this in a nonviolent way,” Chris Ott, the ALCU Wisconsin Executive Director said.
Ruffin has been repeatedly arrested between 2008 and 2019. He was also repeatedly found not guilty due to mental health issues. The family claims that the police “are familiar with him.” Those officers should’ve consulted their contact information instead of engaging with him.
The unnamed woman that Kevan Ruffin had attacked was treated and released from the hospital. Additionally, Officer Bryan Pray was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after officer-involved shootings.
