“Prosecutor finds deputies justified in shooting Black man,” a headline in May 19’s Sun Journal reads. “… (b)ecause he struck a deputy with his car and nearly ran him over while ignoring commands to show his hands and get out of the vehicle,” the article states.

Did we really think they would be found guilty of manslaughter? Of anything?

Should Andrew Brown have stopped and obeyed the deputies? Of course he should have. Did he have reasonable cause to fear for his life if he did? Of course he did.

When will we stop pretending that Black people, especially men, can expect equal treatment by many law officers at any time, even when stopped for minor violations? With the system stacked against them, many Black men already have convictions for possessing amounts of marijuana that many of our White collegians routinely possess and use without penalty. This means the consequences of being stopped while possessing marijuana are much worse, so the temptation to run away is much greater, escalating already-tense situations.

It’s way beyond time to reform our justice system and, especially, policing in our country. With our 18,000 different police units, the training time a new police officer has had before being given a gun and put on duty in the U.S. varies from 10-36 weeks. In most western countries, a candidate attends police academy for three years, graduating with the equivalent of a college degree; their last year focuses on alternatives to use of deadly force.

“Re-forming,” not “de-funding” is essential.

Silver Moore-Leamon, Auburn