Twenty-six-year-old security guard Jemel Roberson did everything right. Last Sunday, Roberson was forced to kick some rowdy customers out of Manny's Blue Room in Robbins, Ill ― a bar in the Chicago suburb of Robbins, Illinois. But the customers weren't about to go so easily.
Later that night they returned with guns and opened fire, injuring several people. Armed with a gun himself, Jemel was able to apprehend one of the assailants. He held the man with his knee and gun in his back and waited for the police to arrive as he was trained to do.
He was even wearing a vest that read "Security" on it.But when the police arrived, they didn't see a security guard doing his job, they saw a black man with a gun, and shot him dead. Jemel's name now becomes another hashtag, another call for justice because the police failed to think before they act. Because they failed to see Jemel as anything but criminal.
Ironically, Jemel wanted to be a cop one day. Instead, he was shot by one.
Witnesses say that even as police were rushing the bar,
bystanders were screaming to the cops and telling them Jemel was security so as to ensure they wouldn't mistake him for the gunman.
But their screams went unheard and now Jemel, like so many others, has become a statistic.
Gun advocates often argue that we need more "good guys with guns" to prevent shootings. But when the "good guy" is black, like Jemel, his life is instantly put at risk.
The responding police department Midlothian PD knows which officer is responsible for his death.
His name must be released to the public, he should be fired and the case should be investigated as a crime. Officers capable of making such brazen mistakes put the entire community at risk. This officer should never be allowed to police the streets again.
Please sign this petition and demand justice for Jemel. Demand that the Midlothian PD fire the officer and that an independent council investigate the crime. 