Texas Deputy Not Indicted After Killing Unarmed Black Man In Broad Daylight

If only blacks would stay within the law, many fewer would die

In April, a Harris County Constable Precinct 5 Deputy, R. Felix fatally shot an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop. The victim, Ashtian Barnes, was pulled over by the deputy because; the 24-year-old’s vehicle had a number of unpaid toll violations.

Barnes told the officer that the car wasn’t his, but a rental car and he had been using the car for a week. The victim went on to point out to the officer that he knew nothing about the unpaid toll violations before the officer ordered him to open his trunk because he could smell marijuana. Within seconds, the vehicle’s taillights came on and the vehicle started moving. Felix drew his gun, jumped on the car, yelling “don’t f***ing move” and shot Barnes several times before calling for backup.

The deputy stated in court that he perceived the smell of marijuana from the deceased’s vehicle, the driver tried to reach for something under his seats and he tried to grab Felix’s gun. All these claims pointed to the deputy’s reasons as to why he killed an unarmed innocent man. As usual, he also claimed that he feared for his life during the incident. However, since after the incident, there hasn’t been any mention of firearm or marijuana found in the victim’s car.

A grand jury, after two sessions, decided against the indictment of Felix, clearing him of committing any crime, even though he killed an unarmed Black man in cold blood. “What we can say is that the presentation was comprehensive and responsive to the needs of the grand jury, the 183rd Grand Jury handled this case with great care,” said Harris County District Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division Chief Julian Ramirez.

Texas law prohibits the disclosure of grand jury proceedings, which includes the names of the witnesses who testified and any documents or evidence presented, but does allow the release of footage for review by family upon the completion of the investigation. A dash cam video was released after the grand jury’s decision and it brought about cries of injustice from Barnes’ family and BLM activists.

The victim’s father, Tommy Barnes completely disagrees with the jury’s decision and said of the video,“If you pay close attention, this man shot my son before the car moved.” “We’re supposed to have faith in the justice system. I am not surprised. You have an entity that survives off one another,” he added.

Here we go again, another innocent Black man has been murdered and the cop responsible for killing him goes scot free. This young man didn’t possess any guns or drugs and was killed out of some act of violence. When will the injustice that is constantly meted out to Black people stop?

Original report here


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