“I can’t breathe, the pepper spray is hurting me.” These are the words spoken by Tauris Sledge, a highschool student attending Hamilton County Public school in the Chattanooga area. The police do not provide safety in our schools, they are a ticking time bomb of anti-Black racism, brutality, and violence against young people and children. Tyler McRae’s abusive behavior against young Black people is a systemic issue, and it’s not just a case of a bad apple; having police in schools is rotten to the core.
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The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has a history of violent offenses against community members, particularly Black people, in the Chattanooga area. School should be a learning environment and not a place of brutal punishment. Children and young people should be able to learn from their mistakes at school, or take a break from class when they’re not feeling themself, not face humiliation and police brutality for minor misbehavior or taking rest. School should not be modeled after the systems of brutality that impact our daily lives. This was an instance of kids being kids, and cops being cops.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, and the Hamilton County Department of Education, both need to be held accountable for allowing Tyler McRae to be around children and work as a School Police Officer. The family of Tauris Sledge, his classmates, the students at East Ridge High school, the Chattanooga community, and Tarius himself deserve justice. The SRO contract with Hamilton County Schools states that “SRO’s are not to be used as disciplinarians”, and yet Tyler McRae was allowed to act as the School Police disciplinarian.
(Swipe right to view full statement or visit https://bit.ly/StopTheViolence-Schools)
#nocopsinschools #accountabilitymatters #communitycontrolnow #JusticeforTauris
image: Zoe Berg