Black cop posts impassioned plea saying ‘I’m not Derek Chauvin – so why do you want to hurt me?’
A BLACK cop has hit back at anti-police protesters, asking demonstrators why they want to “hurt” or even “kill” him. Sadaka Kedar, an officer from Albany, New York, begged Americans to see he is nothing like Derek Chauvin – the ex-cop who killed George Floyd. In a viral Facebook post, Kedar wrote: “I am a […]
A BLACK cop has hit back at anti-police protesters, asking demonstrators why they want to “hurt” or even “kill” him.
Sadaka Kedar, an officer from Albany, New York, begged Americans to see he is nothing like Derek Chauvin – the ex-cop who killed George Floyd.
![The Albany cop shared his thoughts in a Facebook post](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/NINTCHDBPICT000589512538-e1592238507571.jpg?strip=all&w=936)
In a viral Facebook post, Kedar wrote: “I am a black man. I am a police officer. But I am not Derek Chauvin And I am not George Floyd. I am ME.”
Pushing back on common anti-police sentiments heard at Black Live Matters protests that ‘all cops are bad cops’ and America should ‘defund the police’, he continued:
“I am compassionate and I am caring, I have a very big heart….so why do you hate me?”
“I’ve given the socks off my feet to a homeless drunk who had no shoes; I’ve prevented a woman from going to jail for stealing laundry detergent by paying the store for it so they wouldn’t prosecute.”
“I’m a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a friend….so why do you want to hurt or kill me?”
Urging Americans to see police officers not as stereotypes but individuals, Kedar concluded his impassioned post:
“And there are many many more just like ME.”
The post follows weeks of tension between Black Lives Matter protesters and police, as demonstrators continue to march in the streets in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis.
Cellphone footage showed former officer Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, as Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”.
READ THE FULL POST
I am a black man
I am a police officer
But I am not Derek Chauvin
And I am not George Floyd
I am ME
I am compassionate and I am caring, I have a very big heart….so why do you hate me? – I’ve given the socks off my feet to a homeless drunk who had no shoes; I’ve prevented a woman from going to jail for stealing laundry detergent by paying the store for it so they wouldn’t prosecute, after I found the lady next door at a laundromat washing her children’s clothes – she was desperate and had no money; The other day an elderly mans car broke down on the side of a busy road and he had no phone, so I drove him to the gas station up the block and paid for his gas….
I’m a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a friend….so why do you want to hurt or kill me? – I’ve stepped in and arrested that man that assaulted your grandmother, he knocked her down and snatched her purse and we chased him down and took him to jail; A lady called 911 in a panic and told the dispatchers her 4 month old baby wasn’t breathing – we got there before the paramedics and started compressions – BY THE GRACE OF GOD that baby is now a happy little bright kindergartener; a crazed man began opening fire on a large crowd – in the mass hysteria of people running away – we ran towards the gunfire to stop it…..
I speak slang, instead of “Hello” I say “Whats Good Yo?”, some say I have an inner city accent, and I may not spell everything correctly or use perfect grammar…But why do you undermine me and assume I’m not smart and ignorant? – I have a high school and a college degree, I love to read books and I constantly do research to learn new skills; I graduated head of my police academy class and went on to become a course instructor for the department; I have spoken at public forums, community meetings and in news interviews – all very well articulated, clear and concise; I’ve put together evidence, facts and leads and helped solve and close cases…I AM BLACK AND I AM INTELLIGENT….
I listen to rap music, I wear baggie jeans and backwards fitteds off duty, and have tattoos all across my body….But why do you profile and stereotype me? – On Thanksgiving I volunteer with Equinox handing out dinners to families in need; Around Xmas time I bought hats, gloves and meal cards with my own money and handed them out – we also prepared hot meals and distributed them down by the City Mission and at a Senior Public Housing Building; I volunteer my own time as a youth mentor for PAL – and I love to visit schools and talk to the kids; I walk up and down these neighborhoods, I live in my community – I CARE ABOUT MY COMMUNITY….
I am ME….
I am not like Derek Chauvin
I WILL NEVER treat you like George Floyd
Why do you want to do this to ME
I would NEVER ever wish that upon YOU
And there are many many more just like ME
Chauvin has been charged with second and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
Last week George Floyd’s family announced they intend to sue Chauvin to hold him “fully accountable”.
Their attorney Benjamin Crump said they will be making Chauvin “fully accountable in every aspect, criminal and civil,” adding that urgent reforms to the US police departments were needed after Floyd’s death.