Vigil marks Terrence Sterling's 32nd birthday at 3rd and M sts

On September 11, 2016, MPD officer Brian Trainer shot Terrence Sterling off his motorcycle at 3rd and M st NW. Ever since a memorial to him has been maintained at the site, and Black Lives Matter protests took place there for months therafter. On July 31, 2017, Terrence Sterling would have turned 32 if he had not been murdered by police. Marking the occasion, his family and friends held a vigil at 3ed and M sts.

Several speakers pointed out that Terrence Sterling was known for working long hours, sometimes at multiple jobs rather than doing any of the things people do on the street for money. That didn't keep DC police from shooting through their car's open window to blow him off his motorcycle.

One speaker contrasted the lack of consequences for MPD officer Brian Trainer and his partner to the Minnesota shooting of a white woman by a Black police officer who is also a Muslim. Brian Trainer is on leave, but efforts to prosecute him seem to be on endless delay. By comparison the situation in Minnesota forced the police chief from his job as well as Officer Mohamud Noor, the officer who shot and killed Justine Damond. He is Black, Somoli and a Muslim, she was white. For that reason and only for that reason, officer Mohamud Noor is probably as likely to go to prison as officer Brian Trainer is to walk.

In Minnesota, reversing the colors of a killer cop and his victim has caused a total uproar. Public outrage and strong action over that brutal killing is absolutely necessary and justified. The problem is that had a white cop shot and killed a Black Somali Muslim who dialed 911 to report a possible crime, the mainstream press would be silent and far-right media like Breitbart would be siding with the cop and not his victim. Killer cops are killer cops, and what is right for Justine Damond is right for Terrence Sterling. Neither killer cop should be allowed to get away with murder.