Last July, a University of Cincinnati police officer pulled over 43-year-old Samuel DuBose because he was missing a front license plate on his car. Usually this interaction would be routine, but for the unarmed DuBose, it ended with a fatal shot to the head.
Now, the New York Times reports that the University of Cincinnati has reached an agreement that includes an apology to the family from the school president, Santa Ono, a memorial on campus commemorating DuBose, $4.85 million to the family and free tuition for all of DuBoseâs children.
âDuBose’s death fueled demonstrations and intensified a debate on policing and race in the United States that helped lead to the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement,â Reuters reported.
DuBose’s fate wasnât the only event in Cincinnati to raise serious questions about uncalled-for police brutality against black Americans. According to the New York Times, âKelly Brinson, 45, a psychiatric patient, and Everette Howard, 18, a student, died in 2010 and 2011 after campus officers fired stun guns at them, according to lawsuits filed by their families.â
Also noted by the New York Times, âRaegan Brooks, 18, who served as the familyâs representative in the talks, said she was âvery comfortableâ with the settlement. Still, she added, âAt times I wanted to walk out because I felt like they were putting a price on my fatherâs life.ââ
“Weâre not happy, weâre not satisfiedâthose arenât the words,â Terina DuBose-Allen, DuBose’s sister, told Cincinnati.com. âThe settlement means weâre moving forward and we can heal.”
As humans and collegiettes, we must ask ourselves: Can money and free college tuition make inequality right?