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San Francisco Police Department
"I know Craig was no angel, but he didn’t deserve to die like he did. That’s what we deal with on a daily basis in my neighborhood."
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By Elmer Clark
Youth Radio’s Elmer Clark brings to light the story of how the San Francisco Police Department played a role in the death of his friend and considers it to be a slap in the face. “Police say Craig was resisting arrest and they had to subdue him, but they won’t say how they did it.”
Recently, my friend Craig Holden was pulled over in San Francisco for a minor traffic violation. He died about an hour and a half later, in police custody. He was only 22 years old, and had recently gotten married and started a family.
I talked to witnesses who were on the scene at the time of the arrest, and they say police reportedly “choked Craig out” – put two fingers down his throat to make him cough up any substances he may have ingested before the arrest.
Police say Craig was resisting arrest and they had to subdue him, but they won’t say how they did it.
Craig’s death was like a slap in the face: Only three weeks ago, my co-worker and I organized a community forum in Berkeley on police/youth relations.
I know Craig was no angel, but he didn’t deserve to die like he did. That’s what we deal with on a daily basis in my neighborhood. Society rarely views us as victims - even though many people in my community, including myself, see Craig as a victim of police violence and neglect.
For me, hearing about a patna’ dying or getting shot is as common as hearing some new Jordans just came out. But unlike Jordans, Craig is never coming back. We can’t look forward to a newer version of him coming out ever again. The pain his family is feeling is unworldly.
And I still have a question for the arresting officers: why does it seem like the San Francisco Police Department often resorts to violence as the first choice in dealing with young men of color?
If Craig had been arrested for murder, I bet he’d have been the top story on the evening news. But because he died under police supervision, his life is now just an article in a reporter’s portfolio. The media and the public will never know how much Craig’s life meant to him, to me, and to all his loved ones.
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