Black Lives Matter on Motorbike Accident: "Rogue Behavior by Vigilante Cops Not Acceptable"

Black Lives Matter on Motorbike Accident: "Rogue Behavior by Vigilante Cops Not Acceptable"

Black Lives Matter (BLM) has issued a statement on the motorbike accident in the City of Providence Sunday night, blaming the police for the hospitalization of a young man of color.

"This is exactly why we don’t need more cops in our community," said BLM. "More cops equates to more violence perpetrated on people of color."

On Sunday, hundreds of ATVs and dirt bikes -- which are illegal for use on city streets -- roamed neighborhoods in Providence, drawing the attention of police. 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The issue of ATVs in the city has dated back years.

In 2017, a mom in her car with young children expressed fear for her safety when a group of "close to 50" surrounded her vehicle -- and she said threatened her. 

"I'm frantic. There's tons just crowding around, I'm beeping the horn because of the hold up, and I'm on the phone with the police now," she said at the time. "A tall [man] on a dirt bike was next to my window as I was on the phone. I couldn't tell the police even where I was exactly, with one next to me, one in front of the car. What if they pulled out a gun?"

Earlier this month, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza touted the destruction of 33 impounded vehicles. 

BLM Statement

Mark Fisher with BLM issued the following statement Monday.

"This is exactly why we don’t need more cops in our community. More cops equates to more violence perpetrated on people of color. We need police reform. Current Law enforcement standards are so ridiculously under par that basic de-escalation tactics aren’t able to be implemented by the average police officer. 

Regular mental health evaluations need to be revisited. Retraining across the board is mandatory and an inevitable consequence of such consistent aggression by lawmen sworn to uphold the law. 

There’s a man in critical condition and in a coma due to an overzealous and under-trained police officer. This is a behavioral pattern that is far too common. If this had been a white kid there would be a collective furor aimed directly at such sloppy and reckless policing. 

This rogue behavior by vigilante beat cops is not acceptable. We are Black Lives Matter Rhode Island and we will keep holding law enforcement accountable even if they don’t have the same standard amongst themselves."