Against a backdrop of a now-familiar litany of acts of violence by the police against African Americans nationwide, the ACLU of Michigan is compelled to raise questions about the killing of 20-year-old Terrance Kellom by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Kellom’s Detroit home.
Foremost among those questions: Why was ICE involved in non-immigration law enforcement activity?
The ICE mission involves immigration enforcement, and answers must be provided about how and why a U.S. citizen found his way into the line of fire of an ICE firearm. Kellom, the target of a multi-agency fugitive apprehension task force that included ICE officers, was shot and killed by the agent as he emerged from the attic of his home. Although law enforcement officers claim Kellom was wielding a hammer when he was killed, Kellom's father, who was home when his son was slain, has vehemently denied that his son was armed in any way.
The unjustified use of deadly force by law enforcement officials has become the focal point of national mass unrest. As life slipped away from Terrance Kellom in Detroit, the City of Baltimore was melting amidst uncontrollable flames ignited by those enraged about the fate of Freddie Gray, yet another black youth who died in the custody of police.
Police violence against communities of color has long, deep historical roots. In Michigan in recent years, we've endured the slaying of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones by a SWAT officer in Detroit; the killing of Milton Hall by a firing squad of cops in Saginaw; the slaying of Aura Rosser in Ann Arbor by an officer who saw fit to shoot her with a gun while his partner used only a taser; and the wanton beating of motorist Floyd Dent in Inkster during a routine traffic stop.
But the gravity and extent of that violence has only recently become apparent to the broader society because of technology that records vivid, horrible images of killings and other acts of police brutality.
At a time when levels of frustration within communities victimized by police violence continue to grow, it is especially important for the law enforcement community to exercise appropriate restraint when contemplating the use of deadly force. In this case, the community needs an answer to the question of whether the killing of Terrance Kellom was unavoidable—and if not, whether as a fugitive he posed such an imminent risk of harm to the community that it was necessary for an ICE agent to kill him.
It becomes increasingly apparent that having the capacity and authority to use deadly force demands a special level of maturity, mental health and demonstrated responsibility. It demands as well transparency and accountability.
The ACLU of Michigan calls upon all law enforcement agencies in any way connected with the death of Mr. Kellom to not only respond to community questions about his death promptly, but to also take steps to ensure that law enforcement officers and agents are mentally and emotionally fit to carry deadly weapons, and on those occasions when deadly force is used improperly that law enforcement agencies are fully forthcoming with information and that their employees are held appropriately accountable for their actions.
By Mark Fancher, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan's Racial Justice Project
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