Kevin Brown did not deserve to die on June 3. But if the relationship between Austin residents and the Austin Police Department is to improve, we must remember something - Kevin Brown had the power to prevent his death.
Here's what the public knows about the case, which is still under investigation: Austin police Sgt. Michael Olsen fatally shot 25-year-old Kevin Brown after police were called to Chester's Nightclub during the early morning hours of Sunday, June 3. APD was sent to the club after a security guard spotted a man with a gun. It is not known if that man was Kevin Brown. There is also a video, taken the morning of Brown's death, that shows Brown fleeing from police as officers yell, "Stop!"
Brown's situation could be compared to that of a drunk driver, because there was an inherent risk in his action. If someone takes the wheel while intoxicated, that person doesn't deserve to die. It's a mistake that many people have made, myself included. But if one gets hurt while driving drunk, it's important to realize that he or she had the power to prevent the accident by not driving that car. And Kevin Brown could have avoided his death by cooperating with police.
That doesn't mean that Brown is to blame for his death. Several issues have to be addressed by the Austin Police Department. Does APD need to do a better job of evaluating its officers? Olsen had been suspended in the past for using excessive force. Was there a better way to stop Brown from fleeing custody? Austin police officers carry Taser guns to apprehend people without killing them. Does APD have to review its policies regarding the use of force? These are some of the questions that need to be answered in the investigation of Brown's death.
But the shooting has called attention to an issue bigger than one man's death - the growing tension between APD and members of the city, particularly minorities and East Austin residents.
I won't pretend to be a voice for East Austin or the minority community. During my six years in Austin, I've never lived outside of West Campus, and one look at my picture at the top of this column will show you that I'm whiter than Clay Aiken. However, I have met a woman who makes a great voice for the people who are disenchanted with the police department.
After growing up in Austin in the 1950s, Mae Marion spent the majority of her adult life in Detroit, Mich., before moving back to Austin five years ago. She has been involved with numerous organizations in the community, including the NAACP and the Black Women's Caucus. She told me that her grandson was a pallbearer at Kevin Brown's funeral. I met Mae at the Palmer Events Center last Tuesday, during the open forum between citizens and police chief candidates.
"[The cops] need more training. They don't know how to handle different nationalities," Mae told me. "They just think because you're black you don't know what you're doing. I don't understand it."
Mae would prefer to see cops walking the streets, like they did when she grew up in Austin.
"They got more involved, and they went to the churches. They would try to talk to people, the youth especially."
Mae also said that Olsen could have tried to shoot Brown in the leg, which is a difficult point to dispute.
But it's also difficult to argue with Art Acevedo's logic. Austin's new police chief told Mae, myself and about a dozen other people at last Tuesday's meeting that "the streets are not the place to argue with the cops."
The relationship between cops and citizens is like any relationship - it's a two-way street and there are different paths to take along that street. Pointing fingers and assigning blame always leads to a dead end. If everyone involved in the relationship learns from past mistakes, then they can move in the right direction. Citizens need to cooperate with police, and police need to improve their standing in the community. If we fail to accept these facts, the death of 25-year-old Kevin Brown will have been in vain.
Urbanski is a journalism senior.
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