The murders of Jayaraj and Fenix in Kovilpatti, India reminded me and many others that police brutality is not an issue limited to one country, it is a global issue.
On June 19th, Jayaraj and his son Fenix were arrested by Sathankulam police for allegedly breaking Covid lockdown restrictions, by keeping their mobile store open too late, and talking back to the police. At Sathankulam police station, they suffered from intense sexual assault. Batons were forcefully shoved into their anuses until they bled uncontrollably, their genitals were mutilated, their hair was ripped out of their skin in patches, and they were beaten and kicked repeatedly. The police did not even take them to hospital, but rather called their family to take them, as they did not want to ruin the seats of their Jeep due to the sheer amount of blood. When family members came to the station to take the men to the hospital, they were horrified to see the men soaked in blood. Four days later, both Jayaraj and Fenix died due to their injuries.
This is not justice nor do any of their crimes warrant this type of reaction. No crime by anyone should warrant this type of reaction. This is yet another example of the police abusing their power in order to humiliate, dominate, scare, and kill the people they have sworn to protect. The police do not have the power to punish people as they see fit, they just enforce the law. Who are people supposed to go to if they need protection, but they can’t even trust the people who are supposed to protect them? This should not be a question anyone has to ask. But people ask it all over the world.
In Canada, Mona Wang was subject to police brutality. She was dragged face first, while unconscious. The officer stepped on her head giving her multiple injuries when all she should have received was a health check.
In the United States, several black men and women have died due to police brutality stemming from systemic racism. George Floyd was killed for allegedly using a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. Elijah McClain was killed while walking home. Breonna Taylor was killed while sleeping.
All of their lives matter and were worth so much more. We can’t accept police brutality as normal anymore.
When we hear and see the story of Jayaraj and Fenix, we are intensely angered and saddened to see our own people being treated this way. We want to retaliate and fight back. And we will. Jayaraj and Fenix will not die in vain. The five police officers involved have been arrested and that’s the first step towards justice. But what about those whose stories we’ve never even heard? Those who suffered and lost their lives but never got justice?
That is why police reform is needed, not only in India, but everywhere. Cops are not trained long enough to have the responsibilities they do, and when they receive power, they tend to abuse it.
We need more accountability and transparency. Many communities don’t trust their local law enforcement because officers barely face any consequences. To help this issue, we need improved data collection and reporting practices. Perhaps a federal database which tracks crimes committed by law enforcement. We need to improve training for police officers so that they don’t use as much force, and they dismantle situations, instead of reacting to them. Other countries have seen success from these methods. Cops in Norway require 3 years of training and 4 people have been killed since 2002. Cops in Finland require 2 years of training and 7 people have been killed since 2000. Cops in Iceland require 2 years of training and only 1 person has been killed since ever. Meanwhile in the United States, cops require 21 weeks of training and 8,000+ people have been killed since 2001. In India, 1,700 people died in police custody just in 2019.
I am not an expert on what needs to be done, but I know people need to stop dying. We must spread awareness and demand more from our officials. We must sign petitions, vote, and not let our cries be silenced.
We will fix the system which has failed us because Jayaraj, Fenix, Mona, Elijah, George, Breonna, and so many others, deserved better.
- Kanmani