Since October, the Coalition for Black Liberation at Ohio State University has been keeping a list of people of color killed by law enforcement. Now the group added a new name: Abdul Razak Ali Artan. That should sound familiar. He’s the student who went on a stabbing rampage at the school in late November, injuring eleven. A campus police officer shot and killed him, and the group says it’s actually an example of law enforcement going too far. That’s why they held a rally on Wednesday.
Yesterday, Abdul Razak Ali Artan’s name was added to student group’s list of people of color killed by police https://t.co/1kHeiOvd7v pic.twitter.com/qxx2n9OQbB
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) December 8, 2016
Senior Maryam Abidi read a eulogy in front of the group that gathered near the Ohio State University library on Wednesday afternoon. She said of the list, which now includes Artan:
“In some cases, the deceased may have committed acts of violence against others before they were killed,” she said, according to The Lantern. “Perhaps they were domestic abusers. Perhaps they threatened or killed others. This possibility is not something to shy away from. The protest against police brutality extends to the innocent and the guilty alike because we know that no matter the crime, justice and due process don’t come from a cop’s bullet.”
“You can understand where an act of violence comes from without condoning that act of violence,” English Professor Pranav Jani told the outlet.
The attack has garnered political fuel for gun ownership advocates. Both the state Senate and House recently passed a bill that will allow licensed people to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. It’s just up to Governor John Kasich to sign it. However, there’ some opposition. The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police has actually criticized it.
