Unfortunately in America, hearing about an African American falling victim to police brutality is a regular part of our society. However, hearing that a celebrity actually was brutalized by the po-po’s isn’t necessarily unheard of, but it isn’t by far as frequent as a non-celebrity enduring such injustice.
That brings us to Michael Jackson and the interview he did with renowned TV journalist, Michael Radutzky, where he exposed how the cops who arrested him during the initial investigation for child abuse charges- which he won.
Michael says he then endured one very real aspect of being a Black man in America- police brutality, without any justice on top of that. He even provided a photo of the major swelling and discolored bruise marks on his forearm to further prove his point.
Watch Michael Jackson Full Interview Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDjjnB-4_UE
MJ On Police Trying To Belittle Him
It was also reported, in that same interview, that the Santa Barbara police department’s documents included statements from the teen accuser, where he reportedly initially admitted that MJ did not sexually abuse him. Yet they still arrested MJ. Then Jackson was asked about what he experienced from police during the criminal investigation and that’s when things really got bad:
“They did it to try to belittle me, to try take away my pride. But I went through the whole system with them and I wanted the public to know that I was okay, even though I was hurting. They were supposed to go in and just take fingerprints and do the whole thing that they do when they take somebody taken in. They manhandled me very roughly. My shoulder is dislocated literally, it’s hurting me very badly. I’m in pain all the time.”
Photo Of Bruises MJ’s Said He Suffered While In Police Custody
Michael then became a little choked up when stating what the cops reportedly did to his body:
“If you saw what they [the police] did to my arms *sighs*…it was very bad what they did…you’ll see,” referring to the bruised photo he later shared with the show.
MJ said that the cops purposely put the handcuffs very tightly around his back in a position that they knew would hurt him. He also said they treated him like dirt at the county jail.
“One time I asked if I could use the restroom, they said ‘sure it’s right around the corner over there.’ They locked me in for like, 45 minutes. There was doo-doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floors, the ceilings, and it stunk so bad. And one time a policeman came by the window, he made a sarcastic remark, he said ‘Does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell, is it good?’And I just simply said ‘It’s alright, it’s okay.’ So I just sat there and waited….for about 45 minutes. Then another cop would come out and say, ‘Oh you’ll be out in a second, you’ll be out in a second. Then another 10 minutes would be added on, then another 5 minutes are added on. They did this on purpose.”
Damn, that was messed up, based on MJ’s claims, it’s clear to see that he gained a firsthand view of just how jacked up the legal system in America can oftentimes be, in regards to the disregard of people of color. Rest on MJ.
