Hakeem Kuta was seventeen years old. He had no arrest record. For a boy his age, living where he does, that means everything. He was out and about with a fourteen year old friend when the police pursued him on based on a report of teens smoking marijuana. 

I have a lot of questions having to do with the common sense and caution used in cases like these. But first, as reported in the New York Times, it was announced, back in November 2014, that:

“People found with small amounts of marijuana would be issued court summonses and be allowed to continue on their way without being handcuffed and taken to station houses for fingerprinting.”

The announcement was a part of Mayor de Blasio’s effort to end Stop and Frisk policies.

So, with that in mind, one wonders why, when those boys were on the roof, why were officers even dispatched on such a call? Why did these NYPD officers even bother with a pursuit? Even if the officers didn’t somehow get the memo about the change in policy in marijuana arrests which, granted, is a very far stretch, did common sense not dictate that the circumstances were far too risky given the type of  offense?  I mean, is smoking weed worth risking someone’s life?

At what point do any of these cops learn that sometimes, you just have to let go?

This is a case of the same reckless disregard for life by many cops in police forces around the nation. This is a failure at the recruitment and training stages in police academies. Cops who aren’t smart enough and flexible enough to make common sense decisions should not be allowed to work in public-facing positions.

This child should not be dead. He had a whole life to look forward to.

RIP, Hakeem Kuta!

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Bronx teen dies after falling six stories while running from police

A 17-year-old boy died on Saturday from injuries he sustained falling six stories from a New York City building rooftop as he tried to escape police investigating a report of teenagers smoking marijuana, law enforcement said.

Hakeem Kuta, of the Bronx, died Saturday morning after being in critical condition for nearly two days, police said.

Click here to read the rest on RawStory.com

Kuta fell from a roof ledge as he and a 14-year-old friend attempted to escape police, who repeatedly told the teens to stop and “relax,” a spokesman for the New York City Police Department said.