Written by Lakeisha Nix
Published without edit by NOCAP
Every time another person is killed by police, another family joins a club that nobody wants to be a part of.
And every single time, it tears open the wound of losing my brother, Lymond Moses.
People often ask, “Didn’t your family receive a settlement?”
Let me be absolutely clear.
A settlement was never the justice we sought.
It was never our choice to stop fighting for criminal accountability.
The only person with the authority to pursue criminal charges against the officers involved in Lymond’s death chose not to do so. That decision belonged to Attorney General Kathleen Jennings.
For two years, my family fought.
We protested.
We stood outside offices.
We stood outside homes.
We traveled to Washington, D.C., asking the federal government to intervene.
Our message never changed:
Charge the officers.
Let a jury hear the evidence.
Let justice take its course.
A civil settlement was simply the only remedy left after criminal accountability was denied.
That is not justice.
Justice means that no one is above the law.
When doctors commit criminal acts under the guise of providing medical care, they can lose their licenses and face prosecution when the evidence supports it. Yet when police officers violate the public trust, accountability too often stops where the badge begins.
That should concern every person in this country.
Even now, years later, I continue to call every month asking for Lymond’s case to be investigated and questioning the constitutionality of Delaware’s LEOBOR.
Today, my heart is with Kadir Skinner’s family.
I know their heartbreak.
I know their exhaustion.
I know what it feels like to realize that grieving your loved one is only the beginning. Then comes the fight against a system that too often protects itself before it protects the people.
But I also need people to understand something.
The fight against police violence cannot become something we only talk about when another life is lost.
We cannot trend for a week.
March for a weekend.
Post a hashtag.
Then move on until the next family is devastated.
That cycle has to end.
The murder of Jeremy McDole should have transformed Delaware’s approach to police accountability. Instead, too many families continue walking the same painful road.
The silence.
The delays.
The excuses.
The lack of accountability.
Enough.
And please stop comparing police killings to community gun violence.
I have lived through both.
Just weeks ago, my eldest bonus son, Jeran J. Taylor Jr., was shot and killed.
The grief is the same.
The empty chair is the same.
The sleepless nights are the same.
But the justice is not.
The person responsible for Jeran’s death will be investigated. If the evidence supports it, they will be arrested, prosecuted, and brought before a court.
I don’t have to fight for the system to recognize clear evidence. Or combat them trying to spin the story to fit the narrative of the guilty. Like I had to do for Lymond Moses. Like Jonda had to do for Yahim Harris. Like Keandra had to do for Jeremy McDole. & Now unfortunately like Kadir’s family has to do.
I know who killed my brother.
The officer involved was never criminally charged.
Never stood before a judge.
Never faced a jury.
That is not equal justice.
I truly hope that the status quo changes with Kadir Skinner and that the killer cop gets the book thrown at him.
This time they can’t say what we saw on camera wasn’t true. This time they have no ground to stand on to say we shouldn’t believe our eyes. Eyewitness testimony from folks who were there is powerful in so many cases. If they make attempts to weaken that, it will be a blatant show of the corruption we’re dealing with. I fear the response, the uprise that would come from that.
Today, I am calling on the Delaware General Assembly to stop responding with condolences and start responding with legislation and arrests!!!!
This upcoming legislative session must include meaningful police accountability reform.
Pass laws that strengthen officer decertification when serious misconduct is substantiated.
Remove unnecessary barriers that prevent criminal investigations and arrests when the evidence clearly demonstrates violations of law, departmental policy, gross negligence, or rogue misconduct.
Create accountability systems that restore public trust instead of protecting misconduct.
No one should wear a badge and be above the law.
Police officers who honor their oath should welcome accountability because accountability strengthens public trust. Those who abuse their authority should not be allowed to continue serving in law enforcement along side officers who have integrity simply because the system makes accountability nearly impossible.
How many more names?
How many more vigils?
How many more mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, spouses, and children have to bury someone they love before Delaware decides enough is enough?
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Justice denied becomes permission for history to repeat itself.
I refuse to accept that this is simply the cost of policing. I refuse to keep seeing rogue officers being protected and placed on pedestals, as super hero’s who made difficult decisions to protect and serve. The mirage is over. We see the truth.
Lymond mattered.
Jeremy mattered.
Kadir matters.
Yahim matters.
Every life taken unnecessarily matters.
And every family deserves more than sympathy.
Arrest the damn officer who murdered Kadir!
No justice! No peace!