“Hey LeBron James, just say ‘I got this one wrong'”: Los Angeles PD official’s open letter to the Lakers star implores him to issue apology for hasty Ma’Khia Bryant tweet

A Los Angeles police officer wrote an open letter to LeBron James, imploring him to issue a proper apology for his misinformed tweet last week.

Ma’Khia Bryant was a 16-year-old black girl living with foster parents. She was having an altercation with her older foster-siblings during a family get-together. When things got heated, someone called 911 and requested a police presence.

Tragedy struck when just as the cops arrived, Ma’Khia rushed at her siblings with a knife in hand. She had to be gunned down just as she was about to fiercely stab one of them.

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The controversies regarding this incident are quite a few. Could the officer not have tased Ma’Khia? Could he not have wrested the knife off her hands? Did he really have to fire 4 shots and kill her? However, instead of making a nuanced argument based on these and associated points, James went off.

It was the day of the Derek Chauvin verdict, and BLM supporters went into overdrive. James posted a picture of the cop involved in the Ma’Khia Bryant shooting on Twitter with the caption ‘You’re Next’. It clearly seemed to indicate James wanting the officer put on trial.

James was forced to delete his post after it became increasingly apparent that he hadn’t seen the body cam footage released by Columbus PD. This footage corroborates to how the officer had virtually no reaction time and still was able to save a life.

“LeBron James, just admit you got this one wrong”: LAPD officer on Fox News

Deon Joseph, an LA PD officer, wrote an impassioned Facebook post regarding LeBron’s reaction that day. He still hasn’t gotten a response for his eminently level-headed and fact-based letter from James. He went on Fox News to address this:

“If I do or don’t, I’m not going to lose any love for him. I think the work he does for children and charities is incredible. It’d be disappointing but if it inspires other people and their committee members start talking again, then that’s good with me.”

An LAPD officer took to Facebook Sunday to write a lengthy letter to LeBron James hoping the two can sit down together and talk about the realities of policing https://t.co/hmCf0mpAsq

— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) April 26, 2021

“If he doesn’t feel like, he doesn’t have to. I just thought it would be good if you know you’re wrong on an issue that you could at least say, ‘Hey I got this one wrong. Yes I want accountability, but this one I got wrong,'”

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About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

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