This is an amazing story of social injustice, racism and trauma-uninformed criminal justice, from the police all the way through the
courts and probation. If you look at the world through a trauma-informed lens, this begs the question: Do our jails and courts really HAVE to be this way?
The cell was approximately 20 feet by 30 feet, and a large metal toilet platform occupied a quarter of the room. I stepped over several men lying on the floor and took the open seat adjacent to the platform. The toilet over me had no door and no partition, and the entire room had a view of sitting users. Feces and urine were caked onto the metal and smeared on the concrete next to me, which is why the seat was vacant.
Over the next 24 hours, I watched as men and women came and went, many with cuts, bruises, and welts. I asked several of them how they’d been injured, and they described fierce struggles with the police. One young man cradled what he reported was a broken wrist. Another pulled up his shirt and revealed three Taser burns. Yet another removed his fitted cap and pointed to a swollen knot on his head. I exchanged uncomfortable glances with the few other white men in the cellblock.
“Did they treat you like that?” I whispered.
“No, you?”
“No.” We held out our wrists to compare.
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