Police Watch Man Stroke to Death? Call It 'Public Safety'
Kingsley Fifi Bimpong, a postal worker, died from a massive stroke in police custody after hours of being ignored, even as he writhed in his own urine. The Independent frames this as a lawsuit against 'police and jail staff.' What’s omitted is that such indifference is a systemic outcome of an overfunded carceral system that routinely dehumanizes those in its charge. While politicians endlessly
debate funding for systems that brutalize, essential public services like the Postal Service are under constant threat of budget cuts. When billions are allocated for perpetual warfare or surveillance technologies, one might wonder why basic human care and accountability for those in state custody remain so consistently neglected. How many 'public safety' budgets does it take for actual public
safety to be, well, safe?