It’s time for a nuanced conversation about justice.

TW: sexual violence, racial violence mention

Let’s start with an uncomfortable reality: The violence and brutality of white supremacy isn’t just reserved for intrinsically good people.

On Friday morning at 2 a.m., two white men in their mid-thirities chased a couple as they left Copps Pizza. In their gold pickup with monster tires, plates removed, they attempted to ram the couple off of the road. They threw beer bottles at the couple’s car as they fled. And when the couple pulled into a well-lit parking lot, the pickup followed, pulling back before running over the Black man.

As of Saturday evening, the police still had not sought to view the surveillance footage of the parking lot where it happened. They didn’t call an ambulance, even though the survivor was clearly, visibly injured. They didn’t try to find the pickup, even though they arrived quickly enough that the assailants were likely still in the area. Witnesses provided detailed descriptions of the pickup and the direction it was headed, as well as descriptions of the men who were driving it. They told the girlfriend that she couldn’t leave until the Crime Lab arrived, which it never did. They also failed to collect other witness accounts, or even talk to the manager of the restaurant where the incident took place. Until the story went viral, the police didn’t even contact the survivor about the case.

Since then, we’ve found out that the survivor is a predator. We have found out that, according to the 16-year-old girl he abused, he confined and repeatedly raped her. And that is disgusting. A human doing that to another human is vile.

I believe survivors. Period.

I also recognize that horrible people are still targets of white supremacy, just like any person could be the target of sexual trafficking, exploitation and violence.

At the end of the day, OPD didn’t do their jobs. At the end of the day, someone ran over a Black man, and has yet to be charged, because they haven’t even done a basic investigation. They haven’t collected evidence – like the surveillance video. They haven’t taken any evidence from the scene. They didn’t try to track down the assailants. They. Have. Done. Nothing.

Erick Mills is a convicted pedophile. He is also the victim of attempted murder. And our police department, with its hundreds of millions of dollars funding almost 900 police officers, can’t find one easily identifiable truck. We are paying them to fumble investigation after investigation. And while we need to prioritize a frank come-to-Jesus moment about the people who we advocate for, we also need to continue to advocate for justice being served. This is what a just system is supposed to entail.