The news says the curfew’s coming down at midnight, preventing people from being out late. So what’s different about that? They’re always patrolling. Always ready to roll up on guys like me. I know how to duck and cover. Screw ’em. I have things to say.

I paint the dog thing:

RULES FOR DOGCATCHERS:
STUN GUNS ONLY, GENTLE TOUCH

RULES FOR POLICING BLACK COMMUNITIES:
SHOOT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER

After the fact, my fingers are ink-stained. A hole in my glove I didn’t notice. Steve will blow a fit if he catches the stain on me. He doesn’t know it’s written all over me already. Indelible.

Anyway, I’m not going home. Not yet.

I want to see what goes down. I want to paint it.

Put my mark on the world.

OFFICER YOUNG

They’re coming for us. Dressed in red and black, the colors of the 8-5 Kings. A handful of Kings lead the protest, and they’ll stay out walking and chanting past curfew. There is heavy media coverage and citizen journalism. We are instructed to discharge a weapon only in the event of very last possible resort. The reminder echoes in the back of my mind. Because, isn’t that always true? Isn’t that what we’re taught in the first place?

I know how to do my job. Shooting is always the very last possible resort. This is how we live. They remind us anyway. Firing into a crowd is dangerous. We are being filmed.

The street teems with angry people carrying signs. First Amendment. Chanting:

“Unarmed! Not a threat! Unarmed! Not a target!”

Unarmed … so they say.

I’m scrolling, I’m scanning. Faces and bodies and hands. Looking for weapons. The glint of screens in the darkness comes from everywhere. Glint after glint.

My fingers itch toward my gun. No, toward my baton, which I will reach for first. I’m committed to that. No mistakes.

My heart races. It is hard to remember to swallow.

I have a shield. A vest. A helmet. A baton. A gun. They have to go through a lot to get to me. They won’t get there.

I’m scrolling, I’m scanning. Glint after glint.

Twenty minutes to go. The crowd will thin. It will. When the curfew hits, anyone who remains gets arrested.

@UnderhillSCORE: We don’t retreat. We don’t back down. We demand answers. We demand our rights. #TodayForShae #TomorrowForAll

@TroubleInRiverCty: Shae Tatum’s crime: running while black. #convicted

@Momof6: I feel sad for police officers working today. This is the treatment they get for trying to serve and protect?

@Momof6: Do what you’ve gotta do down there in #Underhill, fellas. We’ve got your back.

@Momof6: Respecting cops is the law. Right to protest be damned. #BlueLivesMatter

@Viana_Brown: The world is on fire. Stay safe out there, friends. #TodayForShae #TomorrowForAll