Jesse Williams asks police officer why so many black students are arrested in Florida
As part of an upcoming series called America Divided, the Grey’s Anatomy star asks an officer to respond to the ‘alarming’ numbers
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Your support makes all the difference.Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams questioned a police officer on the “alarming” number of black students who are arrested compared to white students in Florida.
The interview, as part of upcoming series America Divided, took place with Pinellas County officer Mike Hawkins.
Williams asked Hawkins to respond to numbers from the Southern Poverty Law Centre, which show that Pinellas is third in the state for the disproportionate number of arrests of black students. Pinellas County also arrests three times as many black students as in Miami, a city which has three times the number of students.
Mr Hawkins was one of two black officers in the force.
“That’s alarming, listening to that numbers,” Mr Hawkins responded, but did not take responsibility for the figures.
He described the system of trying to calm down students, including using a taser gun.
He said it was rare that an elementary school student would face charges.
Asked whether Mr Hawkins felt like a representative of his force, he said he was only a representative of himself and any other questions should be directed to his supervisor.
Williams, best known for his role as Dr Jackson Avery on the medical drama series, has become an outspoken advocate of racial equality. His Humanitarian Award acceptance speech at the BET awards was both widely praised and condemned.
“I'm here for all the incredible protestors, activists, attorneys, organisers that are sacrificing [an] incredibly great deal to be heard and get access to equal rights and justice in this country,” he said.
“[The BET Awards] recognising me is really recognising them in my view, and I think that means that we're getting traction.”
A petition following his speech to fire the actor gathered more than 19,000 signatures.
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