Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha admits to ‘fear and distrust towards police’
The Real Salt Lake star concedes he does not feel “100 per cent safe” living in the United States
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Your support makes all the difference.Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha admits he has ”a fear and distrust towards police” and that he does not feel “100 per cent safe” in the United States.
Onuoha is now playing for Utah-based Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer following a six-year spell with QPR.
Widespread protests across 75 American cities have taken place in recent weeks following the tragic death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck.
And Onuoha has revealed his experience in the United States has left him unable to feel ”100 per cent safe”.
“I am always very wary of how I behave and how it could be viewed by people who have power,” Onuoha, 33, told BBC Radio 5 Live. “For me personally, overall I don’t like to say it but I have a fear and distrust towards police.”
Onuoha is also aware of his behaviour in his new home and conscious of the potential ramifications should the police “read him wrong”.
“In the UK, I am more comfortable because if something happens it probably will not be deadly – but over here because of their rights it is more common that altercations become deadly. I am always very aware of that whenever I go around anywhere,” Onuoha added.
“I am comfortable but when it comes to any kind of brutality, if it’s from the police, if they read me the wrong way then my life could be taken. I feel that every single day. It is not just me but everybody else as well.
“I am not trying to be overly critical to the police, there are plenty of good police officers out there, but sometimes I feel like people put police on a pedestal and make them seem superhuman.
“But the fact is over here they are just people from society with a badge and a gun and a lot more power.
“If you worry about the man next door, why would you not worry about the person patrolling the streets who now has more power, more guns but the same views? I never go out and feel 100 per cent safe.”
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