Review of "In His Own Home," a documentary by Unbeliever Productions

Review of

In His Own Home, a documentary by Unbeliever Productions

Five out of five stars

 One night on the campus of the University of Florida, the apartment of Ghanian doctoral student Kofi Adu-Brempong was forcibly entered by police. There are conflicting accounts as to what took place, but the end result was that a white officer shot Adu-Brempong twice with an assault rifle. Although he was seriously injured and could no long teach, he was able to recover enough to complete his doctoral degree.

 Adu-Brempong contracted polio when he was younger and was unable to walk without a cane. The police were there in response to a 911 call from a tenant in a neighboring apartment that reported shouting emanating from Adu-Brempong’s apartment. The shooting was considered justified by the police and their reviewing agencies, yet was widely viewed as unjustified by the majority of the residents of the campus. There were widespread protests by students and faculty over the issue.

 As is clear from this video, the case is ambiguous, because only the police that entered the apartment and Adu-Brempong know what really happened. A bystander filmed the police actions outside the building and they clearly went in with guns drawn shortly after they arrived. As would be expected, the police claimed that he resisted, even to the point where his being tasered had no effect on him.

 The video is fairly neutral in that it reports both sides of the dispute and based on that there is still reasonable doubt that the shooting was justified. However, two points outside the incident raise questions about the officer that pulled the trigger. Some time before this incident, that officer was disciplined with others for driving through a prominently black neighborhood and throwing eggs at the citizens. Some time after the shooting incident that same officer was dismissed from the force after he roughed up a white man driving a Mercedes. A third point is that the University of Florida paid out a significant settlement to Adu-Brempong. 

https://www.amazon.com/His-Own-Home-Various/dp/B0762JBFL1