“Can we get an uprising to spread awareness about this black-on-black violence involving a police officer? Of course not. It doesn’t fit the narrative that white police officers are evil and those of color are guilty by association.”
A Delaware State Trooper was gunned down outside of a Wawa Convenience Store after approaching a suspicious vehicle that had been parked outside the store for an extended period of time. The vehicle—a Dodge Charger—contained two males. Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard was shot after the passenger stepped out of the vehicle and fired multiple rounds at the on-duty officer. The shooting took place just after noon on Wednesday. The shooter, identified as Burgon Sealy Jr., fled the scene in a Honda. The driver of the Charger was apprehended at the scene and subsequently released without charges. Sealy had prior gun offenses on his record.
According to eyewitnesses who rendered aid to Cpl. Ballard, the fallen officer was shot in the head. The situation reportedly escalated so quickly that there was no time to return fire. Cpl. Ballard later died in hospital. Sealy’s family alerted police of his whereabouts after he contacted them about the incident. A SWAT team and other armed officers were dispatched to Sealy’s residence, where he barricaded himself and began firing. After failed attempts to apprehend Sealy peacefully, he was shot and killed by officers.
Cpl. Ballard was an eight year veteran of the Delaware State Police; he had just gotten married earlier this year. He leaves behind a wife and a daughter. The fact that Cpl. Ballard was gunned down in broad daylight outside of a convenience store shows the very real danger law enforcement officers face on a daily basis. Not everything happens in a dark alley or in the mean streets of impoverished neighborhoods, and not all suspects raise red flags immediately. There were no indicators that deadly force would be necessary.
In the past few years, police officers have been vilified in the United States. While social justice warriors everywhere attempt to delegitimize police officers, brave men like Cpl. Ballard risk their lives protecting and serving the people. Luckily, Sealy’s family notified authorities, or the situation could have been much worse. The amount of time police officers have to react can be the difference between life and death. While the “F*** the police” rhetoric pervades groups protesting “injustice,” law enforcement continues to protect them. They don’t take a break from the job their tasked with. Police officers stand idly by and watch an entire generation of entitled brats protest Pepsi for depicting police and citizens coming together in a TV commercial.
It must be a hard-knock life sitting on social media looking for something to be offended by. Oh, it’s also worth mentioning that Burgon Sealy Jr. and Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard were both black men. Can we get an uprising to spread awareness about this black-on-black violence involving a police officer? Of course not. It doesn’t fit the narrative that white police officers are evil and those of color are guilty by association.
