Missouri Police Ignored Abduction Of Black Woman Until Escape

Source: SOPA Images / Getty

At this point, we don’t really have any expectation that police departments give a damn about whether or not Black folks are safe in their neighborhoods. If you’re confused as to why we feel that way, read this story…

An ABCNews article states that police in Excelsior Springs, Missouri are currently taking heavy fire from the public after initially dismissing reports about the abduction of a Black woman. A month ago, a nonprofit group called The Kansas City Defender (TKCD) began posting TikTok videos alleging that Black women were being targeted by a local serial killer in the area. TKCD said that four girls had already been killed and three others had disappeared.

Here’s how the police responded:

After the video went viral, Kansas City Police Department spokesperson Donna Drake said in a statement there was “no basis to support this rumor,” describing the reports as “completely unfounded,” The Kansas City Star reported.

That was how they carried it until the 22-year-old escaped the basement and desperately knocked on a neighbor’s door wearing lingerie, a metal collar with a padlock attached, and duct tape around her neck. She told the neighbor that her friends “didn’t make it”, intimating that they were killed.

Shortly after her escape, 39-year-old Timothy M. Haslett was arrested. The woman said she had been restrained by her feet and ankles and was repeatedly whipped. She was only able to escape after Haslett took his child to school.

Can you imagine what this woman and her friends went through? They suffered while police put their fingers in their ears and went about their day…