Sister’s plea:
A woman asks Congress to “make a change” to honor her brother, killed in Oakland protests.
WASHINGTON — The sister of David Patrick Underwood, the federal security guard shot and killed last month in Oakland, remembered him before Congress on Wednesday as a kind soul who protected others and urged that lawmakers take action to “make a change” in his honor.
“Patrick was a good man who only wanted to help others and keep his community safe. He had an infectious laugh and a corny sense of humor,” Angela Underwood Jacobs told a House hearing on racial profiling and police brutality. “He would go out of his way to help family, friends and strangers. He did not deserve to die in such a horrendously inhumane way.”
Jacobs testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing paving the way for legislation to reform policing in the U.S. in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Jacobs, who was introduced and invited by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, testified alongside Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd.
Underwood, 53, of Pinole, was killed May 29 while working as a contract security officer for the Department of Homeland Security guarding the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland. A colleague was also shot and injured.
The shooting took place while protests over Floyd’s death and police brutality were happening blocks away. Officials say the shooter fired from a vehicle in a targeted attack. They are looking for a white van in connection with the shooting.
Jacobs said her brother set an example Americans should follow.
“How my brother died was wrong, and I’m praying that we learn something about how he lived,” Jacobs said. “When our mother fell to the ground as she was dying, he picked her lifeless body up as her spirit was leaving to place her upon her bed because that’s where she wanted to die. My question is: Who will pick up Patrick and carry his legacy?”
Her emotional testimony followed that of Philonise Floyd, who also remembered his brother’s legacy. George Floyd, a black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder, and three fellow officers who did not intervene have been charged with aiding and abetting the death. Floyd’s killing spurred weeks of international protest over racism and police brutality.
“The man who took his life, who suffocated him for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, he still called him ‘sir’ as he begged for his life,” Philonise Floyd said of his brother. “I can’t tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you looked up to your entire life, begging for his mom?
“I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now, and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason.”
Philonise Floyd and Jacobs both implored members of Congress to take action that might give their brothers’ deaths meaning.
Noting that Minneapolis police were arresting his brother for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill, Philonise Floyd said, “George wasn’t hurting anyone that day. He didn’t deserve to die over $20. I’m asking you, is that what a black man’s worth, $20? Today is 2020.”
He added, “I couldn’t take care of George the day he was killed, but maybe by speaking with you today, I can help make sure that his death isn’t in vain. To make sure that he is more than another face on a Tshirt. More than another name on a list that won’t stop growing.”
House Democrats convened the hearing to build support for legislation to reform policing that they have proposed. It would encourage local governments to conduct independent investigations of police abuse, remove some civilliability immunity for officers who commit misconduct, set higher standards for police before they use deadly force, and ban choke holds and carotid holds, among other elements.
Republicans have criticized Democrats for not consulting with them before introducing the package, though some of the bills were bipartisan when they were crafted.
Jacobs was one of the witnesses invited to testify by Republicans. She is a former Republican candidate for Congress and former member of Lancaster City Council in Los Angeles County. She suggested several policy prescriptions, arguing that inequalities in housing, jobs and education are the key to root causes of injustice in America.
She also criticized looting and rioting, and urged Americans to “resolve conflict with kindness and love.”
Later in the hearing, a lawmaker gave Jacobs time to share what she’d been thinking as she listened to proceedings. She said she has had “the talk” with her son — a reference to the conversation black parents have with their children about how to safely interact with police. She noted that she sat “at somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum” from Philonise Floyd, but also had “so much commonality” with him. And she urged Congress to act.
“My brother wore a uniform, and he wore that uniform proudly. I’m wondering, where is the outrage for a fallen officer that also happens to be African American?” Jacobs said. “I truly hope that you take your positions, your offices so seriously that you want to go back and really work together and collaborate, because if you can’t get it right, there’s no hope for the rest of us.”