Angela-Underwood Jacobs, whose brother Dave Patrick Underwood was killed recently in the line of duty during a riot in Oakland, California, asked Congress where the outrage was over her brother’s death.
Underwood, 53, was a federal officer for the Department of Homeland Security and was guarding a federal courthouse in Oakland when he was shot multiple times by an unidentified person in a vehicle. It was most likely a targeted attack on police officers, according to Oakland Police. The FBI is currently investigating the incident.
“The heartbreak, and the grief, is unexplainable because it’s very very hard to articulate when your entire world has been turned upside down,” she said during her Congressional testimony Wednesday.
“I do want to know, though, when I think about all of this, that 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?” (RELATED: Are States Going To Prosecute Their Rioters? It Depends)
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Underwood died during one of the many riots that have swept the nation following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody. Rioters have destroyed property, looted businesses, and assaulted police officers.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said it appears that the shooting which resulted in Underwood’s death “was part of a targeted attack on federal law enforcement.”
“As a nation, as a people, we must come together to defeat fear, hate, prejudice, and violence,” Jacobs said during her testimony. “I was to ensure the memory of my brother, Patrick, is a catalyst against injustice, intolerance, and violence of any kind.”
She extended sympathy to George Floyd’s family, saying that his “murder was not just cruel, and reprehensible, but criminal,” and that “the officers involved should be brought to justice and held accountable for their actions.”
George Floyd’s brother, Terrence, has said he supports the protests over his brother’s death but not the riots. He called for peaceful protests, saying that his brother would not have been in favor of destruction.
“I wish that same justice for my brother, Patrick, who served with distinction and honor as a federal officer for the Department of Homeland Security, until he was murdered, anonymously, by blind violence on the steps of the federal courthouse in Oakland California,” Jacobs told Congress.
“America is in pain, and she is crying,” Jacobs said. “I am here to seek justice through the chaos for my brother Patrick, for George Floyd, for citizens of all colors, for the communities across America, and for the police officers that protect those communities and their citizens every day.”
The violent riots have taken the lives of at least 12 police officers so far.
“The actions of a few are dividing us as a nation,” she told Congress. “We will never solve generational and systemic injustice with looting, burning, destruction of property, and killing in the name of justice.”
“This is greater than a black, white or blue issue. It is a humanity issue.”