Black Americans are in the midst of 2 pandemics -- COVID-19 and the systemic racism that took root 401 years ago ... so says civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Ben joined "TMZ Live" on Thursday and didn't mince words ... saying there's a hypocritical justice system when it comes to how Black Americans are treated, and the fatal shooting of Dijon Kizzee in L.A. is just the latest evidence.
Kizzee's family has hired Crump, who says he's assembling a "dream team" of attorneys to push the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. for more evidence. As you know, home security footage shows deputies firing on Kizzee at least 15 times as he was running away from them.
Crump finds Kizzee's death especially outraging because Kyle Rittenhouse killed 2 protesters in Kenosha, and was still able to walk right by police while brandishing his firearm.
He says it's a clear sign of the systemic racism Black Americans have faced since 1619 ... the first year African slaves were brought to American soil. You've gotta see his take on what he's now calling "COVID-1619."
Crump, who also reps Breonna Taylor's family, is baffled by the fact the L.A. County Sheriff's deputies were not wearing body cams ... but he's thankful that, especially in L.A., cameras are always rolling.
Today @LASDHQ received our first shipment of Body Worn Cameras. We will begin training our personnel and deployment will occur next month. This will help strengthen our bonds of trust and bring increased transparency. pic.twitter.com/ZfVHQ6nyEH
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) September 2, 2020
Ironically, or perhaps tragically ... the L.A.S.D. finally just got its first shipment of body cams, and says they'll now be fitted on deputies.