The name Chinedu Valentine Okobi rings a bell. This is because he has become the latest black man to die by the hands of policemen in the United States of America.

The deputies claim that he was running in and out of traffic in San Francisco when the unarmed Okobi “struggled” with a deputy who called on four others. He was tased as he was been taken into custody. It was after he was taken to the hospital that they confirmed him dead.

His sister, Ebele Okobi, Head of Policy for @Facebook in Africa and former Senior Legal Director for Human Rights at Yahoo has written a note to her brother describing him as her

 

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Today, I need ALL HANDS ON DECK. I am dedicating the next 24 hours to telling one essential story that I need to make sure you know, learn, understand, and share. Are you with me? The rest of my Instagram posts for the next 24 hours will tell a story. It will be best if you read them together. This is Ebele Okobi. She’s brilliant. Everybody who knows her, thinks so. Often called “the Secretary of State” at Facebook, she is the Head of Public Policy for Africa at the company. She previously served as the Global Head and Senior Legal Director for Human Rights at Yahoo. She’s a Delta. She got her undergraduate degree in Psychology at USC and her law degree at Columbia. She was a pioneering leader at Nike. In other words, she’s badass. On Saturday, I spoke to her for the very first time and it was one of the most painful phone calls I’ve had in my entire life. Her wonderful little brother, Chinedu Valentine Okobi, a 36 year father, was just murdered by police in the Bay Area of California. Of course, he was unarmed. He was a sweet, gregarious soul. Chinedu was my Morehouse brother. I was his Student Government President. He was friends with many men I know well. When I got on the phone with his sister, Ebele, on Saturday, she said something to me that my own wife has said to me many, many times. She said, “Shaun – four years ago, after my husband and I had our first child, I moved out of the United States and moved my family to London, knowing that the United States had no real vested interest in protecting us.” Ebele has right. The United States has no sincere interest in protecting and valuing the lives of Black people. And now, in the worst way imaginable, what she knew to be true has visited her own family. Today I am going to tell the story of Chinedu Valentine Okobi – murdered in cold blood by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Say his name. Chinedu Okobi. He should be alive right now. Black Lives Matter.

A post shared by Shaun King (@shaunking) on Oct 15, 2018 at 9:05am PDT

The deputies who are responsible for the act have been placed on paid leave until an investigation is full completed.

The San Mateo County coroner’s office has been charged with the investigation.

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