Thursday, January 02, 2020

Number 1- Rest In Power Dustin Parker

Dustin Parker
Damn, the confetti wasn't even swept up off of the streets in New York's Times Square before the news broke that we have already lost a trans person in 2020 to violence.

We head to McAlester, OK for the news concerning 25 year old Dustin Parker.   His body was found in the drivers seat of his Rover electric Taxi at 6:30 AM CST on New Years Day in the 200 block of West Delaware Avenue.   The vehicle had been hit by multiple gunshots and he was deceased when police arrived at the scene. 

Investigators recovered shell casings at the scene, and interviewed people in the area who head gunshots, but dismissed it as celebratory gunfire until McAlester PD cars started arriving on the scene. 

Parker leaves behind his wife Regina and four children.   He was a founding member of Oklahomans For Equality.   His employer, Rover Taxi, has set up a Facebook fundraising page to help benefit Parker's family.

“Rover Taxi is devastated at the loss of a member of our Rover family,” said Rover Taxi owner Brian West in a post on its site.   Parker served as a manager for the company.

“Dustin was a steadfast friend, an amazing husband and father, and generous to a fault. He loved fiercely, worked tirelessly, and took on life with so much hope and enthusiasm that his presence brightened all of our lives. His bright, young life was taken far too early. Please keep his loved ones in your thoughts as we all try to pull together to get through these difficult times. Dustin will be missed, but never forgotten.”


As of this writing, there are no suspects in this case. Capt  Kevin Hearod of the McAlester Police Department stated that while there is as of yet no evidence that Parker was killed because he was trans, they are not taking that possibility off the table in terms of a possible motive.

"We've still got investigators out running down leads right now," Hearod said to the Tulsa World. "(Parker was) just a working man, making a living for his family, and he didn't get to come home."
No word as of yet concerning a memorial service.

Rest in power and peace Dustin.   You got to see the dawn of the 2020's, but unfortunately you will not see more of this new decade.   Pondering that thought pisses me off.  .   

Your trans sibs in Oklahoma and around the country will not rest until justice is served in your case. 

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