Cowards, In Two Acts

I don’t even know where to begin. Except to ask when will it stop? When will we get to the point of refusing to take it anymore? Another senseless police killing, make that two killings within 24 hours of African-American men at the hands of police. So where to begin, the one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana or the even more brutal execution outside of St. Paul, Minnesota?   

Case #1

So we’ve all seen him. The CD man selling movies outside the liquor store or in the parking lot at Ralph’s. Hell I’ve bought a few. So he’s selling his CDs with the permission of the store owner. A homeless man begins persistently harassing him for money so to get him off his back he lifts up his shirt and shows him a gun in his waistband. The homeless man calls 911 to report a man threatening people with a gun. The police show up and confront the man who is bewildered as to why they are there as he sells in the same spot everyday with no problem. He ask why as he is unaware of the phone call made by the homeless man. Rather than talk to him or make any attempts to deescalate the situation, the two officers use a Taser and tackle him to the ground. While both officers are on top of him with his arm pinned back one of them feels the gun in his pocket shouts “he’s got a gun, gun!” and the other officer pulls out his gun and shoots the guy four times point blank in the chest. One of the officers then reaches into the shot man’s pants pocket and pulls out a gun. I’m not making this up or enhancing the story this is exactly what happened. Take a look for yourself, both the first and second video here, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/07/06/new-video-shows-alton-sterling-was-not-holding-a-gun-when-baton-rogue-police-killed-him.html . Of course they feared for their lives, you know him being black and all. Almost immediately there are press releases touting the man’s criminal record.

So let me break it down for you. He had a gun in his pocket but he did not have it in his hand nor did he reach for it. The man was pinned to the ground with two police officers on top of him. One of the officers apparently saw the hand grip sticking out of his pocket so he yelled GUN! At this point his cowardly partner pulled his weapon and shot the man point blank in the chest. Another murder by a spineless, panicked public servant.

Case #2

While driving with their daughter in the car, a couple gets pulled over for driving with a busted tail light. An officer approaches the car and ask for license and registration. As the driver reaches for his wallet, he informs the officer that he has a concealed weapon carry permit and he is armed. The officer pulls his revolver and shoots the driver 4 times. Not made up eyewitness account live streamed here (it’s not only graphic, it’s heartbreaking), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WkTURRuDZ0 .

While the man is lying there dying this trigger happy thug still has the gun pointed at him and the woman and child in the car. The police then force the girlfriend to her knees outside the car, toss her phone which she is using to record and put her handcuffed in the back seat of a police car. Meanwhile the cops get their story together to dispute her version of events. I know, I know, feared for his life, blah, blah blah. Cue the victim’s criminal record report. Wait, what now? What do you mean he has no criminal record and was a fully employed hard working father? That’s not supposed to be part of the story, ok who changed the script damn it.

As a concealed carry holder, I’m not sure if this guy was under an obligation to inform the officer he had a gun. But he's thinking he'll be responsible and let the officer know that he's legally armed and reaching for his ID. At no time does he point his gun at the officer nor even retrieve his weapon. Yet, this young man ends up dead. Because we are immediately seen as a threat he was shot and killed by an obvious panicked and frightened police officer. I’m sorry and don’t mean to appear judgmental but there is seriously something wrong with the men being hired to “serve and protect." The truly scary part is he was shot for complying with a police directive. He was asked for his ID, when he went to get it the cop freaked out and yelled don't move then executed him. A young white man with his girlfriend and daughter in a car with a broken tail light would never have been murdered in such a vicious and cold blooded manner. No one can convince me otherwise.

Of course in both cases it was the victims fault. I mean they had no business being non-white around cops, right? I’ve said this before, I don’t think all cops are bad, I’m sure no one does, but there are too many who are and they are killing people and something needs to be done. I know the officer’s job is tough but they signed up for it, so do it with integrity and not with vengeance. Ok, so when will it stop? Unfortunately for us this persistent relentless problem of cops killing Blacks and not being held accountable is unlikely to be addressed until things escalate to the point where these murders start affecting white people as much as they affect everyone else. Until it’s a problem for white people.