What Both the Left and Right Get Wrong about the Problem of Police Shootings of Citizens
Here's my unpopular but IMHO objectively correct take on the larger issues at hand here. Not politically correct. And not right as in leaning in that ideogical direction. But correct and right as in empirically and morally sound middle/common ground.
As the law stands this cop will not get in any trouble. But I'm troubled nonetheless. I think the suspect was trying to pretend it was his property and thus calmly refusing to comply as part of an ill-conceived ruse, that he thought he could use to BS his way out of the situation. But no such critical thinking regarding the shooting victim's mindstate was attempted. No clear declaration was made by the authority figure that any such excuses were not being considered as plausible at all. Zero effort by the policeman at de-escalation with the cursing and yelling. There is no offensive hand motion from the suspect that should have so terrified the boy in blue, with weapon drawn and kevlar on. There is no attempt made to talk the calm suspect down off the ledge so to speak. Not one word uttered to try and make it clear that the immediate arrest problems the suspect feared, were not worse than the likely permanent outcome of non-compliance. Not one iota of consideration that many suspects have complied on camera in such situations only to be gunned down all the same. Not one word of promise to not hurt the suspect if he complied. I don't hear. "Be smart. I don't wanna hurt you. Just drop the gun and we'll figure this out. I know you don't want to go to jail, but cooperate and I'll go as easy on you with charges as I can and report that you cooperated, etc, etc, etc."
A decision has been made to be overly cautious from apparently some similar situations that ended badly for cops, but any such outcomes are certainly very, very, rare. Cops aren't being dropped dead in droves. Not now or ever. I understand that Black Lives Matter, as a movement, not as a statement (which is obviously true just as All Lives Matter is) is based on false narratives about police incidents and that Marxism is the real goal of that organization. I do not think all cops are bastards as the leftist mob cries and yes blue lives and the thin blue line they protect matters. It bears repeating again friends, the veneer of civilization is paper thin. And no, the coppers aren't plagued by systemic racism, nor are they free of the issue completely. This is to be expected, however, since we haven't achieved utopia. A lofty goal that will never see fruition, absent the even worse tool of totalitarian global statist control.
Black communities are plagued by gang violence, however, so dispoportionate numbers do exist. All that said, I'm not blinded by partisanship, because I also know that being a police officer isn't even in the top 10 most dangerous US jobs. And left leaning Huff Po is correct in pointing out that:
"The fact is: being a policeman is not one of the most dangerous jobs you can have, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor. In five years, 2008 to 2012, only one policeman was killed by a firearm in the line of duty in New York City."
So while it's currently legal because of police training to empty the full clip and shoot from the hip. I call bullshit! This needs to end. The data doesn't justify such training in the first place, let alone the following legal basis that explains this behavior as brainless to question. It's baseless. Inane twits, are then common place, with their not-so-common sense tired ass two cents take and twist of the wrist. Either, accept all this or be on the police hater criminal shit list. I rather go against the grain and use my own brain with some true grit.
If the police are our heroic friends, there to first protect and serve, then asking them to heroically take a statistically small risk to protect even the suspect who is presumed innocent until proven guilty is not too much to ask. They are our tax dollar paid for public servants, not our "officials" or storm troopers, and certainly not judge, jury, and executioner.
They are capable of less lethal force and firing as few shots as possible, to make a day in court possible. Graveyard justice is impossible. We deserve calm under pressure and fire from a hero. Panicked curses and guns emptied of bullets are not extraordinary attributes. These sadly are more akin to trademarks of an orwellian police state.
