related issue, most cops no longer live where they police. For example most Baltimore City cops live one county or more away. So of course they aren't representative of the community or even a part of it.
I'm pretty sure the knee jerk reaction by LE there has more to do with the massive amount of public shootings in recent years than it does with race. Remember that 13 year old Mexican kid that was shot by police for carrying an airsoft AK47 down the street? Same thing. People bitched that the gun wasn't real, the kid was only 13, and that it only happened because he was a minority. Sound familiar?
That's all well and good until you can step back and see how the evidence played out (hindsight is a luxury we have here).
Let me ask you... if you're a cop and you see someone carrying this... what do you do? I'll let you guess which one of the two is the real AK47 and which one the 13 year old didn't drop immediately when instructed.
In any case, I'd be willing to bet anyone of any race would have ended up dead in that situation.
My point is that you can't say the police are always in the wrong simply based on personal opinion and emotion. These are multifaceted situations and as such it's very rare for them to be cut and dry like so many here are trying to make it out to be.
IMO taking sides and jumping to conclusions at this point is premature at best.
If this were really true, why hasn't a SINGLE Open Carry lunatic been shot in Texas. Cuz they're white. Or a friend of mine who used to drive around Baltimore on his Harley with an AK across his back? Cuz he's white.
And when I WAS a criminal in Baltimore in the '80s- a very violent time and place - I used to walk down the middle of the street all the time, often with a hatchet hanging on my belt. No cop ever pulled a gun on me despite my long hair, general scruffiness, and the drugs and weapons i was carrying. Because I do not have brown skin.
Two people were shot -- not by police, authorities said. Four officers were injured. Police arrested at least 31 people.
Police and protesters blamed outside agitators for the gunplay and violence.
"We don't need these antagonizers out here," said protester Jerrell Bourrage, who earlier grabbed one of the bottle-hurling demonstrators and told him to stop. "We need people who can stand out here to the side and still let your word be known."
For almost two hours, police in riot gear formed a barricade and stood watch as hundreds of protesters marched in a single-file line that stretched so long that different parts chanted different slogans.
"Hands up, don't shoot," some repeated. "No justice, no peace," others said. Still others were singing church hymns.
But the scene quickly deteriorated after a handful of protesters threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails at police. Officers responded by firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters.
One group of protesters made a barricade with portable toilets and orange cones. Some ripped out street signs, including a symbolic "Do Not Enter" sign.
Johnson said that a building and an unoccupied house were set on fire, and that his officers came under "heavy gunfire."
"We have been criticized for using SWAT trucks during protests. We did not deploy them into crowds until things deteriorated," he said. "Once again, not a single bullet was fired by officers despite coming under heavy attack."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html?c=us&page=
@arf777 You are trying to draw a correlation that may or may not be there. Your stipulation that the people in your examples haven't been shot "cause they're white" is rather simplistic, don't you think? You don't seem to be take any other variables into consideration here... and there are quite a few to consider.
BTW, what exactly is your point here? Are you trying to say that a person holding an assault rifle and failing to obey police commands to drop the weapon down will only be shot if they aren't white?
Bottom line here is that someone was holding a very realistic looking model firearm (which was further modified by painting the orange tip of the barrel black), and refused to drop it when confronted by police.
Seems pretty legitimate for the police to react the way they did in that case, regardless of race. The court seems to have agreed as well.
sorry a little off topic,
My first vehicle had a gun rack (late '70s) and always carried a 12 gauge driving around Tampa until the mid '80s. Then one night I got pulled over,put down on my stomach and cuffed at gun point then detained a couple days and fined. The Laws had changed a bit and i didn't know. Never got my shotgun back either. Don't know about Texas law but here in Florida your not going to walk around with a Long Gun or shotgun or drive around with one visible in a gun rack with out getting your self arrested or shot.
@Caligula Who said the roadway was 'busy'? If it was, why was the cop unloading his clip into a 'busy' roadway. Sounds sloppy to me.
If you would like I can Google up some hand picked examples where white people have gotten beat down and/or killed by the police in an in just fashion. That doesn't mean it's a large enough sample to make blanket statements like "this only happened because they were white".
In either case I see you changed the wording there. While I agree race plays a factor, you initially stated that it was the only factor.
Everything else mentioned is rather irrelevant IMO.
Dude, reread my posts. Nowhere did I say race was the ONLY factor. A major factor, yes, maybe even the determining factor, but never said it was the only factor.If you would like I can Google up some hand picked examples where white people have gotten beat down and/or killed by the police in an in just fashion. That doesn't mean it's a large enough sample to make blanket statements like "this only happened because they were white".
In either case, I agree race plays a factor, however you initially stated that it was the only factor which is wrong any way you look at it.
My bad.You focused on that and not the "with a gun strapped to my back" part? I obviously wasn't talking about the MB case. Reread the context of what was being said there and it might make more sense.
Dude, reread my posts. Nowhere did I say race was the ONLY factor. A major factor, yes, maybe even the determining factor, but never said it was the only factor.
If this were really true, why hasn't a SINGLE Open Carry lunatic been shot in Texas. Cuz they're white. Or a friend of mine who used to drive around Baltimore on his Harley with an AK across his back? Cuz he's white.
And when I WAS a criminal in Baltimore in the '80s- a very violent time and place - I used to walk down the middle of the street all the time, often with a hatchet hanging on my belt. No cop ever pulled a gun on me despite my long hair, general scruffiness, and the drugs and weapons i was carrying. Because I do not have brown skin.
He was speaking from personal experience. It still doesn't say ALL COPS ARE RACISTS.
Also, race plays a factor for sure. Stop and Frisk and drug arrests are all tilted toward the minority yet whites use drugs just as much as minorities.
As I've reiterated a few times already, phrasing and language matter greatly in cases like this. You need to say what you mean. If you mean to say race is one of many different factors, say that.
This is written text. There is no subtle body language or facial expressions to read into.
Basically, dont make all encompassing blanket statements and assume people will be able to "know what you meant to say".
Two people were shot -- not by police, authorities said. Four officers were injured. Police arrested at least 31 people.
Police and protesters blamed outside agitators for the gunplay and violence.
"We don't need these antagonizers out here," said protester Jerrell Bourrage, who earlier grabbed one of the bottle-hurling demonstrators and told him to stop. "We need people who can stand out here to the side and still let your word be known."
For almost two hours, police in riot gear formed a barricade and stood watch as hundreds of protesters marched in a single-file line that stretched so long that different parts chanted different slogans.
"Hands up, don't shoot," some repeated. "No justice, no peace," others said. Still others were singing church hymns.
But the scene quickly deteriorated after a handful of protesters threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails at police. Officers responded by firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters.
One group of protesters made a barricade with portable toilets and orange cones. Some ripped out street signs, including a symbolic "Do Not Enter" sign.
Johnson said that a building and an unoccupied house were set on fire, and that his officers came under "heavy gunfire."
"We have been criticized for using SWAT trucks during protests. We did not deploy them into crowds until things deteriorated," he said. "Once again, not a single bullet was fired by officers despite coming under heavy attack."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html?c=us&page=
@arf777 You are trying to draw a correlation that may or may not be there. Your stipulation that the people in your examples haven't been shot "cause they're white" is rather simplistic, don't you think? You don't seem to be take any other variables into consideration here... and there are quite a few to consider.
BTW, what exactly is your point here? Are you trying to say that a person holding an assault rifle and failing to obey police commands to drop the weapon down will only be shot if they aren't white?
Bottom line here is that someone was holding a very realistic looking model firearm (which was further modified by painting the orange tip of the barrel black), and refused to drop it when confronted by police.
Seems pretty legitimate for the police to react the way they did in that case, regardless of race. The court seems to have agreed as well.
As for the open carry protesters... they do in fact get "harassed" (depending on your POV) by LEO during their protests. Just Google "open carry harassed" and see for yourself.
That being said, they usually let LEO know about their intentions before protesting with their firearms displayed legally in public. That PROBABLY has something to do with them not getting shot.
BTW Im VERY brown, yet I don't get harassed by the police on the regular. This probably has something to do with me not committing crimes or making myself a target by doing things like walking in the middle of a busy roadway with a gun strapped to my back.
http://www.nyclu.org/content/stop-and-frisk-dataAs I've reiterated a few times already, phrasing and language matter greatly in cases like this. You need to say what you mean. If you mean to say race is one of many different factors, say that.
This is written text. There is no subtle body language or facial expressions to read into.
Basically, dont make all encompassing blanket statements and assume people will be able to "know what you meant to say".
And regarding "stop and frisk"...
http://nypost.com/2012/07/24/how-stop-and-frisk-saved-new-york/
Dont forget:
Dude, I didn't write that. It's a direct copy and paste from the CNN (a pretty liberal media outlet by most accounts) article I linked below it.