August 13, 201412 yr I agree GT! When there are situations like this one, some are always saying "There has to be more to the story", When the sad fact is, there isn't anything else to the story, PERIOD! Some cops are bad, a minority? Yes, but these things happen far too often. Some cops are bad, and some are just bad at their jobs.
August 13, 201412 yr Right or wrong, police are going to be scrutinized closely when these types of situations occur. Right or wrong, the actions of the bad apples color the perception of the whole bushel. It's, without a doubt a hard job. And it's an extraordinary responsibility. While I appreciate anyone's willingness to take that on, there is an expectation that one does so knowing they are held to a higher standard. And GT is correct...the police need to hold each other to a higher standard and refuse to allow those who don't meet that standard to become the perception of the whole by refusing to question and blindly defending their brothers and sisters in blue when they are wrong.
August 13, 201412 yr The St. Louis County Sheriff's Department requested that Ferguson be designated a no-fly zone by the FAA. They requested the no-fly zone be extended to 5,000 feet, they were granted 3,000 feet. Ferguson, Missouri: No-Fly Zone Declared Over Site Of Protests Against Police Shooting Of Teen Trying to suppress images of police actions against "protestors"? The media coverage of this has been severely restricted--do they have something to hide?
August 13, 201412 yr The Alarming Militarization of Local Police? I guess they should either allow the looting or go in with T-shirts and shorts and switches. A local Police Helicopter was fired at and people expect police officers to not wear bullet proof vest and helmets when facing a mob of looters :no: To be fair the initial group of people that showed up to the site were peaceful and set up a memorial. Once police in riot gear began to show up is when the confrontation began to escalate--at least that is what the stories that I read said.
August 13, 201412 yr Easy solution to all of this. The police stop thinking shoot first and ask questions later. If even 5% are doing it, it is a MAJOR problem. That is why I say the good cops are capable of enacting change. Sad that it can't be grasped... Your rants are sad. I agree if 5 percent of policemen were shooting young unarmed black males for no reason, it would be a MAJOR problem. Do the math - that would mean 40,000 policemen have shot innocent, unarmed black victims. Do you really believe that has happened? Ask yourself why a racist white cop just looking for an excuse to kill black victims would gun down an innocent, unarmed black kid in front of witnesses in broad daylight. I mean, if ridding the streets of black men was his goal, then why would he commit the crime in front of so many witnesses and limit his rampage to one victim? Would it not make more sense from the POV of such a racist to kill in the wee hours of morning with no witnesses present? Let me offer an alternative scenario for you to consider, which IMO, is much more likely to explain what happened. The police car pulled up beside of the victim and the officer started to exit the vehicle to make an arrest. The victim, who was reported to be 6'4" tall and to have weighed 350 pounds (if he was a bit smaller, he was still a very big young man), panicked and shoved the cop back into his seat. The cop pulled his gun and the victim tried to grab it to avoid being shot. The gun goes off in the struggle but neither the cop or the victim are hit by the bullet. At that point, the victim decides to make a run for it. The policeman, having had a near death experience snaps and unloads his weapon on the young man. In the alternate scenario, the shooting still was not justified because the officer's training should have allowed him to control his temper and exercised restraint, especially if the victim was only suspected of a minor offense. However, the most serious crime that the victim had committed at that point was assaulting a police officer, not shoplifting. Another alternate explanation for the shooting is that the officer who did the shooting suffered from serious mental illness and was doing a job for which he is not fit. Event if the officer who did the shooting was a rabid, racist cop, it would still very unlikely that the he is reflective of the entire police department in a small city whose population is 65 percent black. There is no excuse for what is happening in Ferguson, MO. Gunfire aimed at police helicopters, assaults on non-black residents, looting and arson - much of which targets businesses owned by non-blacks. Are you concerned at all about one of the bricks hurled at cars on the interstate killing an innocent victim? It is hard for me to imagine a scenario where the police officer in this case was justified in shooting and killing an unarmed man but it is not difficult at all for me to imagine a motive other than racism led to the shooting - and easier still to imagine that there was no motive, just a scared cop snapping under pressure. What is clear is that the motives for rioting, looting, and violent assaults on non-blacks following the shooting is racism and a flimsy excuse to commit crimes. I strongly suspect that many of the racists who are looting the stores in Ferguson and who are committing other crimes are not from Ferguson. I looked up some stats on Ferguson and it is not the armpit of St. Louis County. Its unemployment rate is about the national average and its crime rate is about 50 percent higher than the national average, which is not great, but it I have lived and worked in more dangerous places. The time to hold people accountable for incidents like this shooting is after the facts are known and the way to hold them accountable is to correct any mistakes that contributed to the event, including firing people that failed to do their jobs and vigorously prosecuting those that committed crimes. There is no justification for what is going on in Ferguson and the criminals who are terrorizing the city also need to be held accountable for their actions.
August 13, 201412 yr I agree GT! When there are situations like this one, some are always saying "There has to be more to the story", When the sad fact is, there isn't anything else to the story, PERIOD! Some cops are bad, a minority? Yes, but these things happen far too often. Some cops are bad, and some are just bad at their jobs.I agree, SportsGuy. Some people are racists. Some people are bad at their jobs and some people are racists who are bad at their jobs. The jury is still out on whether the officer who did the shooting was simply bad at his job or was a racist who was bad at his job.
August 13, 201412 yr The St. Louis County Sheriff's Department requested that Ferguson be designated a no-fly zone by the FAA. They requested the no-fly zone be extended to 5,000 feet, they were granted 3,000 feet. Ferguson, Missouri: No-Fly Zone Declared Over Site Of Protests Against Police Shooting Of Teen Trying to suppress images of police actions against "protestors"? The media coverage of this has been severely restricted--do they have something to hide? To be fair it could be because helicopters were shot at over Ferguson during the looting and isn't part of a conspracy. But it could be.
August 13, 201412 yr What are you doing to change the frightening trend? Are you quick to call out an officer that spews a racist remark when "the boys" are off duty? Let me guess. You've never been in a situation where such things have ever been said between you and all the choir boys you work with. There is a MAJOR problem in this country, and the GOOD COPS are the front line in changing what is becoming a terrible trend. If you are doing nothing, that 800,000 number starts to get small real quick... How many unarmed people do police kill every year?
August 13, 201412 yr How many unarmed people do police kill every year? Can't ask questions like that, you'll be accused of being passive aggressive
August 13, 201412 yr Michael Brown's father wore a shirt that said No Justice No Peace as the good reverend gave a message yesterday? That's nice.
August 13, 201412 yr Nothing to see here... When Police Shoot And Kill Unarmed Men | Mother Jones 9 in 15 years is 9 too many, but it isn't the 5% of police officers that you alluded to before in any way. One of those cases was an off duty officer in a bar and he was charged with murder. The Oscar Grant case resulted in a conviction of the officer. And the lead story is about a conviction of a officer shooting someone wrongly. So it's not like these are going unchecked. Edited August 13, 201412 yr by Jumper_Dad
August 13, 201412 yr Nothing to see here... When Police Shoot And Kill Unarmed Men | Mother Jones Since you are bashing cops, just go ahead and bash this one too. It does work both ways you know. Justice for James: Black Cop Shoots Unarmed White Veteran in Orange, TX over Racial Slur | Texas GOP Vote
August 13, 201412 yr Since you are bashing cops, just go ahead and bash this one too. It does work both ways you know. Justice for James: Black Cop Shoots Unarmed White Veteran in Orange, TX over Racial Slur | Texas GOP Vote I'm bashing cops? Freaking hilarious. And sad. Mostly sad...
August 13, 201412 yr 9 in 15 years is 9 too many, but it isn't the 5% of police officers that you alluded to before in any way. One of those cases was an off duty officer in a bar and he was charged with murder. The Oscar Grant case resulted in a conviction of the officer. And the lead story is about a conviction of a officer shooting someone wrongly. So it's not like these are going unchecked. If it is .1% it is too many. Clear???
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