This isn’t a news blog. It’s an analysis blog. I try to wait to post until the facts are in and reasonable conclusions may be drawn. What should I think about the recent killings of black men by police officers in Oklahoma and North Carolina?
I know what I think about the rioting. It may cause attention to be focused on the rioters’ notional cause but that is not likely to be the sort of attention that they’d like.
One reasonable conclusion regarding Keith Scott we can draw is that whatever happened there seems to be no real reason for him to have pointed a gun at a cop or attempted to flee.
Another is that the police don’t seem to be thinking in these situations about how inexperienced normal civilians are with being confronted by guns being pointed at them and orders being given to them. When you are snapped out of your normal life you may not be in a state of immediate compliance. That some police officers don’t seem to factor this into their thinking is frightening but what’s worse is that the public who defends all of this is just happy to accept that there may have been the perception that was trying to flee or shoot a cop, as if that justifies the police killing someone who was not out committing capital crimes five minutes before they arrived.
Bottom line is that it’s the job of police officers to take into account that they are the police. But it’s not the job of ordinary citizens to be ready for a swat team at a moment’s notice.
News blogs tend to turn into outrage of the minute blogs where the comments are filled with rapid fire talking points, old tiresome flame wars, and horse flesh tenderizing.
Re; the riots a line from Ghostbusters, seems most appropriate, “.. you’re scaring the straights…”
I pretty much agree with MM, particularly in these cases which might involve drugs and/or mental illness (if the most recent information coming out about Mr. Scott is accurate.) Seems that the police need better trainng in recognizing mental status and de-escalating these encounters.
As of now, police officer Betty Shelby of Tulsa has been charged with manslaughter. A police officer I know said they had access to video we haven’t seen yet. Apparently the suspect stopped his vehicle on the center on the open highway, we don’t know why. First officer at scene said he was incoherent and called for backup. There were four officers there, suspect had his hands up but refused commands, then turned towards his vehicle, lowering his hands.
At this point, protocol allows police to “clear leather” but keep finger off trigger. This is where Betty went wrong, with her finger on the trigger she pulled it reflexively when another officer fired his taser.
Other officers jumped back in surprise, and Betty actually turned and ran away for a distance in apparent shock.
Bad deal.