Discussion: Aftermath Of Man's Fatal Police Shooting Captured On Video By Girlfriend

Decade after decade of non-stop propaganda that says, “Black men are dangerous.” Here is one more from the abundant harvest that results from it.

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I can’t keep track of the rules cop apologists keep helpfully instructing non-white folk to follow:

  1. Don’t make any sudden movements.
  2. If possible, don’t move at all.
  3. Try not to breathe.
  4. However be sure to get your driver’s license when asked.
  5. Just be sure to not use any movements to do so.
  6. It’s best if you keep your driver’s license out in the open, levitating in the air, so they police officer can see it when you reach for it.
  7. Scratch that, they’d shoot you for witchcraft.
  8. Also, don’t talk.
  9. But be sure to answer all of their questions.
  10. Do everything the cop tells you.
  11. Unless that requires talking/moving.
  12. Don’t make eye contact (cops see that as an apparent threat).
  13. But be sure to look them in the eye, otherwise you appear shifty.
  14. And most importantly, never ever carry a licensed gun if you’re not white.

Am I missing any?

Btw, has anyone heard about police officers shooting white men for being white and doing random daily stuff, or is it only black men that they murder for being black?

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Yes, Michael Bell was shot in the head in front of his house after an encounter with police. It appears that during a tussle with Michael one of the officers got his holster hooked on the drivers side mirror and shouted to the other officer that he was going for his gun, and the cop shot him in the head point blank. Michael Bell had blond hair and blue eyes.

Kelly Thomas, another white man, was beaten to death by six Fullerton cops for no apparent reason, other than it appeared as a mentally ill, homeless person, who was well known to the police, he was an irritant to them.

This has been my main issue since my own life altering experience with law enforcement 26 years ago. It clearly affects Latinos and African Americans more, but the police in this country are out of control.

I don’t want minimize the danger that minorities face in everyday encounters, and the issue of race and police brutality are deeply intertwined, But I think it is a mistake to look at this as primarily a race issue rather than as a systemic problem with not only the police, but the legal system in general.

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The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed.

So, it’s not enough you shoot and murder a man for reaching for his ID and car registration, but you handcuff his distraught girlfriend? GD you people!

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They cuffed and detained Tamir Rice’s sister while he lie dying in the playground. So no surprise. What never ceases to amaze me it the complete lack of concern they show for not only those they kill, but the loved ones of the their victims as well.

Contrast this with the emotional hysterics when one of their own dies in the line of duty, and you really have to wonder about the mentality of law enforcement.

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Yes – and this is an understatement. They’ve gone completely berzzerkkk!!

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It is messed up.

I didn’t use to be afraid of being stopped by the police 15 years ago (speeding ticket). Now I’m kind of terrified of them. Not because I did anything wrong, mind you. I’m justifiably afraid something will set the officer off and he will shoot me or arrest me. They did give me a ticket last year (freaking speed trap, 40 mph in 30 mph zone), and even though it was a minority cop, the entire affair was in plain view of others, I was with my family, and it was very cordial, I still was fairly anxious and so was my wife.

I know it’s obvious to say, but whatever goodwill the police had engendered in our society in the past several decades has been completely thrown out the window. Not just for most of us grown folk now, but for the future generation of Americans growing up and hearing about how police officers keep killing folks for no good reason. And/or being instructed by their parents to fear the police, otherwise that cop might shoot you due to his “being afraid of your skin”.

That our youth is growing up afraid of the police is much worse for police organizations, as it will set the tone for how officers are viewed and managed in the future when these kids take charge. As the old expression goes, they’re laid their bed, and will need to lie on it.

They could still change things for the better, but when you have apologists out in force, when you don’t police the bad apples in your organization and let them run rampant, when you are arming to fight off a freaking foreign army vs policing your own citizens, when you let your police officers literally get away with murder, and when you have organizations like the NRA supporting your actions, they won’t change. Because right now, there’s absolutely no consequence for being the way that they are.

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Exactly. When I say it is a systemic problem, it is a matter of the police in the United States being “warriors” as opposed to “guardians”.

I read an article more than 20 years ago penned by an senior law enforcement official in the UK who stated that the problem with police in America is that we recruit the “John Wayne” types, and that in the UK, they weed them out.

Without support of the the vast majority of the populace (80%-90?) they lose their legitimacy.

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How many white drivers get pulled over for a broken tail light? Not many, I bet.

One of the common denominators of most of these shootings is that the officers fail to exhibit a calm and professional demeanor. That may be because the police who do act in a professional manner do not shoot people at traffic stops or gun citizens down in the streets.

The attitude that the police exhibit is one important factor that needs to be changed if the number of unjustified police shootings is to be reduced. (Another is to do a better job of separating the justified and unjustified shootings. In other words, stop covering up.)

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Top story on the BBC’s news page (includes video):

This is how the rest of the world sees America.

US police violence
1,152 people killed by police in 2015
30% of victims were black
13% of US population is black
97% of deaths were not followed by any charges against police officers
mappingpoliceviolence.org, US Census Bureau

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And where is the newspaper that is covering this in America? How about the cable news shows? The congressional hearings?

Why not place officers on UNPAID leave? They can always be paid at a later date.

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What’s interesting about the incidents in Louisiana and Minnesota is the light it sheds on open carry laws. Both states provide that individuals may purchase hand guns and carry them on their person with a permit. The Louisiana gentleman who was tackled and shot was initially singled out by a 911 call because he was “brandishing a handgun”. The police didn’t attempt to determine whether he was in legal possession of that handgun. The Minnesota gentleman who was shot told the officers that he had a permit to carry a weapon and was shot as he was reaching for his license.

We need to let go of any pretense that these gun laws allow people to protect themselves. It is now clear that they allow white people to carry weapons and protect themselves. A white person with a gun is exercising his Second Amendment rights; a black person with a gun is a danger to society.

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Both the NY Times and the Washington Post have stories on the Louisiana incident today (the Minnesota incident happened too late),

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No. It doesn’t happen.

The man in Louisiana had no guns in his hands when he was shot 4 times point blank. It is beyond disgusting and something has to be done about how the police handle these situations. For christ’s sake they talk to hostage takers. I am disgusted and find myself turning it off rather than having to listen to yet another murder of a black man just for being black

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I watched the video several times. The woman did what was needed. She kept talking calmly while the cop was nearly hysterical from rage, fear and confusion. Later in the video he can be heard shouting “Fuck!” He does this 3 times.

Is the 4 year old in the car while her mom was live-streaming? Was she hiding in the back seat? The little girl tried to comfort her mother. Poor kid to have to see this. Lucky she wasn’t hit by a stray bullet.

I saw no attempts to provide medical care. Did the police just let the man bleed to death?

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Cops are supposedly trained not to make rash decisions like this. Aiming to kill over a traffic violation is anything but rational.

All this proves is that cops are just as untrustworthy with guns as anyone with a gun. They do stupid shit and make ‘mistakes’ regularly.

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Again, because there are no consequences for police officers who commit these crimes, this will continue. We live in a society that doesn’t see the humanity in Black people. No regard for the fact that there was a young girl in the back. the trauma she will carry for the rest of her life…

One thing is clear only white people are allowed guns, colored people with guns are subject to summary extra-judicial execution. So if you are a minority come and join us who believe that there must be a complete ban on most type of guns, and that includes cops as well.