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The past four days.
Jul. 9th, 2016 08:40 pmIt has been hell.
Two African American men killed by white police officers. Memories of other police shootings of black men....
Eric Garner,
Laquan McDonald,
Tamir Rice,
Antonio Zambrano-Montes,
Eric Harris,
Walter Scott,while in
Freddie Gray,
and now Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. There are others. Many more who have been killed at the hands of the police. According to Sam Sinyangwe, founder of the Mapping Police Violence Project, in 2014 at least 1,149 individuals died either during first contact with police or while in police custody. And police departments around the country show no signs of stopping the carnage. As Seth Stoughton observes:
Stoughton goes on to compare police academy training to military training.
More disturbing are the prepared remarks police chiefs can now all too easily recite. "Our city has to come together." "Our country has to come together." Or, "This is not the time to judge," implied meaning--don't rush to judgment on the actions of the officer(s) involved. Nary a word about foregoing judgements when it comes to the acts of the suspect, even when he has been killed by a police officer.
There is the video of an officer, gun drawn and trained on Diamond Reynolds, after he shot Philando Castile. Pastor Danny Givens, from Above Every Name Ministries, recently reminded Governor Dayton (Minnesota) that, "[T]his is the third time I've been to your house for my people being murdered." We've heard the remarks of our President and of mayors, of police spokeswomen and spokesmen and of their bosses, Police Chiefs, and we have seen action. Protests from sea to shining sea. What we've yet to witness is the necessary sea change in our laws and in the mindset of district attorneys.
Too often charges brought before a grand jury in a shooting death of a black man by a police officer leads only to an acquittal. There is a strong impression that any other United States citizen would not be acquitted for shooting an unarmed black man in the back, shooting him as he ran from the shooter. The double standard is shocking. Furthermore, in far too many instances charges of a police officer shooting an African American man are not even brought before a grand jury. The combination of mainly Caucasian law enforcement officers shooting African American men without any cause whatsoever and the reluctance and/or the inability, or is it unwillingness, of district attorneys to get indictments from grand juries in these matters leads to the conclusion that institutional racism reigns supreme. Perhaps, after all, D.A.s cannot get a ham sandwich indicted.
None of the above mitigates the hard work of law abiding police officers. The bravery and commitment of the police in Dallas Thursday night The sacrifice of the five officers who lost their lives will not soon be forgotten, nor should it. The work the police and sheriffs preform is admirable, most of the time. What is needed is for district attorneys to show the same courage police demonstrate everyday when it comes to prosecuting the corrupt officers.
Two African American men killed by white police officers. Memories of other police shootings of black men....
Eric Garner,
Laquan McDonald,
Tamir Rice,
Antonio Zambrano-Montes,
Eric Harris,
Walter Scott,while in
Freddie Gray,
and now Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. There are others. Many more who have been killed at the hands of the police. According to Sam Sinyangwe, founder of the Mapping Police Violence Project, in 2014 at least 1,149 individuals died either during first contact with police or while in police custody. And police departments around the country show no signs of stopping the carnage. As Seth Stoughton observes:
"
Training involves an average of about 60 hours on deadly force - the use of firearms - and just over 60 hours on self-defence.
Compare that to de-escalation conflict resolution training: the average there is only eight hours of training, and most of that is
classroom-based.
Training involves an average of about 60 hours on deadly force - the use of firearms - and just over 60 hours on self-defence.
Compare that to de-escalation conflict resolution training: the average there is only eight hours of training, and most of that is
classroom-based.
More disturbing are the prepared remarks police chiefs can now all too easily recite. "Our city has to come together." "Our country has to come together." Or, "This is not the time to judge," implied meaning--don't rush to judgment on the actions of the officer(s) involved. Nary a word about foregoing judgements when it comes to the acts of the suspect, even when he has been killed by a police officer.
There is the video of an officer, gun drawn and trained on Diamond Reynolds, after he shot Philando Castile. Pastor Danny Givens, from Above Every Name Ministries, recently reminded Governor Dayton (Minnesota) that, "[T]his is the third time I've been to your house for my people being murdered." We've heard the remarks of our President and of mayors, of police spokeswomen and spokesmen and of their bosses, Police Chiefs, and we have seen action. Protests from sea to shining sea. What we've yet to witness is the necessary sea change in our laws and in the mindset of district attorneys.
Too often charges brought before a grand jury in a shooting death of a black man by a police officer leads only to an acquittal. There is a strong impression that any other United States citizen would not be acquitted for shooting an unarmed black man in the back, shooting him as he ran from the shooter. The double standard is shocking. Furthermore, in far too many instances charges of a police officer shooting an African American man are not even brought before a grand jury. The combination of mainly Caucasian law enforcement officers shooting African American men without any cause whatsoever and the reluctance and/or the inability, or is it unwillingness, of district attorneys to get indictments from grand juries in these matters leads to the conclusion that institutional racism reigns supreme. Perhaps, after all, D.A.s cannot get a ham sandwich indicted.
None of the above mitigates the hard work of law abiding police officers. The bravery and commitment of the police in Dallas Thursday night The sacrifice of the five officers who lost their lives will not soon be forgotten, nor should it. The work the police and sheriffs preform is admirable, most of the time. What is needed is for district attorneys to show the same courage police demonstrate everyday when it comes to prosecuting the corrupt officers.
