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Recently someone asked the question "How do we heal after Ferguson?" No one ever mentioned the the FOUR NYC policemen attacked by a madman with a hatchet, now two NY policemen have been shot execution style. No one ever mentioned the good policemen do everyday. Have our elected officials made the situation better or worse?
http://www.abc6.com/story/27678979/two-nyc-cops-killed-in-ambush-shooting
http://www.abc6.com/story/27678979/two-nyc-cops-killed-in-ambush-shooting
Politics
Racism
Ferguson
Health
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 35
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This was so unwarranted and perpetrated by a man of color, "simply because". There was no rhyme or reason and no apparent racial profiling involved as the officers were not white. Unfortunately this is just widening the gap. The protests were centered solely around race - black suspect killed by white cop - and IMHO, that alone was and is the issue that is preventing any healing from occurring.
Police departments around the country are probably in states of hyper vigilance because they are afraid to rightfully go after a suspect of color simply because of the implications, and that is not right. Unfortunately this is what these protests are causing. No one should have to worry about race when "protecting and serving". What happens the next time a person of color is shot or confronted by a police officer? Do they let them go fearing bad press and protests?
Why aren't the Latino and Asian communities staging protests against the black community at this point? Is it because they have the sense to know it will do more harm than good to an already explosive situation? Where's Al Sharpton? Oh that's right, he wears color blinders and only sees what his racially narrow mind wants to see and in this case the man was probably justified in his point of view - scared of 2 policemen sitting in their car minding their own business.
Police departments around the country are probably in states of hyper vigilance because they are afraid to rightfully go after a suspect of color simply because of the implications, and that is not right. Unfortunately this is what these protests are causing. No one should have to worry about race when "protecting and serving". What happens the next time a person of color is shot or confronted by a police officer? Do they let them go fearing bad press and protests?
Why aren't the Latino and Asian communities staging protests against the black community at this point? Is it because they have the sense to know it will do more harm than good to an already explosive situation? Where's Al Sharpton? Oh that's right, he wears color blinders and only sees what his racially narrow mind wants to see and in this case the man was probably justified in his point of view - scared of 2 policemen sitting in their car minding their own business.
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COL Ted Mc
SGT Robert C. - You say "Black Americans are @ 13 % of the Population but they are 50% of the prison population".
Just to throw caution to the winds, have you ever considered the possibility that 50% of the criminals who are dumb enough to get caught are "Black"?
I don't say that that is necessarily true, but it is one possible explanation for the statistics - right?
Just to throw caution to the winds, have you ever considered the possibility that 50% of the criminals who are dumb enough to get caught are "Black"?
I don't say that that is necessarily true, but it is one possible explanation for the statistics - right?
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No one is healed by shooting police officers. Nor is anyone healed by pointing at this event and saying "see, police are justified when they kill unarmed suspects".
You can support the job police do, and still want them to be held accountable for things like Eric Garner's choking death, shooting an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, and beating a homeless man to death in LA.
Likewise, you can disapprove of police abuses and still desire justice when officers are gunned down in the street.
It's not either-or.
You can support the job police do, and still want them to be held accountable for things like Eric Garner's choking death, shooting an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, and beating a homeless man to death in LA.
Likewise, you can disapprove of police abuses and still desire justice when officers are gunned down in the street.
It's not either-or.
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Lt Col (Join to see)
Except that there is clear video evidence of the choke hold.
The refusal to indict, or convict, police officers in these circumstances is part of why so many people are so angry. The LAPD beat a homeless man to death, and the officers involved were acquitted. A Georgia SWAT team severely burned a toddler with a flash-bang, and the family was told they can't be held responsible. The ATF has a long litany of abuses, yet no one has been fired or held accountable.
What would I do if I had a soldier that ignored and order? Depends on the circumstances, but shooting, choking, or beating him to death is not on the table.
We do have a process. And that process is not to kill unarmed civilians without a trial. Police that violate the law should be held accountable...but we're seeing that often, this is not the case.
The refusal to indict, or convict, police officers in these circumstances is part of why so many people are so angry. The LAPD beat a homeless man to death, and the officers involved were acquitted. A Georgia SWAT team severely burned a toddler with a flash-bang, and the family was told they can't be held responsible. The ATF has a long litany of abuses, yet no one has been fired or held accountable.
What would I do if I had a soldier that ignored and order? Depends on the circumstances, but shooting, choking, or beating him to death is not on the table.
We do have a process. And that process is not to kill unarmed civilians without a trial. Police that violate the law should be held accountable...but we're seeing that often, this is not the case.
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Lt Col (Join to see)
Well, I put up some links. Two LAPD officers beat a mentally ill homeless man to death, tazing him multiple times and hitting him with nightsticks, the butt of the tazer, and bare hands.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/us/california-homeless-beating-verdict/
The Georgia SWAT team that severely burned a child, leaving the family with over $1 million in medical bills, had zero indictments.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/us/georgia-toddler-stun-grenade-no-indictment/
Police shot a 7-year-old in the head, while she was asleep, during a no-knock raid in Detroit.
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/aiyana-stanley-jones-raid/
When police are not even indicted in cases like this, it makes people feel there is a significant lack of accountability and basic fairness. That the police are bullies, and they could kill any one of us on a whim, with no consequences. That, sir, is not the America I want to live in.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/us/california-homeless-beating-verdict/
The Georgia SWAT team that severely burned a child, leaving the family with over $1 million in medical bills, had zero indictments.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/us/georgia-toddler-stun-grenade-no-indictment/
Police shot a 7-year-old in the head, while she was asleep, during a no-knock raid in Detroit.
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/aiyana-stanley-jones-raid/
When police are not even indicted in cases like this, it makes people feel there is a significant lack of accountability and basic fairness. That the police are bullies, and they could kill any one of us on a whim, with no consequences. That, sir, is not the America I want to live in.
Ex-cops charged in beating death of Kelly Thomas found not guilty - CNN.com
A jury has acquitted two former Fullerton police officers on trial in the beating death of a mentally ill and homeless man.
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Cpl (Join to see)
Captain, the links you posted are extreme cases. There are bad actors on both sides. There is a lot going on in both cases, Brown and Garner, that haven't made it public. What I hear you saying is the same thing the media has been fomenting to the public, whereas the are inciting more violence.
In the Garner case the police supervisor at the scene has been edited out of the videos. Why? She is black. She didn't see any wrong doing and testified to that fact. It's being scrubbed to move a false narrative.
I've seen several instances of bad cops doing bad things without being judged accordingly. However, those are microcosm events. We see it more often in the news because of ratings, period. It makes since that the "blue code" would be active, (wrong or not) when there is a media hell-bent on vilifying them. What we all need to ask is, why would the media be promoting a false narrative.
In the Garner case the police supervisor at the scene has been edited out of the videos. Why? She is black. She didn't see any wrong doing and testified to that fact. It's being scrubbed to move a false narrative.
I've seen several instances of bad cops doing bad things without being judged accordingly. However, those are microcosm events. We see it more often in the news because of ratings, period. It makes since that the "blue code" would be active, (wrong or not) when there is a media hell-bent on vilifying them. What we all need to ask is, why would the media be promoting a false narrative.
BREAKING: BLACK FEMALE Police Sergeant Supervised Eric Garner's Deadly Arrest - The Gateway...
Lost in the racial outcry over the decision to not indict white police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of ...
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Lt Col (Join to see)
It's not false that the ATF was full of abuses. It's not false that a SWAT team almost killed a toddler, and is not held accountable. It's not false that a seven-year-old girl was shot in the head. It's not false that thousands of times a day, American citizens are stopped by border patrol agents over a hundred miles away from the border.
These may be extreme cases, but there are too many "extreme" cases where police are not held accountable for their actions to ignore. Much as we in the military should be setting an example, so to should the police be setting an example. Beating a homeless man to death is not a good example. But at least that one went to trial, even if they were acquitted.
The officer in the Eric Garner case was not a model police officer. He had two previous civil cases, including one where he ordered two black men to strip naked in the street during a routine "stop and frisk" (which, by the way, is a terrible policy, but that's a different topic).
Following Garner's death, an Indiana police officer started making and selling these shirts: http://chicagoist.com/2014/12/16/breathe_easy_dont_break_the_law_t-s.php
Is that an appropriate response? Making light of the death of an unarmed civilian, being arrested for selling loose cigarettes? I don't think so. Any more than it would be appropriate for someone in the military to make "Keep humus out of your butt, don't be a terrorist" shirts in response to the release of the torture investigation documents.
The bottom line is that I appreciate the job cops do. I appreciate that they are willing to put their lives on the line. But I think there are bad ones out there who are covered by the rhetoric and unions, who play on the patriotism and goodwill of law abiding citizens to get away with their behavior. Increasingly, police policies and procedures are openly hostile to citizens. Police regularly target seizure operations based on what they can seize, not what crime has been committed. Police are increasingly using more and more force, with less and less consequence. All at a time when it has never been safer to be a police officer.
I just want my police working FOR the people, protecting and serving, not oppressing and abusing. I think most cops want the same, and I think you do too. The question is, how can we start reeling in the few bad apples? I haven't seen many examples of police taking care of the problem. Clearly the courts aren't going to do it. So what is the solution?
These may be extreme cases, but there are too many "extreme" cases where police are not held accountable for their actions to ignore. Much as we in the military should be setting an example, so to should the police be setting an example. Beating a homeless man to death is not a good example. But at least that one went to trial, even if they were acquitted.
The officer in the Eric Garner case was not a model police officer. He had two previous civil cases, including one where he ordered two black men to strip naked in the street during a routine "stop and frisk" (which, by the way, is a terrible policy, but that's a different topic).
Following Garner's death, an Indiana police officer started making and selling these shirts: http://chicagoist.com/2014/12/16/breathe_easy_dont_break_the_law_t-s.php
Is that an appropriate response? Making light of the death of an unarmed civilian, being arrested for selling loose cigarettes? I don't think so. Any more than it would be appropriate for someone in the military to make "Keep humus out of your butt, don't be a terrorist" shirts in response to the release of the torture investigation documents.
The bottom line is that I appreciate the job cops do. I appreciate that they are willing to put their lives on the line. But I think there are bad ones out there who are covered by the rhetoric and unions, who play on the patriotism and goodwill of law abiding citizens to get away with their behavior. Increasingly, police policies and procedures are openly hostile to citizens. Police regularly target seizure operations based on what they can seize, not what crime has been committed. Police are increasingly using more and more force, with less and less consequence. All at a time when it has never been safer to be a police officer.
I just want my police working FOR the people, protecting and serving, not oppressing and abusing. I think most cops want the same, and I think you do too. The question is, how can we start reeling in the few bad apples? I haven't seen many examples of police taking care of the problem. Clearly the courts aren't going to do it. So what is the solution?
Indiana Cop Sells 'Breathe Easy Don't Break The Law' T-Shirts
Jason Barthel says his T-shirt is intended to unite people. Where, we don't know.
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I believe these murders are circumstantial and not even related to the case of the suffocated man or Michael Brown. Please, let's not draw to conclusion so quickly!
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1LT (Join to see)
Sir, I don't believe that everything evolves around black and white in America. We are not the navel of the world. What I was saying is "people need to think outside of the box", so that they can broaden their view on this new tragedy that can easily be misused again by the media to vilify a whole community, and to cause more turmoil.
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1LT (Join to see)
GySgt Belanger, indeed the media will do. But at the end, are we going to stand united or let them dictate the way we think and do things in our country. We have to understand the spirit of those who run these media. It is not a spirit that is willing to ever see unity among communities...
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LCpl James Robertson
What no one is saying is that mental illness goes unreported in this country, lots of people have sons or daughters who are mentally ill, yet they have access to guns. Another thing when you go for help to the Government to try an take out Involuntary Commitment Papers, you are turned away by Magistrate's, and some Psychiatrist's quote" they will tell you if they have not started to eat there own feces." We cannot admit them into a Mental Institution. The shooters mother herself stated " she had not spoken to her son in a month, and were scare of him, and probably without medications. Every day you are probably standing next to someone who is mentally ill, and you have no way of knowing who. In my life time I have seen so many mentally ill person(s) roaming the streets and prone to violence. Budget cuts in the Government's in America, has put everyone's life at risk. The Mentally ill should be reported to the Government, for I'll safety, whether anything is done are not, at least we reported it.
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1LT (Join to see)
Very good point LCpl Robertson. It sheds more light on this tragedy. And one thing is: those mentally ill can be easily manipulated into doing things that they are not even aware of the gravity. Anyway they can't legally stand in trial because of their illness...
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