What are y'alls opinions on escalation of force for Police Departments?

After leaving the Army, I served as a law enforcement officer (17 years). I can say that officers are trained to use only the force necessary to effect an arrest. Most police officers do not want to use deadly force, but they are trained to do so to protect themselves and others. The loss of life is tragic, but in most cases can be prevented if the person would simply comply with the police, don't resist, don't reach for ANYTHING, especially a weapon. In the Blake shooting and in the Floyd death, both individuals had a criminal record, both had a history of disregard for the law and the safety and peace of the public. They made a decision to resist. It is tragic, but it has nothing to do with race. The big issue here is the media reporting unproven facts, and sometimes skewing the incident in order to make money. The solution here is simple and obvious- if you don't want to go to jail, if you don't want to risk an altercation with a police officer, the do not break the law- period.

I be clear about this event.

Officers has a responsibility to protect themself regardless & they don’t wake up thinking they are going to kill a Black or Hispanic man therefore racism is a excuse by this ppl.

Jacob Blake had a knife in hand & if you read the report he was about to get another one inside the truck. They should had shot his dumb ass twice not 7 time.

George Floyd, if you really watch the tape, he refused to get in the vehicle and he was high on drugs.

You cannot blame an officer who is trying to put the knee on someone’s neck to calm a person down because it was his training.

Breonna Taylor was delivering drugs from allocation therefore this officers should identify as officers with a Warren.

I don’t believe in no Warren nock.

The situation was clear when he had a knife

There is no excuse for shooting someone in the back.

That’s all. It’s actually that easy.

The predominance of legal authority outlawing racism and discrimination defies any claim of "systemic racism" and the lack of sheer numbers of police cases points to bad or untrained cops.
One policeman shooting him seven times is more the act of an untrained/unprepared/rookie than "kill him because he is black." Note that the other officers present did not shoot.

Over the past 40 or so years I've seen police forces in America become more like military units. The Reagan administration began allowing police departments to purchase used military vehicles and equipment designed for military use. Many American neighborhoods have watched them roll up their streets looking and acting like the military. When the police serve a search warrant they move in with numbers and have no problem crashing through the front door. If you're a 6 year old who watched 5 or 6 police officers in full battle gear body slam your 17 year old unarmed brother for no apparent reason, I could understand how the police have looked like the enemy. So when I hear people say "Just comply, do what the police tell you to do" to avoid being shot and everything will be just fine, I'm stunned by how naive people can be. The guy in Kenosha was shot 7 times in the back. By one officer. No, I wasn't there and didn't witness it but this looks bad from the get go. So we have entire neighborhoods who view the police as their enemy and undertrained and under vetted police in armored vehicles imposing their will. There's no way for this situation to end well.
Regarding systemic racism, it should be remembered that police forces in southern states got their start as runaway slave catchers. When other factors such as creating laws specifically targeting the black population, the continued active presence of hate groups like the KKK and what I've seen with my own eyes makes denying systemic racism absurd.

You mean the asshat, domestic abuser, that resisted arrest and ignored all the police commands and reached into his vehicle for who knows what before getting shot? While 7 shots may have been a bit excessive, he should have done what he was told.

This is what could have been done differently. Blake could have lived his life better and not been a criminal. He could have treated his girlfriend, or wife and kids with respect.

I have never heard a story where an elderly, black couple get pulled over for a light out and get shot or beaten by the police. It always turns out to be some delinquent in the commission of a crime or with a criminal past resisting and disobeying the police. George Floyd was a criminal! If he wasn't on drugs and hadn't robbed the store and resisted he might still be alive. I say might because he died from all the shit he had in his system, namely lethal amount of fentanyl. Breonna Taylor had bad taste in men. Her boyfriend shot at police, blindly, through a door. Do you think that they would not fire back? But blame the police. Burning cities in the name of black criminals is stupid, especially when there are more white people killed by police.

It is a fact that police brutality is just a very small fraction of all police encounters. How about protesting all the crimes committed by blacks against anybody, even just black on black. I didn't see any protests over the black man walking out to the street and shooting his 5 yr old white neighbor in the head. No, that doesn't follow their ideology. After all, he was just another privileged white kid who didn't deserve their empathy because they only empathize with black criminals.

Again, don't engage in criminal activity if you don't want to find yourself in a situation where you have to be engaged by the police. And then, do what you are told and don't resist. Do you expect the police are just gonna let you go if you start to resist? Also, do you actually think that the police are going to wait for you to shoot them if they feel threatened already.

Act like a criminal, get treated like a criminal. As for systemic racism. BULL!!! Where is the racism when a black cop subdues or shoots a black criminal? Just a matter of cop vs criminal. No matter what color they are. Only in a very few altercations is it a race matter. It's just that BLM and the media make a race thing out of everything that involves a black person. Like black people can't possibly break the law. I swear that these people would rather a black man get away with murdering a child than be arrested by police.

Why is it perceived that blacks are targeted more than whites? Most whites are raised to respect police and to have certain morals and behave in a manner that is acceptable to society. Blacks seem to be groomed to hate police, and white people, therefore growing up believing that they are victims and the only way to live is to victimize others.

No one ever seems to suggest a change in the attitude and behavior in the criminals. Only blame the police for doing their job. They also choose to teach hatred for whites and police instead of how to be a productive member of society. Ever see the video of the little black boy running to hug the little white boy? Proof that racism and hate are taught. These two boys haven't yet been indoctrinated by those who hate. Hopefully they will never be exposed to that.

SHOOT HIM IN THE LEGS