Via Kalie Holloway/Alternet
Get the facts about police violence in your community to make the case for change.At least 100 unarmed black people were killed by police in 2014, more than any other race.
Where you live matters. A black person in St. Louis is 5x more likely to be killed by police than a black person in New York City. A black person in Florida is more than 2.5x more likely to be killed by police than a black person in Georgia.
It's not about crime rates. Despite the fact that Newark and St. Louis have similar crime rates and demographics, police killed 4 black people in St. Louis and zero in Newark in 2014.
We knew it was coming, North Charleston Police have released video footage to justify the murder of Walter Scott.It doesn't have to be this way. One black person was killed nationwide in Canada in 2014. There are more black people in Canada than Missouri.
"Scott was 'wanted for a 'family court warrant'! He is a horrible father, a criminal, why make him a victim when Officer Slager is the real hero!"Snark
5 comments:
An interesting detail here is that Walter Scott turned into an auto parts store parking lot. I don't know if that is a coincidence that it was the closest place to pull over, or if he was going there to get a replacement third light cover or bulb to fix the light.
Another thing is that as far as I know there is no law about having to have a working third light. Lots of cars don't have them.
I saw an interview with his brothers, and one of them said that he knew that Walter would run because they had talked about it. He didn't want to go to jail over the child support. (Right, I know, no one wants to go to jail for any reason), but the point is that he knew he would run.
I wondered why the officer - or any officer - keeps firing multiple shots. Here's what I found, from the Police Firearms Officers Association.
"'Twenty years ago officers were trained to 'shoot then assess.' They fired 1 or 2 rounds, then stopped to see the effect. This required 1/4 to 1/2 second, during which time the suspect could keep firing, if he hadn't been incapacitated.
"Now they're taught to 'shoot and assess,' to judge the effect of their shots as they continue to fire, an on-going process. This allows the officer to continually defend himself, but because the brain is trying to do 2 things at once-shoot and assess-a very significant change in the offender's behavior needs to take place in order for the officer to recognize the change of circumstances."
https://www.pfoa.co.uk/110/shooting-to-wound
Being pulled over for any reason could potentially be deadly for African Ame4ricans. And therein lies the problem.
When we see the blue lights we don't get a warm fuzzy feeling, we feel dread. Is that how it's supposed to be?
Don Lemon was on CNN promoting the "black people need to be taught how to engage with police when they are profiled, I mean, stopped. My question is why do African American parents have to teach their sons and daughters how to "behave" when stopped, while white parents teach their sons and daughters what their rights are if they are stopped y police. How do you think that makes us feel? I'll tell you how it makes us feel, like we are second class citizens in our own damn country.
http://www.quora.com/How-many-people-did-American-police-officers-shoot-and-kill-in-2014
We have some 920,000 sworn officers doing an estimated 13.1 Million arrests per year. In 2012, we had 48 officers killed in line-of-duty incidents (non-accident) with over 15,000 injuries to police officers. Compared to 418 justified homicides for a rate of one death per 31,300 arrests.
Personally, I see the 1 death in 31,300 as proving that American police officers are NOT out to kill people as has been suggested by some. But, that it shows a lot of restraint by our officers.
Links follow **********
418 justified homicides per year from 2003-2009 per this FBI Press Release. Bureau of Justice Statistics I doubt if there are any reliable numbers for 2014 yet.
This article Law enforcement in the United States says we have some 920,000 sworn police officers in the US (fed, state, & local). It also says the FBI estimates there were some 13.1 Million arrests or attempted arrests in 2010.
Per the FBI website for 2012: According to statistics collected by the FBI, 95 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2012. Of these, 48 law enforcement officers died as a result of felonious acts, and 47 officers died in accidents. In addition, 52,901 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults. FBI Releases 2012 Statistics on Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted
White parents do teach their children how to "behave" when stopped. I wasn't taught what my right were if I was stopped. I was taught to do what the officer told me.
As I grow older, the advice I continue to get is what to do that is most likely to get me out of a ticket, not what my rights are. Stuff like, turn the engine off, take the keys out of the ignition (shows the officer you are not planning to drive off), keep my hands on the steering wheel and in sight, be polite.
I wasn't taught what my rights were when I was pulled over, I was taught not to fight/resist the police.
Being pulled over for any reason can be potenially deadly for anybody if you try and run. I am not try to excuse the officer in the Scott case. He is a murderer and deserves to go to prison.
And I don't know anybody that doesn't feel dread when they see blue lights pulling them over.
Upset Resident: A man running from a police officer is not a threat to the officer.
In fact, the opposite is true: the man running is threatened by the officer; that is the reason he is running.
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