A Black Man Legally Carrying A Gun Was Wrongly Labeled A Suspect By Dallas Police

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

It's obvious someone in the vicinity of a protest at which 9 policeman were shot, carying an assault rifle , would only be detained if black.Dear God.

What's safer is the people who buy into the race baiting and hysteria.

I was alive during the 60s, albeit young. I think race relations may be as bad now as then. I can't remember worse in recent years.it's madness.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Went back and looked at my schedule, and realized I didn't overnight in BTV, just flew in for a little while. I spent the night in BWI, confused it with BTV, sorry about that.

What hotel did you stay in?

[Expat1 971]

If the cops knew he was carrying a gun, why was there such a surprise when they found the gun on him? You could hear him scream GUN! as if he was unaware of it. Unless you can prove he was reaching for it(which by the video's take, it wasn't possible).

Another itty bitty lie - "oh the cops were surprised to find a gun on him".

http://www.ktbs.com/story/32385956/sterling-shooting-dispatch-audio-released

They got dispatched to respond to a man with a gun who threatened someone. Keep telling yourself they were "really there because he was selling CD's" or "he got shot just for moving".

No. He had a gun, used it in a threatening manner, struggled to the police who responded, and got himself shot. End of story. His record of doing it before and the police record of arresting him all in one piece (14 times) before just supports the view that these officers responded to a violent criminal and were unable, this time, to get him to peacefully surrender. His illegal gun got him killed and a million black "leaders" can get on TV. claim he was a peaceful, law-abiding, legal gun owner exercising his rights to carry it, and that won't change a thing about this incident.

Your refusal to listen to what the officers heard before the incident won't change anything either. Good riddance to this piece of street trash and a shame on the black or any community to rise up and support him and what he did.

[Expat1 971]

nope. only your reasoning requires that little bitty lie.

http://www.ktbs.com/story/32385956/sterling-shooting-dispatch-audio-released

My reasoning is based on what this lady told them they were being called out to respond to.

[Expat1 971]

I was wondering about that myself when I read the original comment. Vermont has even more lax gun laws than Texas, anyone can carry - open or concealed - no permit needed, even if you are not a resident of the state. Yet I have NEVER ran into anyone carrying openly. Definitely would not be a usual sight anywhere, I wouldn't imagine.

Those dependent on the itty bitty lies (also known as delusions) first have to create this delusion of "normal", convince themselves that a person carrying an assault rifle in public is a "normal event", then further pretend that identifying a person as a person of interest doing this "normal action of" carrying an assault rifle, photographed on the scene where many police officers are shot with an assault rifle is somehow proof of racial profiling. Of course we have to pretend that hunters normally carry their rifles downtown (you know, because that's where all the game 'normally' is) to support this delusion.

Of course if the assault rifle downtown is actually NOT normal then it all falls apart and just becomes typical police work, hence the increasingly shrill tone of this magical argument.

As owner of a roomful, I stand by my opinion that only is it not "normal" to carry an assault weapon it is actually stupid to carry one to a protest against police. Though stupid, there is nothing that can be seen that this person was bothered, because though abnormal his actions were legal, and he remained unbothered until the actual shooting started. But though every news organization is blaring that the gunman acted alone of course we also have to pretend that this hero of the BLM masses still hasn't been cleared. It helps prop up the whole delusion.

These same people howling over the "injustice" of this from one side of their mouth are howling for the heads of every assault rifle owner in America at the same time. Hersch is right. There is no helping these people.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

What's interesting about all of this, is no one has posted a single video backing up their claims. I keep here about the thousands of vids out there of white folks getting killed in front of their family members by cops, but haven't seen a single post yet. How hard can it be?

As for the 60's comment:

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/subarticle.jsp?id=1437

Race relations were horrible back then. The only difference was, the violence flowed one way, from them to us. That's why folks say race relations have gone to hell, it's only an issue when black folks are killing white folks. Because when it's the other way around, that comment is never said.

[Expat1 971]

What's interesting about all of this, is no one has posted a single video backing up their claims. I keep here about the thousands of vids out there of white folks getting killed in front of their family members by cops, but haven't seen a single post yet. How hard can it be?

As for the 60's comment:

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/subarticle.jsp?id=1437

Race relations were horrible back then. The only difference was, the violence flowed one way, from them to us. That's why folks say race relations have gone to hell, it's only an issue when black folks are killing white folks. Because when it's the other way around, that comment is never said.

Who cares. The last guy who shot up the Dallas police was publicly executed by SWAT. I'm not shedding tears over it and neither are you. Same thing, but in your case he's white so you don't care and in my case he (also) deserved it so I don't care.

[JayJayH 546]

I'm not saying it hasn't happened. I'm saying if it has happened or something similar, why haven't there been video or news coverage? If some white guy was shot in a car by the police in front of his GF and child, we'd have police reform in one day. Hell, back to back within 24 hours? I couldn't imagine how that would look...

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-video-shooting-dylan-noble-20160707-snap-story.html

You don't hear about it. I thought this narrative of a "liberal mainstream media" was mostly a foil hat conspiracy theory until about a year or two ago. Until the far left, and much of the media, went off a proverbial cliff, and stopped examining statistics and actual policy (this is what I did my master's in).

Really, I sympathize with the people who are protesting police brutality, and I have absolutely no problem understanding that in certain communities, black people are unfairly targeted as compared to white people. In Ferguson for example, you had a majority black city policed by a police department that was 96% white. Doesn't mean the white police officers were necessarily unfit to police a black community, but I agree, it certainly raises questions. If you had a 96% black police force in a majority white neighborhood, I'd think it was statistically odd and significant enough to take a closer look at.

We've been sold this meme on social media and among major news outlets that the problem is white officers killing unarmed black teenagers. While this might be true in cities like Ferguson, or areas of Louisiana or on the south side of Chicago, it certainly isn't true where you and I live, in Honolulu. It isn't true in cities like Baltimore where the majority of the police force and the police chief is black. It isn't true in areas of L.A. where a plurality of officers are Hispanic, or in the city with the highest per capita police shootings - Bakersfield, CA where a majority of those shot by police are white or Hispanic. It wasn't true in Fresno last week when an unarmed white teenager was shot by police.

Where's the outrage? Where are the people protesting police killing an unarmed teenager? I haven't seen any. In fact, the major stories only arise nowadays when it's a black person shot by police. I'm not saying their deaths are less newsworthy. I'm just saying they're not more newsworthy either. They just simply don't fit the current narrative.

I'm by no means saying that black people aren't treated differently by police in many areas. In fact, I think it's a major problem, and agree that many police departments need overhaul. Ferguson was one. My problem begins when groups like Black Lives Matter completely ignore whites shot by cops, and focus solely on blacks shot by cops, even though statistics show that a socioeconomically disadvantaged white or Hispanic person has a much higher likelihood of being shot by police than a black teenager from a wealthy background. If BLM focused less on race, and more on the issue of unjust police brutality, I could bet you money that they'd have large swathes of the more libertarian-minded Republican Party rallying behind their cause. If the far left focused less on race, and more on socioeconomic disparities, I'd still call myself a liberal today.

I've been a lifelong liberal, a lot of it because while I've been an adult, the Republican Party has mainly been about preventing gays from getting married and pushing creationism in school textbooks. But the far left today really is to social science what the religious right is to natural science. Science is no longer a tool to objectively look at facts and statistics, but rather a tool to cherry pick in order to fit a certain narrative.

For certain Christian groups, that narrative is a 6,000 year old Earth. For certain far left groups, that narrative is a reality in which white cops are going around indiscriminately killing unarmed black teenagers at pandemic levels.

Edited July 9, 2016 by JayJayH

[Expat1 971]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-video-shooting-dylan-noble-20160707-snap-story.html

You don't hear about it. I thought this narrative of a "liberal mainstream media" was mostly a foil hat conspiracy theory until about a year or two ago. Until the far left, and much of the media, went off a proverbial cliff, and stopped examining statistics and actual policy (this is what I did my master's in).

Really, I sympathize with the people who are protesting police brutality, and I have absolutely no problem understanding that in certain communities, black people are unfairly targeted as compared to white people. In Ferguson for example, you had a majority black city policed by a police department that was 96% white. Doesn't mean the white police officers were necessarily unfit to police a black community, but I agree, it certainly raises questions. If you had a 96% black police force in a majority white neighborhood, I'd think it was statistically odd and significant enough to take a closer look at.

We've been sold this meme on social media and among major news outlets that the problem is white officers killing unarmed black teenagers. While this might be true in cities like Ferguson, or areas of Louisiana or on the south side of Chicago, it certainly isn't true where you and I live, in Honolulu. It isn't true in cities like Baltimore where the majority of the police force and the police chief is black. It isn't true in areas of L.A. where a plurality of officers are Hispanic, or in the city with the highest per capita police shootings - Bakersfield, CA where a majority of those shot by police are white or Hispanic. It wasn't true in Fresno last week when an unarmed white teenager was shot by police.

Where's the outrage? Where are the people protesting police killing an unarmed teenager? I haven't seen any.

I'm by no means saying that black people aren't treated differently by police in many areas. In fact, I think it's a major problem, and agree that many police departments need overhaul. Ferguson was one. My problem begins when groups like Black Lives Matter completely ignore whites shot by cops, and focus solely on blacks shot by cops, even though statistics show that a socioeconomically disadvantaged white or Hispanic person has a much higher likelihood of being shot by police than a black teenager from a wealthy background. If BLM focused less on race, and more on the issue of unjust police brutality, I could bet you money that they'd have large swathes of the more libertarian-minded Republican Party rallying behind their cause. If the far left focused less on race, and more on socioeconomic disparities, I'd still call myself a liberal today.

I've been a lifelong liberal, a lot of it because while I've been an adult, the Republican Party has mainly been about preventing gays from getting married and pushing creationism in school textbooks. But the far left today really is to social science what the religious right is to natural science. Science is no longer a tool to objectively look at facts and statistics, but rather a tool to cherry pick in order to fit a certain narrative.

For certain Christian groups, that narrative is a 6,000 year old Earth. For certain far left groups, that narrative is a reality in which white cops are going around indiscriminately killing unarmed black teenagers.

Well said

[smilesammich 10,727]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-video-shooting-dylan-noble-20160707-snap-story.html

You don't hear about it. I thought this narrative of a "liberal mainstream media" was mostly a foil hat conspiracy theory until about a year or two ago. Until the far left, and much of the media, went off a proverbial cliff, and stopped examining statistics and actual policy (this is what I did my master's in).

Really, I sympathize with the people who are protesting police brutality, and I have absolutely no problem understanding that in certain communities, black people are unfairly targeted as compared to white people. In Ferguson for example, you had a majority black city policed by a police department that was 96% white. Doesn't mean the white police officers were necessarily unfit to police a black community, but I agree, it certainly raises questions. If you had a 96% black police force in a majority white neighborhood, I'd think it was statistically odd and significant enough to take a closer look at.

We've been sold this meme on social media and among major news outlets that the problem is white officers killing unarmed black teenagers. While this might be true in cities like Ferguson, or areas of Louisiana or on the south side of Chicago, it certainly isn't true where you and I live, in Honolulu. It isn't true in cities like Baltimore where the majority of the police force and the police chief is black. It isn't true in areas of L.A. where a plurality of officers are Hispanic, or in the city with the highest per capita police shootings - Bakersfield, CA where a majority of those shot by police are white or Hispanic. It wasn't true in Fresno last week when an unarmed white teenager was shot by police.

Where's the outrage? Where are the people protesting police killing an unarmed teenager? I haven't seen any. In fact, the major stories only arise nowadays when it's a black person shot by police. I'm not saying their deaths are less newsworthy. I'm just saying they're not more newsworthy either. They just simply don't fit the current narrative.

I'm by no means saying that black people aren't treated differently by police in many areas. In fact, I think it's a major problem, and agree that many police departments need overhaul. Ferguson was one. My problem begins when groups like Black Lives Matter completely ignore whites shot by cops, and focus solely on blacks shot by cops, even though statistics show that a socioeconomically disadvantaged white or Hispanic person has a much higher likelihood of being shot by police than a black teenager from a wealthy background. If BLM focused less on race, and more on the issue of unjust police brutality, I could bet you money that they'd have large swathes of the more libertarian-minded Republican Party rallying behind their cause. If the far left focused less on race, and more on socioeconomic disparities, I'd still call myself a liberal today.

I've been a lifelong liberal, a lot of it because while I've been an adult, the Republican Party has mainly been about preventing gays from getting married and pushing creationism in school textbooks. But the far left today really is to social science what the religious right is to natural science. Science is no longer a tool to objectively look at facts and statistics, but rather a tool to cherry pick in order to fit a certain narrative.

For certain Christian groups, that narrative is a 6,000 year old Earth. For certain far left groups, that narrative is a reality in which white cops are going around indiscriminately killing unarmed black teenagers at pandemic levels.

that's one of the narratives, but it isn't the narrative. it also isnt a new narrative or one that recently sprouted with the obama administration. police violence is a long standing issue thats being exposed via social media. the mass media, i dont know if youve noticed, are having a hard time crafting their 'breaking news' when folks have already been live streaming for an hour. it's interesting to read commentary of people who were there and all the conflicting scenarios of multiple shooters and chaos that wraps up all nice into one blown up suspect in just a matter of hours.

[JayJayH 546]

that's one of the narratives, but it isn't the narrative. it also isnt a new narrative or one that recently sprouted with the obama administration. police violence is a long standing issue thats being exposed via social media. the mass media, i dont know if youve noticed, are having a hard time crafting their 'breaking news' when folks have already been live streaming for an hour. it's interesting to read commentary of people who were there and all the conflicting scenarios of multiple shooters and chaos that wraps up all nice into one blown up suspect in just a matter of hours.

This is the problem of living in a post-empirical world. "Facts" are subjective now, and your perception of facts depends entirely on what news outlets you consider to be credible enough to follow on Facebook.

This is how we got to a point where the far right now is okay with banning people from even entering the U.S. as tourists solely based on religion, while the far left is okay with de facto segregation and making up opinions based solely on race and identity.

Which is worse? Seeing as neither is objective, it depends who you follow on Facebook.

Edited July 9, 2016 by JayJayH

[Expat1 971]

I'm not saying it hasn't happened. I'm saying if it has happened or something similar, why haven't there been video or news coverage? If some white guy was shot in a car by the police in front of his GF and child, we'd have police reform in one day. Hell, back to back within 24 hours? I couldn't imagine how that would look...

You only see in one color Marvin LOL

July 4: a 34-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on July 4, 2016, in a house in North Charleston, S.C. Patterson shot at North Charleston police officers from an upstairs window of his home and struck one officer before exiting the home and continuing to fire at officers.

July 2: 50-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on July 2, 2016, in a hotel in Bristol, Tenn. Bristol police officers were attempting to arrest Justice on a warrant at a motel. Police said he pointed a gun at officers.

July 1: 58-year-old white man armed with a knife, was shot on July 1, 2016, in a house in Jackson, Wis. Jackson police rushed into the house and shot Wihowski. Family members told reporters that the man was holding their mother at knifepoint.

June 29: 41-year-old white man armed with a pitchfork, was shot on June 29, 2016, in a house in Madison, Wis. Police said the man was splashing and talking to himself in a lake and then broke into a nearby home. The residents fled and called 911. When Madison police arrived, the man threatened officers with a pitchfork.

Another one on June 29 (two in the same day) Jessie J. Mills, a 30-year-old white man, was shot on June 29, 2016, in Barbourville, Ky. Knox County sheriff's deputies sought Mills in a child abduction investigation. Authorities said he attacked officers.

Two days before - June 27: 25-year-old white man with a toy weapon, was shot on June 27, 2016, in Frederica, Del. Delaware state police began pursuing the pickup truck Hutson was driving because it was reported stolen. When he eventually came to a stop, he waved what appeared to be a gun at officers. The weapon was a gun-shaped lighter.

WOW same day - June 27th: 26-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on June 27, 2016, in Laguna Pueblo, N.M. New Mexico state police said the man pointed a gun at officers.

And a third - same day, June 27th: 32-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on June 27, 2016, in Cochran, Ga. Bleckley County sheriff's deputies were called by Peacock's mother, who claimed he was holding her and another family member captive. When deputies arrived, he refused their orders to drop his rifle.

Number 4, gosh same day - June 27th: 28-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on June 27, 2016, in Boone, Iowa. Boone police officers were responding to reports of a man waving a gun and threatening people. Disbrowe refused orders to drop his weapon.

June 26th: 51-year-old white man armed with a baseball bat, was shot on June 26, 2016, in Columbia Township, Mich. Jackson County sheriff's deputies were responding to reports of a domestic disturbance at Mauer's home. Authorities said he brandished a baseball bat at officers.

Are you starting the get the point yet or shall I go on? I think I will

June 26th: 59-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on June 25, 2016, in Pinellas Park, Fla. Pinellas Park police said that Bogusiewicz shot and killed his son after the two men argued about purchasing beer. Police said that Bogusiewicz began shooting at the responding officers, who returned fire.

June 25th: Dylan Nobles, an unarmed 19-year-old white man, was shot on June 25, 2016, in Fresno, Calif. Fresno police were searching for a man reportedly walking in the street with a rifle when they noticed a truck speeding nearby and attempted to pull it over. Nobles got out of the truck and reached behind his back, police said.

June 24th: Christy Sheats, a 42-year-old white woman armed with a gun, was shot on June 24, 2016, in Fulshear, Tex. Fulshear police were called to her home to investigate the fatal shootings of Sheats's two daughters. Police said that Sheats refused to drop a gun she brandished. Authorities said they had been called to Sheats's home before for issues with her mental health.

Same day - June 24th: Randy Blecher, a 50-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on June 24, 2016, in Farmington, Ark. Washington County sheriff's deputies were investigating reports that Blecher was setting a house on fire. Police said that he pointed a gun at the officers.

White folks got a day off after that, but after skipping a day June 22: Roger Ponce, a 37-year-old white man armed with a knife, was shot on June 22, 2016, in a house in Wellington, Fla. Deputies escorted a woman to her home to collect her belongings after she told police her husband sexually assaulted a family member. Deputies shot Ponce after he attacked them with two butcher knives.

And another one on June 22: Josiah Williams, a 25-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on June 22, 2016, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Authorities said that Williams brandished a gun at Colorado Springs police officers.

June 21st: Lane Lesko, a 19-year-old white man, was shot on June 21, 2016, in a vehicle in Peterborough, N.H. Police said they shot Lesko after a short car chase. Court records show that he had mental health and substance abuse issues.

June 20: Devin Christopher Scott, a 20-year-old white man armed with a knife, was shocked with a stun gun and shot on June 20, 2016, in a house in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Lake Havasu City police responded to a domestic disturbance call after Scott broke into his parents' home. Officers found him in a bedroom holding a knife, police said.

There are 220 others. This year alone. Overall 24% of police shootings in 2016 involve black suspects. 31% of overall crimes involve black suspects.

A black suspect is statistically MORE, likely to survive contact with the police. Here is a list of every single one. It will be difficult to keep up your delusion if you study the database so like the police dispatch tape from Baton Rouge if you want to deal with facts and statistics and not BLM rhetoric I suggest you don't click this link.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2016/

Edited July 9, 2016 by Expat1

[JayJayH 546]

You only see in one color Marvin LOL

July 4: a 34-year-old white man armed with a gun, was shot on July 4, 2016, in a house in North Charleston, S.C. Patterson shot at North Charleston police officers from an upstairs window of his home and struck one officer before exiting the home and continuing to fire at officers.

[...]

There are 220 others. This year alone. Overall 24% of police shootings in 2016 involve black suspects. 31% of overall crimes involve black suspects.

A black suspect is statistically MORE, likely to survive contact with the police. Here is a list of every single one. It will be difficult to keep up your delusion if you study the database so like the police dispatch tape from Baton Rouge if you want to deal with facts and statistics and not BLM rhetoric I suggest you don't click this link.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2016/

What I don't think a lot of people understand is that very few people, whether black, white, Hispanic or Asian, disagree with BLM's message in terms of ending unnecessary police brutality. I, and apparently others, react when it is turned into solely a race issue without any attention to areas of the country where the same race issue might not apply. Same holds true for most leftist identity politics - Try convincing unemployed West Virginians that they have this magical straight, cis, white male privelege that flows from their very existence.

What remains consistent in the media, social media and through BLM's message is this narrative of pandemic levels of blacks being shot by white officers, while whites just get a slap on the wrist. I say this knowing full well that my black roommate when I lived in California was treated far differently by (an Asian) police officer than I've ever been by police.

What stays consistent throughout the country however is the socioeconomic factor. If you come from a poor neighborhood, you are more likely to be targeted by police, or even killed by police. That holds true whether you're black in Louisiana or Chicago, Hispanic in California or New Mexico, or a poor white in West Virginia. I don't want or expect media to stop reporting instances of black people being treated unfairly by the police. What I do want to see is more objective reporting.

Twist it around. When every robbery of a liquor store is reported as "suspect is a black male", you quickly forget that plenty of liquor stores are also robbed on the daily by white and Hispanic males (and likely also females). If statistically, more liquor stores are robbed by black males, does that make it solely a "black on crime issue"?

No. What is far more likely is that blacks in that particular area are statistically more socioeconomically disadvantaged. Which is why, when a liquor store is robbed in Honolulu or San Antonio, the assailant is far less likely to be a "black male" than if a liquor store was robbed on the south side of Chicago.

Edited July 9, 2016 by JayJayH

[Expat1 971]

What I don't think a lot of people understand is that very few people, whether black, white, Hispanic or Asian, disagree with BLM's message in terms of ending unnecessary police brutality. I, and apparently others, react when it is turned into solely a race issue without any attention to areas of the country where the same race issue might not apply. Same holds true for most leftist identity politics - Try convincing unemployed West Virginians that they have this magical straight, cis, white male privelege that flows from their very existence.

What remains consistent in the media, social media and through BLM's message is this narrative of pandemic levels of blacks being shot by white officers, while whites just get a slap on the wrist. I say this knowing full well that my black roommate when I lived in California was treated far differently by (an Asian) police officer than I've ever been by police.

What stays consistent throughout the country however is the socioeconomic factor. If you come from a poor neighborhood, you are more likely to be targeted by police, or even killed by police. That holds true whether you're black in Louisiana or Chicago, Hispanic in California or New Mexico, or a poor white in West Virginia. I don't want or expect media to stop reporting instances of black people being treated unfairly by the police. What I do want to see is more objective reporting.

Twist it around. When every robbery of a liquor store is reported as "suspect is a black male", you quickly forget that plenty of liquor stores are also robbed on the daily by white and Hispanic males (and likely also females). If statistically, more liquor stores are robbed by black males, does that make it solely a "black on crime issue"?

No. What is far more likely is that blacks in that particular area are statistically more socioeconomically disadvantaged. Which is why, when a liquor store is robbed in Honolulu or San Antonio, the assailant is far less likely to be a "black male" than if a liquor store was robbed on the south side of Chicago.

I agree with what you have said and what you are saying. I believe that the dialogue cannot even get started until all the pitchers of koolaid are taken away and locked safely away in the liquor cabinet and all involved parties have been through detox to get the koolaid of their system.

There is a system in place to address police brutality and excessive force and I believe that system, across the country, has broken down. Some incidents of use of force in this very exhaustive list seem to be legitimate, but many do not, and the ones that do not (Minnesota incident appears to be an open and shut example of that) should not be swept under and hidden behind the blue line and the officers involved in such incidents should be dealt with harshly. Too many times officers that are clearly at fault and in the wrong are let off the hook and it is destroying the relationship between good honest officers and the community.

From living overseas for quite awhile and travelling a good bit I have seen some serious poverty. What I do not find is a connection between violent crime and poverty so while there seems to be a correlation in the US that correlation is not reflected in other parts of the world. There is something else, something missing, and I am not sure what it is but I believe it stems from a different application of law to rich and poor in the US which is not sustainable and needs to be addressed immediately.

Appreciate all of your comments.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Expat1

[JayJayH 546]

Additionally. What breaks my heart about the Dallas shooter is the fact that he was a war veteran, who serviced this country heroically and likely returned to a perceived reality where blacks are indiscriminately being slaughtered by white police officers. As police chief Brown in Dallas stated, the guy held a hatred towards white people, and white police officers in particular.

I don't blame people for protesting unjustified police shootings. I do blame people for (1) blindly protesting shootings without actually knowing the facts, and (2) universally turning police brutality solely into a race issue.

The topic of race is toxic unless you support it with clear cut, factual evidence. Why? Because if you leave any leeway, you end up excluding a ton of people who would otherwise agree with you. And they're excluded solely based on skin color.

I've spent a lot of time in the "current events" section of this forum debating the prevalence of religious orthodoxy in Islam. I think the same could be said for police brutality. If you argue that in certain ares, blacks are more likely to be targets of unjust police brutality, you have a good point. If you argue that there is a pandemic of white officers singling out and killing unarmed black people without hard evidence/statistics, you end up in the "war between all Muslims and the West" type of argument.

I agree with what you have said and what you are saying. I believe that the dialogue cannot even get started until all the pitchers of koolaid are taken away and locked safely away in the liquor cabinet and all involved parties have been through detox to get the koolaid of their system.

There is a system in place to address police brutality and excessive force and I believe that system, across the country, has broken down. Some incidents of use of force in this very exhaustive list seem to be legitimate, but many do not, and the ones that do not (Minnesota incident appears to be an open and shut example of that) should not be swept under and hidden behind the blue line and the officers involved in such incidents should be dealt with harshly. Too many times officers that are clearly at fault and in the wrong are let off the hook and it is destroying the relationship between good honest officers and the community.

From living overseas for quite awhile and travelling a good bit I have seen some serious poverty. What I do not find is a connection between violent crime and poverty so while there seems to be a correlation in the US that correlation is not reflected in other parts of the world. There is something else, something missing, and I am not sure what it is but I believe it stems from a different application of law to rich and poor in the US which is not sustainable and needs to be addressed immediately.

Appreciate all of your comments.

Thanks.

I agree with what you are saying. While I do believe police officers deserve a higher burden of proof when standing trial - By default, seeing as their job is more likely than any other profession to include legitimate use of force - I do believe that too many officers are let off the hook, and that this creates a sense of mistrust between communities and the jurisdictions that police them. Likewise, I am skeptical of anyone protesting a grand jury's decision without having any evidence to back up their claims with.

I have not seen any statistics from non-western countries regarding correlations between poverty and crime, so I can't really comment on that, but in the U.S. and most of the west, that correlation is pretty clear.

Edited July 9, 2016 by JayJayH