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| Protest against the shooting of Adam Toledo (Chicago Sun-Times) |
What troubles me however is the political fallout. Let me first say that I agree that there is still work to be done to eliminate even the hint of racism among some in law enforcement. So that the ‘playing field’ of confrontation will be leveled and skin color never considered. At the same time I do not believe that systemic racism is the issue. Crime is the issue. Their job is to protect and serve. And thereby fight crime.
But the climate generated by the murder of George Floyd has gone a bridge too far. As things stand now, even the most ethical cop in the world will hesitate to act in the face of danger fearing the repercussions of a mistake. Or worse the misinterpretation of an incident where someone is killed. I cannot help but believe that a lot more innocent people will get hurt or possibly even die because of such reticence.
Nowhere is this climate more evident than in the reaction to 3 separate incidents where a person of color was shot and killed by white police.
The first incident happened in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis where Kim Potter, a 26 year veteran of the police department accidently shot Duante Wright, a 20 year old suspect resisting arrest on an outstanding warrant.
It is obvious from the video that she intended to Taser him, but mistakenly pulled out her gun instead and shot him. It is true that there is no excuse for a mistake like that. Especially for a 26 year veteran of the police department. Someone died because Potter’s grievous error and she will pay a price. Potter was indicted for 2nd degree manslaughter and will face justice.
I think that’s fair. But a lot of activists on the left think it’s not enough. They see it as yet another black man being stopped by a white cop for a minor traffic offense. An offense that a white person would never have been stopped for… and then being killed for it.
That is NOT what happened. I am here to tell you that the idea that only black people get stopped for minor traffic offenses is false. Just a few weeks ago I was stopped by 2 Chicago police officers for having a non functioning tail light. They asked me for my driver’s license so they could check to see if there were any outstanding warrants.
When they saw there were none, they told me to get that light fixed and be on my way. (I had it fixed moments later by a local mechanic who simply replaced a burned out bulb.)
The police officers that stopped me were as polite as could be. They were just doing their jobs. I understood that and before parting with them, I told them how much I appreciated their service.
The difference between what happened to me and what happened to Wright is that the police attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. That it was a for misdemeanor is irrelevant. They were just doing their jobs. Which Wright apparently did not appreciate and attempted to escape. That does not excuse Potter. But it does argue against the notion that this was yet another racist murder by cop. It was not. And yet the vast majority of black activists, leftists, and the media are painting it as such.
The second incident happened in Little Village, a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. 13 year old Adam Toledo was fatally shot by Eric Stillman, the cop who was chasing him down after being called about shots being fired there.
That has generated a storm of protest and anger at the police. A still shot taken from the video of Toledo being shot shows him with his hand up ready to surrender moments before he was killed. But upon further examination it was clear that he had a gun when he ducked behind a fence during the chase. When he reappeared moments later he had just thrown the gun down while simultaneously turning around and raising his hands. This happened in mere seconds. That is when he was shot.
Stillman had no way of knowing that Toeldo dropped his gun when he reappeared. His assumption was that he was turning around to fire at him. At that point Stillman had every right to defend himself. It makes no difference that Toledo was only 13. He had a gun when he was being chased down and could have easily used it at any moment.
That he decided not to at he last moment was not apparent to Stillman who justifiably believed he was acting in self defense. But the media focus is on the outrage of activists that are charactering this as yet another racist police shooting.
This incident is currently being investigated and Stillman has not been charged. I hope he will not be. He did nothing wrong. The only reason he was there was because shots were fired by the fellow Toledo was with. Stillman apprehended him knowing him to be armed. (The other fellow had left by then.)
The third event happened when a 16 year old black girl was fatally shot by a white cop when after being called to the scene, he saw her trying to stab someone. That too is apparent from the video. If you see someone trying to kill someone else, you kill them first. It doesn’t matter that she was only 16 years old. She was trying to kill someone. A life was at at stake. And yet activists on the left are characterizing this too as yet another racist murder. And crying for blood!
In all 3 cases, the cops in question felt remorse and suffered trauma. Especially the latter 2. They all regretted the life they took – wishing they hadn’t. In all 3 cases - resuscitation was attempted to no avail.
That they had no intention of killing anyone didn’t matter to the media. What mattered was that in each case the victim was a person of color - shot and killed by a white cop. The outrage that followed was embellished by the relative youth of the victims. That and the race of the victims is what made these stories newsworthy. This kind of activism if carried to its inevitable conclusion can do irreparable harm to the public welfare.
I have to wonder, though, how many people see it the way I do. The left clearly does not. But the right has gone a bridge too far in the other direction – at least in the Derek Chauvin case by calling the jury’s verdict unjust – influenced by fear of the repercussion of a not guilty verdict.
It’s true that violent protests would have surely happened. Personal property would have been damaged or destroyed. People would have been hurt and possibly even killed. But I don’t believe that this was the jury’s motive. I believe they wanted to see justice done. They were instructed by the judge that justice would only be served if they reached a verdict ignoring any outside factors or repercussions. Basing it solely on the evidence presented at trial. I believe that is what happened.
For me common sense mitigates against the views of both the left and the right. But it seems like common sense is becoming increasingly rare these days. Overwhelmed by the rhetoric of extremists on both sides of the political aisle.