Posted on 04/08/2019 8:40:55 AM PDT by Kaslin
Despite continued reductions in law enforcement officers’ use of deadly force, this decade is shaping up to be one of the most trying decades in the history of American law enforcement. The debate surrounding the state of policing is dominated by emotion rather than fact. The amount of demagoguery and invective in the national discussion of law enforcement should concern everyone, because effective policing and, in turn, a safe citizenry rely on factual and objective reporting. The police-involved shooting death of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, California last year is just the latest example of how facts tend to get hijacked when it comes to controversial police actions.
Hours after a Ferguson, Missouri police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, the “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative had begun to take shape. Across the country, Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson’s presumption of innocence was bulldozed by rumors that Michael Brown was in the process of peacefully surrendering when shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. In the ensuing days, Ferguson would be torn apart by riots and destruction. Professional athletes, celebrities, members of Congress, and even news commentators completely bought into the “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative. They ignored evidence that Brown had just robbed a convenience store, assaulted and attempted to disarm Officer Wilson.
In March 2015, the Department of Justice issued its official findings that Wilson’s use of deadly force was reasonable and lawful. It didn’t matter; the damage was done. To this day, Michael Brown’s name is synonymous with the false narrative his death spawned.
To the extent these wounds had begun to heal in the four years since, raw nerves were again laid bare in the recent coverage of the shooting death of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, California. Sadly, as in the Brown case, the events which led to the death of Clark have been misrepresented by special interest groups and many media outlets.
Clark, a black man, was shot by two Sacramento police officers after he took a shooting stance and pointed what turned out to be a cell phone at the officers. In the dark, the phone appeared to be a gun and both officers, one black and one white, fired at Clark, killing him.
The investigation found that Clark had recently sent text messages expressing suicidal thoughts. His actions during the confrontation with officers appeared to be an intentional provocation of deadly force, fueled by alcohol, cocaine, and opioids – a “suicide by cop.” To their credit, both the Sacramento District Attorney and California Attorney General declined to bring charges against the officers, citing the reasonableness of their actions. But despite its nuances, the case is still widely described in the headlines by a familiar, inflammatory shorthand: “unarmed black man shot by police.”
Now, in direct response to the Stephon Clark case, the California legislature is considering a bill that would endanger public safety by restricting officers’ ability to protect lives, including their own. Assembly Bill 392 is a significant and intentional departure from the longstanding constitutional standards officers have operated under for decades. Among other things, this new standard would require officers to give distance and space to individuals, even those who are armed or believed to be armed and dangerous, in order to avoid having to use force. Failure of an officers to do so would subject them to criminal charges but adhering to these limitations will jeopardize officer and public safety.
Law enforcement has a vital role protecting members of the public in communities across the country. We should all work to support efforts by law enforcement to reduce the necessity of deadly force. But we must not continue to accept false and incendiary narratives which work to further polarize an already divisive issue. The men and women of law enforcement must retain the right to use reasonable force to protect themselves and us. We must not allow politically-driven false narratives to continue to drive public policy, to the detriment of public safety.
So the problem is the media?
As is everything associated with The Left.
FAKE NEWS has Real consequences?? Imagine that!!
-- Australian woman murdered by a Minneapolis policeman.
-- Couple killed during a HPD narcotics raid wasn't a lie.
-- Dallas police woman walking into the wrong apartment and killing the resident.
-- Waco DA dropping all charges related to the the Twin Peaks shootout.
Police actions are constantly under attack. By the left and the right.
Tough job.
I see this stuff as Either-Or.
You either support Law Enforcement or you support Thugs.
Note: Bad cops who beat people or unnecessarily shoot people (or dogs) should be handled by Law Enforcement. I support Law Enforcement.
How many inner-city neighborhoods REALLY want to come out in full and open support of Thugs?? According to the media, one would think that all Blacks prefer Thugs and the Thug Life. An amazingly racist viewpoint is being pushed by the Left. For myself, I think almost all Blacks support decent law enforcement every bit as much as I do. Why wouldn’t they?
“Australian woman murdered by a Minneapolis policeman.”
And the trial for murder has begun....issues with that?
Cops and Teachers.
Good ones are worth their weight in gold.
Problem is so many are terrible and have no business being in the business, AND the folks who are supposed GET RID of the bad actors don’t do it.
Not until the SHTF, then the endless blame game starts.
LEOs knows who the criminals are, they also know who the bad cops are.
Teachers know who the trouble making kids are, and who the bad teachers are.
A police force, or a police officer, is only as good as the worst cop they tolerate.
Anyone supporting the ‘thin blue line’ by not doing everything in their power to get rid of the bad cops deserves to be painted with the same brush.
I think there are a lot of mostly decent, hard working cops who damned well know who the bad apples are and don’t say or do anything.
So no, I don’t see this as an ‘either/or’. Both Thugs and cops who act like thugs deserve scorn.
I support *NO ONE* , nor any group of people, nor any organization, nor any movement blindly.
However, in many of these cases videos have turned up which refute the police story, and so had cast doubt on many of these claims.
Still police get away with outrageous behavior - the Dennis Shaver case was a travesty, and the fact that the cop was not charged was absurd. Tamar Rice, a kid playing with a toy gun.
Citizens shot defending themselves from another shooter: Emantic Bradford Jr., and Daylan McLee,
Never mind the “wrong house” raids that get citizens killed: Gerald Sykes, Jose Guerena, Richard “Gary” Black, and Ismael Lopez.
I have DOZENS of other cases where innocent citizens were killed by cops, and faced no consequences.
Absolutely, positively, 100%
“A police force, or a police officer, is only as good as the worst cop they tolerate.”
Says who? Commissioner Frank Reagan?
They’re certainly not doing themselves any favors
And the trial for murder has begun....issues with that?
The first issue is that the charge was for manslaughter and not murder. The other issue is that the "good cop" partner refused to cooperate with investigators, and was finally forced to testify under grand jury subpoena, thus delaying justice. The indictment was based on his forced testimony.
Good cops circle the wagons around the bad ones and obstruct on their behalf.
The very first line in your post is lie https://kstp.com/news/second-degree-murder-charge-officially-added-mohamed-noor-complaint/5175413/ so didn’t bother to fact check the rest because they are probably also fabrications.
You may want to do a bit of research before posting obviously erroneous information as it ultimately engenders people to disregard anything you have to say as well as makes you look like a fool.
You have updated information. It doesn't make me a liar.
The “updated information” was being charged with 2nd degree murder....he was charged with 3rd degree murder 7 months ago, hardly “updated info”
Lie or not , one shouldn’t post as fact what is clearly false.
This case has moved at a glacial pace so I've only checked in periodically.
Your "In Forum" history shows you're not a troll, so what gives? You're better than this.
Who or what are you defending by claiming I post lies and falsehoods?
Project much? Manslaughter + third degree MURDER 7 months ago which you conveniently neglected to include. Upgraded to Second degree MURDER recently.
First, coming from a log line of hard working underpaid, dedicated peace officers, I don’t like them disparaged willy nilly by so called arm chair sanctimonious know it all’s. Second, I don’t appreciate people who post comments that are commonly known and demonstrably false to rebut me and then try and spin there way out of it when caught as is so common on the left.
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