At 1am on November 2nd, Police from Urbandale and Des Moines departments responded to gun shots, according to the Des Moines Register. Upon their arrival, they found one of their own, Urbandale Officer Justin Martin fatally shot. Only twenty minutes later, a second officer, Sergeant Anthony Beminio was shot while on his way to respond to the shooting of Martin, and was transported to hospital where he later died.
Sergeant Beminio on the left, and Officer Martin on the right.
For Des Moines, it has been the first police officer fatally shot in the line of duty since 1977, and for Urbandale, the first ever. This loss is heavier on top of the loss of the two Des Moines officers, Susan Farrell and Carlos Puente-Morales who passed earlier this year when struck head on by a drunk driver.
It has been a tough year for a "tight knit community... Des Moines is not a big city. We all know each other. We are heartbroken," stated Sergeant Paul Parizek of Des Moines police department.
At 9:30 am this morning, 8 and a half hours after the shooting, suspect Scott Michael Greene was taken into custody approximately 35 miles west from where the shootings occurred.
Nonetheless—today is a tragedy. For not only the Police Departments that are grieving, but for us as a community, a state, and a nation. It's a tragedy for us all: from my baby cousin who lives two blocks down; to the police community everywhere. My heart is broken. But, there is a problem.
This is not racial. This is a tragedy.
On the morning that the news broke, many people took to social media to discuss the incident, and, incredibly, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was instantly to blame. Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, stated that it is an issue happening "everywhere in this country."
As it became clear; this was not the case. In fact; the suspect and person taken into custody, Scott Greene, is a white male. And although the suspect was taken into custody; this negative mindset and social media assumptions of it being a member of a community of colour is hateful. It wasn't just one person; either.
Unbelievably; it gets worse as you can see from this conversation between @NetworksManager and @Jn3_16_21
On seperate notes:
I won't go on. I think you get the point. There's something unsettling about the fact that it was so easy for some people to jump to such conclusions; arguably only furthering the segregation that our country is experiencing. It's times like this I wish we could all just come together and grieve, instead of forcing the blame onto those who don't deserve it. This was not racial; it was a tragedy. Arguably, it was mental illness, but all will hopefully make sense in the coming weeks when he is brought to justice.
Someone had to say it. Sorry, America, unacceptable.