This past week, I saw an article entitled "America is Tired of 'Not Guilty' Verdicts" in response to the grand jury's verdict of Jeranimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile, who was legally carrying a firearm when the incident happened. I don't disagree with the author on this case: Officer Yanez acted irresponsibly and the Castile family has suffered a loss for it. As a fan of the Second Amendment, it's horrifying that a legal gun owner would be killed after informing the officer that he was carrying.
However, instead of talking about the instances in which police brutality actually occured when an innocent person was killed or excessive force was used, the author decided to talk about Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin. These are the two of the worst examples to bring up when talking about police brutality.
Trayvon Martin: a very unfortunate instance and stopped for flimsy reasons (black kid in a hoodie) by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman (who wasn't trained the same way law enforcement is). However, when Zimmerman stopped him, Trayvon brought him to the ground and started bashing Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk. Now, either Zimmerman dies of brain injury or Zimmerman protects himself and dispatches the threat to his life. Very sad, horrible reason for stopping him, but when it comes to self-defense, there's a lot more of a grey area.
Michael Brown: the guy was a suspect for a robbery and was stopped by an officer of the Ferguson PD. Good stop, Michael Brown fit the profile of the suspect, and he failed to comply with the officer's order to stand down and come quietly. Instead of complying with the officer, Brown proceeded to attack the officer and tried to take the officer's gun (a third party autopsy later showed that Brown's hands could not have been "up" and there was gun powder residue on Brown's person, indicating that he was close enough to touch the barrel of the officer's firearm).
To recap, yes: police brutality happens. Yes, I believe Yanez should have been indited for manslaughter. There needs to be better training for concealed carriers and police officers. But civilians need to stop buying the narrative that every police and black interaction is racially motivated and that cops go out specifically attacking certain populations.
When you base a thought off of a headline, yes, it seems like there is a uptick in shooting incidents between police and black people. When you do a bit of research, you realize that these stories quickly unravel and see that it's not random attacks, but in many of those instances, that force is necessary.
God bless- DB
Watch this for further reference: "(142) DEBUNKED: #BlackLivesMatter Propaganda Exposed Case by Case" from Louder with Crowder
