Police shooting of unarmed teen leads to protests and Riot

[wittynickname]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

The riots in LA in 1992 created massive, huge, sweeping change in the LAPD. It actually changed the demographics of the city as well. In all honesty, the LAPD is nothing like it was before the riots. South Central is nothing like it was before. It was actually a very useful and necessary event though sadly very tragic. And sadly not a transferable lesson.

Exactly.

No one is saying it's a great thing that businesses are being looted and that innocent people are caught up in the chaos.

But very rarely can the oppressed make much change by quietly asking for people to take notice. Even Ferguson--the events there over the last year drew attention to a massive, systemic abuse of power by the authorities. Riots aren't great--but sometimes rioting is the only thing that gets attention from anyone who might have the power to enact change.

[Winnie]

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Exactly.

No one is saying it's a great thing that businesses are being looted and that innocent people are caught up in the chaos.

But very rarely can the oppressed make much change by quietly asking for people to take notice. Even Ferguson--the events there over the last year drew attention to a massive, systemic abuse of power by the authorities. Riots aren't great--but sometimes rioting is the only thing that gets attention from anyone who might have the power to enact change.

I stole an Ipod from London Drugs tonight to draw attention to the cops who have been attacked in the Baltimore riots. #hero

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Winnie

I stole an Ipod from London Drugs tonight to draw attention to the cops who have been attacked in the Baltimore riots. #hero

Way to totally miss the point and rehash something that's been pointed out like five times. #hero

[Winnie]

Originally Posted by nik-

Way to totally miss the point and rehash something that's been pointed out like five times. #hero

Sorry man. I thought this thread was all about rehashing stuff. #mybad

[nik-]

Well in that case, you nailed it.

[Winnie]

Originally Posted by nik-

Well in that case, you nailed it.

Glad to contribute to a worthy cause.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

The one where the guy who was in custody ended up with a severed spine and dead.

Or maybe it was a simple misunderstanding and he, I don't know, fell down and broke his back while in handcuffs. That's possible I guess.

The investigation is not complete yet, but since you have the inside track at Baltimore PD and the prosecutor's office, maybe you can enlighten us as to what the charges that they are laying are?

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I have no idea when or why anyone called Sherman a thug..if they did they were using it incorrectly.


As for race conflict...I never said there wasn't any....pretty obvious there is.

It has NO bearing however on the fact that burning down a city will not effect change because those doing the criminal acts are not the ones who will persue said changes. Peaceful protests will go eons and eons further than this lawlessness will ever hope to.

Just in Baltimore...

The Mayor, the police Commisioner, the patrol chief, councillors, activists...all on TV just this evening...are all black. They are the ones "in power" as you put it, and they are not going to be any more active to affect change when they see what we are witnessing on their watch.

Common sense dictates that burning down your local pharmacies, looting your mall and dozens of other local small businesses, burning schools...is only going to HURT your community more than it will ever help. I mean...how long til these resources are replaced? Years? Maybe never?

Well done.

If you are black in the USA, riots have historically been a much better way of pushing progress.

For example, prior to the violence in Baltimore, there had been 4 days of peaceful protesting that went completely unreported.

It took riots in Ferguson to expose the depth of corruption and racism in that police department. Same in Los Angeles 15 years prior.

[blueski]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Yes...they are ALL thugs. Not sure why you have such a freaking problem with that label...its entirely appropriate in this case as well.

I watched that press conference earlier tonight with the mayor, the chief of patrol, a councilman and a city activist Each and every one of them used the exact same term multiple times.

They are looting (stealing), burning down their city, lighting cars on fire everywhere,...it's a godamn war zone in spots....all brought on by thugs.

Is it really looting when a mom runs out of a store with a pack of TP under her arms? Pretty hard to expect rule of law to prevail at the bottom of society when it clearly has been absent for several years at the top in the USA.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by dobbles

they murdered a guy that was standing in his own doorway with a screw driver and you feel bad for the cops?

when the door was opened, the woman calmly walked out and the man was calmly standing there. they start shouting at him and then shoot him. the cops escalated the situation and then used deadly force.

yet another incident that is just sickening.

america and their obsession with guns is past the boiling point.

The mother called the police on her schizophrenic son because he was off his meds and threatening to harm people. The door opens with that man holding what could very easily be a deadly weapon and appears to advance towards the cops. It's an unfortunate situation but, to me, it's not like the deaths of Eric Garner, Walter Scott, and more than likely Freddie Gray.

[wittynickname]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

The mother called the police on her schizophrenic son because he was off his meds and threatening to harm people. The door opens with that man holding what could very easily be a deadly weapon and appears to advance towards the cops. It's an unfortunate situation but, to me, it's not like the deaths of Eric Garner, Walter Scott, and more than likely Freddie Gray.

The man needed assistance from a mental health professional.

He didn't need to be shot to death.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by wittynickname

The man needed assistance from a mental health professional.

He didn't need to be shot to death.

Most people don't need to be shot.

It's an unfortunate situation, but the police were sent to a high-risk situation where a potentially violent (based on the 911 call) man appears to approach them with a weapon. It was a dangerous situation for them. They did what they were trained to do, and before we jump on the anti-American police, most police forces in the world are trained very similar in handling assailants with a deadly weapon.

This was not the situation where the police confronted a person because he was black, they were asked to come. This isn't a situation where the man didn't pose a risk, any reasonable person would concede that a mentally unstable man with a weapon is a dangerous threat. In that regard, it's not in the same stratosphere as being choked to death for selling cigarettes, shot in the back from 50 feet away, or succumbing to mystery wounds that occurred in police custody.

Better way to handle it? Probably, but I don't blame the officers for not risking taking a screwdriver to the gut given the circumstances that did occur.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Most people don't need to be shot.

It's an unfortunate situation, but the police were sent to a high-risk situation where a potentially violent (based on the 911 call) man appears to approach them with a weapon. It was a dangerous situation for them. They did what they were trained to do, and before we jump on the anti-American police, most police forces in the world are trained very similar in handling assailants with a deadly weapon.

This was not the situation where the police confronted a person because he was black, they were asked to come. This isn't a situation where the man didn't pose a risk, any reasonable person would concede that a mentally unstable man with a weapon is a dangerous threat. In that regard, it's not in the same stratosphere as being choked to death for selling cigarettes, shot in the back from 50 feet away, or succumbing to mystery wounds that occurred in police custody.

Better way to handle it? Probably, but I don't blame the officers for not risking taking a screwdriver to the gut given the circumstances that did occur.

When viewed in context of what this cop did...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOT7kdc2ZME

It looks like the guy with the screw driver should have been given a bit more of a chance. But I can't say it was as unjust as all the other murders.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Well you knew this was coming, thankfully the first reply sums it up

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by blueski

Is it really looting when a mom runs out of a store with a pack of TP under her arms? Pretty hard to expect rule of law to prevail at the bottom of society when it clearly has been absent for several years at the top in the USA.

How did you know she was a mom?


Is theft acceptable if someone needs the item?


I agree that society in the US appears to be broken.

The problem with voilent protest is the response to the protest is usually violent.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

When viewed in context of what this cop did...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOT7kdc2ZME

It looks like the guy with the screw driver should have been given a bit more of a chance. But I can't say it was as unjust as all the other murders.

Sorry, I can't watch the video so I don't know the context. But what type of chance can you give? They didn't shoot until he appears to move towards him with the last clear picture of the screwdriver being firm in his hand. It's not the best video, but it does at the very least show that the cops were in a dangerous situation and both of them felt it necessary to use force.

People like to to mention the time it took for the police to shoot as though they should have given him a time limit to drop the weapon, maybe 30 seconds or something, but all it takes from that distance is half a second to reach the officer. Or they like to mention it was it a screwdriver as though that's going to stop it from breaking through our very squishy flesh. It's unfortunate, again I very rarely believe anyone deserves to die - especially a mentally ill man not thinking clearly - but that does not mean it wasn't a situation that I can blame the officers for protecting themselves.

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

When viewed in context of what this cop did...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOT7kdc2ZME

It looks like the guy with the screw driver should have been given a bit more of a chance. But I can't say it was as unjust as all the other murders.

That's not deadly force encounter. I don't see how it's relevant in the context of the screwdriver incident.

[OMG!WTF!]

Sorry about the video. It's a cop in Ohio who pulled over a double murder suspect. The suspect gets out of the car and charges the cop...cop has a body cam. Cop's gun is drawn. Cop runs backwards for a long time, falls over, still doesn't shoot the guy. Amazing video. Suspect eventually gives up. So, seeing that, the I would imagine the cops could have given the screw driver guy a bit more of a chance unless they were pinned in a tight spot....which they might have been.

That's not deadly force encounter. I don't see how it's relevant in the context of the screwdriver incident.

I think it is...the guy just committed a double homicide. Michael Brown charged a cop and apparently it was a deadly force situation.

[Derek Sutton]

So school is cancelled in Baltimore today, parents have brought their children with them down to the protest, seems like a pretty safe decision.


The Mayor had ordered the police to stand down yesterday, and basically said it is okay to do what you want, great leadership. No amount of back peddling can change what "she really meant".
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/26/ba...destroy-video/

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Sorry about the video. It's a cop in Ohio who pulled over a double murder suspect. The suspect gets out of the car and charges the cop...cop has a body cam. Cop's gun is drawn. Cop runs backwards for a long time, falls over, still doesn't shoot the guy. Amazing video. Suspect eventually gives up. So, seeing that, the I would imagine the cops could have given the screw driver guy a bit more of a chance unless they were pinned in a tight spot....which they might have been.



I think it is...the guy just committed a double homicide. Michael Brown charged a cop and apparently it was a deadly force situation.

You're entitled to your opinion, it is the internet afterall.

But I think that's part of the issue in threads like this. Posters tend to post their judgments having little understanding of what it is they are posting about.

Each encounter is treated based on a set of facts at the time of the encounter. Police can't shoot someone based on what the individual has done in the past (even recent past). Will it change the tactics of the encounter? Ofcourse. But police still must make a decision based on what they are presented with at the time of the encounter. If deadly force can not be articulated, it simply isn't an option.