Another
police shooting of a black who may or may not have had a gun
Facts
are not anywhere close to being in and the protests in the streets have begun
Charlotte, North Carolina is the latest city to witness a police shooting to kill
Even
if the officer involved was black the rush to judgment anger of the black
community will not be easily distilled
Not
sure if the police had body cams or even if they were turned on
But
this should be a mandatory item for police especially when a response ends up
in a morgue awaiting a trip to Forest Lawn
In
too many communities trust of members of color of the police is at or almost
zero
The
police whether right or wrong are viewed as oppressors far from being heroes
The
violence in Charlotte has shown that the easy fix of integrating the
force
Is
not a guarantee that trust in police will come back as a matter of course
If
we could somehow look into a cop’s heart and determine who was a racist
My
belief is that very few of them on the force would exist
And
if we were trying to find those who harbored desires to men of color kill
My
strong belief is that number would be next to nil
This
is a very stressful, tough job to protect and serve when facing those who would
kill, assault, or rob
Knowing
that if you overreacted to protect your own life, your city would be facing a
rioting mob
This
is a major problem that we as a nation must address
On
the police side more community policing and training to the reflex to reach for
a gun suppress
And
on the other the need to in a confrontation the orders of the police not resist
With
a committed reality that redress in the courts to excessive behavior does exist
No
matter the frustration, looting a Wal Mart store is an act that should be in
the strongest terms condemned
Will
destroy public support in an instance and do absolutely nothing to future excessive
force stem.
© September 21, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the
Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift
No comments:
Post a Comment