Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Another Police Shooting/Riot This Time In Charlotte

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 
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