Unarmed Shootings – #48

Hector Morejon, Unarmed Teen Shot, Killed by Police, Cried For His Mother: ‘Mommy, Mommy. Please Come’

How many other of you out there are tired of reading stories about unarmed people being shot by the police?  I know I sure am!!  What the FUCK is going on with the police?  The line in the article that makes me the most furious is that the police officer who shot Hector “THOUGHT the 19-year-old was in possession of a firearm”.  How about confirming that he had one before opening fire?  Is that so difficult?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  I know police have tough jobs.  It’s not one that I would ever volunteer for.   And in situations, police only have moments before making a life and death decision.  But to me, it is not the police that should be shooting first.  A cop should only fire his weapon in self defense.  Not just because he THOUGHT the suspect had a gun, or THOUGHT the suspect was reaching for a weapon.

What if it turns out that the suspect was only going for his wallet and identification?  What if the gun turned out to be a kids cap gun?  Are you telling me that your going to shoot a 10-year-old because he was being rautious in public, has a cap gun down his pants, and pulls it out?  Continue to read the article and the very last line says that “a weapon was not recovered from the scene”.  So a kid was killed because the cop THOUGHT he had a weapon.

Even if a kid does pull what looks like a gun, wouldn’t it be prudent for the cops to make sure that the gun the suspect pulls is even dangerous?  That’s were I get to my point that the cops should not be the ones shooting first.  Yea, I know, that sounds dangerous and is putting the cops in harms way.  But that is the nature of the job.  By becoming a cop, you put yourself in harms way.  You are there to protect the public, yes.  But I think there is duty to protect suspects and those in custody.

I realize that the amount of police brutality is small when you compare the number of cops, to the number of responses, to the number of incidents.  But still the number of police brutality should be ZERO.  Yea, the cops may have to take a guy down hard, but it should only be hard enough to subdue him or her.  Kicking a suspect when he is already down, or taking that extra punch because the suspect made a cop run hard is INEXCUSABLE!!  And yes, the cop should be charged with assault.  If a cop responds to a domestic dispute and has to pull the subject off the victim, just because the cop hates domestic abusers doesn’t give him the right to throw that extra punch.  In my book, they are BOTH guilty of assault.

But getting back to the shootings.  Summer is coming.  There is going to be a lot of pool parties when the kids get out for summer break.  Are we going to shoot everybody that pulls a water pistol?  Are we going to shoot ever kid that pulls a gun that is running around the neighborhood playing “Cops & Robbers”?  And even if a gun is pulled in a threatening manner that IS real, and IS fully loaded, what if the suspect planned on laying it down?  By shooting him right off the bat, you are not giving the suspect a choice.  You are condemning him on the spot.

Self defense.  That is what the name of the game needs to be.  And if so, there would be a lot less of these tragedies.  Once thing I can hear coming is “so you would rather see a cop get shot, than for the cop to take the suspect down?”  And to those asking, I hope it doesn’t sound to cruel, but yes!  The police are wearing vests, have the tactical training, so have the advantage over the suspect.  And hopefully the suspect isn’t as good an aim as the police.  If the suspect fires first, then take them.  But to THINK a suspect has a gun without confirming, and to say later that you THOUGHT they were making a move for a weapon when they weren’t, there is no excuse for.

Police who shoot and wound a suspect with that reasoning should be tried for attempted murder.  And those that kill, with murder.  Every death like this makes me want to cry because there was no reason for it.  A few more seconds on the part of the police and this boy would probably have just been arrested for trespassing, but would still be alive.

A lot to think about.  But I will add that I salute, and am grateful to, the many police, sheriffs, and Rangers, that protect and serve the population.  You have a job where you make decisions in seconds, that I couldn’t fathom doing.  To the ones that do it well every day, I commend you.

Love to you all!

Police Shootings – #25

So at the moment I’m a little pissed because I was nearly done with this post and Foxfire crashed.  I hate it when it does that.  LOL.  So here we go again.

Right now the whole country is caught up in the Michael Brown and Darren Wilson thing.  And even today CNN reports that the NYC Grand Jury declined to indite the officer of the guy who died in a choke hold.  Police, by far, have the hardest job in the world.  We pay them, and not great by the way, to make life and death decisions on a daily basis, with only a split second to make them, and then we want to hold them accountable when something goes tragically wrong.  Do you think that the officers want to shoot someone?  Do you think they wake up in the morning saying “who am I going to get to shoot today”?  Fuck no.  I can probably guardsmen that ever one you ask hopes they NEVER have to pull their gun.

But what is seemingly SO tragic above the events themselves is how blown out of proportion they get with the media.  How many incidents do you think that happen in this country on a yearly basis?  Now how many have been blown up by the media: Trayvon Martin; Michael Brown; the NYC choke hold; and now Tamir Rice.  And everyone is all up in arms because these four were black victims and white officers.  And yes, sorry to say, and I wish it wasn’t so, but race in most probably had something to do with it.  You want to know who I blame for that? The white guys!!  Why does everyone assume that just because someone is black that they are dangerous?  I have black friends and they are pretty decent guys.

I’ll admit that I HAVE NOT followed the Michael Brown story at all.  All I know is that he was an unarmed black teen that was shot and killed by a white officer.  And now today, I come across another fatal shooting of a black boy who was only 12 years old, and there is no huge media event surrounding this one?  Why not?  Watch the video and ask yourself what the hell happened?  Yes, the boy was in a public park, waving around a gun (fake by the way) at people, and someone called the cops on him.  But the cops roll up, and two seconds later they shoot the boy dead.  WTF!?!

Why did the cops roll up so close to him?  Why not in the parking lot and use a megaphone for the kid to lower the weapon?  He probably would have told them it was fake with two REAL cops with REAL guns pointed at him.  To me, just because someone makes a threatening gesture toward someone does not give them the right to shoot.  THEY HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING YET!!  That would be like giving a drunk guy a DUI because he SAYS he is going to go drive, or just sits behind the wheel.  He hasn’t GONE anywhere yet!  Now if the kid had fired at the cops, then I say you have the OK to shoot back.  Cops, of all people, should NOT be the ones to fire first.

But I go back to the beginning.  Cops will never be 100% perfect.  They cant be.  You try being that person in their position and make the decision to shoot or not.  Our bodies are built for self defense, and will take action when we are threatened.  You try to control that when you have a gun in your hand.  Year and years of training, and patrolling, are never going to be enough in that situation.  Two seconds, and everyone lives with the aftermath of the decision.

That officer that killed the 12yo boy is now going to have to life the rest of his life knowing that he shot and killed an unarmed kid who more than likely was out having what he thought was fun.  Who gave him the pistol?  Where did he get it from?  That is the person who is ultimately responsible for the boys death.  Where was the lock on the gun?  Even a pellet gun like it was is dangerous.  Airsoft guns are the same.  You don’t take them out and go waving them around in a park.

I do hold the cops there responsible as well.  Again, I have no idea what actually happened, but just by looking at the video there HAD to be a better option then just rolling up so close to him and jumping out of the car.  Two seconds later and the kid is dead.

I have a post in Draft about my opinion of guns in general.  And my loyal followers from the beginning know what that is.  And I’ll post it as soon as I get the series I’m working on that includes it done.

I don’t want to make light of Michael Browns death.  It was tragic.  But he is not the only victim.  If we want to put this much emphasis on one case, then we should do it on all, and just have a cable TV channel dedicated to police shootings.  You make a mountain out of one, and leave the others as mole hills.  Why?  Was this one any LESS tragic?

So the next time you want to yell at a cop for a shooting, justified or not, try putting yourself in their shoes first.  What would you have done?

As always, Love to ya all!!

~Ryan