George Floyd

[Standard Deluxe 59]

2 hours ago, SonofLosSantos said:

It’s not just the actions of one. Its the actions of MANY MANY MANY police officers

No it isn't many officers, it's a few. There are more than 700,000 police officers in the US, the vast majority of whom do their jobs diligently and responsibly. Police officers don't just wake up and say "I'm gonna shoot someone just because of what they look like today." 

 

I'll give you that what happened in Minneapolis was a tragedy and should have never happened, but this never ending "All cops are bad" barrage gets old. In many cases, a lot of these shootings end up boiling down to why did the person run? Why did they outright disobey the officer? I'd wager that 99% of the police involved shootings would be avoided if the people would just cooperate with the officers. 

 

I could lump blm into being just a group looking to cause chaos because a few go on looting and vandalism sprees under the guise of protesting on behalf of their cause. So just like you blanket the vast majority of officers as these horrible racists, I can blanket the vast majority of blm as a group of opportunistic criminals because of those who go and burn down half of their city. They may have had an actual message when they started, but that message has since been overshadowed by the massive crime sprees that ensue during their protests. Rather than channel your "emotions" through senseless destruction and criminality, why don't you look at where a lot of the problems start? The problems start at home. Not on the streets. Not in the squad car. Not in the police academy. The problems begin with the lack of a strong family, the lack of parents that care about what their kids do and who they associate with. 

[Lonely-Martin]

1 hour ago, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

I could lump blm into being just a group looking to cause chaos because a few go on looting and vandalism sprees under the guise of protesting on behalf of their cause. So just like you blanket the vast majority of officers as these horrible racists, I can blanket the vast majority of blm as a group of opportunistic criminals because of those who go and burn down half of their city.

Yep, and this element to it all is a key issue with the whole lot, IMO.

 

Too many do just as you said here, regardless of which side of the fence people are on, it's all just contributes to any divides instead of us all just saying 'f*ck this' and kicking the fences down (metaphorically) and work together. It plays into the racists or bullies hands too much.

 

6 hours ago, SonofLosSantos said:

Tensions are high, people are angry, destruction is ensuing and we are TIRED. It might seem like a bunch of violent sh*t to you, but it’s emotional to me.

I understand that it's emotional of course, but equally, it needs to be understood that if you're (people in general) just gonna label all as the same in a negative way, it can have a negative effect too. Same if people are just going to act violent instead of protesting. The violence needs to stop for people to be heard, there's no excuses for looting or rioting, stealing and so on, like there isn't for racism or abuse of power out there.

 

Two wrongs don't make a right, emotions need to be kept in check. It reads like you support the violent aspects of this, or are making excuses for it. Isn't that basically what those cops that stood by and watched George die do? Complicit? (To be clear, I'm not saying you are an advocate for or excusing violence, just that it can read like so).

 

Right now, we need any good honest officers to come forward and start exposing these issues that the bad cops have in them or the system has in it. But when those good officers are being coerced/bullied into being silent by their co-workers, and/or blamed or outright rejected by the public in general and looked down on anyway. Where is there for them to turn to next? We can't just go around smashing the place up and saying all cops are bad as it just causes more divides in an already broken system.

 

I'm not excusing what the cops did that stood by and watched/did nothing, absolutely not. But those cops may have acted different if they could without the system being so warped against them or if they felt the public wasn't against them regardless of their actions.

 

There definitely needs to be reform and safeguards made to allow any potential good cop a platform to report this stuff and the system as a whole needs to show clarity in a fair approach to investigating these problems or bad eggs to start flushing out any racism or other prejudices.

 

Sorry for the long post, and I hope my point was made clearly.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Lonely-Martin

[REVENGE777]

1 hour ago, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

No it isn't many officers, it's a few. There are more than 700,000 police officers in the US, the vast majority of whom do their jobs diligently and responsibly. Police officers don't just wake up and say "I'm gonna shoot someone just because of what they look like today." 

 

I'll give you that what happened in Minneapolis was a tragedy and should have never happened, but this never ending "All cops are bad" barrage gets old. In many cases, a lot of these shootings end up boiling down to why did the person run? Why did they outright disobey the officer? I'd wager that 99% of the police involved shootings would be avoided if the people would just cooperate with the officers. 

 

I could lump blm into being just a group looking to cause chaos because a few go on looting and vandalism sprees under the guise of protesting on behalf of their cause. So just like you blanket the vast majority of officers as these horrible racists, I can blanket the vast majority of blm as a group of opportunistic criminals because of those who go and burn down half of their city. They may have had an actual message when they started, but that message has since been overshadowed by the massive crime sprees that ensue during their protests. Rather than channel your "emotions" through senseless destruction and criminality, why don't you look at where a lot of the problems start? The problems start at home. Not on the streets. Not in the squad car. Not in the police academy. The problems begin with the lack of a strong family, the lack of parents that care about what their kids do and who they associate with. 

Man if you really wanna take it there blame it on the government officials for destroying the black family structure with the welfare system and introducing crack into the inner city streets I don’t wanna hear that “it starts at home” bullsh*t. Blame it on Jim Crow for letting my people be burned, hung from trees as BEING SKINNED AND TURNED INTO FURNITURE! Blame it on segregation and blame it on every aspect of American history up to this point. What you just said was total bullsh*t.

Get it through that tiny brain of yours that JUST BECAUSE I RUN DOES NOT MEAN I SHOULD BE PUT DOWN LIKE A f*ckING DOG!

f*ck everything you stand for, id never want to be in unison or be associated with Someone like you.

 

being a cop is a f*cking choice. Being black is not.

 

 

@Lonely-Martin am I excusing the violence? Maybe I am. If the police keep killing people like that, expect there to be repercussions. All of this has stemmed from a history of events that burst at this one moment. As much as i have it in me to help and heal, sometimes you gotta sit back and let sh*t burn. Maybe they’ll get it right next time. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by SonofLosSantos

[Lonely-Martin]

26 minutes ago, SonofLosSantos said:

 

@Lonely-Martin am I excusing the violence? Maybe I am. If the police keep killing people like that, expect there to be repercussions. All of this has stemmed from a history of events that burst at this one moment. As much as i have it in me to help and heal, sometimes you gotta sit back and let sh*t burn. Maybe they’ll get it right next time. 

I feel history has also shown that the violence doesn't do anything other than widen the divide. We've seen riots and violence on many many occasions in the last 50-60 years and yet here we are with the same issues rearing their ugly head. 

 

If the violence/rioting worked, we'd have seen change after Watts in the 60's or LA '92 or other times. I honestly feel it's time to look for a new approach to all of this.

 

I will look to learn more on the claim that the government introduced crack into it all though as I never realised that was one aspect to consider possibly to this all, as, IMHO, that's what it takes, more learning and understanding. I agree with the welfare and segregation issues though and those are part of the system I know needs reform in many ways.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Lonely-Martin
Wording.

[REVENGE777]

1 minute ago, Lonely-Martin said:

I feel history has also shown that the violence doesn't do anything other than widen the divide. We've seen riots and violence on many many occasions in the last 50-60 years and yet here we are with the same issues rearing their ugly head. 

 

If the violence/rioting worked, we'd have seen change after Watts in the 60's or LA '92 or other times. I honestly feel it's time to look for a new approach to all of this.

 

I will look to learn more on the claim that the government introduced crack into it all though as I never realised that was one aspect to consider possibly to this all, as, IMHO, that's what it takes, more learning and understanding. I agree with the welfare and segregation issues though and those are party of the system I know needs reform in many ways.

Talking about this sh*t hollows me out I don’t even wanna talk about it anymore I’m done with it. I spit it out and nobody’s hearing me. Dealing with the sh*t irl and then having people undermine it just... it’s yelling at brick wall. 

 

ACAB BLM

[Lonely-Martin]

21 minutes ago, SonofLosSantos said:

Talking about this sh*t hollows me out I don’t even wanna talk about it anymore I’m done with it. I spit it out and nobody’s hearing me. Dealing with the sh*t irl and then having people undermine it just... it’s yelling at brick wall. 

 

ACAB BLM

See, you make my point for me. You just want to be angry rather than talk and listen. I'm not undermining you!

 

That won't work. It hasn't yet and nothing is showing that it will in future. You're actively trying to widen the divide.

 

Seems daft to me to refuse dialog or learn/understand more. All I've shown is a willing to listen and learn more. A shame, but it won't stop me wanting equality in all forms, nor will it see me support violence as a way forward when it clearly doesn't work.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Lonely-Martin

[Niobium]

6 hours ago, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

No it isn't many officers, it's a few. There are more than 700,000 police officers in the US, the vast majority of whom do their jobs diligently and responsibly. Police officers don't just wake up and say "I'm gonna shoot someone just because of what they look like today."

oh, not all cops are bad? alright then, lmk when the good cops start locking up the bad cops in jail.

 

3 hours ago, Lonely-Martin said:

See, you make my point for me. You just want to be angry rather than talk and listen. I'm not undermining you!

 

That won't work. It hasn't yet and nothing is showing that it will in future. You're actively trying to widen the divide.

it's horrible takes like these that make me wonder why i even bother discussing politics on GTAForums.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Niobium

[Lonely-Martin]

10 minutes ago, Niobium said:

oh, not all cops are bad? alright then, lmk when the good cops start locking up the bad cops in jail.

Some strongly make the claim that all cops are bad, it's on them to prove their claim surely. Link us to show that they all are and if it's proven true, we'll have no choice but to accept it. I know I would gladky change my opinions if facts prove otherwise.

 

11 minutes ago, Niobium said:

it's horrible takes like these that make me wonder why i even bother discussing politics on GTAForums.

Then don't.

 

If you can't accept others may have a different opinion on how change can occour and can't accept that, that's on you.

 

If he doesn't want to talk about it because it hollows him out that's his/anyone's choice, I can accept that. But no progress can be made without talking more and understanding other points of view.

[Halal Cyborg]

@Lonely-Martin

2 minutes ago, Lonely-Martin said:

Some strongly make the claim that all cops are bad, it's on them to prove their claim surely. Link us to show that they all are and if it's proven true, we'll have no choice but to accept it. I know I would gladky change my opinions if facts prove otherwise.

 

Then don't.

 

If you can't accept others may have a different opinion on how change can occour and can't accept that, that's on you.

 

If he doesn't want to talk about it because it hollows him out that's his/anyone's choice, I can accept that. But no progress can be made without talking more and understanding other points of view.

You’ve been as respectful as possible and more than met them halfway...I think like myself it might be time to give up on them and leave them to their stewing and fruitless anger.

 

Youre one of the most reasonable and decent people on the forums and it’s clear that resolution and solution isn’t something they want...not really sure what they want either and am unsure they could qualify that with an answer...they’re like toddlers.
 

 

[sivispacem]

10 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

You’ve been as respectful as possible and more than met them halfway...

What's your obsession with "meeting people halfway"? Do you meet a genocidal dictator halfway and agree that he only slaughters 50% of the ethnic groups he wants to?

There's not really an acceptable middle ground between "maintaining the status quo" and "seeking to end racial discrimination", is there?

What do you propose? That we keep racial discrimination, just have slightly less of it? That we work to outlaw discrimination in 50% of areas but leave the rest as they are? That you can discriminate, but only towards odd-numbered people?

[Halal Cyborg]

1 minute ago, sivispacem said:

What's your obsession with "meeting people halfway"? Do you meet a genocidal dictator halfway and agree that he only slaughters 50% of the ethnic groups he wants to?

And here he is right on queue.

 

You have taken zero issue with the stupidity of the people talking to @Lonely-Martin like a c*nt for no good reason but somehow find issue with my post  

 

Maybe you’re just corrupted beyond hope by your need to virtue signal?

 

This response btw made no sense at all and you’ve deteriorated into utter nonsense...is it possible for me to post here without getting a personal condescending response from you?

[Lonely-Martin]

4 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

@Lonely-Martin

You’ve been as respectful as possible and more than met them halfway...I think like myself it might be time to give up on them and leave them to their stewing and fruitless anger.

 

Youre one of the most reasonable and decent people on the forums and it’s clear that resolution and solution isn’t something they want...not really sure what they want either and am unsure they could qualify that with an answer...they’re like toddlers.

I fully understand their frustration, passion and desire to see things change, and I'm not willing to let it deter me in hoping for the better. But you're right in that it may be best to take a step back to be sure things don't become something else. Arguing just won't help anything and the change needs to happen IRL more than on these forums of course.

 

But thank you for the kind words too. I do appreciate that and let's just hope however we get them, we get results on these issues all round.

 

Time to take a timeout from here. I wish you all the best @SonofLosSantos. ✌

[KADENZA]

Dave Chappelle is calling out right-wing stooges like Candace Owens and does not hold back in a new Netflix special titled “8:46,” which the streaming platform surprise debuted for free on its YouTube comedy channel on last Thursday evening. It was posted here already but I recommend any of you to watch it if you haven't. It's well worth it.

 

 

[sivispacem]

5 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

You have taken zero issue with the stupidity of the people talking to @Lonely-Martin like a c*nt for no good reason

Yet apparently this manner isn't enough to warrant a report from you, or indeed anyone else? Whilst the discussion has certainly been heated, I wouldn't characterise any of it "talking like a c*nt"; perhaps you could point me towards those posts instead of hand-wringing and white-knighting?

 

9 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

somehow find issue with my post

What's the "middle ground" you keep going on about, then?

You seem to be under the mistaken belief that all discussions end with participants adopting an approach that lies exactly in the middle of two contrary positions, yet this is clearly unworkable in the vast majority of cases.

 

10 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

virtue signal

I don't think you actually understand what these words mean.

 

11 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

This response btw made no sense at all

I was being somewhat hyperbolic, but only to illustrate the futility of the notion of "finding a middle ground" on a subject as complex and divisive as endemic racism.

 

12 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

is it possible for me to post here without getting a personal condescending response from you?

Dunno, want to keep trying?

[Niobium]

20 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

@Lonely-Martin

You’ve been as respectful as possible and more than met them halfway...I think like myself it might be time to give up on them and leave them to their stewing and fruitless anger.

 

Youre one of the most reasonable and decent people on the forums and it’s clear that resolution and solution isn’t something they want...not really sure what they want either and am unsure they could qualify that with an answer...they’re like toddlers.
 

 

toddlers huh?

 

maybe people have been acting like "toddlers" because they have once again witnessed systemic injustice in the black community, and yet others have been preaching sh*t like "all lives matter" and "not all cops" for the past few pages in this thread despite the fact that the prevalence of silent cops and the institutionalized racism in the west was already explained here many times, and getting all high and mighty because "violent protest bad" and saying "we need to stop being so divided!"

 

f*ck outta here with that "we're respectful" bullsh*t

[Halal Cyborg]

Just now, Niobium said:

toddlers huh?

 

maybe people have been acting like "toddlers" because they have once again witnessed systemic injustice in the black community, and yet others have been preaching sh*t like "all lives matter" and "not all cops" for the past few pages in this thread despite the fact that the prevalence of silent cops and the institutionalized racism in the west was already explained here many times, and getting all high and mighty because "violent protest bad" and saying "we need to stop being so divided!"

 

f*ck outta here with that "we're respectful" bullsh*t

What are you hoping to get out of all this?

 

whats your endgame?

 

do you have solutions?

7 minutes ago, sivispacem said:

Yet apparently this manner isn't enough to warrant a report from you, or indeed anyone else? Whilst the discussion has certainly been heated, I wouldn't characterise any of it "talking like a c*nt"; perhaps you could point me towards those posts instead of hand-wringing and white-knighting?

 

What's the "middle ground" you keep going on about, then?

You seem to be under the mistaken belief that all discussions end with participants adopting an approach that lies exactly in the middle of two contrary positions, yet this is clearly unworkable in the vast majority of cases.

 

I don't think you actually understand what these words mean.

 

I was being somewhat hyperbolic, but only to illustrate the futility of the notion of "finding a middle ground" on a subject as complex and divisive as endemic racism.

 

Dunno, want to keep trying?

What’s a report have to do with it?

I didn’t violate rules either but it doesn’t stop you responding to my posts with incredible condescension.

 

By meeting halfway I meant he’s trying to have a discussion...they’re not...you respond and try and frame every narrative to suit what you want to say and ignore what people actually say...something you accused me of previously.

 

That last part seems like a veiled threat to me that if I keep posting here you will continue to single out my posts.

 

You are without doubt the most corrupt and biased and just downright abrasive and condescending moderator I have ever seen in an internet forum and that’s in around 20 years of using forums regularly.

[Niobium]

4 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

What are you hoping to get out of all this?

 

whats your endgame?

simple, i want cops to stop shooting black people.

 

4 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

do you have solutions?

defunding the police would be a good start.

[Halal Cyborg]

Just now, Niobium said:

simple, i want cops to stop shooting black people.

 

defunding the police would be a good start.

Unequivocally? Like in no circumstances whatsoever?

Who will catch murderers and rapists?

 

btw I support this organisation 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP

 

[Standard Deluxe 59]

5 hours ago, SonofLosSantos said:

 

f*ck everything you stand for, id never want to be in unison or be associated with Someone like you.

Hmm, how classy. I was gonna put out a well thought out response but once I got to this part, forget it. This is a big part of why there's so much division, because people like you who say "screw you because you think different from me and therefore you're bad" instead of having some decorum.  

[Niobium]

1 minute ago, Halal Cyborg said:

Unequivocally? Like in no circumstances whatsoever?

 

yes

 

2 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

Who will catch murderers and rapists?

 

i find it hard to believe that if there are less cops then all of a sudden murderers and rapists will go loose on the streets. but if you want to prevent crime, addressing inequality is a good start.

 

3 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

btw I support this organisation 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP

 

great

[Halal Cyborg]

Just now, Niobium said:

yes

 

i find it hard to believe that if there are less cops then all of a sudden murderers and rapists will go loose on the streets. but if you want to prevent crime, addressing inequality is a good start.

 

great

Can cops shoot people that aren’t of colour?

 

Are you saying cops shouldn’t shoot anyone?

 

If there’s no consequences then people commit more crime and this would include murder.

[Niobium]

On 6/17/2020 at 5:49 PM, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

Hmm, how classy. I was gonna put out a well thought out response but once I got to this part, forget it. This is a big part of why there's so much division, because people like you who say "screw you because you think different from me and therefore you're bad" instead of having some decorum.  

if somebody gets mad at you because he keeps repeating himself but you don't listen then it's not surprising.

 

On 6/17/2020 at 5:52 PM, Halal Cyborg said:

Can cops shoot people that aren’t of colour?

no. police violence on white people is also unacceptable. you can support BLM and abhor police violence on all ethnicities, whoda thunk it!

 

On 6/17/2020 at 5:52 PM, Halal Cyborg said:

Are you saying cops shouldn’t shoot anyone?

you don't need a gun to deescalate a situation.

 

On 6/17/2020 at 5:52 PM, Halal Cyborg said:

 

If there’s no consequences then people commit more crime and this would include murder.

 

you don't listen do you.

 

 

[Joe Biden]

20 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

Are you saying cops shouldn’t shoot anyone?

yes

[Halal Cyborg]

Just now, extremely stable genius said:

yes

Isn’t that the shooting version of All Lives Matter?

[Joe Biden]

Just now, Halal Cyborg said:

Isn’t that the shooting version of All Lives Matter?

no

[Standard Deluxe 59]

1 minute ago, Niobium said:

if somebody gets mad at you because he keeps repeating himself but you don't listen then it's not surprising.

Why doesn't he listen himself? Why doesn't he let someone else have an opinion without attacking them when it differs from his own? What does he want? The police departments to be abolished? That's a pretty stupid idea that'll lead to even more crime because it will literally go in punished. Detroit has a largely de funded police department, along with an exceptionally high crime rate that has only gotten worse since they slashed the police budget. Chicago isn't much better, homicides are regular occurrences, yet the mayor there also wants to cut funding for their police. All that's gonna do is embolden the criminals because who's gonna respect the law, when there's no one there to enforce it? 

[sivispacem]

51 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

What’s a report have to do with it?

If the offense was so grievous it warranted basically calling another member a c*nt then I would expect you to have reported it. Unless you just wanted to insult someone, of course.

 

51 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

I didn’t violate rules either but it doesn’t stop you responding to my posts with incredible condescension.

When your contributions to the thread consist solely of misrepresenting other people's arguments, shill gambits and ad hominems I don't really know what you'd expect other than condescension. It's clear trying to discuss with you rationally or reasonably- as I've attempted on multiple occasions- is a waste of time as you actively resist your comments being scrutinised, thinking it's all an illustration of prejudice against you.

 

51 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

By meeting halfway I meant he’s trying to have a discussion...

Why not say that rather than using words with a totally different meaning then? And I'm pretty sure that's what's been happening over the last several pages.

 

51 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

That last part seems like a veiled threat

Well it isn't, as much as I suspect you want it to be to reinforce your persecutory delusions.

 

51 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

You are without doubt the most corrupt and biased and just downright abrasive and condescending moderator I have ever seen

Aww, thanks.

 

31 minutes ago, Lock n' Stock said:

Another question is this. If someone burglarises your house or tries to rob, rape or murder you, who are you going to call? The fire department?

I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding of most of rhetoric around the notion of defunding police forces. The aim is to replace them with community derived law enforcement which doesn't disproportionately harass ethnic minorities for activities that they would ignore in white citizens, doesn't resort to AR-15s, MRAPs and running over peaceful protesters, and actually engaged in conflict de-escalation rather than shooting anyone who so much as blinks funny.

[sivispacem]

12 minutes ago, Lock n' Stock said:

Why not install new guidelines that prevent this sort of thing from happening, and punish officers who fail to follow said guidelines?

These guidelines are already supposed to exist, but simply aren't followed in practice. There's an academic study of New York officers from a couple of years back which determined that the burden for interaction- that is, the pont at which an officer will confront a citizen when no evidence of criminal wrongdoing was  present- is substantially lower for ethnic minorities than white citizens, and that 39% of offices would stop black civilians for behaviour that would not cause them to stop white civilians. That's the sort of systemic discrimination that people calling for defunding are trying to eradicate.

 

The US law enforcement model is fundamentally broken at every level. Rates of violence by US police officers are several orders of magnitude higher than anywhere else in the developed world. Public trust in policing is at astoundingly low levels. The courts system is massively skewed against ethnic minorities and the poor who receive disproportionate prison sentences for crimes that white, wealthier citizens will usually have talked down to misdemeanours. Policies around community policing only in high profile and afflluent neighbourhoods mean that poorer areas with higher crime rates are often ignored. 

 

7 minutes ago, Halal Cyborg said:

diversity is something the police here strive towards and I imagine in the states there’s a quota too.

You'd be wrong. I mean we suck at it in the UK but we're still leagues ahead of the US.

[Detective Phelps]

On 6/15/2020 at 9:46 AM, GAUNTLET HELLFIRE said:

 

The other cop fired his taser as well before shooting him so his taser was useless as well. Also that cop ma not have realized the taser was fired.

On the footage, the taser firing is rather clear. It would have made a rather noticeable noise as well (as it did in the bodycam footage when the police officer fired his taser), so I doubt that the officer missed hearing that. I believe that the officer shot the gun because the suspect fired the taser. I already discussed how it was unlikely for the taser to hit the officer in my previous post. My argument is that the suspect did not pose an imminent risk to the lives of the people at the scene. Therefore, the use of firearms was absolutely not appropriate. I'm curious on how the charges on the officer will pan out (if it hasn't been mentioned already, the officer has been charged with murder. I personally feel that a manslaughter charge would be more likely to stick). 

 

On 6/15/2020 at 9:46 AM, GAUNTLET HELLFIRE said:

The cops could have just let him get away and tried to find him later but if he was going to assult a cop and steal his taser who knows what he would have done to innocent people if he did run away or he could have even turned around and overpowered the cop and stole his gun. That cop was protecting himself, his partner and innocent people and honestly I may have done the same thing if I was in that cops position. This imo had nothing to do with the colour of his skin except that if it was a white guy he shot he probably wouldn't have been fired and probably wouldn't be charced with murder if he is.

He was running away. The only person he was a risk to was himself. He resisted arrest, that doesn't mean that he would go around targeting random people around him. He isn't a comic book villain, he's a bloke who just had too much to drink. He was not an imminent threat to others at the time that he was shot. We can discuss the possible risk he may have posed, but that doesn't relate to the suspect posing any imminent threat to other lives at the time that the three rounds were fired from the officer's pistol. In that situation, at that moment in time, the suspect posed a minimal threat. Going for the .40 and shooting three rounds was absolutely inappropriate. Even if the officer didn't hear the taser going off, going for the pistol was absolutely uncalled for. 

 

With regards to skin colour, this has happened way too many times, and yeah. I feel that this is about the colour of his skin. I don't believe that the officer is racist, per se. This is perhaps linked to the officer's implicit bias (for example, perceiving a black suspect as being "more aggressive" or "more violent"). These are biases and beliefs that are present in American police culture.

 

I can see where you are coming from with regards to if this was a white suspect. The point is that police violence is an issue that needs to be sorted out. We all need to stand united, because there have been cases where officers shooting white men have gotten away with it as well, such as the shooting of Daniel Shaver. However, police misconduct in the US is an issue that disproportionately affects African-American communities. Hence why the discussion has primarily focused on black victims of police violence. 

 

On 6/15/2020 at 9:46 AM, GAUNTLET HELLFIRE said:

I'm not going to hate on all cops and treat them like sh*t when there are good ones out there just doing their job protecting people.

(IK that this was from when you were replying to someone else)

 

I've already talked about police unions and the wall of silence in police departments. This is something that needs to change. Too many of these "good" officers are staying silent. I appreciate the minority of officers speaking up and talking about the culture in their PDs, but most are staying silent. Silent officers are complicit. That isn't just an American problem, either. There needs to be reform, but with the way things have been going on, I doubt that the current system can reform. So I can see where the people calling for PDs to be rebuilt from the ground up are coming from. Community based policing without quotas seems reasonable.  

 

 

As for defunding the police entirely, I don't believe that's a great idea, but again, I can see why people want that; many people just don't trust the police anymore. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by Detective Phelps

[KADENZA]

Buffalo, New York, a black policewoman was fired in 2006 for intervening when a white colleague had a handcuffed suspect in a stranglehold.