What could have been an effective means of holding police agencies accountable and responsible for the actions of police officers has digressed into a bunch of outrageous and out of control mobs demanding, not accountability, but the privilege to riot, loot, and commit other crimes as they see fit. Not only that, but Black Lives Matter has moved on from protesting possibly questionable situations to outright demanding that BLACK criminals be allowed to freely operate without the fear of police intervention.
My case in point is the shooting of Che Andre Taylor by Seattle narcotics officers who had approached Mr. Taylor to arrest him for the alleged sale of drugs. According to officers, AND to witnesses from the neighborhood, the police ordered Taylor to get down on the ground and submit to arrest. Instead, Taylor reached into his vehicle toward a gun. A gun? Wait a minute. Mr. Taylor was not even supposed HAVE a gun. He was a convicted felon. And not just a convicted drug salesman. He had served time for drugs, aggravated assault, and rape. In fact, due to his lengthy criminal record he did not even use his real name.
So, when ORDERED BY POLICE to lie down on the street with hands spread where they could see them, Mr. Taylor instead opted to reach inside his vehicle. The officers, from their vantage point (not the camera's - by the way) were able to see a handgun on the car seat inches away from Mr. Taylor's outstretched hand. What do you think happened next? Two trained police officers defended themselves from a known felon whom they already suspected was carrying a gun on or about his person. As might be expected, bullets from both officers' weapons struck the man who was about to shoot the officers. And, not surprisingly, Mr. Taylor died from multiple gunshot wounds.
I do not know about you, but I myself am certain that police officers are justified in using deadly force against someone who is obviously about to use deadly force on the officers. I also know that police officers are neither required NOR EXPECTED to let someone fire at them "just to be sure" that the person really intended to shoot. I attended a police academy myself, many years ago. In that police academy the trainees were of several races and both sexes. Guess what. We ALL RECEIVED THE SAME TRAINING. The White officers, the Black officers, the Hispanic officers, and the male and female officers were all taught to vigorously defend themselves from criminals and ANYONE who was about to use deadly force against the officers. This training is standard across the nation and across time.
Flash forward to Seattle a few days ago. A criminal (who happened to be Black) attempted to use deadly force against police officers (the two directly confronting the criminal happened to be White) who were making a legal arrest and who had clearly identified themselves as officers. Not only that, but there were marked police units acting in conjunction with the narcotics officers. We are not told the race of these officers, but maybe they were White TOO. Oh my God! Or, maybe they were Black...maybe they were of different races and sexes. In any case, the two narcotics officers ended the threat before any other officers OR CIVILIANS (there were several standing nearby) could be injured or killed. The Seattle police chief, hoping to avoid riots and accusations of "cover-up" released a statement as soon as complete information was available.
Prompt communication and transparency was not enough for Black Lives Matter. The fact that the criminal attempted to shoot officers was not enough. The fact that Taylor was at least a two time felon actively engaged in yet ANOTHER felony was not enough. The fact that police officers were justified in using deadly force, both according to police statements and according to witnesses on the street, was not enough. Black Lives Matter organized a protest, BROKE UP a political event that had nothing to do with the situation, shut down streets, called for the firing and prosecution of the officers, and demanded that the police chief resign. All of this AFTER the facts were out, AFTER Black Lives Matter almost certainly KNEW that civilians believed the police used justifiable deadly force. Obviously, Black Lives Matter is not concerned about protesting alleged police abuse of power.
So Black Lives Matter is now protesting even though deadly force was not only justified, but (in the opinion of the police) necessary to save the officers' lives. Black Lives Matter, in calling for protests and riots even when a felon is justifiably shot, has lost any credibility it might have had with the public. Does Black Lives Matter (BLM) now demand that officers allow criminals to shoot FIRST before police can defend themselves? More to the point, does BLM demand this of only White officers? And, is BLM demanding that felons, if Black, be allowed to operate without police intervention, since the risk of gunfire is inherent with contact between felons and police officers? Perhaps the most important question to ask of BLM is this: When, exactly, are the police the use deadly force against Black criminals?
If the whole premise of Black Lives Matter is to raise awareness of police brutality against UNARMED Black criminals, then why is BLM "protesting" the Seattle shooting? If another premise of BLM is raising awareness of police abuse of ARMED Black criminals who surrender to police, again, WHY is BLM involved in the Seattle case? So, we cannot depend Black Lives Matter to raise our awareness of police brutality, nor can we depend on BLM to highlight abuses of police powers when they cry "excessive force" and "police brutality" in incidents involving blatant and obvious attempts to harm police officers. Since the BLM is not dependable in these areas, this organization ceases to be credible at all. Now it is just another illegitimate mob on another illegal rampage. This is very sad for those who really were interested in transparency and change.
Black Lives Matter? BLM was not in Seattle protesting when Mr. Taylor was selling drugs. BLM was not in Seattle protesting when Mr. Taylor committed aggravated assault. Again, BLM's credibility rides off into the sunset when this organization is so loudly silent concerning the murder of Blacks by other Blacks that goes on daily in cities across the nation. BLM seems to be saying, in its silence, that Black Lives Matter only when a Black person is killed by a White police officer. I disagree wholeheartedly. Black lives matter so much, as do all human lives. Why is Black Lives Matter not protesting the senseless killing of thousands of Black people each year by the hundreds of Black criminals who prey on the good citizens of Black communities around this nation?
A good question that a lot of people should be asking...
I pray for the safety of all people, Black and White, and all other races, and I pray for the safety of the police officers who willingly put themselves in harm's way to protect all of us.
And may God Bless America.
My case in point is the shooting of Che Andre Taylor by Seattle narcotics officers who had approached Mr. Taylor to arrest him for the alleged sale of drugs. According to officers, AND to witnesses from the neighborhood, the police ordered Taylor to get down on the ground and submit to arrest. Instead, Taylor reached into his vehicle toward a gun. A gun? Wait a minute. Mr. Taylor was not even supposed HAVE a gun. He was a convicted felon. And not just a convicted drug salesman. He had served time for drugs, aggravated assault, and rape. In fact, due to his lengthy criminal record he did not even use his real name.
So, when ORDERED BY POLICE to lie down on the street with hands spread where they could see them, Mr. Taylor instead opted to reach inside his vehicle. The officers, from their vantage point (not the camera's - by the way) were able to see a handgun on the car seat inches away from Mr. Taylor's outstretched hand. What do you think happened next? Two trained police officers defended themselves from a known felon whom they already suspected was carrying a gun on or about his person. As might be expected, bullets from both officers' weapons struck the man who was about to shoot the officers. And, not surprisingly, Mr. Taylor died from multiple gunshot wounds.
I do not know about you, but I myself am certain that police officers are justified in using deadly force against someone who is obviously about to use deadly force on the officers. I also know that police officers are neither required NOR EXPECTED to let someone fire at them "just to be sure" that the person really intended to shoot. I attended a police academy myself, many years ago. In that police academy the trainees were of several races and both sexes. Guess what. We ALL RECEIVED THE SAME TRAINING. The White officers, the Black officers, the Hispanic officers, and the male and female officers were all taught to vigorously defend themselves from criminals and ANYONE who was about to use deadly force against the officers. This training is standard across the nation and across time.
Flash forward to Seattle a few days ago. A criminal (who happened to be Black) attempted to use deadly force against police officers (the two directly confronting the criminal happened to be White) who were making a legal arrest and who had clearly identified themselves as officers. Not only that, but there were marked police units acting in conjunction with the narcotics officers. We are not told the race of these officers, but maybe they were White TOO. Oh my God! Or, maybe they were Black...maybe they were of different races and sexes. In any case, the two narcotics officers ended the threat before any other officers OR CIVILIANS (there were several standing nearby) could be injured or killed. The Seattle police chief, hoping to avoid riots and accusations of "cover-up" released a statement as soon as complete information was available.
Prompt communication and transparency was not enough for Black Lives Matter. The fact that the criminal attempted to shoot officers was not enough. The fact that Taylor was at least a two time felon actively engaged in yet ANOTHER felony was not enough. The fact that police officers were justified in using deadly force, both according to police statements and according to witnesses on the street, was not enough. Black Lives Matter organized a protest, BROKE UP a political event that had nothing to do with the situation, shut down streets, called for the firing and prosecution of the officers, and demanded that the police chief resign. All of this AFTER the facts were out, AFTER Black Lives Matter almost certainly KNEW that civilians believed the police used justifiable deadly force. Obviously, Black Lives Matter is not concerned about protesting alleged police abuse of power.
So Black Lives Matter is now protesting even though deadly force was not only justified, but (in the opinion of the police) necessary to save the officers' lives. Black Lives Matter, in calling for protests and riots even when a felon is justifiably shot, has lost any credibility it might have had with the public. Does Black Lives Matter (BLM) now demand that officers allow criminals to shoot FIRST before police can defend themselves? More to the point, does BLM demand this of only White officers? And, is BLM demanding that felons, if Black, be allowed to operate without police intervention, since the risk of gunfire is inherent with contact between felons and police officers? Perhaps the most important question to ask of BLM is this: When, exactly, are the police the use deadly force against Black criminals?
If the whole premise of Black Lives Matter is to raise awareness of police brutality against UNARMED Black criminals, then why is BLM "protesting" the Seattle shooting? If another premise of BLM is raising awareness of police abuse of ARMED Black criminals who surrender to police, again, WHY is BLM involved in the Seattle case? So, we cannot depend Black Lives Matter to raise our awareness of police brutality, nor can we depend on BLM to highlight abuses of police powers when they cry "excessive force" and "police brutality" in incidents involving blatant and obvious attempts to harm police officers. Since the BLM is not dependable in these areas, this organization ceases to be credible at all. Now it is just another illegitimate mob on another illegal rampage. This is very sad for those who really were interested in transparency and change.
Black Lives Matter? BLM was not in Seattle protesting when Mr. Taylor was selling drugs. BLM was not in Seattle protesting when Mr. Taylor committed aggravated assault. Again, BLM's credibility rides off into the sunset when this organization is so loudly silent concerning the murder of Blacks by other Blacks that goes on daily in cities across the nation. BLM seems to be saying, in its silence, that Black Lives Matter only when a Black person is killed by a White police officer. I disagree wholeheartedly. Black lives matter so much, as do all human lives. Why is Black Lives Matter not protesting the senseless killing of thousands of Black people each year by the hundreds of Black criminals who prey on the good citizens of Black communities around this nation?
A good question that a lot of people should be asking...
I pray for the safety of all people, Black and White, and all other races, and I pray for the safety of the police officers who willingly put themselves in harm's way to protect all of us.
And may God Bless America.
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