December 25, 2014

All I need to see (St. Louis Shooting)

Martin clearly draws an object from his waistband and points it at the officer in the same stance one would use if pointing a gun. A gun was recovered from the scene. The officer said Martin was pointing a gun. Martin has a history of armed robbery and armed criminal action.

Even if it wasn't a gun, which it was, the shooting would still have been justified. The courts have ruled again and again that when someone displays an object in a manner which would indicate to a reasonable person that said object was a gun, deadly force is authorized.

Just because men like Oscar Grant and Eric Garner were brutalized doesn't magically mean every officer involved shooting is criminal. There are still plenty of violent, brutal criminals on our streets. We do a disservice to victims of police brutality by blending their victimization with lawful, legal and necessary use of deadly force. It discredits the protests and protestors. It gives the police unions ammunition to paint us all with the same brush.

Support the police when they're right. Hold their feet to the fire when they're wrong. Leave the conspiracy theories to the right wing nuts.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.