The Good?
New Richmond, Kentucky Police Officer Jesse Kidder did what every good police officer should do when a murder suspect rushes him and dares him to shoot him. He determines if the man, Michael Wilcox, of Ohio, is unarmed and he doesn't shoot him. Mr. Wilcox is suspected of murdering his girlfriend and his best friend and evidently was trying to commit "suicide by cop".
This was indeed a very heroic show of restraint by a police officer but what causes African Americans to sheepishly smile is that the suspect, Michael Wilcox, was a white man. Based on what's happening in America today between the police and Black men, Officer Kidder's act of heroism and police work means nothing to the African American community.
It falls on many as false publicity and a "cop out" for all of the wrong that continues to be done to African American men at an extremely alarming rate.
The Bad
Probably one of the most cowardly acts to date by a police officer was the shooting of Walter Scott by Officer Michel Slager in South Carolina, while Mr. Scott was running away. Mr. Scott was fleeing the scene after a minor traffic stop because there was a warrant out for his arrest for non payment of child support.
Mad Man has just one question. How can anyone pay child support from jail? Unfortunately, this cowardly bit of police work cost this man his life and the officer was charged with murder but he's still alive. Furthermore, Mr. Scott left his car at the scene, the police knew who he was, and to search and find him later would not have been a problem. Shooting a fleeing man in the back for lack of paying child support and a busted tail light doesn't even come close to reaching the status of a major or life threatening crime.
As of a week ago, this murder of an African American man was very outrageous and unconscionable, but it appears that the white policemen in America are firing back with a vengeance over the scrutiny that they are receiving for their misdeeds.
The Very Ugly
The phrases "No Justice, No Peace" and "Black Lives Matter" continue to fall on death ears as African Americans march through the streets in protests over the continued and needless killing of African American men. And to let African Americans know exactly where they stand in this country the police departments just keep right on killing.
The latest and possibly the most egregious and extraordinary murder by police happened in Baltimore, Maryland when 25 year old Freddie Gray saw the police and just ran. It was later determined that Mr. Gary was charged with illegal possession of a switchblade. As ridiculous as this sounds, what happened in the arrest of Mr. Gray can only be categorized as extremely inhuman, calloused, and should be viewed, like many of these cases, as a hate crime.
Freddie Gray was caught and placed in a police van for a 10 minute ride to the police station. He was breathing hard after running from the police. By the way, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts states, "there's no law against running." Especially since the police did not know that Mr. Gray even had a knife!!!! Upon his arrival at the police station, Mr. Gray could not walk and had difficulty breathing. After 40 minutes, an ambulance was called. Mr. Gray died a week later.
An autopsy performed on Mr. Gray found that he suffered "a very tragic injury" to his spinal cord, which caused his death. While many African Americans are marching in the streets all across America, others remain silent and pissed because it appears that African American leaders in this country cannot address the murdering of Black men as urgently as they should.
And to date, the only white man convicted of killing a Black man was Michael Dunn for shooting 17 year old Jordan Davis for sitting in a friends car, in a parking lot and listening to loud music. Maybe the marchers need to get a new phrase to shout because between the police and many in America, "Black lives don't matter".
Respond privately to Mad Man at: observationsofamadman@verizon.net
Mad Man
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