I realize that there are circumstances when a police officer has to shoot someone, and yes, kill them. If someone is pointing a gun at an officer, or at a civilian; if someone is holding a gun and ignores an order to put it down; if a fleeing armed suspect presents a threat if he escapes. Police officers are charged with protecting the lives and property of the people. I might even admit that someone trying to disarm a police officer, or charging at him (or her) with a weapon that isn't a gun could be acceptable.
But why do we think that it's acceptable to shoot someone if a police officer thinks that there's a gun, or thinks that someone is reaching for a weapon. Since when is it worthy of a summary execution to run away from a police officer? Sure, you can rationalize that someone wouldn't run if they hadn't committed some crime, and statistically, you'd probably be right, but is it really necessary to shoot a shoplifter who runs from a cop? Is resisting arrest by struggling to break free from a choke hold a capital offense?
My father and brother were both police officers. It makes me angry to hear people speaking hatefully or disrespectfully about the police. But anyone who thinks that the police are not profiling black people, poor people, inner-city people, is fooling themselves. I have never had any problem with the police, mainly because I didn't commit any crimes, but also because I don't look like someone who commits crimes. But about 15 years ago I moved into a little run-down apartment building downtown. The place was a dump; I was the only person there who actually went to work every day. Everyone else was doing drugs, selling drugs, thinking about drugs...you get the picture. The police were out there a lot. When I was in or around the apartment I found that the police treated me very differently. One example was the 3:00AM knock on the door by a cop with a police dog, shouting questions at me. The police assumed I was a criminal, or at least criminally inclined, because of where I lived. After that experience I find it hard to believe that it doesn't happen on a larger scale.
Despite the vicious circle nature of what's been happening: cop shoots unarmed black man, black people riot, loot and taunt the police, police are more on edge and shoot another unarmed black man, crazed black man shoots some cops, cops get very on edge - the onus lies with responsible people to stop the violence. And that starts with the police. The police cannot become "just another gang" as Commander Sam Vimes says in Terry Pratchett's Night Watch. The police are the representatives of civilization, of order, they cannot conduct vendettas and acts of revenge, large and small. They cannot close ranks and pretend some of their brothers haven't acted badly. They cannot use the actions of the criminal element among poor blacks to justify waging war on all poor blacks. We expect criminals to committ crimes, that's why they call them criminals. We expect the police to fight crime, not to participate as principals in a gang war.
Before you say it out loud, yes, black-on-black crime is a problem, and not a small one, but it's a different problem that has little or nothing to do with police killing of unarmed citizens. And yes, rioting following or during protests is wrong and makes things worse, but again, it's a different problem. None of these different problems justifies killing unarmed citizens, unprovoked. Black lives matter (too) - the only reason that it had to be said is that it often doesn't appear that black lives matter at all.
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