Courtesy of CNN:
A day after a video captured white officers pinning down and shooting a black man outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, federal authorities are investigating the case.
Alton Sterling, 37, is dead. The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is leading an investigation into what happened. And the president of the NAACP's local branch is calling for the city's police chief and mayor to resign.
As of this post the two police officers who shot that man have been placed on administrative leave.
The FBI and state police have been called in to assist with the investigation.
The incident has already sparked protests.
And neither the police chief nor the mayor have any intention of resigning at this time.
Witnesses said that the man did not have his gun out when he was shot, but that police pulled it from inside of his pants pocket after he was already dead.
I would assume that they will say he was reaching for it to justify the shooting, but from the video it is pretty clear that they had his left arm under control and it seems ridiculous to assume they could not control his right arm and keep it from grabbing his gun, IF that was what he was trying to do.
Shooting a man standing in front of you reaching for a firearm is one thing, but killing a man who is being partially restrained by two police officers simply because he has a gun on his person seems indefensible to me.
P.S. Sorry that this is the first thing to greet you this morning. I wanted to share it yesterday but I found myself slammed with work and overwhelmed by breaking news so I simply did not get to it.
Another one last night.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2016/07/07/us/falcon-heights-shooting-minnesota/
Check out another one that happened last night in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteU- morony says that we should hand rump and clan classified docs today. Poor stuck r's, they have no candidate or party. Just a clown car full of criminals working hard to create hate and buy elections. very sick unamerican humans. mr steele should seek better friends to have coffee with.
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, the privilege of carrying a gun is reserved for white people. When you're black, simply having a gun gets you shot multiple times while you are restrained by two cops. Why do I get the feeling that the cops will get off ... once again.
ReplyDeleteBecause they will.
DeleteHis family said he didn't have a gun. I wondered if the Officer didn't plant one.
ReplyDeleteIt's happened before. I had a cousin murdered by cops during a traffic stop in 1972, they said he pulled a gun but we know better, he couldn't look at a weapon after coming home from Nam. It was murder and nothing less and was never investigated, it was just cops being cops and murdering another Native American young man for fun.
DeleteThis man actually had a lengthy weapons violation history. The gun he had on his person was the same caliber cited in many court documents, so I DO believe he had a gun on him.
DeleteHowever, after watching the store owner's video, it's clear that both arms were restrained and there was no chance of him being able to access that weapon at that time.
I am not a fan of firearms but these young black men see what there is to see...if I had been in Sterling's place, I'm sure I would have thought "the police sure won't protect us...we have to protect ourselves".
Seeing this man's fifteen year old son wailing "dad-eeeee, dad-EEEEE" over and over again at the press conference yesterday was absolutely crushing. This heartbreak is so needless.
My friends,two brothers,we're murdered by local police. Policeman was there picking up casings at 6 am when a friend went by to pickup his truck after the shoot out. My friends wanted to be policeman. I cop killed and my friends. Cop was killed by his own fellow cops. Friendly fire.
DeleteYou must protest, protest, protest. This is so wrong. I only wish I could join. This father did not absolutely have to die. Please, please do not stop this, it is such a tragedy. My heart goes out to this father and his family.
ReplyDeleteI hope there is a prison cell for the officers and prisoners who will mske them suffer every single day.
ReplyDeleteI was gonna say, why dont the men just give up any just give in and do what officers want. But then a shooting today of a blk man a permitted and admission of a gun and doing what asked gets 4, 4 bullets. Protest. It is so wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou think it's just minority men that get murdered by police? It's also women and children. Doing what the cops want does not prevent these killings.
DeletePart of the problem was that the victim was hit with a stun gun shot. It's entirely possible that he couldn't "get down."
DeleteWhen I was growing up, white in America, I was never afraid of the police. I now see how overprivileged I was. The police may be very stressed and really afraid of all the dangerous weapons on the street but this guy was unlikely to have been sporting an assault weapon.
Beaglemom
He had a pistol on him. A convicted felon, carrying a pistol.... hello, smart? Assault weapon? What does that statement even mean? Pistols kill far more people than other guns every year. Grow a brain lady.
DeleteAnon at 10:51 am. Once the police had hold of him, the victim could not reach into his pocket or elsewhere on his person to get his gun - if he had a gun with him. The trouble today is that no one can believe the police. They tend to cover up after the fact. If they took more care before the fact, lives might be saved.
DeleteBeaglemom
You don't know the facts yet Beaglemom.
DeleteNow that is a fact.
Attach camera to police guns.
ReplyDeleteGood one. Then the camera would never "fall off".
DeleteIt's good to be white.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they put officers on paid leave? Just cut them off. They killed a person, cut them as earning money.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you.
DeleteBeaglemom
At this point, I think gun control needs to start with the police...
ReplyDeleteThere's another, the girlfriend live streamed her boyfriend's murder. I didn't watch the video but read the transcript and I cried. His mom said she taught her kids to comply comply comply w/police. He was reaching for his wallet & was shot. The mom said, we comply or don't, either way its a death sentence.
ReplyDeleteI cried too. All lives are precious.
DeleteThe one cop can clearly be heard yelling something about "stop moving or I'll shoot you." - telling me this is another issue of ego and adrenaline. Its so wrong, and heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteAnd ironically enough I spent an hour before bed trying to get my 17 yr old white son to understand the concept of white privilege. He thinks climate change is a bigger issue than racism, b/c he says we're all screwed anyway together if it goes further than what we can fix. I said he has the privilege to worry about climate change b/c he doesn't need to worry about life & death struggles. He doesn't need to worry about being murdered by a police officer. He doesn't need to worry that'll he'll be killed in a drive by. I explained despite his anti-authority attitude I don't worry he'll be shot, but I do worry about our African American neighbor who is a very respectful good kid. I can't see him mouthing off to a PO, I can unfortunately see my son do that. How is it fair one child just BC of the color of his skin is in danger??? I think he heard me when I told him. He then started telling me about online & real world friends who've been shot or shot at by police. A kid he plays basketball w/was smoking weed & ran from the police & was shot in the arm. This is just one town removed from us. I explained he won a lottery of birth in a racist, classist, screwed up world. I went on for awhile lol but he heard me. He thought since he wasn't himself racist he didn't need to worry about it. If you see injustice, DO something about it. I agreed climate change is a huge issue, but he has the freedom to worry about that.
ReplyDeleteYou are very naive, what are you trying to instill white guilt into your son? WTF is wrong with you? Hopefully your son knows better then to take your words seriously, and moves far away from your crazy ass the first chance he gets.
DeleteYou are a prime example of why boys should be raised by their fathers or at least have strong men in their lives for influence. God you are messed up in the head.
DeleteI agree with you, My Sew Imperfect Life. Your son will thank you for that conversation later on. Keep the conversation going. Communication between parents and teenagers is vital. He will do a better job at parenting for having parents who cared enough to talk about these issues.
DeleteAnd, while I don't think this mother was trying to instill "white guilt" in her son, she was doing a great job of explaining why we all have to care about one another. Maybe a bit of "white guilt" is not a bad thing.
Beaglemom
Putting garbage in your sons head.
DeleteDon't be surprised if later on in life he recognizes that you were filling his head with crap for no good reason, and he simply cuts you out of his life because nobody needs crazy.
It isn't garbage, it's the truth.
DeleteBut how nice that you could wait until your child was 17 to discuss such an unsavory side of life.
We minorities need to tell our tots this reality before they head to kindergarten.
It's not white "guilt" it is the reality of the world we live in.
DeleteAnd it's because of attitudes like 8:43, 8:49, and 10:47 that are world is the way it is.
Today President Obama stressed that ALL Americans should be concerned about the excessive force used against African Americans by police. Some commenters do not seem to understand that we are in this together; we are all part of "all Americans" no matter our skin color or our religion or what state we come from.
DeleteBeaglemom
Well it appears that the boy presidents irresponsible remarks, and liberals who love to coddle thugs and criminals, have gotten three peace officers killed in Dallas, and more fighting for their lives. Good work douchebags.
DeleteCuddling thugs and criminals?That would be sarah the slut and Don the con.
DeleteThank you beaglemom. We are All part of the Human race and share the same dna. We all bleed red.
Delete.
What about lives taken by cops?The actions of cops killing innocent people of color have now made all white police a target whether they're good cops or bad.
DeleteI couldn't agree more.Thats the reality of today.Our young peoples lives are difficult as it is. Add racism in the mix,palin,trump type influence and this is what you get. Like beaglemom said,keep the conversation going. THANKS,SARAH PALIN. YOU'LL BURN IN HELL.
Delete.
Keep it classy Imers 9:19 thru 9:50.
DeleteReal good crew Gryph, 4 cops murdered by sniper(s) while serving and protecting a protest, and you have your IMers justifying it. Real fucking classy dude.
If he had been a white man, he would be alive and uninjured. What a sad society we live in!
ReplyDeleteGo look at the story on Rawstory.com about white people pointing guns at cops and living.
DeleteOmg, why federal investigation? Just throw them in jail, drop from force, stop paying them! Federal investigation isnt doing anything! Stop them where it hurts. Drop from force, stop paying them.omg.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing to hurt the cops, so they will continue. Wakeup people. Until you have a rule like in any incident, your pay will stop, your auto insurance will be cancelled, idk any number of things, then most officers will continue. A kill is a kill.
ReplyDeleteI want to see the police handcuffed and put in jail, until someone pays for taking anyone's life, these murderers don't belong in any law enforcement job. In one of the slaughters, the cops wore body cams, but somehow they got turned around or covered. These slaughters were slaughters of choice and opportunity. I hope these tapes and others that come out are used as evidence. It's not a "boys will be boys" issue, it's pack mentality, anger, racism and the presence of guns.
ReplyDeleteForget a wine cooler- "Anita"-whole society enlightened by this school of thought. A FUCKING MEN.
DeleteLooks like your publish schedule got a little goofed, was this supposed to publish 2:00 am Thursday? Common WordPress problem.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, a mother video from a different angle that contradicts the police account has been published:
http://gawker.com/second-video-of-alton-sterlings-shooting-death-seems-to-1783266097
Gryph,shits gettin' real in Dallas right now. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Police and sheriff ass.called asking for donations tonight. I laughed and hung up.
ReplyDeleteIs this the kind of mentality you are sponsoring these days Gryph? 4 cops dead so far, inncently gunned down, and you are letting your posters laugh at it?
DeleteWhoever was responsible for the shootings in Dallas it was a despicable act and will set race relations between African Americans and police back decades. At this point who knows who was responsible; it certainly did not serve the African American community well.
DeleteBeaglemom
BLM. Frustrated people shoot back.
ReplyDelete9:31. Nobody's laughing. Lives lost on both sides. Gung Ho racist cops and a frustrated black race caused this. And yes,race bubbled to the surface these last 8 yrs due to racists like palin and trump.
ReplyDeleteWell,beaglemom,racist cops actions didn't serve anybody well. Plenty of blame to be to go around.
ReplyDelete