Dakota Meyer's heartfelt plea for all of us to come together, and blame President Obama for police violence and racism.

President Obama giving Dakota Meyer the Medal of Honor.

A note from Dakota Meyer courtesy of Bristol Palin's possibly non-ghostwritten blog:

I’m tired. I’m tired of seeing my country divided and fighting itself. It has been tricked by the media and by this administration thinking that the enemy is us. Hitler used the common enemy approach prior to World War II to unite a splintered and struggling Germany. We used the common enemy of communism to unite our country for the 40 or so years that followed the end of that war. (So wait, we used Nazi tactics, and that is supposedly a good thing?) Then the wall came down and we lacked a true common enemy until September 11, 2001. (I'm going to guess that something this poorly written comes mostly from Meyer himself, with perhaps a little help with editing. But what I think he's trying to say is that we need somebody to hate in order to unite America. Which is pretty fucked up if you think about it.)

But then that faded and America was in a lull of sorts lacking unity. Then 8 years ago “Change” was brought to the White House and over the past 8 years I have seen that change. The media and the Obama administration have worked tirelessly and we are just about there now. We are not a nation as much as we have become groups of people fighting amongst one another because the enemy is us. (People standing up for their rights to be treated equally and justly is considered "fighting among ourselves?" Does Meyer think that was true during the Civil Rights marches, the rallies for women's rights, and the protests against war? You know what, he probably does.)

When did we become so ugly as a nation? Why are we ok with not being better human beings? I’m tired of watching people dying. I’ve seen too much of it. I’m tired of the anger over things that aren’t even understood. (Actually most of us DO understand it. And if you studied better so might you.)

Just stop. 

We know better than to act like this. Guns are not evil. Police are not evil. It is people who have become ugly and cruel to one another. It is people who have accepted the easy way out. They’ve chosen to be afraid and angry. They’ve chosen to blame other people for their problems. It is easy to be angry and blame someone else than to take responsibility for yourself. We need to just stop. Stop blaming other people and start now making ourselves better as human beings. (Okay black folks do you hear that? You have "chosen" to be afraid and angry and all you have to do is stop being angry and just accept that you will be harassed by the police and shot dead for having a legal firearm in your possession.)

It is time to be done with being bound by a common enemy and instead be bound by the commonality that we are all Americans. I am saddened by what happened this evening and the events leading up to it. My heart and my prayers go out to the families of the officers who were shot in Dallas tonight. (But not for the young black men who were shot by the police?) This isn’t what I want to leave for my daughter when I die and I will be dammed if I am going to sit here and do nothing.

So instead of doing nothing you attack the man who awarded you the medal without which nobody would even know your fucking name?

You know Dakota is right about one thing, the violent racism DID bubble to the surface when President Obama was elected.

However he didn't cause it, he was the target of it.

And ever since the first black man was elected President, and the racists stormed out of the shadows to attack him, we are seeing more and more black and brown people refusing to stay quiet about the institutional racism which has been present since the founding of this nation, and which many white folks seem to be learning about for the first time.

That is not tearing us apart, that is educating us.

And by the way Dakota, asking people in pain to stop sharing that pain publicly because it makes you uncomfortable demonstrates to most of us that the hero who earned that medal in Afghanistan is light years away from the man who was tricked into marrying a member of the Palin family.

Now you are a puppet being used to spread ignorance in the guise of wisdom.

Now you are helping to fund attempts to stifle a family's 1st Amendment rights.

Now you are an embarrassment to all of the others before you who have worn that medal which President Obama so graciously put around your neck.

Is THAT what you want to leave for your daughter when you die?

NRA members wondering why Wayne LaPierre issues statement of support for police officers shot in Dallas but not a word for the black man killed by police for possessing a legal firearm.

Statement by @NRA Executive Vice President & CEO Wayne LaPierre#DallasPoliceShooting #Dallas #NRA pic.twitter.com/guzpI6B8Gt

— NRA News (@nranews) July 8, 2016

Courtesy of Fusion:  

Absent from the statement is any mention of the protest where the shooting occurred or the reason for that protest: the killing by police of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Castile was reportedly a licensed gun owner. His disclosure to the officer that he had a gun in the car led the officer to shoot him, according to Castile’s girlfriend who made a Facebook Live video shortly after the shooting. 

It’s exactly the sort of case that you might imagine would outrage the NRA, an organization dedicated to protecting the Second Amendment right to bear arms. But despite rushing to mourn the death of police in Dallas, the NRA was silent in the days after Castile’s death.

That hypocrisy did not fail to catch the attention of some NRA members who took to Twitter and Facebook to express their outrage. 

So many comments like that from members on the @NRA Facebook page. Here are a few more. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/seH2swKcRr

— Laura Keeney (@LauraKeeney) July 8, 2016

Uh oh, it appears that certain NRA folks are starting to notice a rather unsettling pattern.

Gee, it certainly took them long enough. 

Sarah Palin: "It is a farce. #BlackLivesMatter is a farce!"

Courtesy of Sarah "KKK" Palin's Facebook page:‪

#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ is a Farce and Hyphenating America Destroys Us (Wow! She just jumps right into attacking black people. You would think she might ease into it, but nope.)

Our prayers are with the fallen on that Thin Blue Line in Dallas. America lost heroes last night as men in uniform did their unfathomably courageous job running into danger to protect others from it. Honorable first responders deserve our utmost respect and support. (Okay, well I think we all agree with this.)

Shame on our culture's influencers who would stir contention and division that could lead to evil such as that in Dallas. Shame on politicians and pundits giving credence to thugs (Racist dog whistle!) rioting against police officers and the rule of law in the name of "peaceful protests." It is a farce. #BlackLivesMatter is a farce. (Yeah crazy lady, you already said that up top. Already she's repeating herself.)

Media: quit claiming the rioters are "peaceful" as they stomp on our flag, shout "death to cops!" and celebrate violence. It is sick. You perpetuate a perverted message evil men thrive on to intimidate and warp malleable minds that would believe one race matters more than another. (That is NOT the message of #BlackLivesMatter. That is the message of the KKK.) Blood is on your complicit hands when you naively or purposefully refuse to tell of this movement's truth. 

Black Lives Matter? Yes - more than BLM "protestors" can grasp, as evidenced by their self-destructive provocateurism. (Uh, that's not a word.) Doesn't it go without saying that Native lives matter, too? And Asian; and Eskimo; and Hispanic; and Indian... and every other race comprised of people who see clearly the agenda at play to weaken America through disunity. (Sure except those native lives certainly did not matter back in 2009 when entire villages were freezing and starving to death and you did nothing! Oh I'm sorry, you brought cookies. To the wrong village!)

Get fed up and stand up if you're sick of being called racist when proclaiming EVERY LIFE MATTERS, black as much as white and every skin tone in between. Every innocent life - at every stage of life (Shout out to her pro-life homies.) - on the side of good over evil, matters. Why let the damaging false narrative prevail if you know it is a lie?! Speak up! Join me in refusing to go willingly with society trying to crown deceptive political correctness the victor. 

Self-descriptions that put any race in front of being an American are now used to further divide our nation. It's time to acknowledge you're either an American under our system of equality, law and order - and traditional patriotic spirit - or you're not. Knock off the hyphenation of who we are. And knock off the shoulder chip if you've let "leaders" burden you with it through their example that sadly capitalizes on division for untoward purposes. (Man I can't believe we are already over six paragraphs in and she has not yet made this about herself or her family. Oh wait, here we go.) That chip is crushing the people's hope. My youngest daughter recently confirmed the sensibility in this when she stated, "It would be sad to call myself an "Eskimo-American" instead of just a proud American like everyone else." (Damn that's a stupid thing to say. I'll bet she didn't actually even say it. I give Piper more credit than that.)

Seeing partial footage of this week's victims' tragic deaths at the hands of police officers is mind-boggling. It's nauseating. Granted, early reports rarely encapsulate all the facts of individual cases, but my heart is with victims' families as I sympathize with anyone defenseless in these situations. (Yeah undoctored footage of the police murdering defenseless people does not really PROVE they murdered defenseless people, but if they did well bad on them.) More so, I empathize if we find out any cop involved was in the wrong, for I abhor bad cops. I abhor police union leadership that regularly protects bad cops and discredits citizens voicing concern over bad actors in authority. (Wait, for it.) I've been there. Many of you know my own experience with well-publicized, constant, frightening encounters and threats to my family to "bring us down" via a badge and gun. We suffered an exhausting era knowing we were defenseless against a bad cop, his union, and a gleefully politicized media never reporting the truth. Threats that included the promise we'd be pulled over for whatever reason, destroyed, and "any judge will believe the badge over the citizen." The decade-long situation nearly devastated us. Political opponents still get off on all the situation cost us. So believe me, my personal experience won't let me throw a blanket of blind approval over all law enforcement and those in authority. (That's right folks, Palin literally dredged up her conflict with her former brother-in-law Mike Wooten in order to garner sympathy for how SHE was intimidated and harassed by the police just like black people. Holy crap!) Still, last night's disgusting acts that snuffed out officers' lives is exponentially worse than any one bad cop, his union bosses, and the media's verbose attempts to intimidate and falsely accuse. 

So if we're to take sides, I side with the Thin Blue Line. (Okay she JUST said that all lives matter, and now she is asking people to "take sides?" How about we support both the good cops and the people who are killed and harassed by the bad cops?) To side with our public servants trying to keep law and order amidst political agendas that clearly oppose that virtue is how the good guys win again. It's the only way to ensure our best days will be ahead of us. Join me. Do not let today's agenda redefine what it means to be an American. Do not sit still for it to fundamentally transform America. 

God created us equally, and not with a spirit of fear. We're given the spirit of POWER, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) Use it. 

- Sarah Palin

That sound you hear is the sound of the GOP establishment slamming their heads on the wall screaming, "How did we ever allow this lunatic to run on our ticket?"

Okay that was a whole lot of crazy, and the fact that she brought Mike Wooten into the mix is mind blowing.

Yes she understands how the African American people have suffered at the hands of the police, because she once had an ex-brother-in-law who she could not manage to get fired from the State Troopers even after firing his supervisor Walt Monegan for not taking him off the force.

I'm surprised that Al Sharpton has not made her an honorary black person due to the oppression she has suffered.

Seriously folks I think Palin has really outdone herself here.

BTW for those who are interested this law professor's response to his students regarding BLM is worth reading to help understand the movement.

That Baton Rouge shooting. Well this ought to wake you up.

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.

Cell phone footage from inside LaVoy Finicum's truck before, during, and after he was shot by law enforcement.

Just so you know the footage does NOT show Finicum being shot, however it is somewhat graphic in nature.

I found this footage on Reddit yesterday and I thought that it was worth sharing, if for no other reason than to give some perspective on what the people in the vehicle were thinking and how they perceived the police actions directed at them.

The video is a little confusing so here is a different perspective of the incident as taken from a helicopter. 

Chicago police routinely sabotage their dashcams. I wondered when this would start to happen.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

The Chicago police officer who fatally shot black teenager Laquan McDonald intentionally damaged his dashcam and never synced his microphone to it. And he's not the only one. 

More than 1,800 police maintenance logs first obtained by DNAinfo Chicago show a disturbing trend of Chicago cops intentionally and routinely tampering with their dashcams and mics in an effort to block audio. 

Jason Van Dyke, the officer charged with fatally shooting 17-year-old McDonald in October 2014, caused "intentional damage" to his dashcam at least once, along with other instances of his dashcam breaking, the logs show. The day of the killing, audio wasn't picked up by Van Dyke's car, nor by the squad car next to his. 

Here is that video.

Originally the police claimed that there was no need for dashcams and bodycams because the incidents of police brutality were so far and few between.

Since the introduction of these devices we have learned that not only is that not true, but that the incidents are more widespread and constant than anybody had anticipated.

So widespread in fact that now cops are trying to destroy evidence of their crimes so that they can continue abusing their power and stomping on the rights of the people they are sworn to protect.

If anything I think it is clear that not only do we need more cameras, but that there needs to be some serious oversight controlling the officer's ability to interfere with their audio and visual recordings.

Very difficult to watch video of two Orange County police officers essentially murdering an innocent man. Do I even need to say this is NSFW?

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Long Beach, CS – Last year, two Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies stopped a man for wearing headphones while biking, and when he attempted to continue on his way, he was thrown to the ground and then shot and killed. Police quickly made a cover story and accused the victim, Noel Aguilar, of pulling a gun on the officers, and until now there has been no evidence to prove them wrong. However, video of the incident has recently surfaced showing how the murder actually took place. 

Aguilar attempted to avoid the police harassment by running away, but they eventually caught up with him and slammed him into the ground. In the video, the victim can be seen on the ground with two police officers piled on top of him. Police began to accuse Aguilar of having a gun, but they quickly knock it away. The gun can be seen very clearly behind one of the officers and nowhere near Aguilar. However, one of the officers continued to make threats and acted like the gun has not been recovered.

What happens next is almost impossible to believe as one of the officers, Jose Ruiz, pulls his gun for some reason during the struggle and fires it hitting his partner, Albert Murade, in the stomach.

Murade yells that he has been shot, and Ruiz says nothing allowing Murade to believe he was shot by the suspect, who no longer has a firearm.

Even though the suspect, Noel Aguilar, repeatedly says he did not shoot anyone, Officer Ruiz shoots him at point blank range while on top of him.

For some reason this makes Officer Murade follow suit and he fires three shots at point blank range into Aguilar's back effectively killing him.

The police reported that the suspect Noel Aguilar, fired and hit Officer Murade and that the officers simply shot back to protect themselves.

The video up above shows something else entirely.

And if it did not exist nobody would know any different.

Two reviews find that the shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice for holding a BB gun was justified. Say what?

Courtesy of CBS News: 

A white Cleveland police officer was justified in fatally shooting a black 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun moments after pulling up beside him, according to two outside reviews conducted at the request of the prosecutor investigating the death. 

A retired FBI agent and a Denver prosecutor both found the rookie patrolman who shot Tamir Rice exercised a reasonable use of force because he had reason to perceive the boy -- described in an emergency call as a man waving and pointing a gun -- as a serious threat. 

The reports were released Saturday night by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, which asked for the outside reviews as it presents evidence to a grand jury that will ultimately determine whether Timothy Loehmann will be charged in the death of Tamir last November. 

"We are not reaching any conclusions from these reports," Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a statement. "The gathering of evidence continues, and the grand jury will evaluate it all." 

He said the reports, which included a technical reconstruction by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, were released in the interests of being "as public and transparent as possible."

For those who may have forgotten exactly what happened on that November day back in 2014, here is the surveillance video of the event. (Most the tape just shows Tamir walking around playing with his toy, the killing takes place around the 7:10 mark.)

It should be noted that the 9-11 caller who phoned the police reported that Rice was "possibly a juvenile" and that the weapon was "probably fake."

And yet seconds after arriving they shot this young man down in cold blood.

We live in a country where white men can safely walk the streets wearing assault rifles strapped to their bodies like over sized jewelry and yet a young boy playing with a toy gun is murdered in cold blood by the police.

And people wonder why a group like Black Live Matter exists in the world today.

Ted Nugent posts video of black man striking another man, and claims it depicts slain teenager Michael Brown in attempt to smear his name and the Black Lives Matter movement.

So on Nugent's Facebook page you can find this video of a black man, purported to be Michale Brown, striking another man from behind and then beating him and robbing him. It is quite terrible to be sure.

Nugent reposted the above video and then added his own comments as well:  

ALL LIVES MATTER but not to devilscum. If black lives matter then let us pray that blacks stop killing raping & destroying their own. Soulless pathetic punks. Here's the gentle giant of Ferguson in action. The world is clealy better off without such vicious devils.

The problem of course is that the man in the video is NOT Michael Brown. Which Snopes made clear back in December of 2014.

Several of Nugent's own visitors also pointed out that it was not Michale Brown as well: 

Eric Burchfield That's not Mike Brown.

Steven Krueger Ted, I love ya brother..but this is not Mike Brown Keep it real by keeping it true brother

To which Nugent responded as follows:

Ted Nugent doesnt have to be mikey. devilpunks are all the same

Many of Nugent's supporters also did not seem to care who it depicted, the fact was that black people were thugs and therefore their lives don't matter:

Kort Kelley Michael Brown got what he deserved! 

Leah Benyo-Bell He was and is Fucking scum! One less asshole to worry about!! 

Chip Morgan Michael Brown was a low life punk...not because he was black but because he was a low life punk....he got what he deserved. 

Jonah Dosher Why can't we just hunt these animals? I feel worse for Cecil, and I don't think that was wrong. Lol 

Yeah see to Nugent and his racist supporters it really doesn't matter that this is not Michael Brown.

What matters is that it shows a black man violently assaulting another man, ipso facto Micheal Brown deserved to die.

The Guardian has a counter keeping track of the number of people killed by the police so far this year. As of this posting that number is 683.

Here is the link.

To be fair if you click each individual example it appears that many of them were quite justified.

However 683 is still a staggering number. And it is only August.

So that Cincinnati university cop who shot that black man in the head made bail, and he is receiving donations to his legal fund from around the country. Man is racism lucrative or what?

Courtesy of WCPO: 

Former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing has bonded out of jail. 

He posted 10 percent of his $1 million bond, according to the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts website. 

Maj. Charmaine McGuffey, of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, said Tensing left the jail at about 6:45 p.m. He'd been under suicide watch during his time behind bars, she said. 

People from all over the country offered to help pay the $1 million bond, Tensing's attorney said Thursday. 

Tensing had to make a mandatory $100,000 surety payment – 10 percent of his $1 million bond – to secure his release until trial. 

"Ever since the bond was set, I've received calls from around the country from people wanting to contribute to it," attorney Stew Mathews said. "I think people feel like he's getting railroaded here in Cincinnati. You'd have to be blind not to see that.”

Yeah you know I'm not blind, but I certainly don't see any "railroading" here.  

What I did see is this glorified mall cop pulling out his weapon when there was no call to do so, and shooting a father of ten right in the head for not having his driver's license on him.

People can watch the video themselves and see if they come up with a different conclusion, but I would be highly suspicious of their motivations if they did.

And let's face it if this cop had shot a white guy in the head, he would most likely still be cooling his heels in a jail cell. But somehow when a white cop shoots a black man, there is a segment of the population that immediately thinks he is going to be treated unfairly by the system and they are determined to help him to be found innocent.

To be fair there is a group on the other side with the exact opposite reaction, but in this case I feel they are the ones who are justified in their fears that this cop will get away with this murder.

"I didn't do nothing man!" Video captures the murder of Sam DuBose at the hands of the University of Cincinnati police. (NSFW.)

Courtesy of WCPO: 

UC police officer Ray Tensing's body camera video clearly shows that he committed "murder" when he shot and killed an unarmed black motorist at a traffic stop, prosecutor Joe Deters said Wednesday. 

The shocking video shows Tensing grab the outside door latch on 43-year-old Sam DuBose's car after DuBose couldn't produce a driver's license. 

Tensing tells DuBose to take his seat belt off. 

As Tensing pulls the door open a few inches, DuBose pulls it close and says, "I didn't do nothing, man." 

As DuBose turns the key and revs the engine, Tensing pulls his gun, shouts, "Stop! Stop!" and shoots DuBose in the head through the open window. 

Showing the video publicly for the first time, Deters called it an "asinine, senseless shooting," and announced that a grand jury had indicted Tensing for murder.

I've watched this video about three times now, and there is really no other way to interpret other than a police officer becoming upset with a non-compliant driver and then firing at his head to keep him from "getting away."

But there was no place for that young man to go. The officer had his name, had his license plate number, and there were other police on the scene.

I don't even think Fox News could spin this in the cop's favor.

Personally I hope they throw the book at this cop, and then use this video as a training tool for rookie cops to teach them what NOT to do.

South Carolina police officer who shot Walter Scott in the back has been indicted. Update!

Courtesy of HuffPo:

A grand jury has indicted a former South Carolina police officer in the April shooting of an unarmed black man, the prosecutor announced on Monday. 

Former North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager has been charged with murder in the death of Walter Scott. 

"I think the people of the 9th circuit elected me to be accountable to them, and that’s what we intend to do," Charleston County Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said during a news conference following the announcement of the indictment Monday. "They have to know they have someone prosecuting the case who is accountable to them."

This is very good news, but does anybody really think this would have happened if there had been no video?

Update: Speaking of police videos currently there is also quite a bit of controversy over this police handling of a Texas pool party.

New report on police shootings offers troubling evidence.

Courtesy of St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  

A national debate is raging about police use of deadly force, especially against minorities. To understand why and how often these shootings occur, The Washington Post is compiling a database of every fatal shooting by police this year, as well as of every officer killed by gunfire in the line of duty. The Post looked exclusively at shootings, not killings by other means, such as stun guns and deaths in police custody. 

Using interviews, police reports, local news accounts and other sources, The Post tracked more than a dozen details about each killing through Friday, including the victim’s race, whether the person was armed and the circumstances that led to the fatal encounter. The result is an unprecedented examination of these shootings, many of which began as minor incidents and suddenly escalated into violence. 

Among The Post’s findings: 

• About half the victims were white, half minority. But the demographics shifted sharply among the unarmed victims, two-thirds of whom were black or Hispanic. Overall, blacks were killed at three times the rate of whites or other minorities when adjusting by the population of the census tracts where the shootings occurred. 

• The vast majority of victims — more than 80 percent — were armed with potentially lethal objects, primarily guns, but also knives, machetes, revving vehicles and, in one case, a nail gun. 

• Forty-nine people had no weapon, while the guns wielded by 13 others turned out to be toys. In all, 16 percent were either carrying a toy or were unarmed. 

• The dead ranged in age from 16 to 83. Eight were younger than 18, including Jessie Hernandez, 17, who was shot three times by Denver police officers as she and a carload of friends allegedly tried to run them down. 

The Post analysis also sheds light on the situations that most commonly gave rise to fatal shootings. About half of the time, police were responding to people seeking help with domestic disturbances and other complex social situations: A homeless person behaving erratically. A boyfriend threatening violence. A son trying to kill himself. 

Ninety-two victims — nearly a quarter of those killed — were identified by police or family members as mentally ill.

In an article literally bulging with troubling information, I find that last statistic to be especially troubling.

Mentally ill people deserve help from our public servants, not bullets.

The article also revealed that in the last five months 385 people had been killed by police in this country.  That is more than two a day.

No matter now pro-law and order you might be, you have to admit that these statistics are sickening. And that something serious needs to be done in response.

Robert Bates, the reserve deputy who shot instead of tasered a suspect, is interviewed on The Today Show.

Courtesy of Mediaite:

The Oklahoma reserve police officer who mistakenly shot and killed an unarmed man earlier this month finally spoke out on Friday morning, sitting down for a satellite interview with NBC’s Today Show. 

“First and foremost, let me apologize to the family of Eric Harris,” Tulsa reserve deputy Robert Bates said of the 44-year-old black man he fatally wounded. “This is the second-worst thing that’s ever happened to me or the first that ever happened to me in my life. I had cancer a number of years ago. I didn’t think I was going to get there… I’d rate this as number one on my list of things in my life that I regret.” 

Asked by Matt Lauer how he could make the fundamental mistake of grabbing his gun instead of the taser, Bates replied, “This has happened a number of times around the country. I have read about it in the past. I thought to myself after reading several cases, I don’t understand how this can happen.” 

He added: “You must believe me, it can happen to anyone.” 

A couple of things got my attention during this interview.

First why in the hell did this guy feel the need to drag his entire family onto TV with him? He looks more like a politician accused of having an affair, rather than a man who accidentally shot a man to death.

Second he at first suggests that this might be the "second" worst thing that has happened to HIM. He corrects it almost immediately and decides it's the first worst thing that has happened. But he continues to make this all about him, instead of about the victim of his incompetence.

And thirdly when Matt Lauer asks Bates to stand up and demonstrate where the taser was in relation to his gun, and the fact that the taser was on his chest while his gun was on his hip, makes the prosecution's job much, much easier.

And his declaimer at the end that this can "happen to anyone," which I would contend is flatly untrue with adequate training, does not do a lot to help his case,

I think this guy is in big trouble, and I think deservedly so.