So, in a nutshell, here's what we know about the actual incident so far.....
On Friday night, 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks pulled into a Wendy's drive-thru. At some point, he fell asleep in his car. Because he was blocking the drive-thru, a call was made to the police (by someone inside the Wendy's, I assume). When the police arrived, Brooks appeared to be intoxicated and was given a field sobriety test, which he failed. At some point after this, a struggle ensued between Brooks and the two officers. During the struggle, Brooks grabbed one of the officer's tasers/stun guns. Brooks then broke free and started to run across the Wendy's parking lot. During the pursuit, Brooks turned around and pointed the taser in the direction of the officers. The video appears to show the the taser being activated but I have not heard of the confirmation yet. This is when one of the officers fired several rounds at Brooks from which he ultimately died a short time later.
Protests ensued around the area of Brooks' death last night, The Wendy's restaurant was set on fire while protesters blocked the fire department's access. Maybe I'm naive but I don't see how destroying private property is accomplishing anything in these cases. The supporters of this destruction will argue that property can be replaced. They'll also say that the property owner should have insurance that will pay to rebuild it. To those who support this nonsense, would you feel the same if it was your home or business being torched? Would you crack a beer with the arsonists and sing Kumbaya around the makeshift campfire?
So, while the facts are still being sorted out, the officer who fired the bullets in this case has been fired. So much for that due process thing, huh?
Ok, I get that the race implications can't be ignored. But just for a moment, if possible, let's take race completely out of this situation and ask some questions...
A drunk guy passes out in his car in the drive-thru lane of a fast-food restaurant. What was the restaurant supposed to do? Should they have just told other customers to drive around him? Should a social worker have been dispatched for a round of field counseling?
Once the guy failed the field sobriety tests, he was suspicious of driving under the influence and subsequently arrested. Should the police have just told him to not do it again and ask him nicely to move his car out of the drive-thru lane? Should they have offered him a cup of coffee and told him to be careful on his drive home? Who would be to blame if he killed someone on his drive home?
When the guy punched the cop, should the cop have just shook it off? Or maybe he should have warned the guy of the increased likelihood of a hand injury when punching someone in the head?
When the guy pointed the taser at the cops, should they have just taken the jolt like a piece of sizzling bacon? Ironically, six Atlanta cops were recently fired and charged with aggravated assault for using a stun gun in another recent incident.
Hey look, I'm not trying to make light of this situation. After all, a guy died. I obviously don't know him personally but from what I understand, Brooks had three young daughters. He had just spent Friday getting one the children's nails done for her birthday. He was supposed to take her skating on Saturday. Sadly, he would never arrive to pick her up. And he never will again....
Folks, this isn't a black/white thing. This is a human thing. Don't let the media continue to divide us!
The tragedy of this particular situation is that it never needed to happen. The first mistake falls on Brooks himself for getting drunk and driving out to get a burger. The second mistake also falls on Brooks when he made the decision to fight with the police. And Brooks' third and most tragic mistake was pointing the stun gun at the cops. So, aside from what blame will ultimately fall on the police, Brooks had three opportunities to avoid being killed.
While police reform continues to be a major topic of discussion, I think something needs to be said on the way people (of any color) react when confronted by the police. Fighting with the police is never a good option. Don't set yourself up for a bad ending.
The cops in this situation were put in a bad spot. Maybe they did overreact. The jury is still out on that one. But when the adrenaline is running high and you feel threatened, the volatility of the situation increases exponentially. If we're going to try to fix these issues, we can't ignore the perspective from the cop's end. I'm not a psychologist so I'm not claiming to know the answers. But I think you need to consider all elements.
With all of this being said, I am certainly not condoning the shooting of Rayshard Brooks. I truly wish it never happened. And I truly wish that he would have gotten to take his daughter skating yesterday.....
kw
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