by Lynn Mandaville
How do you make sure peaceful protesting continues over the issue of police brutality committed against black men?
Murder another unarmed black man who is running away from police following what, for the most part, had been a civil exchange between the cops and the man who had fallen asleep at a Wendy’s drive-through.
How do you make sure that all instances of claims of police brutality that have been dismissed as unfounded are ignored?
Commit an act of blatant police brutality that is caught on film by at least six separate cameras.
A mere three weeks after George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, another cop who happens to be white has killed another unarmed and non-threatening civilian who happens to be black.
And the circumstances are just as deplorable as those under which Floyd was murdered.
So here’s the thing I want to say today.
Lots of cops are accused of excessive force and brutality where the charges are determined to be unfounded and are dismissed. That is a fact.
The case of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 has become urban legend in which the cop, Darren Wilson, is the criminal and Brown, the dead man, is the innocent victim.
FACT: After fair and legitimate investigation, Officer Wilson was exonerated of any charges of wrong-doing. The urban legend persists, though, as do many such stories throughout history. It is unfortunate and true.
Do not let it be said that anyone on the left has not stepped up to the above truth.
Also needing to be said is that most police officers are not monsters. They do not get out of bed each day and say “Who can I f**k over today?” They do not get up looking forward to potentially violent encounters before the day is done.
Therefore, when these very real scenarios play out, when any person, black or white, suffers harm or death at the hands of a peace officer, it behooves us to take serious notice.
And in these days, when that victim is black, it is imperative that we evaluate the case to within an inch of its life.
Because violence against blacks, and men in particular, is disproportionately high when committed by police.
It is my strong, and entirely justified opinion, that in this day, when Black Lives Matter has finally reached wide acceptance, that it is a cheap shot to try and deflect attention from the varied forms of racism in America.
These are the issues that should be front and center until solving them has been given its deserved priority!
If you are capable of doing something positive and constructive to rectify the inequalities that exist in our society, then do something positive and constructive to make them go away.
Otherwise, as my dad would have said, stop with the red herrings and “Quit-cher bitchin’.”
Ms Mandaville,
In your haste to frame the Wendy’s drive through incident, a few things were omitted.
The victim was in line to order food at Weny’s, he fell asleep. When police were called and arrived, he still appeared to be asleep.
The officers had a polite conversation with him, and he consented to a breathanalysis test, where he was determined to be intoxicated to be too impaired to drive.
It is procedure to arrest the person, cuff him, and take him into custody, which the officers attempted to do. Then he resisted, struck and fought with the officers, took one officers stun gun and fled, where he turned and fired the weapon at the officers. You know what happened next.
The question never asked by the media; why did he resist and flee? He would have been in the drunk tank overnight and bailed out the next morning. Now he is dead through actions and poor decisions by him.
It is a tragedy, no doubt, but one with more questions to be asked and answered
Ms. Mandaville,
You stated, “Murder another unarmed black man who is running away from police following what, for the most part, had been a civil exchange between the cops and the man who had fallen asleep at a Wendy’s drive-through.” You forgot to mention that he was drunk in the car with the motor running, which is considered drunk driving in the State of Georgia. You forgot to mention he assaulted the police, who were respectful to him until he assaulted them. At the time he was shot, he was aiming a “lethal” weapon at the police officer.
The shooting appears to be unjustified, but to be fair please state the facts, all the facts.
Mr. Traxler,
At the time Rayshard Brooks was shot IN THE BACK AT LEAST TWICE he had fired what was a taser that had been fired twice already and did not have a charge. In my opinion, had Mr. Brooks been a white man, he would have been allowed to walk to his sister’s house a couple of blocks away, leaving his car in the lot and the keys with the police as he had offered to do.
Even with all the facts we have so far, the police had, for more than a half hour, a calm situation that went bad. A drunk man, whose identity is known and whose car is left behind, a man who is known to be unarmed, firing a taser that is known to be without a charge, therefore not lethal (this is what has been reported over the past several days), and running away is not a threat to the police. There was no call whatsoever to use a gun to deal with this impaired man, much less to use a gun to shoot him in the back. And now we know that the cop who shot him shouted “I got him!” Then he kicked him while his partner stood on his shoulders before they attempted CPR or called for an ambulance.
I understand that drunk driving is a crime, and a sleeping man in a car with the engine running is considered a drunk driver. How the situation is handled is important. If you or DTOM have seen more of the footage of the incident, you will know that the police began the interaction by banging on the car window and saying “Hey, dipshit!”
Is that a professional way to begin an interaction with anyone, black or white.
Anyway, again the point is being missed.
Black people are being shot dead when they needn’t have been. Death by gunshot is not the answer to drunk driving. It is not the answer to a drunk man running away, especially when you know who he is and where he lives.
You two are making excuses for the death of this man at the hands of the cops. The whole thing is, how do you say it in the military, FUBAR? Even Mr. Brooks “assault” of the officers did not merit a shooting.
The deflection continues from the real issue at hand.
Ms, Mandaville,
Please forgive me for giving the Police Officer the benefit of doubt and not convicting him in the media. Guilty until proven innocent is not how it works even for Police Officers. I will wager in your mind the officer involved in the Michal Brown case was guilty based on media reports and not evidence. Can you say rush to judgement? Guilty until proven innocent? Prejudiced? An excess of 65 Police Officers are feloniously killed killed each year can you name one without looking?
Thank you for admitting you ignored the facts in your column, facts are pesky things as they get in the way of prejudiced thinking and old fashioned disdain for the 700,000 police officers based on the actions of a few. To judge the many by the few is the foundation of prejudice, Just how does “Politically Correct Prejudice” work? I will never understand it.
Just where did you find more tape of the incident? We can only go by what is shown publically, we dont have access to what you’ve seen. What station were you viewing?
One fact not in dispute is that the cop fired three times at a man that was running away, striking him twice, both in the back, and killing the man.
Excellent analysis Lynn. Police investigate wrong doing by police. That explains why they are so often found acting within their duties. As for the folks faulting your analysis as I have said before
“Often wrong, never in doubt”
Mr. Beck, maybe you could write a column like Ms. Manaville and enlighten us with your wisdom and righteous opinions. I would so love to be informed by a guru such as you! Looking forward to reading your column.