I love this Country, and wouldn’t want to live in any other country in the world, which is what makes what I say next so hard to fathom but yet so easy to say.
And that is this country, although great when compared to other nations, has a very serious trust issue among its citizens. And although cops are still killing unarmed black men (and women) at an alarming rate, the trust issues didn’t just start there with the police. It starts at home.
Like who are raising these people? And why is it that when it comes to trust and race relations, even though in many cases actual video evidence is present, there’s always that one side who gives the benefit of the doubt to one party but not the other? That party that usually gets the benefit of the doubt is the police, of course.
In case you are not aware, Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man from Tulsa, Oklahoma was shot and killed by police. His car had broken down on the road, and according to the video which you can actually see from the sky due to helicopter surveillance, you can see the entire scene unfold clearly as his hands literally reach up to the sky and past the helicopter circling overhead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HHOVNImlIM
Now here’s where things get disturbing. In the video, you can even hear one of the officers in the air already proclaiming Crutcher’s guilt by rationalizing that he “looks like a bad dude, too” and he even adds that he must “be on something.” He can see all of this from 200 or so feet up in the air. That’s remarkable. He must have eyesight like an eagle.
Crutcher is then shot shortly after those remarks and the officers weren’t even remotely concerned with his well-being. They were more concerned with traffic and closing down the eastbound lane. That was literally the very first thing they said after seeing this man get shot.
The officers on the ground then break off in a weird defensive tactical formation, as if Crutcher was still a threat as if he ever was in the first place. He is lying on the ground bleeding out and these four idiot cops still have their guns trained on him and his vehicle.
The bottom line is this. Terence Crutcher was not just murdered. He was executed by a firing squad.
The cops reasons for shooting him are all recycled responses from unjustified shootings past.
He didn’t listen to orders.
He was reaching for something.
They even thought he was on PCP.
Like, what? Where are they even getting this information from?
Nevermind, giving Mr. Crutcher the benefit of doubt that he’s completely outnumbered, against the police nonetheless who has a reputation unfortunately of killing folks like him, like why would he try something? Like really. Why would you even think that this man who is obviously by himself and stranded in the middle of the road, like why would you assume that he would up and decide to take on four cops? Four cops who all have their guns aimed at him.
Although there isn’t an audio feed released yet that shows us what Crutcher says to the police, I’m almost positive that he mentioned to them that his car had broken down. There’s no way in the world that he doesn’t mention that to them upon them pulling up to him in the manner that they did.
If he was truly reaching for something, why not wait and see what he has in his hand first before pulling the trigger? Why presume that he is reaching for something deadly like a gun?
Again, he was stranded. Alone. Outnumbered by four armed cops. And these cops can’t give him the benefit of the doubt that they now ironically and conveniently want us to give them now that this shooting has happened.
It doesn’t make sense, does it? Of course, it doesn’t, and that pretty much sums up the problems we have in this country and why it’s important to have open discussions on race. Because no matter how hard you try to twist it and not make these police shootings about race, it’s hard not to pull that race card out of a deck that is not stacked in your favor
When we see how folks are outraged at football players for kneeling during the National Anthem, but these same people remain silent on the reasons behind the protests, it’s a problem.
When you can have actual video evidence, where Terence Crutcher’s hands were clearly in the air and the police still say that he wasn’t following directions, it is a problem.
If you feel threaten by a black man, 10 feet away, unarmed, and with arms raised all the way up, it is a problem.
When you’re a trained police officer and can’t give the benefit of doubt to a stranded motorist, it’s a problem.
A problem that no one seems to be addressing.
