Minn. cop fatally shoots black man during traffic stop (Minneapolis: violent crime, attorney)

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Yep. All this talk white people have about "the right to bear arms," and here we have a black male who is legally exercising that right, and he's killed..

The killings of cops in Dallas is horrible and unnecessary, but is it surprising? Black people have been marching since the 50s and there's still a lot to go. Police forces need to take cases like this seriously. Racial hatred is systematically harboured in law enforcement.

I'm not surprised any of this happens. It has been happening forever. Nothing new unfortunately.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Umbria

I'm going to guess here that he was told to put his hands on the steering wheel - he then said Oh but I have a permit to carry <any bets counterfeiting CCPs are the latest criminal activity?>. Cop says to put your hands on the steering wheel - guy goes to grab ????? - could be his permit or it could be the gun. Let's say he actually had a legitimate permit. Anyone that would be given one of these would have to be smart enough to know that when you are told to put your hands on the steering wheel, you do it. I don't care if you have a note from God. He reached and was shot. I have no doubt that if that was me the same thing would happen. The police can't afford to second guess these situations. And~~the same rules apply to blacks -like it or not.

St Paul is no Disney Land.

So the first line of action is to shoot and ask questions later? Did the officer actually see any weapon pulled out? Show me where reaching for ANYTHING is a reason to get shot.

I checked the stats for St. Paul, and Falcon Heights. St. Paul is no Disney Land, but it's no war zone either. It is less dangerous than alot of major cities. Falcon Heights, with a crime index of 116.2, is far from the warzone you want to portray it as.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by WoodburyWoody

Doesn't shock me, either, and I am a just a white guy in the 'burbs. Stay safe, mariner.

You don't have to be from somewhere or of a certain ethnicity not to be shocked. There are many who aren't shocked by this at all. In my case, I've heard about it so much and there is so much of a history, that, well, I'm not desensitized so much as I expect crap like this to happen. I expect the worst.

I am doing what I can to be safe.

[Umbria]

Originally Posted by tijlover

You may not believe it, but there are those, who haven't been pulled over by a cop in a decade or 2 or 3, who are unaware of this protocol.

I was pulled over one night, around 3am, and it had been a couple decades or more since I was pulled over by a cop, and as he was walking towards my car, I thought I'd speed things up, knowing he'd be asking for my insurance card and title, by reaching to the glove compartment to retrieve it.

Very angrily: Put those hands on the steering wheel!!!

And, innocently, I couldn't figure out why he was so angry, until I had a talk with some of my co-workers the next night:

"You idiot! You could have been shot!"

I haven't been pulled over since I was 19 and I'm well past that and I'm aware of it. Common sense tells you he/she is the one with the gun and even if no one had a gun, in these cases this person has the authority and if you want to save yourself from a hassle, just do what's asked and the thing will be over. We should all be aware of what the general climate is out there these days - if you're not, you haven't
been paying attention.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Umbria

I haven't been pulled over since I was 19 and I'm well past that and I'm aware of it. Common sense tells you he/she is the one with the gun and even if no one had a gun, in these cases this person has the authority and if you want to save yourself from a hassle, just do what's asked and the thing will be over. We should all be aware of what the general climate is out there these days - if you're not, you haven't
been paying attention.

In short, the civilian has to be rational but the officer doesn't have to be.

[my54ford]

Bad,bad,bad! The video looks pretty conclusive. I reserve final judgement.... but he better not get off scottfree

P.S. I do live in MN and do have Carry permit and am Lilly white.

P.P.S. I would also comment that I have been pulled over while carrying. In my case it was a State Trooper. I kept my hands in plain sight on the steering wheel and after he asked me for my license I told him that I had pistol which he might see when I reached for my wallet.. He actually thanked me for telling and let me off with a warning.. The second time a Sheriff Deputy pulled me over for speeding. I had a XD 40 in the holster on the center counsel of my truck. Young guy chewed me out for speeding, gave me a ticket and walked away. I called the Sheriff relating the story and informing him that I had at least 2 opportunity's to do evil had I been so inclined. He thanked me and pulled the Deputy in for some enhanced training....

[StilltheSame]

Without live streaming - the story being sold to the public would be vastly different. Thank you FB.

[Minntoaz]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...t-on-facebook/

I came on this page disappointed to see that there was no thread started yet to discuss this story. This is not something to sweep under the rug. How are Minnesotans dealing with this? Or are you just ignoring it? Social justice for minorities in Minnesota needs to be addressed. I read that the black to white imprisonment rate in Minnesota is among the highest in the nation. How are these problems being addressed? My guess is it's the typical Minnesota "ignore it and it doesn't exist" mentality.

This was exactly what I thought it would be. A biased, stir-the-pot, divisive thread. I have not read the rest of the comments because what possibly can we comment on being there is no data or factual evidence showing both sides. If you want to debate and put a rift between individuals there is protests going on all over this country that I'm sure would be glad to have you (in fact one where they just shot a bunch of COPS in Dallas). This kind of thread is what causes people to build up hate and animosity. You say it's the "typical Minnnesota 'ignore it and it doesn't exist' mentality" which is an alternative to what? Going online and spewing our views about something that just happened and does not have sufficient evidence to comment on. How about taking your passion and using it for the better good of society? Like I said a friendly protest or a letter to the police department/justice system, a petition, a facebook group with people that so choose join... all better alternatives to coming on a neutral site and trying to change people's minds.

[Umbria]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

In short, the civilian has to be rational but the officer doesn't have to be.

Why always so negative? I think it's always been common knowledge that if you're stopped you can save yourself a lot of grief, and possibly an expensive ticket, if you do as you're asked and keep your mouth shut. This isn't news, but it's more important now than ever before.

Cops have been attacked and murdered in record numbers that has never been seen before. If you were a cop how trusting would you be? Dump the poor me/us routine. You want things to change? Stop reinforcing all the hate - it's far more contagious than some virus. People play the blame game because it gets them off the hook for their own pitiful behavior - they think. It's always somebody else's fault.

This conversation is over - I'll accomplish more by banging my head against a wall.

[Lodestar]

It's painful to consider trying to put the lives/deaths of human beings into perspective. Every life lost is a personal and familial tragedy. But statistics can lend some clarity to an issue that is knee-jerk upsetting to us all.


This quote from an article in "The Wire" helps me to understand why this is happening. "Blacks are more likely to kill cops than be killed by cops. This is according to FBI data, which also found that 40 percent of cop killers are black. According to MacDonald, the police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black than a cop killing an unarmed black person."


The article also mentions that more Whites and Hispanics are killed by police than are Black people. So, perspective.


Knowing the "why" doesn't alleviate distress over the issue but it helps explain how these things happen. Other statistical information that helps clarify is given in the article:


5 Statistics You Need To Know About Cops Killing Blacks | Daily Wire


And a comment about Minnesotan's reticence to discuss volatile problems on a public forum - it seems to be the norm. I look at other forums all over the web and see a lot of name-calling and blowing off steam from other areas of the country but here in fly-over land we can be pretty low-key.


It's not that we ignore the issues. I think we, as a whole, consider it poor form to air dirty laundry in public. Be that a positive or a negative it seems an area trait.