15 Year old James Rivera
On the morning of July 22 at around 11:30 16 year old James Rivera was assassinated in premeditated murder, according to his family and witnesses.
According to James Rivera’s mother police came to her house late at night/early morning before the murder and terrorized the family. Police held guns at 2 even younger children and told them they were going to kill him.
Later, according to friends, he was pulled over then released and then chased. As he crashed into a fence and made a u turn , police rammed the back of the blue van which caused the van to go out of control. The van went onto a lawn of a corner house on Salters Dr and Bancroft Way, finally crashed straight into the garage wall where the van seemed to be lodged into.
Officers exited their vehicles and asked James to exit the van twice but 2 seconds later they began to shoot. Over 30 rounds have been estimated to be found. They executed those rounds with 9mm handguns and fully automatic M-16 assault riffles.
Witnesses say that the ambulance arrived with out their sirens and left without them, as if there was no urgency. The people believe that he was dead at the scene. They saw officers pull him out and slap his face and then do nothing.
Reporters are saying that police stated the pursuit began at 10:30 after finding the van that had been part of a carjacking with a shotgun. It has not been said if this was the van, and the police do not mention any previous encounters with James Rivera.
The media has yet to report the truth, i know we heard the people speak the truth and that’s not what they are printing.
People came out in rage of what they had just witnessed. “NO JUSTICE NO PEACE” the people chanted until the officials Chaplin later came to them and asked them to be quiet.
in the Stockton Record Stockton Police Spokesperson Pete Smith agreed that the crowd was “upset and very vocal about their concerns” but was also recorded threatening the community “Let officers complete their investigation and not unduly create any other situations that would need any kind of police investigation”
continue reading http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/07/24/18654635.php?show_comments=1#18654644
This is a state of emergency! It has “emerged” that in this day and time where the president of the United States can be a black man but, the child that will possibly have the chance to continue the sight…cannot have justice. This was a fear vs. courage situation to me. I say this because James was committing a crime but, was stopped. He had the courage to do the wrong that he was doing in plain sight. Still a child just reaching the point of knowing right from wrong. Once caught the capture went on to become murder. Once caught the anger felt by the Stockton Police drove them to kill a child in front of people and other children! It just shows the truth in light that a badge creates fear! From both perspectives wich creates resentment and history that will not be erased from mind body and soul! You will be missed and remembered James Rivera! Wa salaam milaikum to your family and friends. Sincerely TSALLMIGHTY
Funny how Dave leaves out the kid’s record. But then, Dave is a habitual liar. He escaped a juvenile facility where he was being held for a long list of crimes including torturing animals. Then he committed a robbery at gun point and steals a van. All okay in Dave’s twisted mind.
If you don’t want to get shot by the police, don’t torture, escape correctional facility, rob at gunpoint and try to ram cops with a van. I am sure his family and idiots like Dave want you to believe the kid was on the way to church after he helped a senior citizen cross the street.
Look at the real problem. Kids committing adult crimes because criminal adults are the only role models they have. You can’t blame that on police but I’m sure you’ll try Dave as it’s how you make a living. Sponging off society. You are a parasite.
Tim stop ur whining…it’s not becoming.. I didn’t write the article and two he didn’t deserved to be killed or shot 15 times..
Dig, a kid who escaped from a facility probably had a story to tell. The system is corrupt inside and out. Torturing animals? Come on,its not legal unless u have a licence to do so? May God bless his soul and his family. That could have been any of our children.
i’m trying to understand if he was driving the article says he was pulled over.
yo 2 TIM AND WHOMEVER ELSE READS THIS, ITS IGNORANCE LIKE YOU HAVE AND WHY THIS SOCIETY IS SO FKED UP. LET IT HAVE BEEN SOMEONE IN YOUR FAM WHO JUST WAS GUNNED DOWN NO ASSASSINATED LIKE THIS YOUGN MAN WAS, YOUR RESPONSE WOULD BE THE SAME OR YOU WOULD OF BEEN THE SAME. I DISLIKE WHEN PEOPLE TALK BEFORE THINKING LIKE YOURSELF AND ANYONE ELSE WHO TALKS DOWN TO THIS ARTICLE. I SUN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY MYSELF BUT LIKE PLENTY OF YOUGNG MEN NO MATTER WHAT COLOR U ARE WE ALL HAVE TO DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO SURVIVE IN A GVRMT WHO CAN SPEND 300 ON A TOILET AND 100 ON NAILS BUT CANNOT SEEM TO FIND JOBS IN AREAS THAT ARE NEEDED. SO TIM AND ANY ONE ELSE, UNTILL YOU WALK IN THAT YOUNG MANS SHOES U NEED TO JUST SIT BACK AND REEVALUATE YOUR COMMENTS.
Fuck the police and FUCK you TIM. You’re nothing but a racist pig talking from a privileged status within a racist, exploitative and colonial CAPITALIST system that brutalizes the black, latino, native, arab, and generally poor communities and rapes and exploits brown and black people around the world so your ass could spend your worthless weekends at the mall shopping. You stand to benefit from these racist social relations and the status quo, and from your comment you clearly understand that. The pigs are out to protect YOUR interests cause you are sitting at a higher level within a capitalist structure. Read a book Motha F. And while you’re reading shut tha F up until you have something intelligent to say.
Tim’s not racist, you guys just cant read. Congrats on being morons.
Tim, I want to slap the taste out of your mouth.
In order for a person to be assassinated you must be a political or a public figure. It is very funny that any body that wants to say f*** the police can leave a comment but anyone that questions the validity of this story is called ignorant. This makes you ignorant for not looking into this further before declaring all white people evil and racist. The only person that I read that was racist is yourself. I read nothing in this article that says that the police officers that commited this act was even white. I am not saying in any way that this was ok but I am saying that just because someone has chosen to use his or her brain before having an comment based off of pure rage then maybe you should respect that is the way that person feels and move on.
besides that most of the officers that were involved were Mexican
Its no secret that my family of POOR Magazine will NEVER call the police or po-lice!! For every ignorant and racist culture comes a form of resistance to that culture. People think that it is some hate-filled motivation to fulfill propaganda, and selfish political goals. Well, there are too many living testimonies, and stolen lives to ignore.
And this is not even counting the ugly history of po-lice history that continues today. The worst kind of criminal is a po-lice officer, who’s protected by all levels of government. I would just love to see what the ignorant have to say when it happens to them, cause somewhere down the line, it just might.
Peace.
When are we gonna wake up and DO something about this? No use in gettin worked up over Tim…thats just avoiding the real threat…your real enemy…
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The government takes no concern for our quality of life anymore, and has deployed police to be their guard dogs. Guard dogs attack to kill. We’re already a police state. It’s just going to take about one more national disaster for everyone to see it.
This is so sad. I am just wondering why this young boy was even in this situation. What happened to the community, the churches, and the family assisting the youth? The problem with the youth today is there is not a good foundation. Where is God in these young people’s lives? We all know that racism is present, and it seems as if it has been more apparent since President Obama has entered office, but WE need to do our part to keep our youth safe and educated. Sometimes we need to take responsibility for our actions, for what we lack, and not always blame the “white man” for some of our situations. All police officers are not crooked, my father is one, by the way is black, and I’m sure there are a lot of black officers that are trying to help out communities. It all boils down to, if we don’t want to be helped, we simply can’t be helped. We need to move in the direction of wanting to be helped, and ask God for guidance. I know I am young, but I have seen and experience a lot. I hope the family can do something positive in remembrance of their lost family member.
This is a very sad situation, however, Tim is correct. I hear an awful lot of blaming on this thread and not enough personal responsibility. It does not matter if you are black, white, red, or green. If you are going to commit adult crimes then you have to be prepared to face adult reprecutions. This young man led the polic in a car chase, crashed into someone’s house, and tried to back up over the police. It is unfortunate that his actions led to his death, but it would be a greater tragedy if his negligent behavior led to the death of someone else.
If you want to make a positive push for change, how about starting at the source of the problem? How about volunteering and working with the youth in our communities to help keep them out of the hands of law enforcement in the first place. Education is key. Want to sit back and pray about it? Great. That’s the easiest way to do nothing and still feel like youre helping. Get out there and actually do something that instead of complaining on an internet blog.
denise how do u know folks here aren’t working with youth.. who specifically is not doing work in the community or is that speculation? Also last I checked people are and should be encouraged to come complain, vent and speak their pain on a blog.. who are u to tell them not to.. What community centers would you suggest they volunteer in? Links? address?? meeting times?
2- 15 bullets is not necessary.. many places dont even carry guns.. so if were gonna talk personal responsibility it goes both ways.. 1-hes 15.. and thus we as a society are responsible.. All of us.. today its the 15 years old, last month it was a 7 year old who got shot.. the day before its a mother of 3.. cant be all these people are out of control..
At Denise82, I completely agree with you.
As I think on the storyline, I can not help but wonder if the police officers were justified in their action if the above story holds true. Did they really have to riddle the van with over 30 rounds of gun shots? Rather this be a child or an adult committing these acts, do they deserve to die in such a harsh way?
If you are going to commit adult crimes then you have to be prepared to face adult reprecutions. This young man…
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There is a difference between accountability and responsibility. A CHILD is just that a CHILD. One of the major things that seperates childhood from adulthood is suppossed to be the ability to understand with more clarity how one actions eventually determine one’s circumstances/reality. This, for example, is why we don’t legally allow children to drink. Their decision making is already impaired due to immaturity, so adding alcohol to the mix can become deadly. Being 15 years olds does not constitute being anywhere close to an adult. As a matter of fact we have recent college graduates (21+) who are still just a juvenile as they were a few years earlier. In order to be ‘prepared’ for adult reprecussions, you would need to be capable of comprehending adult thoughts. For most 15 years olds thats not the case. Maybe its just me, but I don’t want Police officers who have the same “fears” as the average citizen. This idea of “well I have to get home no matter what” is cool for the average man. But for the person who signed on to “serve and protect and fight crime” and was trained to deal with these situations there needs to be less fear (quick over re-actions) and more ability/skill at assessing and if necessary difussing a situation with out being over-bearing or going on the offense. It’s easy to blame one side or say things like “if he wasn’t doing criminal stuff this wouldn’t have happened” just like it’s would be easy to say “if police dept hired mentally stable officers who weren’t so scared of the people” they wouldn’t unnecessarily kill poeple. A solution has to come from a desire to fix a problem and not just blame the other side. Their always needs to be accountability on both sides. Citizens are not always wrong nor are the police always right, and vice versa. It’s a two way street.
Davey- That’s a fair statement. I do not know what what other people are doing for their communities so I cannot make that blanket assumption. I do however hope that those who are in fact working with the youth are teaching them to take personal repsonsibilites for their actions instead of pointing the finger someplace else.
In regards to the 15 bullets, I think there are factors here that are being left out in this article. Every other article I have read states that this young man backed up and tried to run over the police officers. IF this is correct, then the police officers acted accordingly in trying to protect themselves and others. The police certainly have a responsibility to control a situation without this kind of force if possible. However, they also have a responsibility to protect law abiding citizens. It certainly sounds like this young man was leading the police in a hazardous chase that was jeopardizing the safety of others.
I certainly dont mean to negate the tragedy of this situation. A young man lost his life and that is a shame. My heart goes out to his family. My only objection to this article is that it places all of the responsibility on the police and doesnt take into consideration the responsibility of the boy, his parents, and the community at large.
Reason- I agree with your comment that accountability needs to be on both sides. However, can you seriously make the argument that at 15 years old, this young man did not know right from wrong? Our laws afford him the right to less severe punishment in a court of law because of his age. They do not afford him the right to recklessly endanger the lives of others.
Also, why the assumption that the police were scared or mentally unstable? It certainly sounds to me like the actions they took were out of necessity and responsibility, not fear and instability.
Denise..every single incident from Oscar Grant to the 7 year old in detroit to the vietanamese mother in San Jose to the mentally unstable man shot on the Danzinger Bridge in new orleans, the conversation startyed with this talk of personal responsibility.. Dont belive me take alook at the articles and early news narratives.. Even with Ayanna Stanly we heard this talk.. Its a simple dismisal and deflection…
The first step is to ask why are we concerned about Black lives lost via the police when we kill each other.. (you denise did a variation of that) and thats usually followed by placing blame on the victim.. under the guise of personal responsibility.. People usually run with this and when we find out the truth that topic is not revisited or corrected..Hell we dont even get apologies..
1-Danzinger Bridge.. people were told the folks shot were looters and ‘needed personal responsibility’.. now we have 6 cops confessing to shooting and covering up.. The whole time folks like me posted the stories we heard from the pro-cop advocates who said many of the things u said.. Now what? Now we have the cops confessing-where’s the correction?
Ayana Stanly.. 7 years old shot.. We heard folks right here on this website blast the grandma for ‘hiding a killer.. somehow suggesting that her granddaughter was killed bc of her negligence.. We now know police were wrong and were actually in violation of procedure by taking actions to show off for a reality show.. The gilr was burned with flash grenades before being shot..
Nathaniel Sanders.. shot in a car while sleeping May of 2009 by Austin police, who insisted he was a gang banger with a gun… Again all the usual comments..of personal responsibility.. Now we find out there was no gun and did no crime.. He was asleep in his car..People are up in arms that his family may get money for his death.. We can go on and on..
Police brutality is too widespread.. these bad examples tarnish the hard work that many do.. Sooner or later folks are gonna have to speak up and denounce this.. like I said we cant all be wrong.. 15 shots is not right.. nor was the incident the family endured..
The boy made a man choice and lost.I am tired of these young black men throwing away all we fought for by being thugs.The cops are not as bad as the old days.
Greetings,
This conversation, while having honourable origins, has now left the paradigm of reality and has entered the domain of nonsense.
The root of all this is white supremacy. Let’s get that out in the open… The cops, the Black victims of cop brutality, the community, us as well…we are all victims of this ignorant system and some of the comments are bearing witness to this…
Harry Jones…snap out of it! The cops were bad in the “old days” and they’re bad now. If the cops lynched 100 young men in 1947 and 75 last year…that does not equal progress.
For you (unrealistic) liberals, you either are not Black or Brown or you have completely forgotten how it is in the ‘hood since you fled to the suburbs…
No one wants to talk about the quality of life for these young men…the pressures, depression, mis-education that afflict them and their families…remember, most of these children have very little support from sane, financially stable adults.
Not to mention all the drugs: crack as well as the real potent ones (prescribed by drug dealers wearing white coats) that are forced on any young Black or Brown youth who so much as becomes upset… White doctors are terrified of these youth and are super-quick to drug them up…what are the effects, long and short term, of these malpractice violations for entire communities?
As for this young man trying to escape, even to the extent of running over cops… What a joke… What do you think the chances were that those cops, having arrested him, were going to physically brutalize him? The answer is probably about 99.99999%. The only question was if they would kill him or not…and get away with it…on camera and all…
Black or Brown people, who haven’t committed any crime, just on the way home from the office, have to contemplate fleeing from any officers trying to stop them…
Cops kill Black & Brown people…that’s what they do…that’s not all they do…
Why do we tolerate a situation like this? The reason you all want to argue and point the finger at the cops or the youth is because you don’t want to admit that you are the problem…you and your complacency and fear…you and your laziness and prejudices.
You don’t want to see the truth; because if you do, you will see that you are complicit with this beast and his violence, stealing and lying.
I’m sure there were some very nice accountants, lawyers and teachers who didn’t hate Jews and/or didn’t know about the exterminations. They didn’t believe in Hitler’s vision; they just wanted to feed their families…but they were still Nazis…
Are they guilty of being an accomplice..? Are you?
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This story is very sad. The only thing that I would like to know is the story behind why the police was threatening the 16 year-old’s family. Although, I’m not excusing such excessive force, I would like to have a little more clarity about the story, because the story seems to have a few holes in it. I’m just saying.
For those racists who love to flame on this and any other site…you need to educate yourself. And if it’s going to take a white man to do it for you (since you won’t listen to people of color and our stories, experiences and knowledge), let it be Tim Wise. http://web.mac.com/timjwise/iWeb/Wise/Home.html
Denise,
It is not an assumption that many police officers fear for their safety the communities that they are suppossed to protect and serve. I have seen evidence of it as well as heard officers talk about their concern about making it home everynight from the “hood”. As far as unstable, you can search you tube for all the videos of overbearing police officers who are no where near mentally capable of handling the roles and responsibilities of a public servant (especially one whose role is to carry a gun). Where I came from we use to have a saying that a scared person with a gun can be more dangerous then anything else. The fear will make you shoot first and ask questions later.
There are some people who are good at their jobs and others who are not suited for what they signed up for. Just because a person goes to medical school that doesn’t by default make them a good doctor. There are bad doctors who wanted a doctor’s salary but dont have the tools/skills to do a great job. Not just anyone can be a surgeon. Not just any one should be a cop. Thus, we have good cops as well as bad cops. Some people dont have the medel to stand in a sticky situation and remain cool. Some people get rattled and make mistakes. Not every cop is a good one worthy of commendation and praise, some of them are bad employees who wanted city jobs with great benefits. I don’t believe in standing by someone or some entity just because. Bad cops need to be weeded out of the precincts similar to negative individuals being removed from the community by law enforcement. If you are a danger you need to be removed whether cop or criminal. Again, I am all for accountability on both sides.
As far as the 15 year old knowing right from wrong. In my opinion that is subjective and depends on the teen in particular. I did not know this young man but from the youths that I speak with and have mentored they are often not very skilled at making good decisions especially when those around them are not moving in a positive direction. You would THINK that a 15 year old would know that they should be in school everyday because it’s the Right thing to do! But they often don’ t see or understand why they should be in school because they don’t have the understanding of what they are doing to their future. You would think that a 15 year would know that they are not cut out to be a parent. If you have ever spoke to a teenager gung ho on having a baby you will know that they don’t have an understanding of what they are really doing in the same sense that a responsible adult would. Same thing with a 15 year old who is selling drugs. His view of life from his vantage point as a child may lead him to believe he is doing the what he has to do in order to survive eventhough you or i would say there is another way. He, being 15, may not see it. At the end of the day he paid for his mistakes with his life. Obviously the police are not going to allow someone to recklessly harm other citizens. However, simply having a arrest record or rap sheet does not mean it ok for the police to kill you. As we shouldnt be cool with any unnecessary or uncalled responses from them that cause more unwarranted deaths. I am never mad when there is a weapon present or some shots have been fired at the cops but I am not cool with the shootings from police over-reaction.
To Tim, Edumacated Sweetheart and Denise
When are people going to learn, you cannot have a productive society without fighting. As Afro-Americans we have to fight when it’s necessary or even when it’s not sometimes. There will always be collateral damage. Believe me that is the only reason you can sit on your ass and write your bullshit. Do I think this situation was racist, no. However, police brutality must stop. My question to you Denise is this: what about the 15 year old black girl that was punched by the officer? Should we blame her background? What about the young black girl in Seattle who was beaten up by the police?
The only reason why the educated sweetheart, Tim and Denise enjoy the technology of today is because someone complained and protested. Did you know that there were black during the civil rights movement who actually complained against the freedom fighters, they said stuff like “you should be thankful for what you got” or “it aint too bad”.
Far too many African-Americans pretend like there is nothing going on and they want to mesh into the idealism of a fair and just society.
Tim is funny. Oh and to the Educated Sweetheart, if you was educated then you would know that no movement is perfect. But then again, the educated people are generally the most blind because they are full theories.
We are in a state of Black Extinction in America,there is and will always be a no-reason when it comes to killing black youth,,A white kid can go into a school and kill he can see,and those in power will try to negotiate with this murdering natural born killer! With that you still get the “white fear” that people like Tim(if you are black,what a waste of life!) show at every turn!
As to the “fear for ones life” Your job description was well stated to you when you applied, another code for black hate!
Fear is one reason for that hate, and self hate is the reason for being filled with fear!
Funny, Tim looks at the article in a rational way and the braindead idiots start threatening him. Why do internet thugs always threaten people with who can read & comprehend? You always demand respect, but you can’t give any.
@ Rock, too bad it isn’t you that gets shot up by the pigs. Then again, you are a white weed-smoking loser, living in your parent’s basement. You only know about these things from what you see and read on the internet.
I don’t have enough information to pass judgment on the case, but just because the kid has been shot, it does not mean it was “premeditated murder” – while this is how the article is introduced. Suspect.
To the comments about Tim benefiting from a racist system…actually, if you stay away from crime, those things most likely will never ever happen to you.
To those who excuse crime with poverty, what about the decent people in the ghetto that get up every morning and go to work? What about them, they don’t count? Why do make a choice against crime? And the ones that have chosen crime, can you say that you really tried it all to escape the trap?
Lots of ignorance here. Sad!
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I live in stockton and actually know this kid who was killed by the police. He certainly didnt deserve to die but he also certainly commited many of these crimes hes accused of. race is not an issue as far as that goes. race certainly plays a factor in his death!!! it is the police mentality of “us versus them”. talk to a cop and realize that the idea of serve and protect is a joke. its more like to tax and punish!!!! the police are a joke and especially in stockton california. Lodi california and stockton california have the worst police just short of Los angeles. Tim is no racist. im brown and i’ll say it. its pretty pussy to keep calling people racist cause youre too dumb to make substance of the issue!!! if this kid stole your shit or killed your animals youd probably kill him yourself. youd probably do the same as the cops for less. most folks want to resort to violence over a look or wearing a wrong color or writing on the wrong wall. so quit the bullshit compassion and sympathy. youd probably fuck someone up for less in your own mind. and saying the police used an M16 is fucking rediculous!!! dumbass do you know how big a fucking m16 is!!! Black extinction? we have a black president and more wealthy black people than any other place in the world… dumbass. life has a way of making dumb people extinct and theres no racist agenda in that. everyones a fucking psycologist on this thread too… talking about someones upbringing that they dont even know. the educated are the most blind? what kind of dumbass statement is that? right and wrong is relative? what the fuck? i just hope you dumbfucks are drained from the gene pool and dont have babies. relative to a retard you all are pretty fucking stupid. the more im reading these posts the more i just want to choke you all to death. fucking hypocrites and dumb ass fake ass internet thugs. you all would have made good nazis. i bet you still think obama is going to pay your bills too. did i say obama i meant Barry Sotorro or what ever his name is. we’d have to look at one of his numerous social security cards to determine what to call him.
that being said life should be valued. we are the most complex beings in existance and are miracles that we exist humans. no life should ever be taken by anyone. the idea that people in a uniform have the privilege justifiable right to kill another human is a mental illness.
that being said piss off and sterilize yourselves for the rest of humanity. and stop trying to put two cents in when you have no sense.
TomTom thats the biggest crock of crap I’ve read in along time..aand its further indication of just how scared some folks, like yourself realyy are.. Bless up change is coming..Justice is coming
what do i call this? KARMA! if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. this “child” stopped being a child when he decided to commit crimes not only against innocent animals, but against his fellow man. it does not matter what color he is because every race has its racists…..white, black, asian, native american indian…..there are racists in every bunch and to keep playing this card is getting squat accomplished. the problem lies with parents not forcing their kids to take responsibility when they commit a crime. if these retarded parents would pay attention and stop whining “poor TYRONE (black), JOSE (mexican), BUBBA (white trash) OR CHAU LIN (asian)” the FIRST TIME their asshole kid steps out of line, then we wouldn’t have these sorts of problems. but no……the parents start bitching and playing the “i am just an innocent, misunderstood minority” card. they do this because they want the big fat payout when their loser kid that they never fucking paid attention to while alive gets killed committing a crime against another.
As a black man I hate to hear black people say” us black folk believe this way or that way”! Black people who state that don’t know what 38 million black Americans think! But I do expect black people in entertainment or in the news to respect black people and acknowledge the wrong done to black people! AND SPEAK OUT! Oprah has the biggest talk show on American TV. A black woman that endorsed the first black man for President of the United States ! America got it’s first black President! Someone like Oprah maybe could bring light to injustice toward black children by white cops! Maybe just maybe we as black people along with Oprah’s help can stop black children from being murder by white cops. In New York black children going to and from school are made to strip and take off their shoes in public! We know that black adult men are target practice for many police departments. That is just the way of life they are hated from birth! BUT young black seven year old Aiyana Jones was asleep in her Detroit home and Detroit cops threw a flash bomb in her home and lit her on fire. Then enter the home and fire a shot into the neck of the innocent child killing her! Aiyana is not the first black innocent child murder by white cops! And because of a racist and bias society that we live in. She will not be the last! Many people have even blame the dead innocent child for living in her home in her community. Some have even blame the community for the action of the incompetent police force. They could have done a better job to prevent Aiyana death but with the response from outside community and America’s justice system! No body cares about a innocent black child’s death! Oprah did no story on little Aiyana nor did Roland Martin of Washington Watch. Detroit police where not interview the police Chief not interview the Attorney General NOBODY by a black entertainer or black news person. But Tiger Woods. Sandra Boulet, and the racist Sarah Ferguson who wrote a children book and all the bad and evil people where BLACK! These people where on many shows and Oprah could not wait to get Sarah Ferguson on her show! But Aiyana is just DEAD!
I’m as white as white gets. Gingy orange hair, pale freckled skin, blue eyes, glasses. Heck, I’m old, fat and Jewish, too. If you wish to hate me for any of that, there is no way I can stop you. Just know this. I don’t hate you.
What I do hate is violence. I also hate rationalizations that excuse violence. The most dangerous violent offenders are those in uniform, because they are protected. The law and the media will protect them in the majority of cases, if even a shred of hope can be twisted and coaxed into existence that they might be in the right. That is a very dangerous path for any civilization to go down, regardless of race.
I often hear people of color say that they get stopped more often for just minding their own business. It could be true, I’m not qualified to speak on that, since I have no personal experience. I was stopped for carrying a battery charger while waiting for a bus (I was going to try and jumpstart my wife’s broken down clunker). I was scared, because really anything can happen when police take an interest in you, regardless of color.
I think police should have their guns locked in their car trunks, and have to get the okay from headquarters to bring them out. That’s how the civilized scandinavian countries apparently work things. The problem with the USA isn’t the guns; it’s the “wild west” mentality of solving things. Everything is car-chases, lobbed grenades, and blam blam ask questions later. Everyone is in such a rush to neutralize a situation, or to react super-quick, gunslinger style. A bit of patience, training, and mediation would diffuse most situations, requiring much less shooting and killing. I suppose that is less glamorous. It certainly makes for less excited bar or rap stories, but in the end, it’s a more cilvilzed, peaceful, calm, alive approach.
This kid wouldn’t be in a car chase if cops didn’t chase him. What ever happened to following at a distance. Wait until he exits the van. Observe with binoculars. If he’s unarmed, you can probably subdue him without lethal risk to anyone. Also, they tranq rhinos and tigers; I’ve always wondered why such non-lethal methods aren’t employed on humans. Not nearly enough research and development is done on investigative technique and non-lethal response. By the way, non-lethal requires training not only in the methods, but also in learning not to put yourself in a situation where you might feel necessary to deploy a faster lethal response. So it is a matter of completely retraining and re-equipping law enforcement. If some of those billions sunk into the F-22 raptor had instead been placed into this kind of research, the USA would probably be a lot safer and happier.
Look at Ayanna Jones. What did that 7 year old do wrong to deserve death, besides being asleep on a sofa? Police lie. First the grandmother scuffled with police so the gun went off. Then the police say they bumped into the grandmother, and the gun went off. Then it turns out the 48 hours reality show was filming, and the police tossed flash granades and fired their guns from the outside of the house on the porch. So where is the tape? It was sent to state investigators, where it will remain buried for years until the anger cools and memories dim. That’s assuming it doesn’t get accidentally destroyed or lost. And what of the murder suspect? So far, he hasn’t even been charged. I don’t think he even had a weapon on him. So clearly the police are not properly trained to do their jobs right now. They don’t investigate. They don’t employ non-lethal methods, even when there is no immediate threat to their safety. It’s a one size fits all solution; assume every suspect is Rambo-Vader-BinLaden and react accordingly.
So why do police lie? Because they can. Also because they are NOT given the proper tools and training to do their job right in the first place. Whose fault is it? Everybody. You all want change. Make it happen. If all ordinary folk would unite, instead of focusing on pretty differences like color, religion, political party, consumption, fashion … then stuff would actually get done. Most people live in a dream world, telling their stories from their point of view, never seeing any other point of view, and getting nothing done. Nothing will change with that. People from all walks need to get organized, and work together for change. Back in the 70s, when I was younger, we had hope that things could change. That really has to come back into style, I think.
Fortunately, the USA is still a democrasy (for now), so get yourselves organized, unite, find common ground, and build grassroots support for more peaceful solutions to society’s pressing problems. You want a police force that is better trained and equipped to mediate instead of kill? Push for it. Remember, money might control the jobs and the products, but only YOU control the votes.