Local News Channel Bias

[Jeebus]

Why is it that when a cop shoots someone in this town, all the news stations immediately want to focus on are interviews with the "shootee's" family members accusing the police of abuse of power? Here's the latest example from KPRC - Channel 02.

[foxmulder]

Why is it that when a cop shoots someone in this town, all the news stations immediately want to focus on are interviews with the "shootee's" family members accusing the police of abuse of power? Here's the latest example from KPRC - Channel 02.

We were watching the news at lunch yesterday. They talked about Micheal Jackson, BUT showed him dangling the baby over the balcony EVEN THOUGH IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY! My co worker yells(They're just trying to keep all the negative publicity on him! What does the baby have to do with xxxxxx" I can't remember the story.

[LarryDallas]

Why is it that when a cop shoots someone in this town, all the news stations immediately want to focus on are interviews with the "shootee's" family members accusing the police of abuse of power? Here's the latest example from KPRC - Channel 02.

Because Americans have forgotten that we don't live (or at least are not supposed to) in a police state where the police officers are judge, jury, and executioner and because the police works for the public and is accountable to the public. This is one issue I side on the media with when a cop shoots and kills someone who was not a threat to the life of someone else. In this case the man was naked and mentally not together. They could have tazered him or if they had to use gunfire he could have been shot in a leg so he would drop and could be cuffed. I guess they don't teach that shooting someone in the abdomin, chest, neck, or head will likely kill them in cop school.

Just on a personal note, I have noticed law enforcement become more and more militant and aggressive towards citizens in the past 10-20 years. It is like they are on a power trip or something. In the good old days the cops would greet people and generally have a positive attitude towards citizens. These days people are kind of assumed to be criminals until proven not to be when it comes to the attitude law enforcement has towards the public.

[Firebird65]

Why is it that when a cop shoots someone in this town, all the news stations immediately want to focus on are interviews with the "shootee's" family members accusing the police of abuse of power? Here's the latest example from KPRC - Channel 02.

Really? When would they have time to interview the shootee's family? They're all rushing to hear what Quanell X has to pontificate (if the shootee is black) or Johnny Mata (if the shootee was hispanic).

[Jeebus]

Because Americans have forgotten that we don't live (or at least are not supposed to) in a police state where the police officers are judge, jury, and executioner and because the police works for the public and is accountable to the public. This is one issue I side on the media with when a cop shoots and kills someone who was not a threat to the life of someone else. In this case the man was naked and mentally not together. They could have tazered him or if they had to use gunfire he could have been shot in a leg so he would drop and could be cuffed. I guess they don't teach that shooting someone in the abdomin, chest, neck, or head will likely kill them in cop school.

It was reported in the news that the man was repeatedly tased before he was shot. Also, no organization that teaches shooting, teaches the philosophy of "shoot to wound". The school of thought is that if you have to shoot someone, you are to a point that wounding them is no longer an option.

What would you do if a large naked man who was yelling at you kept advancing towards you even after you had repeatedly tasered him with no success? Do you think you would have the mental nerve to draw your weapon, strategically aim for one of his moving legs, and squeeze off just one shot to non-lethally wound the man? I know I wouldn't have the nerve. I know you wouldn't either. Just go watch any of these cop shooting videos on youtube. It happens so fast that most times the officer doesn't even have time to draw his gun, much less find the time to strategically place non-lethally aim shots at the suspects legs.

fwiw - if you are shot in the leg, and your femoral artery is cut, you can bleed enough internally to kill you in just minutes. It's a common (fatal) wound with soldiers.

I would just like to see the news cut down on the "..oh why did they shoot my baby? he was harmless.. he was a model citizen.. blah blah blah.." and focus more on the facts of the investigation.

[Ross]

LarryD, no one who is trained will try to shoot someone in the leg "so he would drop and could be cuffed"' That just doesn't work in real life. When a police officer feels threatened enough to shoot someone, he will aim at the cnter of mass and shoot until the person is no longer a threat. Usually, that results in the death of the suspect. Sad, but that's life. Shootings should definitely be well investigated, and the officer punished if the act was not justified. However, no public good is served by the racist spewings of Quanell Ten and his ilk, other than raising their own profiles at the expense of the victims.

[LarryDallas]

No where in my post did I mention Quannel X. I think the guy is human garbage but I won't say more about him.

I am NOT defending the criminal but I would still say nonlethal gunfire could have been used in this case. The suspect was naked so he obviously did not have a concealed weapon on anywhere. The odds of hitting a femoral artery and killing him are much lower than the odds of death when the trunk or head of the body is shot. I would still say the cops went too far to kill the man. It was one of him vs. a few of them. Oh, and if they teach them to shoot to kill someone no matter what in the academy then the policy is wrong.

Of course this case is not as bad as the one involving Pedro Oregon in SW Houston in the late 90s. He was an illegal alien who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. HPD was doing some kind of sting for drugs and he ran from the them cause I supposed he did not want to get arrested and processed by INS. He was not part of the drug deal they were busting up to begin with. The cops shot him the back multiple times and no weapons or drugs were found on his dead body. That would be another case when they could have aimed for a leg. Tazers were not used by HPD in those days.

This footage is not HPD or any SE Texas agency but it kind of illustrates what I am talking about with power trips and abuse of the power.

[moni]

No where in my post did I mention Quannel X. I think the guy is human garbage but I won't say more about him.

I am NOT defending the criminal but I would still say nonlethal gunfire could have been used in this case. The suspect was naked so he obviously did not have a concealed weapon on anywhere. The odds of hitting a femoral artery and killing him are much lower than the odds of death when the trunk or head of the body is shot. I would still say the cops went too far to kill the man. It was one of him vs. a few of them. Oh, and if they teach them to shoot to kill someone no matter what in the academy then the policy is wrong.

Of course this case is not as bad as the one involving Pedro Oregon in SW Houston in the late 90s. He was an illegal alien who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. HPD was doing some kind of sting for drugs and he ran from the them cause I supposed he did not want to get arrested and processed by INS. He was not part of the drug deal they were busting up to begin with. The cops shot him the back multiple times and no weapons or drugs were found on his dead body. That would be another case when they could have aimed for a leg. Tazers were not used by HPD in those days.

This footage is not HPD or any SE Texas agency but it kind of illustrates what I am talking about with power trips and abuse of the power.

OK, what part of Illegal do you not understand??

[Jeebus]

No where in my post did I mention Quannel X. I think the guy is human garbage but I won't say more about him.

I am NOT defending the criminal but I would still say nonlethal gunfire could have been used in this case. The suspect was naked so he obviously did not have a concealed weapon on anywhere. The odds of hitting a femoral artery and killing him are much lower than the odds of death when the trunk or head of the body is shot. I would still say the cops went too far to kill the man. It was one of him vs. a few of them. Oh, and if they teach them to shoot to kill someone no matter what in the academy then the policy is wrong.

Police officers (as far as I know) are taught not to use their gun unless they feel they have to - which means if they only need to "wound" someone, then they still don't need their gun yet.

This footage is not HPD or any SE Texas agency but it kind of illustrates what I am talking about with power trips and abuse of the power.

The problem with footage like this is that we don't see what happens before the officer takes him down. Did he taunt him? Call him a Pig? Spit on him? Resist his orders to stop skateboarding?

What's worse about this video is that the picture of the officer shown at the beginning, where he is accused of choking the teenager is false. His arm is clearly across the left side of the kids chest, with his hand on his shoulder or back. It looks like he's trying to roll the kid over to cuff him. He's clearly not choking him though. The officer's arm is too dark. What we're looking at is the kid's face, jaw-line & pasty neck - all untouched by the officer.

When the video starts the other kids start cussing & taunting the cop. Then one kid runs away when the officer tells him to approach. Next, he tells the girl that he's arresting her friend for violating a city ordinance, and for her to leave the scene. So how does she leave? On her skateboard! Finally, when the officer attempts to arrest her, that last kid jumps in which is assault. I see nothing of abuse of power here on this video. I see a bunch of punk teenagers lucky that it's not 30 years ago when they would have just gotten their asses beaten for acting like little snots in front of the cops.

Here's real police brutality:

& Example 2. And here's real abuse of power.

Again, staying on topic: I would just like to see the news cut down on the "..oh why did they shoot my baby? he was harmless.. he was a model citizen.. blah blah blah.." and focus more on the facts of the investigation.

[KinkaidAlum]

Really? When would they have time to interview the shootee's family? They're all rushing to hear what Quanell X has to pontificate (if the shootee is black) or Johnny Mata (if the shootee was hispanic).

And just who is it "they" run out to hear when the victim is white?

If you have to quickly search your brain to come up with a name, then you realize the real issue. When was the last time the police shot and killed an unarmed white man/woman?

[Gary]

And just who is it "they" run out to hear when the victim is white?

If you have to quickly search your brain to come up with a name, then you realize the real issue. When was the last time the police shot and killed an unarmed white man/woman?

Oh c'mon Kinkaid. The fact is that most of the neighborhoods where this type of thing is happening, are largely populated by minorities. I've got a number of friends with HPD, and none of them are targetting blacks or hispanics.

[Jeebus]

And just who is it "they" run out to hear when the victim is white?

No one, because most white people still fear and/or respect the police. Hell, even Black & Hispanic comedians make fun of us (Whites) for the way we submit to authority figures (law enforcement, our bosses, creditors, etc etc..). To use myself as an example, in the dozen or so times I've ever been pulled over or approached by an officer I have been as polite, proper, and cooperative as I can possibly be. What have I to gain by mouthing off to an officer. Most of them don't want to arrest anyone anymore than that person wants to be hassled. Just play the game.

You have to ask yourself: "Why did that guy even pull over in the first place while the officer was already issuing a ticket?" That's just asking for it and we all know it. I doubt the guy even had real mental problems. He was driving a car for Christ's sake. How bad off could he be? As for him taking off his clothes, I'm wondering if it wasn't just some power play against to cop as if to say: "What are you going to do, shoot an unarmed, naked black man - again - like you did just a few weeks ago?" Well, guess what - he's dead and has nothing to show for it because his power play backfired. Of course this is just my speculative opinion. But once you cut through all the local news b.s. and read the facts of the story, it starts to reveal itself.

When was the last time the police shot and killed an unarmed white man/woman?

When was the last time an unarmed white man/woman continually resisted arrest, pepper-spray, & tasering in this town?

[LarryDallas]

OK, what part of Illegal do you not understand??

Please explain what you mean by that.

Do you think the cops should go around shooting everyone who is in Houston illegaly in the back?

Are you for police state style executions on the streets?

[LarryDallas]

Police officers (as far as I know) are taught not to use their gun unless they feel they have to - which means if they only need to "wound" someone, then they still don't need their gun yet.

The problem with footage like this is that we don't see what happens before the officer takes him down. Did he taunt him? Call him a Pig? Spit on him? Resist his orders to stop skateboarding?

What's worse about this video is that the picture of the officer shown at the beginning, where he is accused of choking the teenager is false. His arm is clearly across the left side of the kids chest, with his hand on his shoulder or back. It looks like he's trying to roll the kid over to cuff him. He's clearly not choking him though. The officer's arm is too dark. What we're looking at is the kid's face, jaw-line & pasty neck - all untouched by the officer.

When the video starts the other kids start cussing & taunting the cop. Then one kid runs away when the officer tells him to approach. Next, he tells the girl that he's arresting her friend for violating a city ordinance, and for her to leave the scene. So how does she leave? On her skateboard! Finally, when the officer attempts to arrest her, that last kid jumps in which is assault. I see nothing of abuse of power here on this video. I see a bunch of punk teenagers lucky that it's not 30 years ago when they would have just gotten their asses beaten for acting like little snots in front of the cops.

Here's real police brutality:

& Example 2. And here's real abuse of power.

Again, staying on topic: I would just like to see the news cut down on the "..oh why did they shoot my baby? he was harmless.. he was a model citizen.. blah blah blah.." and focus more on the facts of the investigation.

Even if a citizen, who has protection under the constitution of the United States, curses at the cops or calls them a pig to their face it does not make it okay for the cop to abuse power and go overboard. The choke hold on the teenage girl was deplorable. How would you feel if that was your daughter and some 200+ pound cop manhandled her like that? In what we do see in the video she is using words like "sir and please". The cop's physical force on her was totally unprovoked.

30 years ago we would not have this kind of problem because the adults on the street would have told the youths not to skateboard on the sidewalks and there would be no need for the cops to get involved. Well, not 30 years ago...I'd say more like 40+ years ago when people were not totally depending on the govt. to run their life and enforce the law. As the public gets more and more isolated from e/o and requires a 3rd party to solve their trivial problems the more the problems proliferate and the worse the soltuions get.

[editor]

Why is it that when a cop shoots someone in this town, all the news stations immediately want to focus on are interviews with the "shootee's" family members accusing the police of abuse of power? Here's the latest example from KPRC - Channel 02.

What you see is rarely what happened behind the scenes. Usually in situations like this the family is more than willing to talk, while the police issue a faxed statement saying they're not going to talk until the investigation is over. So, guess who the reporter puts on TV? The people he has pictures and sound with.

A good police department has proactive Public Information Officers who respond to reporter requests immediately in incidents like this with a still picture of the officer and information about him (how long he's been on the force, last time he had weapons training, etc...), or if they can't do that they should at least go on camera to say that they can't talk about it. HPD is not known for having good PIOs.

If it looks like HPD is getting the shaft in this, chances are it's HPD's own fault.

It was reported in the news that the man was repeatedly tased before he was shot. Also, no organization that teaches shooting, teaches the philosophy of "shoot to wound". The school of thought is that if you have to shoot someone, you are to a point that wounding them is no longer an option.What would you do if a large naked man who was yelling at you kept advancing towards you even after you had repeatedly tasered him with no success? Do you think you would have the mental nerve to draw your weapon, strategically aim for one of his moving legs, and squeeze off just one shot to non-lethally wound the man? I know I wouldn't have the nerve. I know you wouldn't either. Just go watch any of these cop shooting videos on youtube. It happens so fast that most times the officer doesn't even have time to draw his gun, much less find the time to strategically place non-lethally aim shots at the suspects legs.fwiw - if you are shot in the leg, and your femoral artery is cut, you can bleed enough internally to kill you in just minutes. It's a common (fatal) wound with soldiers.I would just like to see the news cut down on the "..oh why did they shoot my baby? he was harmless.. he was a model citizen.. blah blah blah.." and focus more on the facts of the investigation.

Jeebus is right -- cops aren't trained to wound. They're trained to kill. If an officer pulls his weapon it's almost always as a last resort. The Hollywood image of a cop pulling his weapon in a dark alley and hitting a guy in the shoulder or the leg as he's running away just doesn't happen. But people these days keep thinking that Law and Order, Numb3rs, and the CSIs are documentary rather than fantasy.

I wouldn't make a good cop. I'd shoot too many people. My "better them than me" instinct is too strong.

[editor]

Even if a citizen, who has protection under the constitution of the United States, curses at the cops or calls them a pig to their face it does not make it okay for the cop to abuse power and go overboard. The choke hold on the teenage girl was deplorable. How would you feel if that was your daughter and some 200+ pound cop manhandled her like that? In what we do see in the video she is using words like "sir and please". The cop's physical force on her was totally unprovoked.

An inexcusable example of excessive force. But at the same time -- it's one example. How many times do police officers and civilians in America interact peacefully each day? A million times? Ten million?

For every example of excessive force used by a cop there are ten examples of cops being shot and often killed by perps. No wonder they're edgy. Sometimes they're just grumpy jerks. Sometimes they're poorly trained. But to point to one incident and claim it's how every police officer in America acts is folley.

[RedScare]

Actually, HPD is pretty quick to have a PR person on scene to give their version of events. And, frankly, it should surprise no one that the family of a person killed by police will be distraught, especially if that person was mentally ill, just as it should surprise no one that the news media would want to bring their side to the viewers. It seems to me the complaints about the media interviewing grieving relatives is more the complainers' wish not to have their jaundiced view of police shootings disturbed by the possibility that the shooting victim may be a sympathetic figure. It is so much more gratifying to imagine the shooting victim to be a raging maniac terrorizing the peaceful populace, only to be neutralized by the heroic actions of a larger than life peace officer, than the more common scenario that the victim suffered from mental illness and may have died because the officer panicked and drew his weapon a bit too quickly.

More disturbing to me is why citizens are so quick to praise the use of deadly force by government agents without even wondering or wanting to know if the government's use of deadly force is justified. One never knows when that government gun barrel may be pointed at you instead.

[RedScare]

For every example of excessive force used by a cop there are ten examples of cops being shot and often killed by perps.

Not even close. Not even remotely close by a country mile. A simple use of the Google function would have shown that the number of officers killed annually is around 50, while the number of cases of police brutality numbers in the thousands annually.

[Jeebus]

Well, there is a lot of ground to cover here. First:

Not even close. Not even remotely close by a country mile. A simple use of the Google function would have shown that the number of officers killed annually is around 50, while the number of cases of police brutality numbers in the thousands annually.

These facts are taken from the FBI website and support Editors argument, that for every case of excessive force by an officer, there are more cases of people killing (and I'm adding more correctly) or assaulting officers.

• The FBI collected assault data from 10,346 law enforcement agencies that provided service to nearly 223 million persons (74.4 percent of the Nation’s population). (Based on Table 63.)
  
• The participating law enforcement agencies that reported assault data to the FBI employed 495,270 sworn officers. Of these, 58,634 were assaulted while performing their duties.
  
• The rate of assaults was 11.8 per 100 sworn officers.
  
• There were 15,704 assaults on officers that resulted in injuries.
  

I did a quick google search but was unable to find a site with the number of people killed or shot by police but found nothing. I'm still willing to bet that the number for people shot and or killed by a police officers is far lower than the number of officers injured via assault annually.

Actually, HPD is pretty quick to have a PR person on scene to give their version of events. And, frankly, it should surprise no one that the family of a person killed by police will be distraught, especially if that person was mentally ill, just as it should surprise no one that the news media would want to bring their side to the viewers. It seems to me the complaints about the media interviewing grieving relatives is more the complainers' wish not to have their jaundiced view of police shootings disturbed by the possibility that the shooting victim may be a sympathetic figure. It is so much more gratifying to imagine the shooting victim to be a raging maniac terrorizing the peaceful populace, only to be neutralized by the heroic actions of a larger than life peace officer, than the more common scenario that the victim suffered from mental illness and may have died because the officer panicked and drew his weapon a bit too quickly.

More disturbing to me is why citizens are so quick to praise the use of deadly force by government agents without even wondering or wanting to know if the government's use of deadly force is justified. One never knows when that government gun barrel may be pointed at you instead.

I quickly praise the police because the people I see them shooting have nothing in common with me. When the police start shooting people that I feel are similar to myself (AND I DO NOT MEAN THE SAME COLOR AS ME, BUT AS IN SIMILAR LIFESTYLE) then I'll start showing concern. As it stands now, the police seem to be focusing all their attention on people who show no concern for our society, and show no sign of even wanting to contribute positively to it.

Seriously, why did the guy even pull over while the officer was issuing a ticket? Why did he suddenly, have driving with no issue, become so mentally unstable that he had to take off all his clothes? How can you people really buy into this? So he was competent to drive a two-ton vehicle up and down Houston's busy streets, but didn't have enough mental capacity to keep his clothes on when confronted by the officer he was intruding on?

Even if a citizen, who has protection under the constitution of the United States, curses at the cops or calls them a pig to their face it does not make it okay for the cop to abuse power and go overboard.

Sure it does. The enforce law and order. Taunting an officer of the law in uncalled for and deserves punishment.

The choke hold on the teenage girl was deplorable. How would you feel if that was your daughter and some 200+ pound cop manhandled her like that? In what we do see in the video she is using words like "sir and please". The cop's physical force on her was totally unprovoked.

No one was choked, and the girl broke the law by riding her skateboard, then when told to stop and sit down she didn't which was evasion, and then was finally detained at which time she struggled which is resisting arrest. She broke 3 laws all in about 3 minutes. Guilty Guilty Guilty. Why don't I care? Because they were all punks trying to test the limits of the law and it snapped back in their face. Is she above the law? Deplorable? Deplorable is the fact that we'd try and find a way to justify the girl's actions. She was told to sit down by the officer, and she told him no. How can you argue that? How are you going to argue that you have the right to tell an officer "no", especially after he's told you that you've broke the law, the same law you broke has gotten your friend arrested, yet you want to stand there and push the limits of the law? She's lucky he didn't have a taser. That would have kept her from running for sure.

30 years ago we would not have this kind of problem because the adults on the street would have told the youths not to skateboard on the sidewalks and there would be no need for the cops to get involved. Well, not 30 years ago...I'd say more like 40+ years ago when people were not totally depending on the govt. to run their life and enforce the law. As the public gets more and more isolated from e/o and requires a 3rd party to solve their trivial problems the more the problems proliferate and the worse the soltuions get.

Maybe if parents did their job. The sad thing is that the parents today are the teenagers from twenty and thirty years ago whom were the last it seems to have been taught not to act like screw-ups, disrespect the law, and to find a way to contribute back to society. Glad to see the message was lost along the way.

[editor]

Even if a citizen, who has protection under the constitution of the United States, curses at the cops or calls them a pig to their face it does not make it okay for the cop to abuse power and go overboard.

Sure it does. The enforce law and order. Taunting an officer of the law in uncalled for and deserves punishment.

While we probably agree about whether the girl deserves a smackdown, by their very definition, there is no cause for "abuse" or going "overboard." Cops are human and go overboard, but it's never justified. If it was, we'd use another word.I'd like to see police officers better trained in understanding the nuances of the law, the rights of ordinary citizens, and being able to take verbal abuse without response (like the military or those Beefeaters in London). But I've been told that most of their non-patrol time is taken up by paperwork.

No one was choked, and the girl broke the law by riding her skateboard, then when told to stop and sit down she didn't which was evasion, and then was finally detained at which time she struggled which is resisting arrest. She broke 3 laws all in about 3 minutes. Guilty Guilty Guilty. Why don't I care? Because they were all punks trying to test the limits of the law and it snapped back in their face. Is she above the law? Deplorable? Deplorable is the fact that we'd try and find a way to justify the girl's actions. She was told to sit down by the officer, and she told him no. How can you argue that? How are you going to argue that you have the right to tell an officer "no", especially after he's told you that you've broke the law, the same law you broke has gotten your friend arrested, yet you want to stand there and push the limits of the law? She's lucky he didn't have a taser. That would have kept her from running for sure.

I think people should have more right to tell a police officer "no" -- as long as they do it in a civilized manner. When a cop says "jump" our response shouldn't have to be "how high?" A police officer is not a judge or a jury. And the taser thing bothers me. We see a lot of people being tasered these days. When Tasers and beanbag guns first came out they were supposed to be the non-lethal alternative to a gun. But now they're being used in all sorts of situations where a gun wouldn't have been used in the past. Especially when it comes to rent-a-cops, I the taser is too often used in situations where it wasn't intended.

[RedScare]

How can you people really buy into this?

You compare assaults to killings, and expect that to be a valid comparison? I won't waste my time responding.

As for the quote I bracketed above, I'll be blunt. I work in the industry....have for 20 years. I've worked both sides. That means I have spent time listening to cops, as well as defendants. Police officers are human. They are neither superheroes, nor the devil. I know FAR too much, have seen FAR too much, to buy into the propaganda that you've bought. It is a dirty business, and few come out with their hands completely clean.

It is common not to appreciate your civil liberties until they are taken from you. I am happy for you that your socioeconomic status has allowed you to take such a cavalier attitude toward the civil liberties of others. I hope you are never so unfortunate as to have your naivete forcibly taken from you.

[millennica]

It is common not to appreciate your civil liberties until they are taken from you. I am happy for you that your socioeconomic status has allowed you to take such a cavalier attitude toward the civil liberties of others. I hope you are never so unfortunate as to have your naivete forcibly taken from you.

Some of the comments in this thread remind me of a poem, "First they came

[Jeebus]

You compare assaults to killings, and expect that to be a valid comparison? I won't waste my time responding.

No, YOU did - which is why I expanded the data set. You tried to compare the number of police officers killed in the line of duty to that of the number of people why have been abused by the police. I expanded the group of killed police officers to include those that had been assaulted, which would be the equivliantial opposite of police brutality - or assault BY the police. That helps better show that Editor's original point that people attack the police more than the police attack people held credible validity.

I work in the industry....have for 20 years. I've worked both sides. That means I have spent time listening to cops, as well as defendants. Police officers are human. They are neither superheroes, nor the devil. I know FAR too much, have seen FAR too much, to buy into the propaganda that you've bought. It is a dirty business, and few come out with their hands completely clean.

I assure you I've bought nothing, and the only propaganda I've even been offered is what the local news is shoving down my throat - which was the reason for this thread. It seems they only want me to see the victim's side. In this last police shooting case, even with all the news' bias coverage, I'm still left wondering why a man who can drive a car is suddenly reduced to a clothes stripping mental incompetant when confronted by the police? Is there not a double standard here?

It is common not to appreciate your civil liberties until they are taken from you. I am happy for you that your socioeconomic status has allowed you to take such a cavalier attitude toward the civil liberties of others. I hope you are never so unfortunate as to have your naivete forcibly taken from you.

Trust me, I take nothing for granted. I know my freedom is sacred, which is why I guard it by respecting the laws in place, and speaking out against cases of police abuse that seem revelant to me (the previously mentioned case of the family's dog getting shot, the Wendy's cleck getting pepper sprayed, as well as the teenage from Missouri getting verbally threatened all related to me as a typical working citizen). As I said before, when I see seemingly law adbiding, respectful citizens being arrested and brutalized by the police, I speak up. In the meantime however, I don't understand why the few who antagonize those who enforce the law should be rewarded by us fighting for their civil rights (the skateboarding punks for example). They are the ones who make the police more on edge and more likely to artificially raise their perceived threat level when dealing with a normal citizen like myself.

Now, if you want to fight for the rights of poor minorities who are the victims of true racial or demographic profiling, and/or then abuse by the police, that's fine. I support those efforts. Just don't try and sell me the same crappy lie about the big bad police department everytime they shoot someone. Because we both know that those antagonist to the police lie with in all demographics, and all racial make-ups.

Note to moderators: Thank you for moving the thread, but still allowing the discussion to continue.

[ricco67]

I LOVE watching a Good debate. Pity I can't contribute much to it, but I'll add my two cents:

My biggest problem with how local news has a tendency to cover the shootings is how they seem to ignore the obvious facts that brought them to that confrontation to begin with and immediately talk to the first activist that happens to be in the area.

I'm sorry, if people would just stop and obey police instructions (it IS a law to obey an officer, you know), then most of the people in jail, in a coffin, or on death row wouldn't be there to begin with.

What angered me the best was during the shooting near hobby airport last year. They seemed to go out of their way to mention that he was an illegal, when it could have been Billy Bob who had a gun when the officer missed it in a pat down.

Speaking of Billy Bob, the last apparent shooting that had occurred involved a low level criminal who happened to be white and decided that shooting an officer would be a good idea after he was handcuffed. It seemed as if the story just died after that was revealed.

Glad that sucker is dead. Black, White, Brown, Yellow, or Periwinkle, you take on the police in such a matter, death should be the only option.