Well all America has now seen (or could see) the videos of the encounter with police that led to the death of an African American man in Charlotte, NC and the rioting that followed. The videos don't show clearly if the man was holding a gun (as police say) or a book (as his family members say). They do show some details, however, which support bits of the narrative from the police.
First, one can clearly see that the victim was wearing an ankle holster for a gun. It is visible in the police video as they approach the man on the ground. Since a gun with the victim's finger prints was found at the scene, the holster is further proof that he had a gun, although it is not proof that he was holding that gun.
Second, one can clearly hear the police yelling repeatedly for the victim to drop his gun. Then as the officers move towards the victim after he was shot, one is yelling "It's clutched in his hand." Most likely, that is being said about a gun or what police took to be a gun. That's important because it pretty much proves that the police believed he had a gun. It's hard to accept that multiple police yelled "put down the gun" before the shots just so that they could fire on a random black man. It's essentially impossible to believe that the police were so adept at planning a murder of a random black man that they yelled about him clutching the gun after he went down.
Third, it's clear that after the shooting, the police rushed in, handcuffed the victim and immediately called in the shooting and made clear the need for medical assistance. No one celebrated the shooting.
Fourth, on the video that the victim's wife released, her comments make clear that her husband was doing something he shouldn't be doing. She yells at police that her husband doesn't have a gun. Then the police are yelling for him to put down the gun. Then the wife yells to her husband, in essence, not to "do that". She repeats yelling that at her husband and then the shots are fired. What was she telling her husband not to do? Was it that he was moving away from the car? Was it that he was holding a gun? We don't know and can't tell from the video. We do know, however, that it was something that the wife thought he ought not be doing.
The reality is that we do not have video evidence that will prove anything decisively. Instead, we have the word of five or six police as to what happened. We have the word of the wife who said he did not have a gun (but she may not have known if he did.) This ought not satisfy anyone completely. Unless there is something else, however, there is clearly not enough evidence to take any legal action against the policeman who fired.
First, one can clearly see that the victim was wearing an ankle holster for a gun. It is visible in the police video as they approach the man on the ground. Since a gun with the victim's finger prints was found at the scene, the holster is further proof that he had a gun, although it is not proof that he was holding that gun.
Second, one can clearly hear the police yelling repeatedly for the victim to drop his gun. Then as the officers move towards the victim after he was shot, one is yelling "It's clutched in his hand." Most likely, that is being said about a gun or what police took to be a gun. That's important because it pretty much proves that the police believed he had a gun. It's hard to accept that multiple police yelled "put down the gun" before the shots just so that they could fire on a random black man. It's essentially impossible to believe that the police were so adept at planning a murder of a random black man that they yelled about him clutching the gun after he went down.
Third, it's clear that after the shooting, the police rushed in, handcuffed the victim and immediately called in the shooting and made clear the need for medical assistance. No one celebrated the shooting.
Fourth, on the video that the victim's wife released, her comments make clear that her husband was doing something he shouldn't be doing. She yells at police that her husband doesn't have a gun. Then the police are yelling for him to put down the gun. Then the wife yells to her husband, in essence, not to "do that". She repeats yelling that at her husband and then the shots are fired. What was she telling her husband not to do? Was it that he was moving away from the car? Was it that he was holding a gun? We don't know and can't tell from the video. We do know, however, that it was something that the wife thought he ought not be doing.
The reality is that we do not have video evidence that will prove anything decisively. Instead, we have the word of five or six police as to what happened. We have the word of the wife who said he did not have a gun (but she may not have known if he did.) This ought not satisfy anyone completely. Unless there is something else, however, there is clearly not enough evidence to take any legal action against the policeman who fired.
No comments:
Post a Comment