Obviously, information is scarce, but like with the death of Eric Garner in New York, the police can sometimes be seriously fucked up. While there's no "epidemic" of police killings of "unarmed black men," I'm upset with a lot of these deaths, and I can see how they fuel the leftist assault against law enforcement.
And I don't care if the guy Alton Sterling was a convicted molester, or whatever people are saying. The video sure looks like excessive force. You can see the man start to bleed out at the clip. He was shot right in the chest, so no doubt he didn't last long.
Police work is a nasty, ugly line of business. I used to hate cops when I was a kid, because they hassled me and profiled me. But I don't hate them so much anymore. I distrust them with my liberty, but I do know that most of them are decent individuals who mean well, and often are placed in unwinnable circumstances.
In any case, here's Bob Owens at Bearing Arms, "Most of What You’re Reading About Alton Sterling is Written byy Idiots" (via Memeorandum):
Here’s what really happened, based upon what we actually know.More.
* Police were called to a Baton Rouge (Louisiana) convenience store on a “man with a gun” call.These are the only real facts that we know.
* Officers made contact with Alton Sterling at the convenience store because he matched the description provided by the caller.
* Officers had a conversation that led to a confrontation with Alton Sterling. We do not know the details of this conversation.
* A person in a nearby car began (badly) recording with a low-quality cell phone camera just as officers stepped back and fired a taser at Alston Sterling.
* You can distinctly hear the crackle of the X26 taser. It fires a second time. Alton Sterling is unmoved by either taser attempt.
* Up until this point, Sterling has been passively non-compliant, at least while on camera.
* An officer tackles Alton Sterling, and once Sterling is on the ground he starts actively resisting officers.
* The officer who fired the taser is able to secure Sterling’s left arm with great difficulty, and pins it under his legs.
* The other officer, the one who tackled Sterling, is attempting to control Sterling’s right arm, but it is out of camera view behind the bumper of the car.
* The officer who tackled Alston Sterling yells “He’s got a gun!” Sterling is seen still actively resisting. We still cannot see Alton Sterling’s right arm as the tackling officer fights to control him.
* The officer who had twice tasered Sterling draws his handgun to retention. He presumably issues the warning to Alton Sterling face to face: “Hey bra! You f*cking move, I swear to God.”
* Two shots are fired, and the cell phone video loses focus and goes back inside the car.
* Several other shots are heard.
If the investigation, which is now going to be run through Washington, reveals that Sterling was reaching for, or holding, his weapon, it's most likely his killing would be justified. But see Owens' post for the last analysis on that point.
Now, see Sarah Kendzior, your classic progressive intellectual (who nevertheless is quite good at her reporting):
My piece from May on real "Ferguson effect": police who murder are not punished but rewarded https://t.co/0xDe4xPiE1 pic.twitter.com/4KzWqBJMdo
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) July 6, 2016
Scroll through her feed for more.
Previously, "Alton Sterling Shot by Police After Scuffle Outside Convenience Store in Baton Rouge (VIDEO)."
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