[News] Protests Against Police Violence After Death of George Floyd

Discuss police violence, the victims of police violence (including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor), the Black-led protests against said violence, and related topics.

FFS

Stele wrote:

DHS needs to be gone.

It never should have been established in the first place.

CBS: Around 20 hours of grand jury recordings have been made public in the investigation of Breonna Taylor's death.

Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor grand jury recordings officially released. Here's what we know

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Grand jury recordings in the controversial Breonna Taylor decision were released Friday, allowing the public to see what evidence was presented by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office in the high-profile case.

Cameron took four months to investigate the death of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was unarmed when she was shot by Louisville police in her apartment during a failed drug raid.

But Cameron's case has been picked apart since he announced Sept. 23 that one of three police officers who fired into Taylor's apartment would be charged — none for her death.

Another black man killed by a cop, this time in Texas, about an hour north of Dallas.

There's a difference this time, though: the cop has already been arrested and charged with murder.

I'm torn between being happy that justice appears to be being pursued in a timely manner for a change, and being sad that it's such a rare exception that I needed to add the amendment, "for a change."

When his body convulsed from the taser they perceived that as a threat and shot him. Okay. Man that sounds stupid but the cop will probably get off. Nice that he was arrested.

I was tased during training in the military, and IMO every officer that uses one needs to be tased themselves. Not only does it help you understand what you’re doing to a suspect, but you also realize that someone who’s hit is not going to resist. It’s not a case of pain tolerance - the volt overrides your system so you’re helpless.

IMAGE(https://64.media.tumblr.com/06196a8a3ce6b4c1c00e8d0e3c60c778/tumblr_n24slwVxR41r8gsqgo1_250.gifv)

IMAGE(https://64.media.tumblr.com/feffb27f88ba18eda5891810d0a7df65/tumblr_n24slwVxR41r8gsqgo2_250.gifv)

Both of these things are horrible but they are not related.

JC wrote:

Both of these things are horrible but they are not related.

The attitude that destroys the mural is the same attitude that sets a bond for someone who would get no bail were he not a police officer to look like George Floyd.

thrawn82 wrote:
JC wrote:

Both of these things are horrible but they are not related.

The attitude that destroys the mural is the same attitude that sets a bond for someone who would get no bail were he not a police officer to look like George Floyd.

It took me a moment to register because in my mind I was thinking this was the most recent case. There’s absolutely no reason why Chauvin should be on the street. Very few aggravated murderers get to post bail regardless of race.

Even more f’ed up is no cop can afford $1 million without significant help. So way too many white supremacists must have donated to his cause.

jdzappa wrote:

Even more f’ed up is no cop can afford $1 million without significant help. So way too many white supremacists must have donated to his cause.

I daresay his union contributed.

Which is to say, potato, potato.

Gov Walz Activates National Guard after Chauvin walks out of prison

Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday afternoon that he was activating the Minnesota National Guard and mobilizing 100 state troopers and 75 conservation officers to help local law enforcement.

“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of Minnesotans, we have asked the Minnesota National Guard to prepare to assist in keeping the peace,” Walz said in a statement.

The weirdest, most aggravating thing I’ve witnessed this summer is just how completely resistant the cops are to learning anything at all from any of this. Even basic stuff like how responding to protests of police violence with more police violence doesn’t make people stop protesting. They really only have one tool in the drawer and can’t conceive of trying anything else.

They think they're sheep dogs, protecting the flock. But the problem is that the sheep dogs are killing the sheep.

When all you have is a hammer, every sheep looks like a nail.

H.P. Lovesauce wrote:

When all you have is a hammer, every sheep looks like it's resisting arrest.

Gremlin wrote:

They think they're sheep dogs, protecting the flock. But the problem is that the sheep dogs are killing the sheep.

I don't think it's that gentle for them, anymore. I think it's more an authority issue: they're the ones that tell us what to do, and they get very angry when we try to tell them what to do. They're supposed to be public servants, but I believe that few police departments see themselves that way anymore.

Further, the "flock" that they're bossing around is much too expansive. There's a bunch of parasites in it. You can tell, because their wool has a different color. But some of those damn sheep have the gall to tell the dogs that black sheep are part of the flock, when the dogs know perfectly well that's wrong.

So, the response is to try to remove both types, to exclude and not protect both the black sheep, and the white sheep who think they're part of the herd. If those diseased parts are excised, things will "go back to normal".

If the white sheep keep bleating, and keep insisting that black sheep are okay, the dogs may remember that they're descended from wolves....

No matter what, sheep don't tell dogs what to do. This is the heart of the conflict.

To risk straining the metaphor past the breaking point, shepherds generally get rid of sheep dogs who don't listen to the shepherd or who kill sheep.

Absolutely, but there's no shepherd here. The sheep hired the dogs, yet the dogs are upset that the sheep are being insufficiently subservient. And the wrong color.

You've got to be crazy, gotta have a real need
Gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You've got to be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
Then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You've got to strike when the moment is right without thinking

That album sprang to mind immediately for me too BK.

So let's revisit this story from a month and a half or so ago:

The New York Times daily briefing wrote:

Last month, U.S. marshals fatally shot a man they suspected was responsible for killing a right-wing protester in Portland, Ore. The Times’s visual investigation team reconstructed the shooting and found that it did not match the official account.

It didn't match? Who would have thought? (Yeah, it's the Times, so there might be paywall issues. I'll quote a bunch here so people can read some of it, at least.)

The NYT wrote:

Garrett Louis, who watched the shooting begin while trying to get his 8-year-old son out of the line of fire, said the officers arrived with such speed and violence that he initially assumed they were drug dealers gunning down a foe — until he saw their law enforcement vests.

“I respect cops to the utmost, but things were definitely in no way, shape or form done properly,” Mr. Louis said.

Yeah, if you have to try to get your 8-year-old son out of the line of fire of a bunch of cops that suddenly appeared out of nowhere to try to "apprehend" a suspect, I'd say that's not being done properly.

The NYT wrote:

“There was no, ‘Get out of the car!’ There was no, ‘Stop!’ There was no nothing. They just got out of the car and started shooting,” Mr. Louis said.

Mr. Smith described it similarly: “There was no yelling. There was no screaming. There was no altercation. It was just straight to gunshots.”

Of the 22 people interviewed by The Times who said they were near the shooting when it occurred, only one man reported hearing any shouting before the gunshots began.

That man, Quentin Gruner, whose apartment is about 75 feet away, said he was letting his dog out when he heard shouting that he thought was neighbors having a fight, followed by a popping noise.

The four officers who were riding in the S.U.V.s said in their statements to Thurston County sheriff’s investigators that they shouted “Stop! Police!” before opening fire, Lieutenant Brady said.

But the officers gave conflicting stories about what led them to begin firing. One reported that he saw Mr. Reinoehl, inside the vehicle, raise “what they perceived to be a gun,” Lieutenant Brady said. Two other officers said they only saw Mr. Reinoehl make “furtive movements” toward the center console, he said.

Conflicting witness statements, but almost all of them conflict with what the officers say. Hmm...

The NYT wrote:

In all, four officers fired about 30 rounds from two rifles and two handguns, Lieutenant Brady said.

A visit to the scene by a reporter, as well as videos and photos from the aftermath, showed that at least eight of the officers’ bullets struck civilian property.

Well, hopefully they can indict one of them for "wanton endangerment" under the Breonna Taylor rule.

Only if white people were endangered.

They probably damaged some nearby vehicles. They should be at least fined for that.

BadKen wrote:

They probably damaged some nearby vehicles. They should be at least fined for that.

We all know now that property damage means jail time.

Mixolyde wrote:
BadKen wrote:

They probably damaged some nearby vehicles. They should be at least fined for that.

We all know now that property damage means jail time. summary execution

ftfy. 'merica f yea.

Trump had this to say about the killing of Michael Reinoehl:

Michael Reinoehl was the leftist activist suspected of killing a far-right Trump supporter in Portland. The President is saying that the US Marshals (a federal agency, mind) just didn't want to arrest him so they murdered him.

The official story is that Reinoehl pulled a gun on officers. But that story hasn't really held up.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Trump had this to say about the killing of Michael Reinoehl:

Michael Reinoehl was the leftist activist suspected of killing a far-right Trump supporter in Portland. The President is saying that the US Marshals (a federal agency, mind) just didn't want to arrest him so they murdered him.

The official story is that Reinoehl pulled a gun on officers. But that story hasn't really held up.

That is so f*cked up.