Here we go. They are bussing protestors into Cleveland from Ferguson Missouri this weekend to help protest the recent shooting death of a black 12 year old boy by a white police officer. There are “wanted posters” floating around town with the officer’s picture on them, and the entire police department is on high alert. The community is calling for blood. On November 22nd, police received a call of a male waving a gun around in a park in Cleveland. Officers responded and spotted the male near a gazebo. As the officers pulled up in the cruiser, one of the officer exited the car and ordered the male to put his hands in the air. Instead, the male reached for the gun in his belt and began to pull the weapon from his waistband in the front of his pants. The officer fired his weapon, shooting the male. Officers immediately called for the squad, the officer describing the wounded person as a “twenty year old black male.” It turned out that the male was 12 year old Tamir Rice. And it turned out that the gun was a toy. A very realistic airsoft gun with the orange tip removed. The entire incident is a tragedy. And now the mother of the boy has joined forces with Al Sharpton and the rest of what has become professional protestors, and demanded that the police officer be charged with murder and the police chief and safety director resign. There are protest rallies scheduled for today and the crowds are starting to gather. The signs say “Justice for Tamir.” My question is what kind of justice is being demanded? I realize I look at incidents like this from a law enforcement standpoint, but what kind of justice can come of this tragedy? Are you going to fire a police officer and bring him up on criminal charges for what he did? Are people really that ignorant to think that when the officer ordered the male to put his hands in the air, and when the male reached for and started drawing the gun from his belt, that the officer had any other choice but to neutralize the threat? And there is one nagging question that has been bothering me since this shooting occurred. When the officer ordered the male to put his hands in the air, why did he decide to do the complete opposite and pull the gun from his belt? WHY? There is only one reason I can think of. Any disciplined child follows orders given by an authority figure. School teachers and police officers can immediately evaluate whether a child has been taught to respect authority. Children that have been disciplined in the home immediately follow orders. Kids that have never been made to obey their parents defy the authority of teachers and cops. Mix in the fact that this boy was being ordered to do something by a white officer. It’s sad to say, but black children are being inundated right now by an “anti-black police brutality” attitude amongst the black community that is being perpetuated by the media all over this country. The entire black culture is being stirred up over the Ferguson and New York deaths of black men at the hands of white police officers. I’m sure this boy was familiar with the stories and had probably heard his mother comment on them. Now he is being told to do something by one of those evil white cops. Again, this shooting could have been avoided if the boy had simply followed the orders of the police officer. Again, the officers were responding to a complaint and had no choice but to confront the male. Again, we have a police officer who had to make a split second decision when he observed the gun being drawn from the male’s belt to shoot or perhaps be shot. Any police officer that would hesitated under those circumstances should not be on the job. He would be a liability to himself and his fellow officers. This incident is a tragedy. But I have no idea what kind of “justice” people are asking for. I’ve spoken with Cleveland officers who are friends of mine, and it is evident that the turmoil being generated by the professional protestors is affecting how the police are doing their job. Officers are afraid to do anything for fear of being sued, losing their jobs, and losing their pensions and everything they have worked for their entire lives. That’s what Tamitr’s mother is demanding. She wants the officer who shot her son to be put in prison. She wants to strip the officer of everything he and his family has, and to totally destroy his life. I’m sorry folks, that officer was only doing his job. Tamir’s mother should have instilled more of a respect for authority in her son. Then perhaps he would have followed the officer’s orders and would still be alive today.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:23:05 +0000