Phoenix officer guns down unarmed..

[The Merg]

And if there had been no film the civilian would probably be in jail for resisting arrest or worse.

You and I have no proof of that one way or the other... For all we know there were witnesses to it as well.

- Merg

 

[unixwizzard]

I keep seeing on TV protesters carrying these signs that say "Black lives matter"..

I have a question on that..

Do black lives matter only when the killer is law enforcement?

I ask this question only because I do not see anybody protesting the gang killings in Chicago, LA, or any other city for that matter.

Why does it matter more when a cop kills a black kid, but doesn't seem to matter when a black kid kills another black kid?

I asked these questions today in class. I was greeted by silence. Sad really, that nobody would answer, hell nobody would even try. This was in a college setting btw.

 

[maluckey]

You just listed his viable skill and then said he doesn't have a viable skill. He seems proficient in selling things. If drugs were legalized might he...I don't know...sell drugs?

LOL! True enough he has sales skills and a drive to succeed.

His former customers can get the other drugs from a corporate website (Drugs R Us) at a much lower cost, or imported from China for pennies on the dollar. OUr drug dealing friend is in for a real shocker in his new career.

Supply and demand is a lovely thing.

 

[PG]

Hearing the word "unarmed" in this story makes me cringe.
An automatic handgun was recovered from his vehicle along with drugs. He was a gun carrying drug dealer. He just didn't have the gun on him when shot.
He may have forgot this fact and was reaching for where he thought he had put the gun. Of course that is speculation on my part.
The overall point is that he wasn't some innocent guy minding his own business when he was shot for no reason.

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

Why does it matter more when a cop kills a black kid, but doesn't seem to matter when a black kid kills another black kid?

I asked these questions today in class. I was greeted by silence. Sad really, that nobody would answer, hell nobody would even try. This was in a college setting btw.

It's possible your classmates thought you were racist (not implying you are), thought the question was a diversion and weren't going to take the bait, or didn't feel comfortable discussing the topic publicly.

The police are tasked with protecting the communities they serve. Some people see them as protecting parts of the community (the white parts) at the expense of the dignity and safety of others (the black parts). They're two separate discussions and one is much sexier than the other as only one involves a conflict between races.

And it's not as if the issue goes entirely unmentioned. Al Sharpton, in Michael Brown's Eulogy:

What does God require? We've got to be straight up in our community, too... We have to be outraged by our disrespect for each other. Our disregard for each other...

An automatic handgun was recovered from his vehicle along with drugs. He was a gun carrying drug dealer. He just didn't have the gun on him when shot.

The bolded part makes him pretty damn unarmed. The officer may not have been aware that Brisbon was unarmed but that doesn't make him any less unarmed. The whole thing is a non sequitur though, he was shot because of the ambiguity of the situation, supposedly.

Also, according to his arrest history, we know he's a user but being a dealer, while not out of the realm of possibilities, hasn't been substantiated. Either way, his friends allege he owns a medical marijuana card (which could've been his supply).

CBS 5 News learned Brisbon had been arrested six times since 2011.

10/2/14 - Aggravated DUI and driving on a suspended license.
3/22/14 - Driving with a suspended license.
4/7/13 - Marijuana possession and use and failure to pay a fine.
10/23/12 - Marijuana possession and use and failure to pay a fine.
1/12/12 - Aggravated DUI
3/10/11 - DUI

---

Brisbon's friend, Dickerson, who was in the SUV, is claiming the officer isn't telling the whole truth.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/rumain-brisbon-phoenix-police_n_6278966.html

Dickerson told HuffPost that the officer didn't approach the SUV before the shooting and that Brisbon had already hopped out to bring food from McDonald's to his daughter. Dickerson was unaware that a cop was nearby, let alone struggling with Brisbon, until he heard a yell followed quickly by a gunshot.

"I never saw the police coming. They said they approached the vehicle. That was not the case," Dickerson said.

Of course, that is sort of how these things go. While I'm keenly aware that there are no guilty men in prison, I think we need some verification of the facts when lethal force is used under disputed circumstances. My hope is that there's security or dash-cam footage laying about (at least of the vehicle), but I doubt there is. It'll probably be another case of "Cop v. Victims Friend" but I'll be awaiting details from the investigation.

 

[Fayd]

Authorities say Brisbon ran inside an apartment building and then got into a struggle with the officer. Brisbon put his hand in his pocket, and when the officer grabbed the hand, he thought he felt the handle of a gun through Brisbon's pants, police said.[/I]

"This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun."

 

[nixium]

I keep seeing on TV protesters carrying these signs that say "Black lives matter"..

I have a question on that..

Do black lives matter only when the killer is law enforcement?

I ask this question only because I do not see anybody protesting the gang killings in Chicago, LA, or any other city for that matter.

Why does it matter more when a cop kills a black kid, but doesn't seem to matter when a black kid kills another black kid?

I asked these questions today in class. I was greeted by silence. Sad really, that nobody would answer, hell nobody would even try. This was in a college setting btw.

I guess no one answered because they probably were stunned by the sheer stupidity of the question, and might have been baffled that an apparently well educated Professor (assuming you are one) actually asked them this. Also, it might be possible that the class is generally apathetic and just wants to get done with the credit requirement for whatever reason.

Anyway, to answer this idiocy, there' son need to protest because there's nothing to protest. These are clearly criminal acts that we already laws and regulations to deal with. Everyone acknowledges that there's a problem, and it's simply a matter of tracking down the perpetrators and dealing with them using existing laws. If there's anything to protests, it's to deal with the social issues that cause this to happen. For example, protest against the police department that apparently lets unfettered gang killings affect people.

 

[Dari]

you totally missed my point

Yeah, just like this one, if there was no camera the cop could make up whatever story he wanted...

 

[bryanl]

The Drug War is the 2nd worst policy ever set by the United States next to Slavery itself.

Slavery policy was not set by the United States policy but largely by individual states, proving what could be accomplished in the south without bureaucratic meddling from Washington, DC.