We are about two weeks into the BLM movement and although gains have been made, look at CHAZ in Seattle for proof, some things just don't seem to resonate with people the same way. I don't understand if it is upbringing, people just being stupid or on drugs, but as much as I believe there are a few bad cops, there are also a lot of stupid people who like to "poke the bear."
There has been a big story in Atlanta following yet another death of a black man at the hands of a police officer. This is not a great time for this to have happened, what with people already looking to scream and react. Sure enough, the Wendy's, just for being the location of the tragedy, was burned down. What did the Wendy's do to suffer like that? The people who riot like this aren't being very smart, who do you hurt when you do this? It's bad enough that in the middle of Covid-19 millions of people are unemployed. Losing a business like a Wendy's just causes another maybe 20-30 people to lose their jobs, when you factor in all the different shifts and levels of employees. It will be even sadder if these businesses don't come back, why would the owners rebuild? I wouldn't want to be where my fellow neighbors appreciate me by burning down my business to the ground.
But back to Rayshard Brooks. I am not an expert, but I saw the 30 minute video and that officer was not malicious in any way that I could tell. When he pulled up, and he did because someone from Wendy's called that Mr. Brooks was asleep in the line to order food, he didn't just show up to harass a black man. He was very patient knocking on his door window, then gently opened the door and woke him with a nudge. Brooks was completely out of it, maybe on drugs, or maybe he had got off an 18 hour shift at the plant. Either way, the officer told him if he was tired to move his car and park in a parking spot so he would at least get out of the way of the customers. The cop got in his car and turned it on, that tells me he was going to leave. Brooks then jumped the little concrete stop with the front wheels of the car, causing the cop to stop his car and go check on him. He must have told him at least six times to sit and wait in the car, but he kept coming out for no real productive reason. The first officer called for a sobriety expert to give Brooks a DUI test. I didn't see it, but 2nd hand comments said he blew a .18, and anything over .08 is considered grounds for a DUI.
Up until this point, Rayshard had been the definition of cool and calm, when he was awake. As soon as they told him to put his hands behind his back, he turned into a caged animal. He fought both cops, the three were on the floor for a few seconds and somehow, the guy under arrest popped out of the melee with a tazer gun. He attempted to run off, but in the video he clearly points the gun behind him and shoots. What is a cop to do?
First off, never ever ever never ever take a police officer's weapon. Even if you are stronger, there are a lot more cops than there are you. That is the equivalent to striking a beehive, cops will lose their shit, that is their weapon and I don't care who you are, that is completely idiotic. We can play games like children and say "well, he was just trying to get away. Maybe he accidentally grabbed the weapon in the scuffle (scuffling with cops is also on the list of stupid things to do), drop it immediately to show it was an accident and don't point it at them. He didn't mean the cops any harm (how could you know this?). Maybe he succeeds and incapacitates the officer and in his adrenaline rush, comes back gets his real gun and shoots at the other officer and kills a hungry patron trying to get a Wendy's Frosty. The cop did what he had to do in the moment, it could be said that it was an unnecessary death, and it was, how much is a DUI? Mr. Brooks could have acted like a man, admitted he fucked up by driving drunk (which is also wrong, he could have crashed into another innocent driver and hurt him) and just let himself be arrested, it is $600-$1000 for a DUI fine, peanuts for the cost of his life.
It is stupid that the officer was immediately terminated, he seemed to have a calm approach to his job and other than the shooting, he seemed like a good cop. His first reaction was to give the guy a break and let him sleep whatever off.
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