White Police Officer Shoots and Kills Unarmed Black Man.

[menace1069]

Unfortunately with all the recent events of violence by police, the media has used this opportunity to put a wedge in American society between races. Now personally I am just short of 30 years old so I did not live through the 60s obviously, but I can say with certainty that racial tension/relations are at the worst stage I have seen in my life. Everything most of us have worked so hard for is being destroyed and its "partially" the fault of the media for constantly sticking to one side of the story. I truly believe that Baltimore is just the tip of the iceberg for what is coming in the next few years.

Now Freddie Gray absolutely did NOT deserve what happened to him. He was unarmed and clearly no serious threat. However this does not justify the violent "protesting" or what ever you want to call it. Burning and looting your own community will never accomplish anything besides making the bulk of Americans think to themselves what a bunch of f'ing morons. And the more the media shows footage of these mainly black folks doing stuff like this, the more resentment and disgust builds in many white American's minds. This may or may not be my personal stance, this is just my observation based on the conversations i have had with others.

Completely agree. The stupidity of riots are not limited to a particular race. Look at any of the various championship ball games where the vast majority of the rioters are white. What exactly are they rioting about, that their team won or lost? WHY would you riot over that?
Anyways, Freddie Gray and countless others like Mr. Scott in Charleston who was shot in back as he ran away from the cop, do not deserve what happened to them and that cop will be held accountable as the DA swiftly arrested him. This type of behavior absolutely HAS to be addressed in law enforcement agencies nationwide.
As a veteran of the Army, one of the things that has always stuck in my mind from one of my drill sergeants is that we all bleed green (Army colors), meaning that we are all the same and we all deserve to be treated fairly. There is much distance between the various sectors of society and although you can say that everyone is given the same chances and opportunities in life, that is not the case at all.

[thelakelander]

The second portion of my post "who were give free reign by the mayor to loot and terrorize" was in reference to the Baltimore mayor although she stated specifically so that "they could have space to vent their frustrations."
Again, thanks for responding.

I'm working from home today and I currently have Fox News on in the background (listened to CNN last night). The mayor's comment was taken out of context by media. Even Fox admitted it.

[thelakelander]

Unfortunately with all the recent events of violence by police, the media has used this opportunity to put a wedge in American society between races. Now personally I am just short of 30 years old so I did not live through the 60s obviously, but I can say with certainty that racial tension/relations are at the worst stage I have seen in my life. Everything most of us have worked so hard for is being destroyed and its "partially" the fault of the media for constantly sticking to one side of the story. I truly believe that Baltimore is just the tip of the iceberg for what is coming in the next few years.

I'm a 37-year-old black male. My parents grew up during segregation. I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood. Growing up, I'm been harrased before, so I understand how some feel. From my view, nothing has changed. The undertone has always been around. Riots happen from time to time when people who feel oppressed, get to the point where that frustration reaches a certain level. Sort of like a volcano eruption. Even St. Pete had a riot during the 1990s. Most probably don't know or forgotten about it because there was no twitter, facebook, instagram, etc. around to make things go viral. Social media has just exposed things on a larger scale. I do agree that Baltimore is just the tip of the iceberg.  I was talking to a friend a few months back about some of the acts being exposed across the country and she made a comment to the likes of "they really want people to burn this mofo down." I guess she was poetic.

Now Freddie Gray absolutely did NOT deserve what happened to him. He was unarmed and clearly no serious threat. However this does not justify the violent "protesting" or what ever you want to call it. Burning and looting your own community will never accomplish anything besides making the bulk of Americans think to themselves what a bunch of f'ing morons. And the more the media shows footage of these mainly black folks doing stuff like this, the more resentment and disgust builds in many white American's minds. This may or may not be my personal stance, this is just my observation based on the conversations i have had with others.

Yes, burning down your own hood didn't make any sense in the 1960s and neither does it now. I'm no advocate of rioting but if you're going to burn down something, it probably shouldn't be your own neighborhood and businesses. Unfortunately, that's a reaction that more people will focus on than the decades of continued events that build up to these types of ugly moments in urban america's history.

[I-10east]

Unfortunately with all the recent events of violence by police, the media has used this opportunity to put a wedge in American society between races. Now personally I am just short of 30 years old so I did not live through the 60s obviously, but I can say with certainty that racial tension/relations are at the worst stage I have seen in my life. Everything most of us have worked so hard for is being destroyed and its "partially" the fault of the media for constantly sticking to one side of the story. I truly believe that Baltimore is just the tip of the iceberg for what is coming in the next few years.

Now Freddie Gray absolutely did NOT deserve what happened to him. He was unarmed and clearly no serious threat. However this does not justify the violent "protesting" or what ever you want to call it. Burning and looting your own community will never accomplish anything besides making the bulk of Americans think to themselves what a bunch of f'ing morons. And the more the media shows footage of these mainly black folks doing stuff like this, the more resentment and disgust builds in many white American's minds. This may or may not be my personal stance, this is just my observation based on the conversations i have had with others.

I agree 100 percent. Everyone knows that the B'more cops are under scrutiny with this suspicious death on their hands, but is it cause go and burn down a fucking city?? I can go on forever concerning my disgust of these 'protesters' but I won't because I'm the evil 'bad guy' that's not within the mainstream media flock of sheep... Embarrassing. 

[thelakelander]

^Well you do have protestors and then you have others taking advantage of an opportunity. Some kids got some free shoes last night and I'm sure Al Sharpton will get his 5 seconds in the limelight as well. It's important not to stereotype in situations like this.

[I-10east]

^^^For the record, the actual protesters are fine (which is why I put protesters in quotes). I was referring to the criminal element; The looters, the arsonists, the attackers, etc etc etc. Sadly all the observers will remember is the violence.

[thelakelander]

gotcha!

[Jax native]

"There's a reason you separate military and the people.  One fights the enemy of the state, the other serves and protects it's people.  When you the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to be people".

We're looking at a variation of this theme, where the police and military have melded into each other both culturally and politically such that tactics and cultures guiding both are the same.  I'm pretty sure 9/11 had a huge part in setting the stage for this- that when we started really handing over responsibilities like counter-terrorism operations to the police, which require a fundamentally 'military' outlook, and training to be able to enact, but which we never really trained for-just handed them the responsibilities and nifty toys and told them to go for it. After that, the mission creep takes over - and that half trained 'military' mindset starts expanding into more and more functions of the police, and the people the police are supposed to be protecting morph in 'civilian until proven a threat' to 'enemy combatant until proven otherwise'.  Add this to the virulent undercurrent of racism and classism that flows just under the surface in American political and social life, and you have a recipe for what is a war on the poor, ethical minorities, mentally ill and anyone else that fires up American anxieties. 

What made police in FB give up to 80 miles per hour chase for a shoplifter and then shot him in the head yesterday?  Don't tell me a syringe.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Walter Scott shooting: mistrial declared in case against former police officer

The trial of the former police officer who shot dead Walter Scott, an unarmed African American, in an incident that was caught on cellphone video and reignited the debate on race and policing in the US, has ended in a mistrial.

Michael Slager, 35, was caught on film shooting Scott, 50, five times from behind after pursuing the father of four when he fled a traffic stop in South Carolina in April 2015. The video filmed by a witness, which propelled the case into the global spotlight, showed Scott was running away with his back turned when Slager, then an officer with the North Charleston police department, opened fire.

The jury of 11 white people and one black person was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the murder and manslaughter charges, meaning the case resulted in a mistrial. The result appears to have hung on the opinion of single juror who, on Friday, indicated in a note to the judge, Clifton Newman, that they could not "with good conscience consider a guilty verdict".

The jury's foreperson had pushed deliberations into a fourth day, after tense scenes in court on Friday, allowing jurors a weekend break after a monthlong trial.

The Scott family's attorneys said after the trial concluded that prosecutor Scarlett Wilson had assured them she would seek a retrial at the earliest possible date.

Full Article 

[fsquid]

My friends in SC say the prosecutor is quite bad.  Maybe the state should bring in someone else for the retrial.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

My friends in SC say the prosecutor is quite bad.  Maybe the state should bring in someone else for the retrial.

My uneducated guess is that the prosecution let a juror slip through who had ZERO intention of prosecuting a LEO.

With all of the varying verdicts that the judge was allowing, and not being able to agree to anything, means that short of an acquittal, that juror probably wasn't going to let it go.