Innocent Black Therapist Shot By Police With His Arms Raised?

[ManOnFire]

This is what happened. The guy works at an assisted living home and was out with one of his patients who was playing with a toy truck. Police got a call that a man "had a gun" and they immediately thought it had to be him because he's black. The police came and told him to get on the ground, and he did with his arms raised, telling the police who he is and what he does.

No amount of white people here and elsewhere trying to argue with their black crime statistics, racist rhetoric, and defense of police officers is gonna change my mind. A therapist with his arms already raised has no business being shot. There is no excuse for the police in this whatsoever.

This is what is making people of color angry. We are well aware of no good thugs in society, but when somebody black completely unarmed or complying with the police is still being hurt by them, it makes the argument from the police and police supporters null and void.

#WarningSigns #BlackLivesDoMatter

[RainbowFanGirl]

And then people say black lives matter is dumb...

These people are supposed to protect us... they wear a badge that says that they are here to protect us, but instead they make us out to be criminals and thugs, and shoot us dead for reasons that aren't deserving of paying with a life.

Look, I get that all races go through things such as these, and that some BLM protesters are violent... but stuff like this needs to stop. It's getting out of hand and is only furthering the divide between race in America when we fought so hard to close it. Stuff like this makes me afraid to go outside for fear of getting shot. It makes me fear for my life basically that I could be shot dead for minding my own business.

I find it funny that a guy who had raped an unconscious woman gets merely 6 months in prison, but an innocent therapist gets shot dead for no exact reason. This HAS to stop if we want to get anywhere.

When black lives start to matter, then all lives will.

[ManOnFire]

Exactly. People aren't getting it.

[Aeon_Flux_21]

You have to understand that this isn't wide spread. There are corrupted bad people in power at your school, at my job, in the government and all over.

Protesting won't stop the corruption. We humans believe it or not live in a great time. Most Black/white Americans aren't worrying about bombs, sword fights or war. What you and I worry about is what we will wear on Friday or what's for dinner today.

Remember all of this isn't as bad as the media is making it look.

[goodmood]

BLM IS dumb. You don't combat violence through violence.

[madhatters4]

@goodmood like Newt Gingrich said at the RNC last night 99.9% of BLM like 99.9% of muslims are good people. just because.1% do bad things doesn't mean we need to condemn the entire group

[jacquesvol]

@goodmood Why are cops shooting then?

[QuestionMan]

The problem is cases like this are incredibly rare. In most cases it's a thug who is shot by cops and BLM seems to protests against all shootings of Black people regardless of whether that person was violent.
I condemn this shooting and hope the police officers involved go to jail.

[jacquesvol]

@QuestionMan 'thug' seems to be the new word some people use for N*g**r.

[QuestionMan]

@jacquesvol There are White thugs too so it doesn't have to mean "Nigger".
Thug is anyone that commits a crime. It just so happens that Black people commit a disproportionate amount of crimes.
Chris Rock explained it perfectly in the difference between Black people and Niggaz.
Everyone hates thugs. The majority of Blacks are good people so I don't see how saying thug is the equivalent of "nigger" is accurate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3PJF0YE-x4

[jacquesvol]

@QuestionMan Where did I say they use the word accurately? They just use it.

[QuestionMan]

@jacquesvol Oh lol.
Sorry too many stupid people on GAG who think everything is racist nowadays.

[jacquesvol]

@QuestionMan There IS more racism, in my opinion since the Right started campaigning against political correctness around 1990 (Allan Bloom's 1987 book The Closing of the American Mind) and specially more since 9/11. Trump rides on this wave.

[QuestionMan]

@jacquesvol I think we need to clearly define political correctness since too often I see neo-Nazis saying that I'm being politically correct by telling them the Holocaust happened.
To me political correctness means not being allowed to criticize minorities and instead treating them like children that need protection. When I say I oppose political correctness it doesn't mean that I want people to say racist things, it means that if I say I don't like what person X is doing I shouldn't be called a racist just because he's non-White.

[jacquesvol]

@QuestionMan Define PC? That will be hard. :D

[RainbowFanGirl]

@jacquesvol @QuestionMan what are you guys on about

[QuestionMan]

We started talking about BLM and how I said that they protest predominantly for dead criminals. Then we started examining the word thug and whether there was a racist meaning behind it, which there isn't since thugs come from all backgrounds.
Finally Jacquesvol said racism is on the rise because the right wingers are fighting against PC. I added on to that that PC is often times misinterpreted and allows for racists to think that their views are acceptable and that PC is a form of persecution against them.

[Jackpot1977]

Just because some cops are assholes doen't mean BLM needs to chant about hurting cops or violently protest if BLM wants to make a difference do it in a peaceful way not a way that hurts people and divides the country.

[Spiorad_Aisce]

This is going to keep happening unless this tense situation is somehow addressed - The cops and the public are spooked, there will be a lot of misunderstandings with black people and middle eastern (Looking) people. Check out this story
www.independent.co.uk/.../...ortable-a7147311.html
I worry where it is going to end I fear an innocent person maybe shot leading to a fresh wave of violence. Cycles of violence happen, to say the incidents are not action and reaction are ludicrous.

[Spiorad_Aisce]

I meant *shot dead - I agree guy in video was innocent

[jacquesvol]

It's not new and not only American: en.wikipedia.org/.../Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menezes

[Chief16]

www.zerohedge.com/.../my-own-people-hate-me-black-brooklyn-cop-slams-false-narrative-black-lives-matter
It states more white people have died by cop shooting than any other race. If you wanna go about it. The man deserves justice not because he's black but because unduly shot. Justice is blind friend, caste, creed or color. I'd see justice served rather than make this a racial propaganda which is what it is honestly.
I'm not defending the cop. I ain't. But this is being used as another scapegoat for BLM. Its only a matter of time before violence will spread again and some thug will justify murdering innocents who had nothing to do with it. Take the example of the cops who were killed in the line of duty two weeks ago. Nobody made an issue of it. But one thing I'm sure of, it it was a person of any other race, this incident would definitely be shelved off as a minor incident.

[ManOnFire]

I've heard those stats, and I'm not convinced. People who are against BLM look to the numbers they want to, not what really is.

[Chief16]

And can you vouch that the stats stated by the BLM is real? The truth is distorted. Agreed. But that doesn't mean BLM is anymore truthful than this cop who claims these stats. Suffering isn't a contest. Justice should be served, but not because the man is black, but because he was wrongly judged and shot.

[NotTheFBI]

Uh huh but of course... there's no Racism... no... not at all *Blatant Sarcasm*
*Grabs Popcorn* media.giphy.com/media/tFK8urY6XHj2w/giphy.gif

[ManOnFire]

Dude, you should be doing stand-up, lol.

[DanteSparda]

I just found a case which I read in the news paper a few months ago.
The police brutally assaulted this Indian guy because they received a call from an ignorant lady suspecting the guy as a terrorist.
First thing that he was Indian and second thing that he didn't even belong to that religion which most people commonly associate with terrorism.

https://www.BBC.com/news/world-us-canada-34852787

So, yeah I do know that there're still many racists, terrorists, ignorants etc out there but I believe that we shouldn't judge a whole community based on the actions of a few individuals.

[ichot]

What blacklivesmatters supports can't get into their heads is that the hashtag movement -and especially the media- is creating a pitfall for the entire black community.

Every single time there's a looting or violence during a BLM protest or rioting because a thug got killed. It builds the stereotype that blacks are quick to resort to violence and animalistic behavior.

If anything the blacklivesmatter hashtag has found success in is make cops and non-blacks more sensitive to black people in such a way that puts them in more harm.

And lets be clear, it's entirely possible to be against the cop's action and have a distrust in the blacklivesmatter hashtag movement.

"When black lives start to matter, then all lives will. "
Rhetoric. When the black community can figure out how to civilize its unruly ones then you'll have a chance at the peace you proclaim to be fighting for.

[RainbowFanGirl]

I know you're talking about my comment lol

This guy was shot for no reason and that's why people are upset. The sole reason so many people are upset is due to the fact that this police officer will not get prosecuted for taking a life. He didn't do anything wrong! He was a therapist minding his own business for crying out loud. These police officers who abuse their powers need to be punished if we want to get anywhere.

[madhatters4]

"When the black community can figure out how to civilize its unruly ones then you'll have a chance at the peace you proclaim to be fighting for. "

that statement can be said for every race, gender, ethnicity in the world.

[jacquesvol]

@ichot
Is 'thug' your new N word?

[rdneckczy05]

It's always quickly turned into a race issue. It would probably help if the people calling 911 would give the truth instead of making crap up which automatically puts the police in a position of where and who has the gun instead of figuring out what the hell was going on first. Saying someone with a gun automatically escalated the situation before they arrived. I don't believe this guy being black had anything to do with it, unless the caller to 911 said a black man has a gun in the middle of the street. Which would have turned the police officers attention straight to him. Maybe you should do a public information request for the 911 tapes and radio traffic on the police response to get the actually information as t was entered and broadcasted as they responded. I believe race had no point in this.

[helloitsmethere]

All this bullshit needs to stop. Police are supposed to PROTECT us.
This is why I am afraid. Afraid when my sister comes home later than usual, afraid that if my relatives wear a hoodie, they get shot.

[ManOnFire]

Even I myself am afraid nowadays too. I'm afraid when I leave the train station or walk across the shopping center parking lot.

[Waffles731]

Thank god he lived,
Hopefully that way he can testify against these bastards,
I'm not even a person of color and this kind of shit is the reason I don't have a problem with black lives matter.

[jacquesvol]

I suppose a lawyer will offer him substantial damage payment and that will end the case.

If he testifies and cops get condemned, he'd better move to another state after the trial.

[Regulatus]

The cop claimed he was aiming for the autistic man sitting next to the therapist. But when he "missed" he didn't shoot at the autistic guy again. Instead, the cop ran over and HANDCUFFED the man he claims to have accidentally shot. The cops weren't able to come up with a cover story that matched the cell phone video so they panicked. A few cops will lose jobs for this one, thankfully. And home boy is gonna get PAID!

[CHARismatic110]

It's sickening. And then for the cop to flat out say "I don't know" when asked why? No amount of "facts and statistics" can justify this. None.

@AleDeEurope very interested in what your thoughts are on this.

[AleDeEurope]

I agree with you on this one. I saw this yesterday and it's obvious there was no reason for him to be shot (thank goodness it was on his leg). He did everything the cops told him to do... but he got shot.
THIS is police brutality.

[CHARismatic110]

@AleDeEurope so my question is wtf do we do when complying still gets you shot?

[AleDeEurope]

Like if this happens all the time. Don't act like every time you comply you get shot, 99% of the time nothing happens.

[CHARismatic110]

@AleDeEurope I guess the statistics lead you to that number huh lol smh.

[AleDeEurope]

No, that number was just an estimation, but it's obvious that most of the time, the shootings are justified.

[CHARismatic110]

@AleDeEurope like always, we'll agree to disagree.

[AleDeEurope]

Ok XD

[RainbowFanGirl]

And then people will try to justify this like always.

[jacquesvol]

@AleDeEurope
If you obey but they don't like your face you may end like Sandra Bland.

[jacquesvol]

@AleDeEurope Not so much police brutality as ethnic profiling.

[Breadwinner]

Thats how miami police are they shoot first and ask questions later im surprised out of all the times i got a gun pulled out on me for standing at work i never got shot.

[Relentless_Hippie]

Wow that is so ridiculous. All this needs to stop, even the officer didn't know why he shot him. I will never understand how we could have officers that are so under trained and trigger happy. We need some serious reform in our police force. It makes me scared to even step outside, the media is affecting everybody at this point.

[ihatethiswebsite]

I always just wonder why don't they use a taser unless the other guy has a gun. A taser seems sufficient. Not that the guy needed to be tased, but you'd think they'd resort to a gun as a last case scenario.

[Relentless_Hippie]

@ihatethiswebsite Exactly, but even still it seems as if they're afraid to approach and diffuse situations vocally. Why are they taking a violent route as the first route?

If someone is laying on the ground with their hands visible why would you even have your guns drawn? Why wouldn't you go in and cuff them and ask questions if you're so afraid?

Why shoot first ask questions later? Why taze first ask questions later? Unless the person is visibly hostile and an obvious threat charging at officers, they've got no reason drawing weapons. They're there to diffuse situations not hype them up.

[jacquesvol]

"Shoot first, ask questions later" has become normal since the SCOTUS permits it.

[Relentless_Hippie]

@jacquesvol what is the scotus?

[CHARismatic110]

Supreme Court of the United States I believe.

[Relentless_Hippie]

@CHARismatic110 Thank you! And they should really stand up and do something then.

[CHARismatic110]

You're welcome and I agree

[jacquesvol]

Graham v Connor:
www.policemag.com/.../...ding-graham-v-connor.aspx
Tennessee v Garner:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_v._Garner

www.casebriefs.com/.../

4th amendment:

https://www.aele.org/law/2012-07MLJ501.html

[madhatters4]

i'll be interested to see how people will find a way to defend the police in this instance. i'm sure people will find a way

[RainbowFanGirl]

Ha. They already are.

[jacquesvol]

www.washingtonpost.com/.../

If he had been guilty of something he wouldn't have been shot in the leg.

[Anonymous]

Oh but one time this one black dude shot somebody, so you should totally understand why it's ok to shoot all black people now.

[Table20]

what people are missing is that situations like this are the exception, not the rule... it is very unfortunate but crime will always exist.. the media is brainwashing people into believing that cops are out headhunting black people

[madhatters4]

i don't think any reasonably intelligent person thinks that police killing civilians is the norm. any simple google search will prove that to isn't true.

but the fact that 600+ unarmed men (black, white, Asian, hispanic, etc) have been killed this year should be a cause for concern for all people. it should make us all ask the simple question as to what can be done to remedy the situation. whether it's better trainingin for police OR PSA's explaining precisely what to do when police approach them. whatever it is too many people are dying too frequently to simply chalk up to "situations like this are the exception". whenever an American dies needlessly we need to ask how do we avoid it in the future

[jacquesvol]

@Table20
Do you imply he wss shot because of the media?

[Table20]

@jacquesvol no... he was shot because of an asshole cop.. i absolutely admit that. but these events do not happen as much as the media would have one believe. if you just listen to the media and nothing else, youd think these things happen every 5 seconds but they dont. thats all i meant

[jacquesvol]

Unarmed people being shot by cops happens hundreds of times.

[Table20]

@jacquesvol well thats what america gets for being a politically correct, gun loving nation..

live by the gun, die by the gun

[jacquesvol]

@Table20
"politically correct, gun loving nation"
Go tell the gun lovers they're politically correct, if you dare.

[Table20]

@jacquesvol you're just an argumentative guy aren't you.. i didn't call them that.. i just used 2 adjectives that describe the US of Gay

[jacquesvol]

two adjectives that shouldn' be used together.

[Table20]

@jacquesvol or else what?

[jacquesvol]

@Table20 Or else you're guilty of using an oxymoron.

[Anonymous]

This seems to be one of the unfortunate cop shooting a black person for no reason. I haven't seen much of this but from what I've heard is the guy did nothing wrong and seemed to do everything right. I'm glad this guys injuries aren't life threatening.

Lots of the other black lives matter shootings the black person did just about everything wrong and basically forced the cop to shoot.

[jacquesvol]

"the unfortunate cop"
You must be joking? Or are you sincerely complaining the cop instead of his victim?

[Opinion Owner]

@jacquesvol
I think your looking for something to complain about. I'm talking about its an unfortunate situation of a cop shooting an innocent person. It's a rare situation and it's unfortunate that the person was shot.

[ladsin]

I saw this one, wondering what the police are saying, I'm always reluctant to believe a lone persons account of what someone else says, but this is fucked up no matter what.

[Jan1ssary_]

I hope blacks declare their independence and create a new country in USA lol.

[John_Doesnt]

This is blown out of proportion. I'm sure it happens to white therapists too.

[ManOnFire]

I highly doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes police have to make rapid judgements in their line of work.

He looks like a creepy crimminal to me, plus it's not like he died.

[Tombstone1000100]

" He looks like a creepy criminal " Thats your excuse? Wow

[Opinion Owner]

@Tombstone1000100 If you can't trust your own eyes, what should he have used to make the decision? Don't think he can do a detailed background check in a split-second@!

[Tombstone1000100]

Split second? 😂😂 Watch the video maybe, the guy had his arms raised for at least good 2-3 minutes before they shot him anyway.

[madhatters4]

he looks like a creepy criminal? that's all it takes to get a bullet in you now? i thought police were supposed to stop criminals not people who look "creepy". your response is a major part of the issue. police profiling suspects rather than doing their due dilligence to asses a situation.

Even if he looked like a criminal, even if he was a criminal, he was laying on the ground with his hands up. That's precisely what you are supposed to do when confronted by police.