Was Rayshard Brooks murdered or was he responsible for his own death?

[supercutebutt]

The dude who fell asleep in the Wendy's drive through was shot to death by a cop after fighting them and taking a taser and running away. How do you feel about this one?

VOTE!

He was murdered

Not murder. He was at fault

Updates

+1 y

This gentleman was a grade-A weirdo. First, falling asleep in a drive through lane and not being able to wake up is ultra strange. Not only couldn't the cop wake him up after multiple attempts, but the Wendy's staff couldn't either. Next we find out he is a drunk driver. That shows poor judgement and a lack of concern for humanity. THEN, he fights with the cops, steals a taser (he would have stolen a gun if he could) and discharges it at the cop! It's hard to feel sympathy for this guy.

Updates

+1 y

MLK said to judge a man not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character & Rayshard showed us his character. He was not being mistreated by the cops and drunk driving is indeed a crime. It would be nice if he was alive & going to prison for being a drunk driver & a violent criminal piece of shit but that's not how it turned out. He 100% determined his fate when he decided to attack those officers. He was stupid and now he has further divided my country. He sucks.

[Electric_Dreams]

None of the police did anything unreasonable.

This man did.

I feel sorry for him.. primarily because he's dead, and that's awful, but before that he's clearly going through some struggles. He seems to be sad about his mother, thinking about her, I sense some despondency or dejectedness on the subject of his girlfriend and his daughter.. I think he's drunk because he's sad, and sometimes people get drunk alone when they are sad.

And I can sense how desperate he is not to get arrested, not to disappoint his girlfriend and/or daughter.. but the problem is he has clearly been driving drunk. I have no sympathy for anyone that kills a person driving drunk, no matte how sad they are. It is inexcusable (I drove drunk once, a very short drive, I hated myself and felt disgusted thereafter and still do to this day, and nothing bad happened aside from the driving drunk in itself. If I killed someone driving drunk then I would not have deserved sympathy). I know this guy did not drive drunk but he very well could have, which right off the bat makes him a threat, a danger to the lives of innocent people which on this night he was not.

So then he refuses to get arrested without a fight... then he steals the police officer's taser, and continues fleeing even after he has been tased. He's now armed with a weapon stolen from a police officer, so he's more dangerous. Then he turns and actually fires the taser at the police officer. He tries to taser the police officer. And the police officers have been trying to give him fair warning, they were very polite and professional when they were talking with him, when they asked him to put his hands behind his back they were very calm and polite. They warned him that he was going to get tased and they shouted for him to stop when he was running off, armed and dangerous.

See but when this man fires the taser at the police officer he is extremely dangerous. It's clear at this point that the man is unfortunately not thinking clearly, he is irrational and unpredictable. If this man is actually able to successfully tase a police officer, then it is possible that the man could do additional harm to the police officer. He could take that police officer's gun, shoot both police officers and then be on the loose with a police officers gun.

So the police officer did the failure drill. Three precisely targeted rounds. Not excessive, only what he has been trained to do.

The police officer was totally reasonable. Rayshard Brooks was unreasonable, he was dangerous. It's unfortunate because it seems he was a man that was suffering and didn't want to screw up.. the thing is he ultimately screwed up huge. He needed to just accept that he was getting arrested for a DUI.

[Electric_Dreams]

Just reading through this, annoying mistake in that second paragraph there.. where I said I know he didn't drive drunk. I didn't mean that, because I do believe he DID drive drunk. I meant to say I know he didn't kill anyone driving drunk. Just to clear that up. I believe he drove drunk, I was talking about killing someone while DUI.

[BoountyHunter]

This country is losing its mind over this stuff
anything is labeled racism now (along with many absolutely stupid ideas and revisions of well defined words..)

THIS is clearly a case of self defense by the cops (for anyone who even attempted to watch the video)...
Could it have turned out better? Yes... I am sure all of us can agree that this could have ended peacefully... However he 1. Was drunk driving/fell asleep in the drive through 2. Resisted arrest with cops that treated his kindly (watch the 40 minute video... the cops are very nice with him...)... it is only when they cuff him that he responds harshly.. 3. He literally throws the cops around like ragdolls and takes a taser and 4. Ultimately at the end he points his taser and fires at the cop


I don't know where this country is going
but for some reasons we assume things like that are acceptable?

Being white myself
I can promise you if I treated cops the same way.. it would very easily end with me being shot as well (MORE White people than anything are shot by cops each year... but no one really cares about that? only about 25% -30% of police shootings are Black... WHICH IS disproportionate to the Black community size as a whole.. which is 13%+ ... However that community also commits a very disproportionate amount of the crime. NEARLY half of all murders each year are committed by the black community... and usually against other blacks)

These are things no one wants to talk about

we simply want to label EVERYTHING racist
FLOYD is another issue all together (and no one is arguing the cop isn't getting what he deserves)
but with the issue at Atlanta.. things are getting pathetic

Not to mention rioters have burned down the Wendys


Congrats
I think people have totally lost the path...

Martin Luther King Jr would be disgusted by this
but then again.. so many people are misquoting him...
even brutalizing his son for claiming his father would NEVER support violence/riots/looting


What the hell is this world coming to?

[supercutebutt]

This is why strong leadership is important. All Trump does is divide us. He is supposed to be the president of everyone. Yet all he does is stir up shit with fucked up tweets or by saying something asinine. A house divided cannot stand.

[BoountyHunter]

Absolutely right...

Covid-19
he spreads conspiracies at the beginning...
which
1. makes certain political leaders more accepting of following his mentality (so now they can speak their mind) OR in many cases they likely fear for their jobs.. and therefore dont speak against him
2. makes a lot of Trump supporters hold onto the conspiracy itself (god knows.. plenty of them believe in the deep state... or evil democrats... etc etc)
Police Brutality... and Trump literally ignores it... threatens to use military.. etc
1. Only makes the situation worse... with a group of people that already hate him
and 2. Makes political figures on both sides uneasy... some may fear the need to use excessive force... while others might be too afraid to do anything

its a mess
and I doubt any other leader in American history would have allowed this to happen

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

This definitely doesn't compare to what happened with George Floyd because he was resisting and armed, but the use of deadly force in this case was probably a little excessive. First, the cop was very incompetent for allowing his taser to be stolen so easily. That alone should have the cop being called to the carpet. Second, even though he did take the taser and point it in their direction when running, the taser clearly isn't anywhere near as lethal as a gun. They could have simply outran this guy, avoided the direction of the taser, and tackled him. A guy can't run full speed the whole time while looking behind him with a taser. At some point, to do that, he's going to have to slow down. Third, he was also drunk, so he could have easily fell during the chase, making him easier to catch. Police used tasers on several people without killing them, so they themselves shouldn't be afraid of them. Still, we know that police officers tend to have "probable cause" when a weapon is pointed in their direction, no matter what it is. FOr that reason, it's not "murder."

Either way, the suspect's actions shouldn't be defended or ignored by any means, nor should it be used as a distraction from what happened to George Floyd and victims that were actually unarmed and posed no immediate threat when killed. It seems that's what the media is attempting to do with this case. To answer the question, yes; though somewhat excessive, the suspect basically brought this on himself. As for my opinions on it, while I don't think that the cops were entirely wrong in this case, I do agree with the police officer's firing. Absolutely poor job performance. Clearly, a police officer isn't the job for him. It's for his own safety, as he's lucky it wasn't his gun he took. He's likely to have his weapon stolen from him a lot and possibly likely to resort to shooting suspects when other solutions could be done. Maybe he should try being a fireman instead. As for the suspect, I think that the suspect was stupid because, for one, you don't steal a police officer's weapon and think it's going to end well, and two, and most importantly, as a Black man, he should have known that the police love shooting Black men at high rates and, despite that, he actually gave them probable cause to attempt it.

[supercutebutt]

I have a feeling that if this dude was white and acted the same exact way, he would have been shot also. I do agree that in many cases, race has a lot to do with how a person is treated by cops. But I really think that if ANY person did what Rayshard did, they would have a very good chance at being shot the same way. The whole thing is unfortunate but I can see people getting pissed off if the cop in this case is convicted of a crime. Sure, he probably shouldn't have shot him but I can't really fault him for doing so when you consider it is a split second decision under pressure and stress.

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@supercutebutt: It's definitely possible that he could have been shot if he was White, but statistics do indeed show that police officers have much higher rates of shooting Black people compared to White. Chances are great that he wouldn't have been shot if he was White. There have been instances of White people even beating up the cops with their own weapon and even stealing their car without being shot. The double standards in the American police force is remarkable. Also, chances are very high that he won't be convinced of a crime. Police hardly get convicted of anything even if they kill an unarmed suspect, so of course nothing is likely to happen to this cop that actually had "probable cause" to shoot this guy. I'm just baffled at how stupid this guy must have been to attempt this knowing how trigger happy cops are towards Black men.

https://youtu.be/6jsoaJE7TWg

[007kingifrit]

actually data shows blacks are under represented in police shootings or lethal killings in general by police scholar.harvard.edu/.../empirical-analysis-racial-differences-police-use-force

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit: Most of your statistics in that. pdf book you sent me contains data mostly reported from Houston, in case you were unaware. As a person that once complained about how long my replies were, I don't think you read that whole book. Not all police shootings occur in Houston. Still, yes, shootings are majority White due to White people being 70% of the population, but disproportionately Black. Police officers are still more likely to shoot Black people at higher rates, especially when unarmed, compared to White people. According to the data, they are more likely to shoot White people because they tend to have mental health issues and are more likely to commit suicide by cop. The fact that police are more likely to shoot Black people when unarmed and less threatening is something everybody should note.

(Racial Disparities by Type of Shooting) https://www.pnas.org/content/116/32/15877

[007kingifrit]

the data accounts for all locations and is adjusted for population size and crime rate

you have no counter to the data

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit: You seriously need to read the whole book. Many of the statistics in it are talking about what happens in Houston. I gave you a link to more wide-reaching statistics, which states that Black people are more likely to be shot when unarmed and pose less of a threat compared to White people. It also showed you that White people are 7-times more likely to commit suicide by cop. Do you have a counter to that? I don't see why you're ignoring this highly significant fact.

[007kingifrit]

your source is not adjusted for violent crime rate like mine is

blacks resist arrest more often and attack police and do violent crime more often, black people thus deserve a higher rate overall so we adjust for violent crime rates

inequality is not proof of discrimination. different groups do different things

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit: The violent crime rate is 100% irrelevant to cops shooting unarmed suspects that pose no immediate threat. I'll give you this though: your statistics do a good job of analysing why police officers are more likely to shoot Black people in situations that are justified. If a person resists arrest and is armed, yes, I understand. You have to defend yourself. I'm not arguing against that. However, evidence also shows that despite that most police interactions and arrests are overwhelmingly White in total raw numbers, police officers are much more likely to kill unarmed Black people that don't pose much of a threat compared to White people. If you pose no immediate threat and unarmed, violent crime rates become irrelevant. My question is, why is that, and do you have a counter for it?

[007kingifrit]

a suspect bieng "unarmed" is a misleading statistic because unarmed black people often try to steal womens from cops

in 2019 a total of 9 unarmed blacks were killed by police. 6 of which were trying to take guns from cops and 1 was previously armed but jumped out of the getaway car unarmed, he had already fired on police.

there is no problem there

[007kingifrit]

*weapons*

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit: You're missing the point here. I'm not talking about suspects that attempt to steal weapons from cops. The statistics say that cops are more likely to shoot unarmed Black suspects that are *unlikely to pose a threat* compared to White people. Obviously, if you're attempting to steal a weapon from police officers, you pose a threat. When it comes to police officers killing non-threatening unarmed Black people, what counter do you have for that? Just answer the question. What is your counter for this? Do you think that it's fine for police to shoot unarmed people that are non-threatening?

As for your statistics on the amount of unarmed Black people killed, your numbers are false. They have been falsified. (https://www. politifact. com/factchecks/2020/jun/05/larry-elder/larry-elder-mislabels-statistics-fatal-shootings-p/) Stop getting your sources from biased commentators that support your political views and actually examine the raw data. Even still, the number doesn't matter. Over the years, not just 2019, many Black people have been victims of police shootings when they're unarmed and non-threatening, and the numbers continue to grow.

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit

www.politifact.com/.../

[007kingifrit]

"unlikely to pose a threat" is not a scientific term it is open to interpretation, i wouldn't trust any study using such vague langauge

there is simply no evidence of police mistreating black people... a total of NINE were killed unarmed by police last year. 7 of which were justified

a total of 2 in the entire nation may have been unjustified

[supercutebutt]

@007kingifrit "there is simply no evidence of police mistreating black people."

Well that's a crock of shit. Don't post stupid shit or I will have to block you.

[007kingifrit]

you already blocked me once... then you unblocked me

i am correct, there is no statistical data you can share to prove systemic racism is real. any individual example you can share is just an anecdote; i. e... it doesn't demonstrate a larger trend

[007kingifrit]

politifact is not a trustworthy source. they don't even disprove the claim.

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit: Honestly, I'm not sure if you're just extremely biased, extremely slow, or extremely trolling, maybe all of the above. "Not posing any threat" means that they're not doing anything to put the cop's life in jeopardy, unlike the White suspects that the study shows typically have mental illness or commit suicide by cop at higher rates. It's shameful that you need "scientific terms" understand simple things. Then you say that Politifact is not a reliable source, yet they base their information on the raw data. Then after I showed you that you were wrong, you still continue to repeat the same misinformation. I even gave you a link to raw data, which you rejected. You base your beliefs off people that simply share the same politically conservative views you do. You just seriously deny evidence and reject anything that proves you wrong. As long as you continue to do that, there is no point in replying to you. I'll leave you to it then. Continue to believe all the delusions and false information you want, but we will accept the truth and continue making changes from it.

[007kingifrit]

well my data adjust for population size and crime rate and yours doesn't.

a total of NINE unarmed blacks were killed by police last year, and no it doesn't matter this data is limited to "on duty" police like your silly fact checking source says. only 2 of those 9 were unjustified (maybe)

your narrative is just not true, blacks are under represented in police killings

[Tiffany_Taylor_Made]

@007kingifrit: Alright. I'll leave you to it.

[The_little_gay_robin]

Well, all of that footage bothers me, but the one thing I found super weird was the black officer who walked up at the end and said that the officers safety was his "main concern" and "I'm just making sure YOU are alright." And "we're gonna clear this up." That sounds off to me.

Sure the officers safety is important, but the way he said made it seem like the guy they shot was just an inconvenience, a problem to be swept under a rug and forgotten.

What is showed here is not the full unedited footage, so while it looks like the cops were most likely justified in this instance, that doesn't mean they did everything like they were supposed to and they could've missed important opportunities to deescalate and reassure prior to the arrest. Those are not just part of being a police officer, they are MORE IMPORTANT parts than arresting and using lethal force.

Too often people neglect necessary critique of police behavior just because the person they confront did something wrong. The suspects actions and the officers actions should be looked at independently as well as in full context.

[lightbulb27]

His actions lead to his death. The cops shouldn't have shot, but then again, we weren't in their shoes. My guess... they just lose their jobs.

This gets to the root of the problem that is not being addressed... how to behave around cops. The problem being with Rayshard... he went into panic mode when he heard the cuffs.

It is awful dealing with cops and scary. People have to learn and be trained to control their emotional response. This may be much more difficult for black people or those who've been traumatized by police or can't handle being restrained (claustrophobia?).

So many of these incidents are due to people not submitting to Police. Submit to police, and they are free the next day doing their crap. They know the system is a revolving door. Might as well just advertise it as "free food and drink" in jail or something.

Maybe it's a lot worse than I know, I've never been to jail. If that's the case, lets put some $ into fixing that.

Poor guy... I mean that, he was fine up until he lost control. And now... more fatherless children.

[007kingifrit]

the cops did nothing wrong, they were attacked and lethal force is always justified when a cop is attacked

[wolfcat87]

Prisons are not a revolving door for black men, and the jails and prisons there are AWEFUL. I would never ever in my life want to go to one. Not even for a night. Also, you only get out the next day if it's not a weekend or holiday and you have extra money lying around for collect calls and bail. Most people don't have that. If you can't pay bail, then you stay imprisoned until they get around to giving you a court date for trial. You may never get out at all. They actually forget to try some people for years!

[007kingifrit]

@wolfcat87 stop trying to justify fighting back agaisnt the police, blacks like you are part of the problem

[wolfcat87]

@007kingifrit I'm not black. So, racists like you are the only problem. As for fighting back, people have the constitutional right to defend their selves against anyone. That includes police.

[007kingifrit]

@wolfcat87 no it literally doesn't include the police, you do not have the right to fight back against the police

nobody has EVER made that argument besides you, you are a racist lunatic

[lightbulb27]

@wolfcat87 I'm sure they are awful, I meant to go and visit and never have. Revolving means... people go in for a crime and leave at some point depending upon the crime. We've had the same thieves come around time and again as they get released in a month. too much crime, not enough jail. Need to get people into society which means work ethic, values, training... regardless of color. Immigrants come in and by and large, do well... because of family and work ethic.

[wolfcat87]

@007kingifrit "The Second Amendment and the Inalienable Right to Self-Defense. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Try again dumb dumb.

[wolfcat87]

@007kingifrit "Self-defense is a constitutional right. So holds State v. Hull (Wash. ... Generally speaking, courts rarely have to decide whether there is a constitutional right to self-defense, since all states generally recognize a statutory or common-law right to use force against another person in self-defense."

[wolfcat87]

@lightbulb27 I think that's probably because theft is usually a misdemeanor. Most areas tend to be pretty lenient on that one. Even my area goes pretty easy on thieves.

[007kingifrit]

@wolfcat87 the 2nd amendment literally says nothing about being allowed to fight police... try again my uneducated young friend

[lightbulb27]

@wolfcat87 so this gets into a persons rights with police... and then there are responsibilities. This is the mess I think where the most opportunity is. A large number of people are threatened and in fear of police and react poorly around them. This increases their risks of trouble with Police.

There are cases where police are just awful, there is that as well. Whether that comes out on one race or the other more is a factor, opportunity is a factor.

But it isn't the police that is the only change point, it'st he people. Can train the police all day long and give them all the tools we want. They will dominate people, they have to. And if want to fight with them, that's a right... and they have a higher right by way of the law to use force to protect themselves and they will usually win. So its better to be really well trained, super nice, and deal with a judge. Reducing the fear of police and improving the interaction of citizen to police will reduce problems a lot... if it can be done. A place where people do not commit crime, are super nice and honor others, will have less problems. We have a bunch of out of control children running around... and it's getting the rest of us in trouble. Some of them are police.

[wolfcat87]

@007kingifrit You're literally arguing with the Supreme Court... That's a losing battle, since they are the final authority in this country. Talk about being uneducated. Ha ha

[wolfcat87]

Police do not have higher rights than citizens. That misconception is part of the problem. No one is above the law.

I do agree that police need better relations with the public, but that fear is there for a reason. It is not needed. Northern European countries do much better without that fear or brutality. The issue is too much power. Studies have shown that humans given too much power are naturally inclined to become abusive and brutal with it. Experiments testing it have had to end early, because people had nervous breakdowns from the abusive side.

[007kingifrit]

@wolfcat87 what's with all the blacks that refuse to surrender to police jeez

police can arrest you, you are not allowed to resist arrest

shut up and obey the law

[lightbulb27]

@wolfcat87 why do you think European police have to use less fear? Gun control and drug control? I suspect a lot of our issues are drug related...

[007kingifrit]

well i am perfectly fine with having a high death rate from police if it means keeping my guns. the past 5 months have proved to us that guns are necessary even when we think things are peaceful

[wolfcat87]

@007kingifrit Gosh, you are an embarrassingly ignorant waste of air...

[007kingifrit]

@wolfcat87 go on and resist arrest. we'll see how that goes for you

[wolfcat87]

I agree that drugs are an issue. Mental health treatment and how we treat children are major factors as well. I don't agree that guns are, because areas with the tightest gun control laws in the U. S. have some of the highest violent crime rates...

[lightbulb27]

@wolfcat87 Agree! Our "system" is not setup to recover people, at any level I can find. I tie some of that to the disconnect of church and state which attempts to exclude church. The problem dwelling in the human spirit. A lot, not all of the problems, are heart issues. It's so expensive and time consuming to help an adult wounded as a child.

[NYCQuestions1976]

I completely agree with the update.

Anyone who tries to compare this to George Floyd's death is crazy. This guy fell asleep at a drive through, showed signs of being drunk when awoken, was administered a breathalyzer test, he failed the test, and was being arrested for driving drunk. As soon as he was being placed into custody, he resisted, fought the two police officers, took one of their tasers, started to run, and pointed the taser at the cops. Then he was shot twice and died at the scene.

Also, for anyone who foolishly wants to claim that he should've been left alone because he wasn't dangerous to the public: You can't claim this as a certainty, just like I can't claim he would've definitely killed someone by driving drunk. Without police intervention, he may have made it home safely, or he could've killed an innocent family. Either is a possibility, and we also don't know what the toxicology report will show besides alcohol after the autopsy is concluded.

The bottom line is this: Sometimes we pay the ultimate price for the bad and/or illegal decisions we make.

[sensible27]

Maybe they shouldn't have shot him, it didn't seem like a thing someone should be shot at. Not everyone know what the rules are and what the police can or cannot do. Dugged people should be treated as irrational people doing anything (I am not even sure if he should have been shot if he was sobre and sane while doing that). Imagine trying to run from a major crime and getting a death sentence just for running, seems immoral. Should have let the guy run away. Cop should be told/taught how to fight and subdue though. Better than just shooting people who run away or try to run away.

[sensible27]

*minor crime.

[not329446]

I'm only commenting on the rules.
It is clearly well established law. Do not resist. Keep your big mouth shut or be charged with verbal assault.
If you don't like what a cop does, file a complaint later. A haphazard attempt to evade arrest is not worth risking your life. If cop causes injury you have opportunity to seek redress in the federal courts.

[sensible27]

Yeah but it's not thought is schools right? Even if it is/was, many people don't go to or have never gone to one. Maybe before shooting officers should be prerequisite to say 'you are running away, I am allowed to shoot you (legally) and I am going to if you don't stop" a certain number of times. Be a little considerate, not everyone is well educated, priviliged or has had the opportunities like you've had, but they are still doing what they can/their part...

[007kingifrit]

its common sense it doesn't need to be taught in schools

[sensible27]

Apparently not, common sense is not that common. The word itself means common (which doesn't include all). It's like saying it's an average iq thing (yeah okay it maybe) but there are always people above and below the nunber (iq) by the/it's very definition.

[007kingifrit]

you don't need to be taught not to resist police, anyone who does isn't worth saving

[sensible27]

You don't need to be taught anything, anyone who can't learn it all by themselves isn't worth saving.

[hellacray]

Dont forget the guy was drunk. And apparently has a criminal record as well.

Seriously people need to stop defending criminals. This is natural selection right here.

The guy was drunk blocking the drive through. He failed sobriety test and was getting cuffed but he fought back. Stole a taser from an officer and pointed it at him.

What the hell did you think was gonna happen when you do dumb shit like that? Good riddance the human society don't need an idiot like that.

Now what bugs me is that they fired the cop. The guy was defending himself. And trying to get this fool off the streets.

If this guy managed to get away who knows what he would've done. I mean he's drunk and now he has a taser you want somebody like that running around on the streets?

[RickPen]

He had driven drunk, was publicly drunk, resisted a legal and rightful arrest for those reasons, and stole a weapon from the officer, then assaulted the officer by firing the weapon.
He was definitely guilty, and should have been arrested.

The use of deadly force from the officer while the guy was running away, after firing the taser (non-lethal weapon) was uncalled for, and I agree that it should be considered murder.

This one likely isn't about skin color, but a cowardly, vengeful cop who thought shooting someone in the back was good, when he should've called it in. If civilians are unable to shoot a mugger in the back who's running away, then police shouldn't be above the law, either.

[MasRus]

There's no doubt he made mistakes and could have hurt someone else but to shoot and kill him is extreme especially by people who are paid and supposedly trained to protect the lives of people.

How many people did the police (who are supposed to protect lives) put in danger at that restaurant for shooting at him.

In fact a guy filming while at the restaurant had his little daughter in the car as the cop ran past wrecklessly shooting he could have easily shot and killed this little girl or many others.

In that video you clearly hear the cop pissed off saying you Mother Fucker as he shot repeatedly at him.

The suspect didn't try to kill anyone. If we think this way every time some has a fight they should be shot and killed.

[Avicenna]

Brooks resisted arrest, fought with the police after they attempted to handcuff him and took a Taser from one of the cops. He's responsible for those stupid actions, although I personally don't think he should have been shot.

The cops will probably avoid conviction since a 1989 US Supreme Court ruling (Graham vs Connor) gives the police the right to use force and "the "reasonableness" of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight."

[Avicenna]

Upon further reflection, the situation with him having the taser was dangerous enough to justify him being shot.

The fact that he was drunk and in the vehicle was enough for an arrest for drunk driving.

[burlen]

What is murder? Cambridge dictionary: "the crime of intentionally killing a person". Collins dictionary: "Murder is the deliberate and illegal killing of a person".

Is it lawful to kill someone who is resisting arrest? No!
Is it lawful to kill someone who hasn't been charged of a crime and is running from captured? No!
Is it lawful to exert a disproportionate deadly force on someone because he is resisting arrest? No!
Is it lawful for me to kill someone who has stolen from my home? No!

Rayshard Brook's was murdered, regardless of the circumstances. Pure and simple. Hence, that's why there's first, second, and third degree murder.

[Joeharbor]

is a lawful to kill somebody when you think your life is in danger? Yes. He grabs a taser and pointed at them. He could have paralyzed the cop, stole his gun and murdered the police officer.

[Metlahaed]

I don't want to watch the video but from my understanding he put himself in that situation by resisting and taking the taser. Once that happened, death by gun is a very plausible outcome , without the officer at fault. I heard he was shot in the back, which may complicate things a little, did he shoot to kill? Did he still have the taser? If he shot to kill, it could have been handled a little different once he was turned around and unarmed, if he was still armed, then this is kind of how it had to go down. Still shouldn't shoot to kill though.

[EABsTUQ]

I'm not picking any sides on the matter but it is important to note that Rayshard waived is right away multiple times in the video. He didn't have to do some of those test etc etc. The police were building a case against him and because he clearly didn't know his rights he helped them do it. Not saying it would have ended differently. in my opinion the cop made the decision to killed him, pretty easily, knowing he didn't have a lethal weapon. I can't be down with either party on this one. Just because Rayshard clearly didn't care about drinking and driving doesn't mean we stoop down to that level which that cop did and a lot of these commenters are doing. The cop could have just chased the man down without shooting him. He was drunk... With great power comes great responsibility and people dont understand that for some reason. It's all about being logically and systematically right these days. Literally the problem with humanity we never question the game.

[supercutebutt]

I am not in support of killing anyone. But when you attack police and steal their weapon the way he did, I think you are sorta asking to be killed. If I acted that way, I would be surprised if I escaped alive. I have been pulled over a few times and it never crossed my mind to suddenly act like a deranged freak.

[0oGreyo0]

full story the cops was nice to him and tried to tell him to park over there and sleep. And asked him nicely. One of the cops said he didn't want him drinking and driving.
He fought the cops and took a tazer and got shot in the back.

Seems fair

But theirs tons of video of drunk white people fighting cops and even one stealing a police car afterward and not shot.

It's a 50/50on this one. I'm on the side he would of got murked when he reached for the gun. BUT HE RAN AND THEY shot him in the back. So there's that.

[Jersey2]

I watched the videos and at first the cops seemed really nice to him given the circumstances, they cut him more breaks than he was owed.

Then he fought and took a shot at them with the taser. I don’t think they had to kill him though but they were the ones there and it is easy for us to say so when we aren’t the ones in that hair raising situation which escalated almost instantaneously as they had no warning as to what he was planning to do.

I bet his toxicology report will be interesting.

[Paris13]

He was in the Wrong, No Doubt But---Why have to Shoot him in the Back Twice? That cop Could have Shot him Twice in the Leg.. Trigger Happy and mad Because he took his "TOY" away from him. This cop has Already been in Trouble in the Past for Gun problems. But hearing Georgia has Their own Rules on this. xx

[Amanda2]

I always say this if they don’t have a gun shot them in the foot to limit movement

[007kingifrit]

you have no idea how guns work, we never tell poilce where they have to shoot the target its too unpredictable. if they have been fired upon in any way they can shoot. that's that

[Amanda2]

@007kingifrit you’re right I don’t have any idea of how a gun works. It has never interested me. I have a business and I can have a gun but I’m just not interested. I still think the shouldn’t have aimed to kill him, but dude shouldn’t have been an aggressor, so the police has a great defense

[SicilianSlice]

@Paris13 how can you say the cop was Trigger Happy? Georgia has made it known that tasers are lethal weapons in the state. Rayshard took that "TOY" you downplay so much, a named it towards the cop. If it's lethal in a cop's hand, it's equally as lethal in the aggressors hand. Play stupid games, Win stupid prizes

[JackSmy]

NO WAY do I think he should have been shot in the back, fleeing!! EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE!! Those officers were NOT IN DANGER, and just shot him down!!
Both should be prosecuted, at the very minimum!! Even if he did have a taser, taken, and turned it on them, that is NOT A LETHAL WEAPON!!

[JackSmy]

To the one who DOWN-VOTED: MAN-UP and explain why!! Did you think he should have been killed?

[Bananaman177]

Here's his criminal record:

"Cruelty to children," hmm, I wonder what that was all about. . . simple battery, family battery, kidnapping, stealing, fighting with police. . . seems like a real model citizen and upstanding member of society.

Or a good boyfriend and future husband for supercutebutt. Yeah, he'd be a great Dad, sounds like. Sigh. . . what might have been. . .

[severance]

I think they could have handled it so much better and prevented the escalation... Even if he ran off with the taser... let him run! Why turn it into an even worse situation and bring out your gun? Especially when there are other people still in the drive-thru, at risk. It was negligent in so many ways.

[wisefool]

The police were actually very nice to him before he resisted arrest, fought the officers, tried to run away and taze them. The criminal escalated it in the worst possible way. It might as well have been a suicide.

[Tyrael]

It wasn't murder, but I'd say it was manslaughter.

He was wrong to resist arrest and wrong to grab the taser from the cop. However, he was drunk and not thinking clearly. It's happened hundreds of times before with drunks and cops. He grabbed the taser and ran because he didn't want to get tazed. That's pretty simple. If someone tried to taze me I'd try and stop it too. Shooting him in the back was unnecessary. He's not a threat if he's running the other way.

[Liam_Hayden]

This is far less cut and dried than George Floyd. Clear resisting arrest, took one of the tasers. Take a weapon from a cop and what are they supposed to think? From the perspective of the cops: if he disables the closest cop he will grab his firearm and then there is real trouble. I know they are calling this a homicide, but I don't see a jury convicting on this.

[jennifer_bloom]

Most likely he had worked 20 hours straight to prepare for his daughters birthday and give her the time of her life while sleep deprived and fell asleep while preparing to buy her her favourite birthday dinner - he was doing it for his daughter and not himself - if he was doing it for himself he would have waited until he was less tired to buy the food

[supercutebutt]

Where did he work?

[jennifer_bloom]

He had a car so must have had money to pay for it

[supercutebutt]

Oh well, OK. So you are assuming he was working. I thought you knew something. Brooks admitted to drinking and he failed the breathalyzer. I think he was just drunk.

[jennifer_bloom]

News stations slander dead people to prevent riots - everybody knows cops lie

[supercutebutt]

I'm not sure if you are trolling but Brooks is on tape admitting to drinking prior to taking the breathalyzer. Then he failed the breathalyzer. That's why he was being cuffed.

[BoountyHunter]

He couldnt even get his story straight...
the man was very clearly drunk
and the cops treated him very nicely (honestly they were very patient with him)

[Blacksnake285]

@ asker! Why do you ask a question if you're gonna give your opinion on it anyway? 🤣🤣

[ZackBan]

It's called "death by cop" it's a form of suicide and it's basically resisting arrest until shot.
Some might argue he had a taer not a real gun but see cops aren't Batman protocol dictates that can't take chances. Because if somehow this perp managed to harm anyone in any way it's on them.
Policing is not all black and white it's dangerous enough as it is and cops really have little room to make decisions where mistakes are fatal.

[Amanda2]

He shouldn’t have been killed, he should have complied. However Americans are very entitled and ill mannered irregardless of race. Your culture is ingrained by selfishness and being qualified for a lot of privileges in life. With that being said I think this country has a lot of work to do. It’s citizens have gone mad. They lack respect for themselves, the law and other citizens. God truly has blessed America

[Meatunnel69]

Cops who use deadly force when the assailant is clearly not a deadly force themselves are grade A pussies.

That being said just obey the fucking law and you likely won't have these issues unless a no knock warrant is issued for you and they break into the wrong address to shoot your neighbor dead by mistake but oh well right? 🙄

[007kingifrit]

its childish for you to call them pussies. you clearly have never been in a life threatening situation. cops have every right to defend themselves. if they are in ANY DANGER they can use lethal force.

they were in danger because he fired the taser at them

[boredguy01]

I don't think it was entirely necessary to shoot him but it was definitely justifiable and I have zero sympathy for him. He already assaulted the cops, so the officer had no way of knowing if he was planning to turn around and take his gun if he hit him with the taser

[blutwolfe]

everyone is saying excessive force, but it's really not. He had a stun gun firing it at cops, and when you're in that situation things can escalate, he can hurt innocent bystanders, hijack a car, hold them hostage, take down a cop and grab his weapon, like the options are limitless, especially with someone like his record.

obviously he was new, panicked and shit happened, the better officers usually have prior military service. It definitely is justifiable though regardless

[Raymond11]

Well first of all, taser isn't a lethal weapon. And second if the cop felt that was about to do any of those things you mentioned, I'm pretty sure they had being taught what to do in such situations. Regardless, it's a case of power abuse and using excessive force. Yes, that guy did resist law and deserved to be arrested but getting shot for this petty crime is on a whole another level. You can't just go around shooting anybody and then say "oh but he had a taser pointer at me." To round it up, the most extreme that cop should be allowed to go in such situation is to shoot the accused in a limb. Killing someone for just pointing a taser is not justifiable in a democracy.

[blutwolfe]

@Raymond11 they're taught to shoot dumbass, it's a 10$/hr job

[Raymond11]

In that case improper training is also at fault. And what are you trying to imply by stating its a $10/hr job? It is giving impression that this shooting is justified because chasing, arresting, then interrogating and filing the case and fighting is just too much a trouble to through for someone who is earning $10/hr. Also what if, arguments on similar lines were used by a criminal who shot someone beacuse they tried to stop him from stealing? Not sure who side you will be then.

[blutwolfe]

it's basically a minimum wage job, the quality and care is gonna be the minimum, let's not beat around the bush, we're taught to shoot, you're clearly not American

[Mossberg500]

@Raymond11 "Shoot in the limb" Yeah you're not American, or have watched too many TV shows. You've clearly never handled a firearm. Even an experienced shooter like myself couldn't accurately aim at a moving "limb" especially not while a taser is pointed at me.

A taser isn't lethal of it in itself.. typically, however it does render you powerless. So now the police should just let themselves be wrestled down by thugs and have their weapons stolen, pointed at them. and only after all that, "aim for limbs?" What a clown.

Also the US is a Constitutional Republic. A democracy is mob rule. A Democracy would have these Urban cities with all these hood rats electing ALL Politicians. This is why we have an electoral college and voting districts. Not too bright aye?

[Drumlin2001]

If he had thrown the taser away then run the cops have no justification at all. But for him to take the weapon, aim it at the cops, it gives them a decision to make about their safety and the safety of others. From the sounds of the video he was resisting even after being shot.
But i'm not a trained officer. I dont know what the terms of engagement are for firing live rounds, the officer has been fired so would seem that they handled it wrong.

[ItalianGuy322]

I will be the first guy to tell you most cops are pieces of trash and most of them will kill anyone because they usually do get away with it but this guy did use a taser on the cop first so maybe he shoudl not have been killed but he definitely did put himself in that position.

[supercutebutt]

MLK said to judge a man not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character and Rayshard showed us his character with what he did prior to being shot. He was not being mistreated by the cops and drunk driving is indeed a goddamn crime. It would be nice if he was alive and going to prison for being a drunk driver AND a violent criminal piece of shit but that's not how it turned out. But he 100% determined his fate when he decided to attack those officers. It was a fucking stupid thing to do.

[ItalianGuy322]

@supercutebutt yes it was and this whole thing is just a bunch of division caused by the media and anybody who falls for this BLM vs cops BS is being played big time. They want some sort of civil war to happen.

[supercutebutt]

Listen up. Racism exists in the USA and black people have been mistreated by cops and others for as long as the US has been a country. The BLM served its purpose by bringing this to everybody's attention. HOWEVER, in this instance, that wasn't the case. Rayshard was at fault. Should the cop have showed greater restraint? Yes, perhaps. But I cannot in good conscience fault the cop more than the dickhead who violently ATTACKED him. When you fight with police and then steal their weapons, EXPECT TO DIE. Jesus fucking Christ, what he did was the definition of dumbassery.

[ItalianGuy322]

But you cannot agree with the riots and the division going on for the past few weeks right? There is no cops vs black people it is not real. There are many black cops there are just as many good cops as bad ones. Without cops everything falls apart even more than it already has.

[supercutebutt]

I don't believe one side is all good and one side is all bad. It is a mixture and that's why we need smart leaders.

[ItalianGuy322]

I don't trust any of our leaders they are only it for themselves all of them Pelosi, Trump it doesn't matter they are all the same and none of them are working for us they are all working against us.

[The_little_gay_robin]

@supercutebutt ok now you listen up, a man is dead. Instead of calling him a dumbass and other names consider first of all that you dont have access to all the information or the unedited footage, and secondly that legally justified or not this is a horrible thing that has happened and there might have been a number of ways it could have been prevented. MLK said a lot of things, but you don't need to name drop him in every response as though it makes you right by default.

[ItalianGuy322]

@The_little_gay_robin why don't you back off the girl she is right on this. The fucking gay tasered a cop what the fuck did you expect the cops to do? They have to make a quick decision. If you were in their shoes what would you do? Let the guy do that to you?

[ItalianGuy322]

guy* not gay

[supercutebutt]

@The_little_gay_robin A man certainly is dead. And it didn't have to happen. It would be great if he wasn't dead BUT his actions determined his fate. 100%. I know for a fact that if I was a cop and I was doing everything right, being nice and following the rules and then some jackass ATTACKS me, steals my weapon, runs off with my weapon while discharging it at me, I am not going to sit around hoping for the best. A motherfucker is going down that night. Sorry. When you fuck with people like that, sometimes you get what you deserve. Do you honestly believe that the criminal wouldn't have grabbed the officer's gun if he could have? And how did that cop know he didn't grab his partner's gun in the struggle? He was out of his mind, crazy and violent. Fuck that guy. I hope there is a Hell and he is rotting there right now. That fucknut ruined what was a valid point a few weeks before. Now everybody is fighting over bullshit.

[Joeharbor]

of course it's an excuse to start a civil war. It's not even about cops anymore, BLM want all white people to suffer for crimes they somehow commmited 200 years before they were born.

[Mossberg500]

If this is the guy from ATL I saw the video. Blatant and violent resistance of arrest, attempt to take the weapon from the cops... And I don't even like cops or support the thin blue line. They hate me and my movement. So I can be fairly objective on this.

It was without question a warranted shooting. Anybody who says otherwise either A) Hasn't watched the footage. B) Is a virtue signalling white guilt loser or C) Both.

[destrosio]

A policeman who has his weapon stolen is a fool and is unsuitable for that job, and if a policeman has had his weapon stolen, he is responsible for what is done with that weapon.
The life of the policemen was not in danger since the taser is not a lethal weapon, and this from my point of view does not trigger any reaction from the police with firearms.
Whoever shoots from behind a man who runs away is a murderer.

[Anonymous]

He was murdered. It was a taser, not a gun. Sure, what he did was stupid, but they could’ve talked to him like they do with everyone else. Or shot him in a non-lethal area. He didn’t need to die for this.

[AquaShadow]

Are you retarded?

[Opinion Owner]

It’s my opinion, which is what the question asked for. He acted in a stupid way, however I don’t think he should’ve lost his life for it. He should’ve be arrested and shot in the foot or leg. Overall everyone in this situation could’ve handled it better.

[Amanda2]

Why ask for others opinion and insult them when they voice it? Are you okay?

[007kingifrit]

they talked to him for 25 minutes... he still fought back

and its a tazer sure but if you get hit with the tazer he will take your gun next. he already demonstrated a willingness to steal weapons from police

it was totally justified

[Anonymous]

He obviously did some major things wrong, however he shouldn’t have been shot dead. The police knew it was a taser he had, not a gun, and he was running. To then fire 3 shots, two of them hitting him in the back, is way excessive. I’d definitely judge this as homicide. If they really had to resprt to shooting him it should have been a single shot to the legs or something, so he would have had a better chance of survivig, not 3 shots aiming at his back.

[WhereAmI]

Just another example of excessive force. It could have easily been descalated if they just held him until a relative came to pick him up or drive him home. As I understand he wasn't guilty of drunk driving since he wasn't on a public street driving.

[WhereAmI]

I could be wrong since it varies from state to state.

[supercutebutt]

He had to get to the Wendy's by taking public streets, though. So that is a crime.

[WhereAmI]

He might have a valid case contesting it in court since nobody saw him pull into Wendy's with the car.
I know someone who got off for a similar offense saying he came back to his car after drinking to sleep off the alcohol he drank. Now if he can be charged driving on private property intoxicated, that I'm unsure. I know in my state you need to be on a public road to be charged.

[supercutebutt]

Sadly, he can't contest anything now.

[DaveDavidson]

Well they were effectively trying to hold him, he was the one who tried to run away when they tried to arrest him. Which is what happens when you get caught driving drunk.
And I'm pretty certain the fact that it was just in a drive-through is totally irrelevant.

[007kingifrit]

he attacked the cops with a weapon, he got what he deserved

[WhereAmI]

@007kingifrit Yeah, but the argument is whether deadly force was necessary for being attacked with a non-deadly weapon. I'm sure the cop will get off for it since it's up to them to determine whether deadly force was required.

[DevilsAdvocator]

Excessive force/=murder, though. And did the cop have any way of knowing that Brooks had only grabbed the taser, as opposed to having stolen his partner's firearm in the scuffle? Do you think that he'd have been sacked, and faced murder charges at all, if Rayshard Brooks weren't black, and/or if the cop himself was black? I very much doubt that.

[007kingifrit]

yes it was 100% necessary to shoot him, cops lives were in potential danger and the shooter had already fired a weapon at them, and already stolen a weapon from them

after he hits them with the tazer they would be incapacitated for 7 seconds... you think he wouldn't have stolen the gun and shot them next?

your life is clearly too safe if you aren't ok with this shooting

[not329446]

I see popular opinion says no.
He was responsible for setting the stage. Resisting arrest is highly likely to result in serious injury. Your going to be punched beat kicked
Shooting someone for running is just plain wrong.
There's a severe training issue here that says shoot first and ask questions later. If a weapon is pointed your way shoot. Being a non-lethal weapon don't matter. They will claim that in the heat of battle there is no time to hesitate, just shoot!

[Raymond11]

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Levin]

What a disturbed nation.

No respect for human life at all. Calls itself a Christian nation, too. What a crock of shite.

[KrakenAttackin]

@Levin. Eat shit Levin.

[supercutebutt]

The problem is, Rayshard was the one who showed no respect for life. Nobody who wants to live acts that way. And driving drunk is further proof he didn't value his life or the lives of others.

[Kurαȷ]

A person with multiple criminal records acting like... a person with multiple criminal records.

Big surprise.
As always, good riddance, criminals never learn.

[wolfcat87]

Actually, in countries that have better systems, most criminals do not reoffend. We just have a shitty country.

[BlckGrl]

He shouldn't have resisted however he was trying to run with his back turned so lethal force wasn't really necessary unarmed too. Also they say he was under the influence

[supercutebutt]

I do think the cop made a mistake. I just don't feel it was murder.

[BlckGrl]

Me neither

[DaveDavidson]

Whether their back is turned or not isn't really relevant, one can still aim a weapon behind them. And he was armed, with an officer's taser. So really it actually seems like a fairly clear justifiable shoot to me.

[007kingifrit]

he fired his weapon at the police, lethal force is justified

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

He had a high blood-alcohol level and passed out behind the wheel
he should not resist being arrested but then he should of not been shot
for running

[Freddy78361]

He was murdered because of his own stupidity.
He put himself in a position to get hurt and his behavior was stupid but he shouldn't be dead.

[wisefool]

You would be saying something different if he ended up causing a fatal accident or hijacked a car with a hostage.

[Freddy78361]

You think he should be dead?

[wisefool]

Considering his reckless driving, violent tendencies, and history of crime, I think they did the right thing. His rap sheet includes simple battery, cruelty to children, false imprisonment, family violence battery, theft by receiving stolen property, criminal interference with government property, and obstruction of law officer. This was a violent guy that lived a life of crime and had no plan to change.

[Freddy78361]

Did he deserve to die without a trial by jury of his peers?
He may have been a terrible person but that isn't the standard for the death penalty in the USA.

[wisefool]

He obviously didn't want a trial. He wanted to fight the police and try to get away. He knew he was going to prison. Like I said, this might as well have been a suicide. If he didn't try to shoot the cop with a taser, he might not have been shot.

[Freddy78361]

You haven't answered my question. "May as well be a suicide" is not a suicide.

[wisefool]

That's just your opinion. Suicide by cop happens all the time. If someone was running towards police with a gun in their hand and screaming, most would agree that's suicide by cop. In some cases, the criminal decides they would rather die than go to prison and that's considered suicide by cop too.

[Freddy78361]

The difference is running towards vs running away. We disagree.

[wisefool]

Of course I disagree. 20 Atlanta police officers have quit as a result of this. They realized what was really happening. They would be paid to defend the criminals that are attacking them and they would be attacked by media and fired if they defended themselves against the criminals. They decided it wasn't worth risking their lives for.

[Freddy78361]

They are paid to defend everyone. In this toxic political climate I applaud them for taking a stand and quitting. Police nationwide are being treated shamefully.
What happened in Atlanta was a horrible tragedy that was exacerbated by the nationwide protests and riots. Some of what the police chief did was unquestionably a knee jerk reaction.
But this guy shouldn't have died.

[wisefool]

So I guess you're another person that wants gang rule. Who are you going to complain to when your house gets broken into and robbed or one of your family members gets shot? By your own admission, violent criminals that drive around drunk deserve to get away with it.

[Freddy78361]

I do not want gang rule. I like the police. A lot. You are ascribing beliefs to me that I do not have.
Violent criminals that drive around drunk deserve to be arrested. I am not convinced that excessive force was not used.

[wisefool]

So you think the police should let him go, put out a warrant on him, then let him run away again over and over unless he pulls a lethal weapon on someone.

[Freddy78361]

I think the police officer was trigger happy based on his own experiences.
I think there was another police officer who had a taser.
I think police are supposed to chase people down and not immediately 'go for their guns'.
I think a police officer should only shoot if they feel an imminent threat/clear and present danger to themselves or their team. Tasers are single shot and had been used.
I think he used bad judgement and didn't manage the confrontation in a way that de-escalated the situation.
I pray that the next time you feel the police are harassing you that you don't get shot.

[wisefool]

Just to be clear, you can die from a taser. You can fall, hit your head and go into a coma. You can get shot in the eye and be permanently blinded. Actually police are fully allowed to shoot a suspect if he attempts to use a weapon on them, which he did. If he pulled up to my house drunk and tried to taser me, he would have been shot too.

[joemama24]

The Supreme Court case "Tennessee v Garner" says that deadly force may only be used if "the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others." A drunk man who attacked two cops and shot a taser at them is clearly a "significant threat." Rayshard Brook's actions lead to his death, and the cops are not to blame at all.

[EABsTUQ]

You're 15(no point being made) and it all depends on whether they recognize a taser as a "significant threat". in my opinion it isn't. Two wrongs don't make a right. Just because you can play the game correctly doesn't mean the game isn't a bunch of bullshit that needs to be changed.

[Anonymous]

I don't think he should have been shot, but he was definitely asking for trouble by doing what he did. He assaulted a police officer, stole his taser and pointed it at him. Who the fuck does that shit?

I have to ask... why do blacks resist arrest and assault police so often?

[wolfcat87]

No more than white people do... I watched 6 police offers pin down a white man in my front yard once. No clue what was going on, just saw it happen out of nowhere.

[Opinion Owner]

@wolfcat87 Actually, no. Blacks do resist arrest at far higher rates than whites do. Study after study done in cities across the US show that to be the case. Do whites do it too? Sure, just not nearly as often.

It is also a fact, which it seems most people are not aware of, that when a black person gets arrested they are actually no more likely to be killed than someone else getting arrested (slightly less likely, actually).

I hate police brutality whenever it happens, no matter the color of the victim's skin. I believe we need police reform. But we need to have an honest, fact-based discussion about the real issues here. We need to address the fact that blacks resist arrest far too often, and we need to discuss it honestly and openly. We need black parents to teach their kids how to protect themselves if they get arrested, which means doing what they are told and going peacefully, because if they don't they are putting themselves in far greater danger of being harmed or killed.

And we need to end the myth that blacks are killed by police at a higher rate than others. It's untrue and it just fans the flames of racism when we need just the opposite.

[wolfcat87]

Please, post these many studies. I will look at them.

As for the rest,

www.npr.org/.../after-a-traffic-stop-teen-was-almost-another-dead-black-male

He broke no law and simple asked for a search warrant from officers who were about to search his friend's vehicle. Crazy how you can do nothing wrong and still get beaten and killed for being black... Get your head out of your rear and remove the blinders.

[cloud9vortex1234]

Yes, wasn't one of them a study from Harvard by a Black Guy? If that's the case then you can't really make the argument the study is biased.

[spartan55]

Wtf... fight two cops take a taser from one and run... went from a night in jail to dead, as a result of being stupid.

[cloud9vortex1234]

I don't feel sympathy for the Rayshard Brooks. There's no comparison between this a George Floyd. He brought it upon himself. White People don't get a pass for this type behavior when it comes to cops and I'm not going to excuse it.

[Sabretooth]

actually, they do. look up Florida's congressman, Matt Gaetz.

[juliaanita]

@Sabretooth :) :)

[Sabretooth]

@juliaanita what if he was black?

[Anonymous]

He shouldn’t have been killed but I wouldn’t rule it as racism

George Floyd’s murder was brought on by racism

[supercutebutt]

I agree with the George Floyd opinion. But I am not picking up a racist vibe on the Brooks situation.

[Opinion Owner]

Me either and I’m African American

I’m apart of blm but I think it’s starting to get out of hand

[BoountyHunter]

thank you

I am quite liberal
and always supported the general movement of BLM

however..
to be honest?
with this..
im starting to lose respect

it feels like the BLM has some very prejudiced double standards...
so much nonsense is being spewed now

its one of the few times in my life I've ever come around to supporting the view points of people like Ben Shapiro

its nuts

[supercutebutt]

@BoountyHunter The answers are never on the far right or the far right. That's why we need moderates in office. Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, John Kasich. The 'D' and the 'R' is meaningless when they are moderates. We just need sanity to return to the country. Trump is the most insane, dumbass president we have ever had. He provides ZERO leadership.

[BoountyHunter]

Thts why i just ask sex questions o. o
ahaha

[007kingifrit]

there is not a shred of evidence to support the claim that george floyd was killed due to racism

[BoountyHunter]

@007kingifrit
Honestly
id say you have a point
We label ANYTHING that is between races (specifically White on Black) as racist
regardless of the cause

police brutality doesn't necessarily mean racism

[Ag0ny]

@supercutebutt I am not a Trump fan but I think it's silly to blame all of America's problems on Trump. Trump has only been in politics for four years. Hillary and Biden have been in politics for like forty years. Who can be more to blame for America's current problems? I think all of this excessive hate on Trump is ridiculous.

[NYCQuestions1976]

@Ag0ny I agree. Trump is crass and obnoxious and arrogant. He rants on Twitter and yells at reporters. However the economy was rolling and the unemployment rate was 3.3% before the shutdown. He also signed the criminal justice reform legislation and has been in talks with Andrew Cuomo and others for months about national infrastructure (something that gets little to no attention from either side and almost no media coverage because it's boring and not dramatic). That's why the timing of the impeachment bothered me so much (besides it being a waste of taxpayer money because the votes weren't there). It's like what we learned in grade school mathematics: "Order Of Operations". Get the national infrastructure bill done first, then they could all do whatever the hell they want.

[supercutebutt]

@Ag0ny Trump purposely divides Americans. I find that reprehensible. Read his tweets. The guy is a fucking jackass. He is what is known as a "shit stirrer." I've worked with people like that. They are a cancer and make for a toxic environment.

[007kingifrit]

actually trump never starts fights, he only responds to someone else who attacked him first

[Ag0ny]

I agree that he purposefully stirs shit up. Like how he calls it Chinese virus or calls Warren Pocahontas or stuff. He is a despicable person I agree. I don’t WANT to vote for him that’s for sure. Wow I hate us politics.

[007kingifrit]

@Ag0ny calling it the chinese virus is vital to prevent world war 3, this is our last chance to weaken china so we don't end up going to war to them

and warren earned her title by pretending to be an indian

[Ag0ny]

@007kingifrit I am Chinese so I don’t appreciate it. I was born and raised up in America and had nothing to do with the virus. White people came up with SmallPox but we don’t call it “white people virus”. We don’t say “we need to say this to keep them in place”. That is just white privilege speaking.

[007kingifrit]

@Ag0ny if you're a real American you hate china

[Ag0ny]

@007kingifrit Then "Real" America is dying. Chinese people move to America and have to re-program themselves culturally and then on top of that have to hate their own roots. That is some heinous evil only white imperialists can think of. Just like they forced Native Americans to hate themselves or Black Americans. If that is what you think you I fully support all the chaos happening to white Americans. You deserve your downfall.

[NYCQuestions1976]

Don't worry everyone. I'm sure Basement Biden will solve everything. 👍

[007kingifrit]

@Ag0ny it sure didn't take long to get you to start calling people white imperialists. once a red chinese always a red chinese

[Ag0ny]

@007kingifrit sensitive much? It’s not like I’m making stuff up.

[Ag0ny]

@007kingifrit just remember who cast the first stone here. If you don’t want to be targeted don’t target other people.

[Iron_Man]

I'd rather let somebody get away in that case then shoot them in the back

[spartan55]

Let him get away? Then he goes and kills an innocent civilian or three... he showed himself as a deadly threat, and the police are trained to stop deadly threats.

[Iron_Man]

All he did was fall asleep at a wendys drive through. He was running can't kill for that. They even have laws against somebody in your own yard running away from robbing you.

[julieanderson]

Murder the stun gun had already been used so it was no threat at all

[supercutebutt]

Apparently, a taser can be fired twice. And it was being discharged at the officer right before the gun shots were fired. I feel that Brooks was in the wrong here. I wouldn't expect to survive if I fight with
cops and steal their weapon and then fire it at them as I run away. It's suicidal behavior. And I wonder if he wanted to die or something because he was being a jackass extraordinaire.

[Kenwoodman]

He was wrong to resist and paid with his life, but why fo they need to put handcuffs on someone who was not violent and fully cooperating up to that point?

[supercutebutt]

Because he failed the breathalyzer and drunk driving is a crime.

[Cice711]

Yes and yes. Then he beat the officers up, resisting arrest, stole a taser tried to incapacitate an officer and then he was shot three times.

[Sabretooth]

he might have gone to become a congressman-like a white guy i know.

[Anonymous]

If he hadn't stolen the cop's taser he could have been tasered by that cop instead of being shot. Also when you fire a taser at a cop they are going to return fire.

[Raymond11]

At worst, they could have shot him in a limb. Killing somebody for simply resisting law is atrocious. Had this happened in any communist country, it would be justifiable to some extent. But in a democracy its a no-no. The cop went just too far and his lack of accountability and poor training are to be blamed.

[Levin]

@Raymond11 Indeed, to be fair even if you shoot someone in the limb, there's a reasonable chance they will die. But shoot indiscriminately multiple times like that and there's 100% chance they will die. Totally unreasonable amount of force.

[Raymond11]

@Levin completely agree with you on this. Apparently, as per some comments here, cops are trained to shoot on such situations. So now we know where the problem lies.

[Levin]

@Raymond11 Course they are. They're a criminal so 'subhuman'. Hypocritical and violent nation.

[Opinion Owner]

@Raymond11 Cops are trained to shoot center mass; and in the heat of the moment you follow your training. You can arm chair quarterback what the cops did; but the same could be said about Brooks. He didn't have to resist arrest, assault two officers, steal a less lethal weapon, and fire it at the cops as he was successfully escaping.

[Levin]

Sometimes a wider view is necessary. The guy's initial offense wasn't the gravest crime in the world. They totally bodged the whole operation. They should have just let him get away and catch up with him later if they couldn't handle the situation there and then. They let it go completely out of control. It wasn't worth taking someone's life over that. Someone who has mother, kids, what have you. I go back to what I said before.

I have read some of the other comments. And it just makes me think there's fundamentally different philosophies of life in each country. US is definitely a more selfish, individualistic and egoistic country. As I say, a wider view.

[Opinion Owner]

@Levin They can't allow him to steal a weapon; after that point they have to catch him. Brooks was complying with them until he was being handcuffed. He escalated the situation at that point.

[Levin]

Every motherfucker is armed to the teeth in the US. I don't think a taser makes much difference either way.

I go get where you are coming from though.

[Opinion Owner]

@Levin He had several felony convictions so he was prohibited from owning a firearm.

[007kingifrit]

@Raymond11 you're a total child, he attacked the cop, the cop has the right to shoot him. once the officer's life is in danger he is no longer required to show any restraint of any kind

[007kingifrit]

@Levin once the officer has been fired upon all force is justified. it is unethical to ask the officer to not exercise 100% force in protecting his own life

[KrakenAttackin]

This stupid negro was going to be arrested for a DUI, not a huge deal. So what does he do? He fights two cops, grabs a taser, and runs while pointing the taser back at an officer.

Fuck this idiot.

[AquaShadow]

The officer who shot Rayshard Brooks is a hero and he should get a promotion for handling the situation so well

[BCA6010]

No, very blatantly obvious that this was a justified shooting.

[SexyAsian]

No, he was resisting and took a cops weapon. Cops should be cleared.

[Blacksnake285]

Do you believe all white men are heros and all blacks are thugs?

[Blacksnake285]

I bet you felt those two rednecks in georgia who killed Amhad Aubrey when he was jogging is innocent. Asians are so pro white , anti black

[Blacksnake285]

You're not sexy, most Asians have tiny boons and no asses. Worse bodies, nowhere as good as black, Brazilian or latinas

[Ag0ny]

@Blacksnake285 I am Asian and I am not anti-black. Some Asians are stupid and backwards but not all of them at least no in America.

[SexyAsian]

@Blacksnake285 no i don't believe all white men are beros, and all black men aren't thugs. I know some very good people from all colors and faces and i know assholes on both sides as well.

[Ag0ny]

@Blacksnake285 There are many many white thugs too. I think the blaming on black people in America is wrong and excessive.

[SexyAsian]

@Ag0ny I don't blame all of them just the ones that do bad things. Sorry they make them all out to be angels on tv and in reality they aren't. If he wasn't resisting arrest he would still be alive.

[supercutebutt]

@Blacksnake285 Slow your roll, Blacksnake. You will be banned by the site if you continue posting garbage.

[007kingifrit]

@Blacksnake285 maybe this isn't a conversation for a 13 year old

[OddBeMe]

Running away and pointing a taser isn’t life threatening to the cop.

[supercutebutt]

I would say any person. regardless of race, who tries beating up a cop. taking his taser and running away with it as he discharges it at the officer, has a 50% chance of being shot

[OddBeMe]

Doesn’t mean the cop is right to kill. In fact, lawfully, he isn’t. Which is why the chief of police resigned.

[cloud9vortex1234]

Why didn't he just run? You know those tasers temporarily paralyze you, right?

[OddBeMe]

@cloud9vortex1234 Yeah, assault charges? Sure. Death sentence? No.

[supercutebutt]

The chief of police had nothing to do with this. So it was stupid that she resigned. It was only done to prevent further rioting. The timing of this is the only reason why it is "controversial." Any other time in history, Mr. Brooks would be a forgotten, stupid criminal who got what he deserved. Now he is looked upon as a some type of martyr and hero. In reality, his claim to fame was being a drunk driver and a person who violently resisted arrest. Maybe he was attempting suicide by cop? Well, at least he succeeded at something in life. We really have to stop celebrating dumbasses in America. Just because dumbfuck Trump is president, doesn't mean EVERYBODY is going to be rewarded for being a dope.

[OddBeMe]

Wow, you people are cavalier with a black man’s life. Nothing he did warranted a death sentence.

[007kingifrit]

actually it literally is life threatening. it could have hit the cops and then he could have taken their guns and shot them

also; cops are allowed to shoot if they are in ANY risk. they are not super heroes

[OddBeMe]

@007kingifrit He was running away moron. Spin how you want racist prick.

[007kingifrit]

he was running away AND firing at the same time. leave out that important detail

you are racist for hating the police and siding with a criminal

[supercutebutt]

Race has zero to do with my feelings on this. I am 100% judging Mr. Brooks on his character. Fully and completely. On the news they are now playing a video tape of Brooks after one of the many times he was being released from prison. Everybody is focusing on how he felt like he was being treated like an animal during incarceration. Well, this incident showed that he was treated that way because it is how he behaved. Watch the body cam footage of Brooks again. Everything would have been fine but BROOKS decided to act like a fucking animal and attack the cop FOR NO REASON. Should he have been killed for that? Ideally no, not but I am not surprised that he was. His actions increased his odds of death exponentially. He was a person who felt that he didn't have to behave in society. That we are less than him. Well, fuck you. It sucks that you died but thems the breaks, as they say. If the Bible has one piece of wisdom buried in all that nonsense, it's the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you'd like to be treated. Once Brooks broke that rule, everything went to hell for him.

[cloud9vortex1234]

If the cop was paralyzed by the taser that was taken. Then Brooks could have killed him. He could have then took his gun and shoot him.

[wolfcat87]

@007kingifrit He was no threat to the life of the police, so they had no right to give him the death penalty. It's unconstitutional. Anyone siding with them is an enemy of our country and our rights to due process and fair trials. If he had a gun or a bomb, then it would be a different story. But, he had a 0% chance at killing them or doing any real damage while he ran away with a tazer. They could have put a warrant out and tracked him down later with backup.

[supercutebutt]

@wolfcat87 You are acting like the cop had hours to ponder how he would respond to this lowlife attacking him, stealing his weapon and firing the weapon at him. Damn. The officer had to make a split second decision and now everybody is criticizing him and putting zero blame on the fucking criminal who would have KILLED THE COP IF HE COULD HAVE. Until all of us are in a situation where we have to make a life or death decision on the spot, I think we should stop judging this cop so harshly. I am confident he will get off with no charges but now his life is most likely ruined because everybody has decided to be completely irrational.

[cloud9vortex1234]

Yes, this cop was put under Difficult Circumstances and people are so quick to judge his actions. This is a Split-Second Decision. You don't much time to react when it comes to defending your life. I wonder how people would practice what they preach if they were put in the exact situation he was.

[wolfcat87]

They didn't need hours to respond. They knew he took a TASER. That is a NON-LETHAL weapon. That is why the partner who still had his taser used his taser before they shot him. So, they had plenty of time to think.

Could you imagine if medical professionals tried to complain that they needed HOURS to decide whether to save you, let you die, or what to do next? EMTs deal with violent people, yet they/we don't sit around killing anyone and would be sued and charged if we did.

[OddBeMe]

@cloud9vortex1234 “What ifs” don’t give cops license to kill.

[cloud9vortex1234]

It does if their trying to prevent themselves from being killed.

[OddBeMe]

@cloud9vortex1234 Not what if’s, What is. If he was aiming a lethal weapon, then yes, they’d have a reason to kill. But a taser ain’t lethal bc of what ifs. If I’m carrying a shovel you couldn’t kill me bc I could swing it at you.

[cloud9vortex1234]

What if he was running from the cop and pulled a shotgun out the crack of his ass?

[007kingifrit]

tazers can put police in lethal situations, so it is a lethal weapon by making them vulnerable

a cop can use lethal force to avoid being vulnerable to lethal situations

[OddBeMe]

@007kingifrit No, cops don’t have absolute lethal rights. And tasers aren’t considered lethal. There may rare cases of lethality. But the suspect running away should have given the cop many more options that shooting him in the back.

[007kingifrit]

the taser doesn't have to be lethal, the incapacitation from the taser is lethal. so for that reason the cop can shoot anyone using a taser on them

[OddBeMe]

@007kingifrit You don’t know what you’re talking about. Anything can be ‘incapacitating’ at the right moment. You’re view is to give cops license to kill anyone. If theyre RUNNING AWAY there’s no fcking threat.

[Joe__Exotic]

He passed out, he was driving drunk. He was certainly doing stupid things. Not sure he should have been killed.

[supercutebutt]

I don't think he should have been killed... but I also don't feel he was "murdered" due to racism.

[Joe__Exotic]

So do cops now let every one who fights them and runs away just go? Is that better for our society? What if the next guy wasn’t a drunk driver but a gang banger and her runs away and shoots into a crowd and kills people?

[wisefool]

I'm glad he was killed. He was a violent criminal with a history of violent crimes. He could have ended up killing someone innocent.

[Gedaria]

He was resisting arrest, what did he think would happen...

[Anonymous]

He should've just refused the breath test. But still i don't they should have shot him. just chase him down until he passes out again or gets tired.

[007kingifrit]

he stole a weapon from the officers and fired it at them

[wolfcat87]

You're smarter than the police! lol

[WadeDanielSmith2]

God says he was at fault for his own death. First of all he broke the law by being drunk in a public place, secondly he broke the law by stealing a police weapon, so God says the police officer was justified in shooting him.

[supercutebutt]

So you are talking to God now? That sounds sane.

[Amanda2]

This dude hides his racism behind his God

[ItalianGuy322]

@Amanda2 He hides his racism? The fucking guy was drunk, resisting arrest and took a cop's weapon and used it on him? Anybody else did that they would be just as dead right now.

[crmoore]

It was his own fault. He aimed a weapon at a police officer?

[Anonymous]

Not murder... manslaughter. The cop shouldn’t have shot Brooks, but if Brooks hadn’t resisted arrest and tried to attack the cops, he would still be alive.

[NerdInDenial]

Don't forget he pointed the stun gun at the police officers.

[Blacksnake285]

That was dumb but would he of been killed if he were white or Asian? And they said white privilege dont exist

[A_Bell]

@Blacksnake285 *have been

[Anonymous]

He was a violent criminal with a long record who tried to shoot a cop and get away with driving intoxicated. We are lucky Rayshard Brooks didn't end up killing someone.

[chriscdi]

well he didn't fight them, he probably wouldve been alive but maybe not, I don't know anymore

[supercutebutt]

I didn't like how this turned out, obviously. But Mr. Brooks didn't seem like he valued his own life by acting that way. It was so weird. The cops seemed perfectly friendly to him and in turn, he seemed cooperative. Then he just snapped. This didn't seem racist to me. It just seemed like the cop who shot him reacted to the situation he was suddenly in.

[chriscdi]

yep he was shocked, its wrong to be trigger happy but lets not say the guy was innocent

[supercutebutt]

What I am feeling is that in the heat of the moment, sometimes there is no time to think. You just react. The cop knew he ran off with the taser. He obviously knew he didn't steal his gun... but how could he be sure he didn't take the OTHER cop's gun? He was wrestling both of them before he ran. So it's hard to fault the cop 100% for what he did.

[chriscdi]

yea and not only that, they can't just let a dangerous criminal run back into society

[Red_Arrow]

How did the cop know that he didn’t have machine guns and anti tank weapons at home. You don’t shoot people based on what you don’t know!

[supercutebutt]

@Red_Arrow I agree. But I think the cop simply reacted. Brooks was being a dick. George Floyd wasn't, as far as we can tell. It's kinda like Michael Brown, when that happened. He was also being a dickwad. Sometimes there are repercussions to bad behavior. It can increase the odds of bad things happening.

[Red_Arrow]

And investigations after the fact are suggesting that there was some matter of financial debt to a woman that he freaked about. Not worth a death penalty. Police behavior has gotten so bad (for some) that the corrections are liable to push us over a bad precipice.

[supercutebutt]

@Red_Arrow Certainly not worth the death penalty. But wrestling with cops, throwing punches, stealing a taser, running away, then shooting the taser at a cop might result in something bad. That's all I am saying. I feel life is an odds game and you are risking your well being by acting like a dunderheaded fool.

[Red_Arrow]

True. But the cops have to rise above dunderheaded fools.

[supercutebutt]

@Red_Arrow I agree. But with so many dunderheads, the odds say that sometimes sumpin bad will happen. That's why Trump is always saying or doing something stupid. He is also a dunderhead and the probability that he will fuck something up is increased.