Cops, Shootings, and The Usual Knee Jerk Reactions

One of my big pet peeves is willful blindness.  I can't stand it.  I mean I really can't stand it.  I especially hate it when it comes to politics.  I will vote for a democrat if I believe they are best person for the job.  Now, that doesn't happen often, but in theory it can happen. In fact, I have voted for democrats in my life.  One was a protest vote for governor many years ago.  The republican candidate made this comment about the death penalty that I just couldn't stomach and I refused to vote for him, since I don't like not voting, I cast my ballot for his opponent.   

I don't like it any better when it comes to issues that while in practicality aren't political, but where one stands on that issue usually will fall within political lines.  Cops being a good example.  Generally speaking, the far left will almost always cry racism when a white cop has some sort of altercation with a person of color.  The right will, in many instances, say the thug got what he deserved.  Normally speaking it is far more nuanced than that.  

A shooting between a white officer and black man happened last weekend, the dead man was unarmed and running away at the time of the shooting.  The police officer told his story.  Once that story was told a person who happened to be walking to work that morning saw the incident and used his phone to record it.  Once this man heard the police officer's story he knew that his video told a very different story, so he turned it over to the family of Walker Scott, the man who was shot and killed.  

The video shows Scott running away from Officer Michael Slager.  The officer raises his firearm and shoots eight shots.  Mr Scott was struck multiple times in the back side of his body.  On the video the officer can be heard saying into his radio

"Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser."

The problem is that video doesn't back that up.  The police officer clearly went back to where he was standing, picked up an object, walked back to the body and dropped something on the ground near a dying man. All the while giving no medical attention to man whatsoever.  

A man has lost his life.  He was shot in the back multiple times by a officer who took an oath to serve and to protect.  That is his job.  That is what he is paid to do.  The fact that people are saying this man somehow got what he deserved is simply stunning to me.  

What is the NEED to run? The action of running caused him to be shot. If he didn't run the officer would not have shot him. He didn't like it that he was going to be arrested due to a warrant....so he ran

The punishment for that should be death?  No judge, no trial, no jury, just a verdict by a police officer, who in seconds, lies about what happened.  That is something we want happening in this country?  

I support law enforcement.  The reason I support law enforcement is that I believe in the rule of law.  With that belief comes the understanding that sometimes the people we need to protected from are bad cops.  They are out there.  That cannot be denied.  

As conservatives we should want all bad cops to be weeded out and fired.   Yes police officers do a dangerous job.  Yes they have the right to go home at the end of every day.  But so do we.  We shouldn't be shot in the streets by over zealous cops.  

I fully understand that more information may come out.  We have yet to hear the defense of the officer.  But conservatives can't stand it when liberals and the media make assumptions that a police officer is racist simply based on the fact the person they are dealing with has a different hue on the color bar.  Why then are so many jumping to the conclusion that officer was somehow justified in this shooting when the evidence, at this point, doesn't back that up?  

Mr. Scott was an unarmed man, running away from the officer.  He posed no threat.  Yes running away from the cop wasn't smart.  But again, the punishment for that isn't death.  That is something for a court to decide what the punishment should be, likely jail time.  Yes Mr. Scott apparently owed back child support.  Again, not punishable by being shot in the back and left face down in the dirt to die like a rabid animal.  

If you want to justify this you aren't looking at facts.  You are making a knee jerk reaction to protect someone based on the badge he wears.  Just ask Serpico how many that wear a badge that aren't doing it out some calling to protect you from evil criminals.  Bad cops exist.  Protecting them makes you look as willfully blind as the people who keep up the false narrative of "hands up, don't shoot" in the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.  

One of the principles of conservatism that I find most appealing is the equal protection under the law.  No one should above said law.  I don't care what uniform he puts on.  A cop doesn't get a pass simply because he is a cop.  He has the same rights as everyone else does.  Mr. Scott had rights as well.  Or, at least he should have.  

A social media friend of mine made a comment:

 Conservatism is only as good as that which it seeks to conserve.

Another example of what set me off today:

Sad part part is....this guy was arrested 9 times for refusing to support his children....he was willing to die, than to support his kids....and YOU people support that.....that is pathetic...

Yeah, I don't that thinking is worth conserving.  A knee jerk reaction to protect someone who wears a badge is no better than blaming an officer for protecting themselves against a criminal who means them harm.