Open Carry? Open Season? Strange Fruit, indeed.

[johnny9fingers]

I'm so glad I'm not a black chap in the USA.

On August 5th this year a chap called John Crawford walked into a Wal-Mart while talking on his cellphone, took down an air rifle on display, and wandered around looking at other stuff, maybe to purchase, whilst still talking on his cellphone, before being gunned down by the local policeforce. This in

Comments

[sandwichwarrior]

So how is it that the gun was the problem and not the cop?

Guy walking around a wal-mart, talking on his phone, carrying a gun (by the stock no less) that has a price tag on it?
He's just shopping.

Meanwhile...
8 year-old white girl, middle of the ghetto, bunch of monsters, this time of night with quantum physics books?
She's about to start some shit.

[sandwichwarrior]

Fair enough.

[mikeyxw]

"police officers in the US are a law unto themselves"

Well, you've hit on it there. This doesn't really have to do with gun laws, you can find plenty of unarmed people who get shot by the police. This isn't even about race, black guys certainly get shot disproportionally frequently, but when white guys get shot, it follows the same pattern of investigation, dismissal by a grand jury, minimal, if any, disciplinary action, then a million dollar settlement. Really, all a policeman needs to do is say that they were scared and they're likely to get off. Procedures will be updated, training will be instituted, and cops will be put on paid leave, but nothing really happens. Usually the police brass expresses support for the cop who just shot some dude a dozen times for brandishing a ballpoint pen.

To show how far it's gone, when the federal government finally got involved to address complaints about the excessive use of force by the Seattle PD, the SPD officers sued, saying the plan to curtail the excessive use of force would "

[johnny9fingers]

Isn't curtailing the excesses of states organisations one of the things federal government is about?

If your police are out of control the rule of law is nothing but a fiction, as are your notions of your democracy, freedom, and justice. Well at least the cops can't fuck with Apple Pie.

[mikeyxw]

I'm not sure the police can really be characterized as out of control. It's really more that they are rarely held accountable for excessive force. For most people, this really just means that assholes who are cops will be free to act like assholes, for a very few, this will mean they'll get shot for no good reason. I wouldn't call it a breakdown in the rule of law, but the equal protection under the law is certainly less of a thing that it could be.

[johnny9fingers]

...they are rarely held accountable for excessive force.

That, to me, sounds like out of control.