Via David
Why the Left injects race into every police confrontation with the black community.
After the death of a young black man by a Milwaukee police officer,
riots, looting and fires followed.
In one instance, as a gas station
burned, people watching chanted, "Black power!" Local news reported that
the 23-year-old suspect was not only armed but that he also defied
orders to drop his gun. The Milwaukee police chief refused to identify
the officer involved, but did say that he was "black." At one time, such
a fact would suggest that racism and police brutality were not at
play.
But as the death of Freddie Gray — a black man who died
after being transported in a Baltimore police van — shows us, not
necessarily. Of the six officers involved in Gray's arrest and van
transportation and who were prosecuted, three were black. In fact, just
weeks before the death of Freddie Gray, a White House task force praised
the Baltimore Police Department, as well as its black chief, for
"implementing national best practices for policies and training" and
"use of force" reforms.
In Baltimore, at the time of Gray's
death, the No. 1 and No. 2 heads of the Police Department were black,
and most of the command staff and rank-and-file officers are people of
color. The mayor of Baltimore is also black, as are the majority of city
council and the state attorney who brought the charges. Four of six
officers were tried, and in each case the state failed to obtain
convictions. This led to the decision to drop charges against the
remaining two officers, and plans for the retrial of one of the four.
Zero for six.
