General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Officer Salamoni put his gun to Alton Sterling's head and said, "I'll kill you, bitch." [View all]Blue_true
(31,261 posts)One even took out a smartphone and played with it. A black guy would have been Swiss cheese before the phone left his pocket or before he could touch the screen
The problem in some of these places is that police officer jobs are the highest paying, a similar dynamic exists in big cities. The jobs get filled mostly by second, third, fourth generation whites that have the family legacy, or by ex-military who don't softly putdown resistance. I don't know what is the best solution other than no nonsense training on escalation and commanding officers that don't look the other way when junior officers cross the line or make racially based jokes or judgements, and a chief that sets a clear, color-blind agenda for the department.
The movement toward open carry laws in some states will likely lead to more police shootings, if the tendency of an officer is to tense up and become a little fearful when a black guy has a gun, proper outcomes may not happen. Determining whether the guy legally or illegally have the gun may not happen.