01-05-2015, 05:00 PM
I'm one of "these people", Six. I'm not black, but I am blind according to your perception, none-the-less.
Tamir was at a youth center park, steps away from his home, on the weekend; his older sister was nearby. That's not a sign of bad parenting. Tamir was playing with a plastic gun in an aggressive fashion; that was juvenile and possibly stupid -- nothing more or less. Tamir didn't run when police pulled up; that was right. If he was told to throw down his weapon instead of putting up his hands, he did the right thing by reaching for his waistband too. We don't know what, if anything, the cops instructed Tamir to do in the 1.5 to 2.0 seconds before they shot him to death.
We do know for a fact that the cops approached incorrectly, wrongly assumed that the male would run and left themselves no opportunity to assess the situation, were unable to maneuver their vehicle as they'd intended, shot what they believed was an armed male within 2 seconds (despite the area being open-carry and there being no bystanders at risk), and then lied about the male's actions and the scene before video surveillance contradicted their false narrative.
So, I'd like to understand specifically what you think Tamir's family, his community, and people like me are missing when we choose not to blindly accept the cops' latest version and instead push for an objective investigation using our first amendment rights.
Tamir was at a youth center park, steps away from his home, on the weekend; his older sister was nearby. That's not a sign of bad parenting. Tamir was playing with a plastic gun in an aggressive fashion; that was juvenile and possibly stupid -- nothing more or less. Tamir didn't run when police pulled up; that was right. If he was told to throw down his weapon instead of putting up his hands, he did the right thing by reaching for his waistband too. We don't know what, if anything, the cops instructed Tamir to do in the 1.5 to 2.0 seconds before they shot him to death.
We do know for a fact that the cops approached incorrectly, wrongly assumed that the male would run and left themselves no opportunity to assess the situation, were unable to maneuver their vehicle as they'd intended, shot what they believed was an armed male within 2 seconds (despite the area being open-carry and there being no bystanders at risk), and then lied about the male's actions and the scene before video surveillance contradicted their false narrative.
So, I'd like to understand specifically what you think Tamir's family, his community, and people like me are missing when we choose not to blindly accept the cops' latest version and instead push for an objective investigation using our first amendment rights.