Do all black lives matter, or only those killed by cops?

[HairOfTheDog]

I propose they stop stealing and killing, that should go a long way to fixing things

Less crime would, of course, be positive.

But, I haven't seen anyone complaining or protesting about criminals of any color being killed by police in the commission of armed robbery or murder.

- 14 year old Andy Lopez wasn't stealing or killing when he was shot multiple times by police while carrying a toy gun.

- 12 year old Tamir Rice wasn't stealing or killing when he was gunned down by police while playing with a toy gun.

- Unarmed 19 year old Dylan Noble wasn't stealing or killing when he was shot 4 times by police.

- Philando Castile wasn't stealing or killing when he was gunned down by police while legally carrying a permitted gun.

- Unarmed Walter Scott wasn't stealing or killing when he was shot in the back five times by a police officer.

- LaQuan McDonald wasn't stealing or killing when he was shot 16 times in 13 seconds by a police officer, most of those shots coming when he was lying still in the street.

- Eric Garner wasn't stealing or killing when he died after complaining he couldn't breathe while being restrained by several NYPD officers.

- Schizophrenic Kelly Thomas wasn't stealing or killing when he was beaten to a bloody pulp and complaining he couldn't breathe while crying out for his dad to help him.

- 6 year old Jeremy Mardis was not stealing or killing when he was shot multiple times by off duty cops working as city marshals.

-Eric Harris wasn't stealing or killing when he was shot to death by a pay-for-play volunteer deputy who mistook his revolver for his taser gun while Harris was fully restrained by police officers.

The list goes on. In several of those cases, the police floated false narratives that were contradicted when video of the incidents surfaced. Some of the cops involved were clearly trigger happy or otherwise using excessive force, as was acknowledged by their own departments. Some of the cops involved may have been too nervous or untrained and created a lethal situation by incorrectly approaching the scene or panicking.

Better police assessment and de-escalation training, police body cams, better screening and more accountability for police officers...would help minimize similar unnecessary deaths of people of all colors at the hands of police. I don't think it's reasonable for anyone to object to those kind of reforms.

Note: I do acknowledge that some of the cops in other high-profile cases (Michael Brown, for example, in my opinion) were likely following procedure / training and truly defending themselves from a real or reasonably-perceived life threat when they used lethal force.