I Am So ANGRY!

[indianasmith]

I lived in Wolfe City, TX for 14 years.  It's a tiny East Texas town of 1500 people, with a tiny police force of three officers.

I did not know Jonathan Price, but many of my friends there did.  He was 31 years old, a high school football hero and college football player who came back to his home town after he finished his degree and got a job there.  He mentored troubled kids and worked as a personal trainer at the local gym.  No criminal record, and often talked on his FB page about how he supported the police.  He was loved by everyone in the town, black, white, and Latino.

Saturday night, at the local gas station, he saw a man beating up his girlfriend and intervened.  The abuser attacked him and he defended himself, and then the local cops arrived.  Jonathan put his hands in the air, and began trying to explain to the officer what had happened.

The cop hit him with a taser, and Jonathan flinched.  As his body convulsed from the current, the officer shot him in the chest, and as Jonathan spun around and fell to the ground, shot him two more times in the back.  Price died at the scene, for no other reason than he tried to rescue a young woman from her abuser.

   This is WRONG, and it happens far too often.  Sadly, the immediate reaction on the part of far too many people - mainly white people - when an unarmed black man is shot by the cops is to point out why he deserved it.  "Well, he was on drugs."  "Well, he raped a woman 12 years ago."  "Well, he shouldn't have resisted."  None of those are reasons for summary executions.  But none of them apply to this case.  Jonathan complied with the officer's commands.  His hands were in the air.  He was unarmed.  He was trying to explain what happened.

They tased him, they shot him, and then, according to at least one account, they handcuffed him as he lay there dying.

Would any of that have happened if he was white?  I doubt it.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

I'm a middle-aged white Republican, but I will say it again for those in the back of the room:

BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!

We need to quit acting like they don't.

[pennywise37]

i agree this is messed up i did hear about this too man

Stephen King a rich white guy said this in his on page 1 in his (2018) book "The Outsider  


when it opens with two black kids hanging out in a park & see an unmarked Police Cruiser King writes

The Rule Was Simple: when Five-O shows up it's time to go. Black lives matter, their parents Instructed them  but not always to Five-O

[Rev. Powell]

Can't believe this keeps happening. 

[bob]

 

[Allhallowsday]

Are there that many blind cops?  Are there that many foolish cops?  This story is stunning.

[LilCerberus]

According to CNN, the DA isn't wasting time...
Awfully sorry about your friend.

[pennywise37]

i too am sorry about your friend

[indianasmith]

The police officer in question was arrested last night and will be charged with murder.

[pennywise37]

good he should be now let's cross our fingers and toes that he will spend the rest of his life in jail

[RCMerchant]

Doubt it.  
Cops get off scott free lately.

I hate cops.  

[ER]

I'll say what I always say in these matters: may justice be served.

[RCMerchant]

I'll say what I always say in these matters: may justice be served.

Don't happen too often. IE- Breonna Taylor.

[Jim H]

Doubt it.  
Cops get off scott free lately.

I hate cops.  

With the Rangers investigating and a charge so quick for a cop and there's bodycam footage involved - it must be REALLY egregious, to the point a conviction is pretty likely.  My 2 cents anyway.  At least that's something.

[RCMerchant]

^ The cops responsible for Breonna Taylor's death were arrested and got off with a slap. It was a case of negligent homicide. They charge cops all day long. Don't mean they will be prosecuted. Most walk away.  
I don't take anything for granted anymore.  

This is the world we live in.
When this s**t happens over and over and over- it ain't no bad luck. Some people are being targeted.
We live in such a polarized world...it's gonna affect cops. It's affecting everybody. But it doesn't excuse murder. NEVER!
I don't like cops! Never have! Never shot one!  
Indy- I love you, man. You get it.
I know your not as insane as I am- but we do agree on things.

[Alex]

I did read a piece recently on why so many police seem to get away with murder in the US. Apparantly it has much to do with the terms of employment they have, although this seems odd to me. Surely existing law would overwrite any such contract?