Violence erupts after latest series of fatal cop shootings
11th July 2016 · 0 Comments
Nearly two years after police in Ferguson, Mo. gunned down 18-year-old Michael Brown and several other officer-involved killings led to nationwide protests, two more Black men have been fatally shot by cops, sparking marches and protests in major U.S. cities like New York and Chicago and the killing of four law enforcement officers in Dallas, Texas and the wounding of 11 others.
Two civilians were also wounded in the shooting melee.
The Thursday night, July 7, killing spree in Dallas during a protest march was preceded by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, La. on Tuesday, July 5, and the July 6 shooting of 32-year-old Philando Castile by police in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Sterling, a father of five, was confronted by two Baton Rouge cops and fatally wounded after being tasered and pinned to the ground outside a convenience store whose owner had granted him permission to sell mix-tape CDs and DVDs outside the establishment.
While the police department confiscated the convenience store’s camera footage of the incident, the deadly encounter was captured on film by several bystanders and immediately went viral.
Among those who witnessed the killing was Sterling’s 15-year-old son.
Philando Castile was in the car with his fiancé, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter. He was shot after telling police that he had a gun on him and his fiancé informed the police that he also had a permit in the car. Reynolds said the police fired four or five shots into the car, which police reportedly stop because of a broken taillight.
As Castile lay bleeding in the car, Reynolds live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting to Facebook, speaking calmly to one of the officers , who can be heard on the live stream swearing and screaming that he told Castile “not to reach for it.”
The live-stream video also went viral, setting the stage for Thursday’s nationwide protests.
On Thursday morning about 4 a.m. protesters gathered outside the Minnesota governor’s mansion demanding justice for Philando Castile.
The governor did not mince his words in condemning the fatal shooting.
“Would this have happened if the driver and passengers were white?” Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said Thursday. “I don’t think it would have. So I’m forced to confront that, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront (that) this kind of racism exists. It is incumbent on all of us to vow to do what we can to see that it doesn’t continue to happen.”
The U.S. Department of Justice said it would investigate both officer-involved shootings.
The family of Alton Sterling, residents and members of the civil rights community have called for the resignation of Baton Rouge’s police chief.
Baton Rouge mayor-president Kip Holden promised the community that there would be no cover-up in the investigation of the July 5 incident.
“We have to introduce young people to law enforcement earlier so there is trust, there is confidence,” Louisiana Gov, John Bel Edwards said. “And we have to make sure that law enforcement are the professionals that we all want them to be.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took a moment last week to denounce the officer-involved shootings in Baton Rouge and St. Paul, Minn.
“From Staten Island to Baltimore, Ferguson to Baton Rouge, too many African-American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident,” Clinton said. “Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country does;t consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin.”
Speaking from Poland Thursday, President Barack Obama said, “Even as officials look into this week’s tragic shootings, we need communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference. That’s how we’ll keep our communities safe. And that’s how we can start restoring confidence that all people in this great nation are equal before the law.
“In the meantime, all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration and grief that so many Americans are feeling — feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils,” Obama continued. “Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let’s reflect on what we can do better. Let’s come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.
“It’s incumbent on all of us to say we can do better than this,” Obama added. “We are better than this.”
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus issued a statement Friday that read:
“Last night’s disturbing and cold-blooded violence in Dallas, resulting in the deaths of five brave police officers and the wounding of seven more, was an ugly continuation of a week of tragedies which have shaken our country. It is devastating to see those who wake up every day to protect us senselessly gunned down in the line of duty. Our hearts break for the families of these slain officers as well as the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and our thoughts and prayers are with them as they try and put their lives back together. All life is precious and it grieves us to see it lost in the many ways it has been this week. All of these tragedies need to be investigated and justice needs to be served in an open and transparent way.
“It is deeply troubling what is happening in our country, and this dark and divided time must come to an end. We must seek understanding with one another, and work as one nation to prevail over injustice in all its forms. Americans want to see our differences resolved in non-violent ways.
“We commend law enforcement officers around the country for serving their communities and putting their lives on the line every single day. The sacrifices they make to maintain law and order allow us to enjoy the freedoms we are so privileged to have in this country. We honor the daily calling of police officers across the nation who represent the shield with professionalism, fairness, and restraint, and we express the highest gratitude for their service.
“Now is a time when we must come together as Americans. We are better than racial division, senseless violence, and feelings of lost hope. Now is the time for strong leadership that includes everyone in the same, shared vision of the American Dream. In every era, America has shown an extraordinary capacity to rise above even the bleakest tragedies. Let us work together, let us heal together, and let us stay together.”
“How many more wrenching videos do we need to see before there is real change,” Jamira Burley, a campaign manager with Amnesty International USA, told USA Today.
“We are being hunted every day,” Valerie Castile, the Minnesota victim’s mother, told CNN Thursday. “It’s a silent war against African Americans as a whole.”
This article originally published in the July 11, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
