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But there was a video …

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But there was a video

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Susan Richards is a retired editor living in Thornton, Colo., near the family and mountains she loves. Her long-standing Pied Type blog contains some 3,800 posts dating back to 2002.

Categories Law, US18 Comments

18 thoughts on “But there was a video …”

  1. Even videos can be misleading. Everyone is entitled to a trial by jury of his or her peers.

    I hate the trial by newspaper taking place today. Maybe it was always thus, but the mob reaction it provokes is disgusting. Too many people have been lynched when newspapers got it wrong. We don’t have a free press, we have a rabble press.

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    1. Absolutely everyone is entitled to a trial. But the crime these days seems to be that so many cops are shooting and killing so many (usually black) men and never even go to trial. Even when there is a video.

      Business Insider ran an article just a few days ago that said there have been thousands of police-involved deaths since 2005, but only 54 cops were even charged and only 11 of those were convicted. Hopefully the increasing prevalence of videos of these shootings will bring about both an increase in prosecutions and a reduction in the need for them.

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      1. Sounds like the mag writer makes an irresponsible claim. Numbers are not statitics, and context is all. Not good to lump everything together.

        After being misquoted by various media from time to time during my career years, once by the Wall Street Journal, I learned long ago to examine all numbers and statistics very carefully. Just recently we have the example of the article from Rolling Stone mag. The frat they slandered is now suing.

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        1. Business Insider was summarizing numbers from a Washington Post study, among others. No entity in the US compiles numbers on all shootings by all law enforcement officers in the country. The numbers cited are only those that are known. We don’t know how many more have gone unreported. I’d be the first to admit figures can lie and liars can figure, but I think in this case it’s safe to assume the actual number of officer-involved shootings is higher than reported.

          The Rolling Stone story really had nothing to do with statistics per se. It was about a completely unsubstantiated story being written, published and publicized without the normal editorial checks and safeguards being applied. It was inexcusably bad journalism by both the reporter and her editors and several people should have been fired.

          I’d be the first to say I take the media with a large grain of salt. But in the last year or two there have been more than enough widely publicized cases of police brutality and excessive force all across the country to convince me there’s more to the story, not less.

        2. I’ll back you up on this one. What you say is correct.
          What concerns us here is the low standards(2 years community college) and low pay for police. Not always getting the best ones for the job with good judgement and maturity to make wise choices. Lots of macho-ism. Too many “high tech toys” police are anxious to try out. We’ve been saying for a long time, you do not want to draw any attention from police/law enforcement or have any interaction with them. Even the local activists are pleading “don’t run, follow any directions, stay quiet, and get to jail so you can call al lawyer and sort it out in a safe spot..not that police dept locations are exactly safe from inmates or wardens.

        3. I keep reading about black parents having “The Talk” with their kids about encounters with police — be respectful, be obedient, do as you’re told, keep your hands in plain sight, don’t reach for the glove box until asked, etc. Funny, I was taught all that as a kid and a new driver. It’s not exclusive to the black community. Never has been. To this day I say “Sir” when talking to an officer. The media may be exaggerating the seeming prevalence of bad cops, but there’s certainly evidence enough to believe there are a lot of yahoos and John Wayne types out there. Not to mention the poorly trained “volunteer deputies” who donate to the local cops in exchange for special favors like riding along, participating in arrests, and shooting suspects instead of tasering them.

          Still, every once in a while, you get one like Officer Jesse Kidder in Ohio who had the restraint and good judgment to not shoot an advancing suspect. Which was the right thing to do since he never saw a weapon. We need a lot more like him. And we need to pay them appropriately.

        4. Me, too. My husband, also. We were all taught that. Just sensible. Don’t argue with anyone with a gun and possible little sense and an ego to feed.
          With law enforcement job requirements so low and some of them so full of self importance and wanting to be big man and show you who’s boss, it pays to be extra careful.
          Jesse did good. Very good.

  3. P.S., PT. I find that I now have to log in to WordPress, Twitter or Facebook every time I comment on your blog. Yours is the only one of my subscriptions to do this thus far. Is this an intentional setting? Just asking.

    Jim

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    1. Sorry you’re having a problem. I know how irritating that can be. No, I’ve not changed any settings at all. When I had a similar problem on another blog, I finally figured out it was because the cookies I dumped included hers (it partially matched my “dumping” parameters). If you’ve deleted any cookies, that could be it. I hope so, I’ve passed up commenting many times myself when having to log in was one obstacle too many. I certainly don’t want to lose you and your wise observations.

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  6. Dead is dead. Murder is murder. Race, gender – none of it should matter. All lives matter.
    (and how to you tell a child “be careful, the cops may be dangerous” and have them have any kind of feeling of safe? Something’s got to change quickly. Cameras are a start…(.and the media not jumping to any conclusions before facts are known…like that’s going to happen)

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... and that's my two cents