The Risks

So yeah, I'm back after a little break. Haven't posted so much since I first opened this blog. I see all you regulars in the stats. Thanks for checking in. :-) Anyway. The following is old news for people who keep up with such things: Florida Cops Shoot Unarmed Black Man In His Mother’s Driveway With the usual excuse: Sheriff: Deputies said man 'lunged' from car before he was shot in his yard

Deputies Jeremiah Meeks and Matthew White responded to a 911 call on Saturday of a possible burglary and found Roy Middleton, 60, rummaging through a car in the 200 block of Shadow Lawn Lane in Warrington, Morgan said. Middleton was searching for a loose cigarette in his mother’s car.

Morgan said the deputies reported that, after they'd made multiple commands to Middleton to show his hands, he eventually lunged out of the car and spun toward them, causing them to "fear for their safety."

"As much as we are trained and as much as officers -- which have Type A personalities -- like to say we are in control, we are not," Morgan said at the conference.

During an afternoon press conference, Morgan played the 911 call made by a neighbor along with the corresponding radio traffic from officers on the scene.

Middleton has said he was in his mother's car, searching for a cigarette. When he backed out of the vehicle, he had his car keys in his hand with a metal flashlight attached, he told his mother. The deputies opened fire.

So to review: This man was in his own vehicle on property that he had every right to be on. He was looking for something in his car and a neighbor called the police to report something suspicious and a 60 year old man (60 year olds don't commit many crimes)was shot.

I wonder if the neighbor, being all concerned and all, bothered to call the owner of the residence that he thought was being burglarized. I suppose not. They aren't THAT neighborly.

But this underscores one of the reasons why people in certain communities do not call the police (or cooperate with them). It is a well known fact that police are more likely to shoot a black person (usually male) due to a claim of "feared for their lives" regardless of whether there was a fear of anything. In some situations the police themselves create a situation in which conflict can occur. I'll use myself as an example.

A few years back I was doing my 6 month oil change. I had music playing and my top down. Someone in the complex I live in did not "appreciate" the music I was playing (not loud, but with the top down, audible). They decided it was a good idea to call the police. I was going in and out of my residence with tools and towels and stuff when I saw unmarked police cruisers go by at a high rate of speed. I thought to myself that something must be going on somewhere and went about my business.

So I was leaning into my vehicle with a chrome tool for something or other when lo and behold I found that I was the police business. Two officers, one of which was gripping his sidearm came at me with some "turn that down". Now imagine that these officers saw the flash of chrome from the tool in my hand and "feared for their safety"? Luckily for me it was daylight. Night time could have ended a lot differently. All because some neighbor didn't have the courtesy to lean out a window and say "Excuse me, I'm trying to sleep."

That's not much different than what happened here except that the suspected offense was more than noise complaint.

And lest some idiot says "well he was rummaging in a car late at night." Let me reming you that anyone can drop anything of value in their car at any time, including late at night and be found looking between and under seats.