I was going to write on the matter but saw a
post on Counterpunch that sums up my issues rather well:
If tennis great James Blake had done the obvious thing and resisted being tackled by an apparent thug on a New York sidewalk who didn’t identify himself as a cop before attacking him, he would probably be dead today like Eric Garner, or at least seriously injured or tased.
This is also what I thought. There is no way I'm going to be standing and minding my own business and allow someone to run up on me with no resistance on my part. It is very clear that had Blake defended himself as he had a right to, he would be either dead or seriously harmed. No person has to tolerate any other citizen putting their hands on them. If police want to effect an arrest of a person who has been pointed out as a thief or whatever, then they must present themselves as police.
There was, in other words, absolutely no reason for the officers not to simply identify themselves and ask politely to see his identification. Even then, if at that point they still suspected him, they could have taken him peacefully to the station for questioning, as they would ordinarily do had he been a well-dressed white guy, instead of a well-dressed black guy.
Absolutely!
Mind you I don't cosign the obligatory "jail for minor or non-violent crimes" rant Lindorff goes on but in the case of Blake, Lindorff is certainly on point. Police, particularly those in plain clothes ought NEVER approach a citizen in a threatening manner because that citizen may rightfully and lawfully assume that his or her life in in danger from a stranger and use any means to protect themselves.
