Rinku Sen
Killed by the Cops
A collaborative investigation by the Chicago Reporter and ColorLines Magazine found that in the nation’s largest cities, growing numbers of Black and Latino people are being killed by cops. New York was found to lead the nation in the number of fatal shootings, which has held steady even as the city’s crime rate decreases. On the same day our study was released, an unarmed eighteen-year-old Black man, Khiel Coppin, was shot to death in New York. Coppin’s death points to an alarming trend in law enforcement: shoot first, ask questions later. The study also revealed Phoenix is the most dangerous city for Latinos in the country, the striking lack of police accountability for fatal shootings in Chicago and a promising case study in Washington, DC that shows police shootings aren’t inevitable. To read more from “Killed by the Cops” visit www.colorlines.com.
Posted at 3:40 PM, Nov 14, 2007 in Civil Rights | Criminal Justice | Racial Justice | Permalink | Comments (2)
Comments
Maybe the Police feel like this, I'll take no chance at whether or not the perp will respond to my commands and drop the gun and just go ahead and remove the entire danger to me and the possibility that a gun might be there poses to me. Why, because he has the opportunity to make a pre-choice. and has decided that his life and the lives of his family are important too. Sure, he knew going in that he would be placing his life on the line and he was and is willing to do that. But, he also feels strongly that there is a difference in laying down your life for the innocent and laying down your life needlessly. Maybe too its better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Just a thought
Posted by: Tombogart | November 26, 2007 11:12 AM
Tombogart,
Are you serious?!
I hope that your thought was meant to produce some sort of ironic response from the reader.(My Fingers are Crossed!)
It is completely understandable for a police officer to want to protect themselves and partners while in the line of duty, but self defense is different from MURDER. The "perp" can be disarmed with one bullet, not 20 as in Khiel's case.
If you really think that it is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6, will there be a 12 left to judge, if a man holding his wallet or hairbrush is a potential "perp"?
You differentiate between laying down life innocently and needlessly. Do you think Khiel/Sean Bell/Diallo/ lost their lives innocently or needlessly?
Posted by: Tobi Jaiyesimi | November 27, 2007 11:36 PM