F is for Fascism (Ferguson MO)

[birdman]

My initial response when hearing about this tragedy was "FFS, not again. Something has to give".

After reading about it, watching the heart wrenching video and taking time to step back from my emotions, I've changed my mind about this specific incident. In a perfect world, Mr. Bailey would be still alive and most likely behind bars. Possibly shot in the leg, detained and cuffed, but not dead.

Bailey did nothing to help himself in this situation and did everything someone can possibly do wrong. I don't think he would have been shot had he just been running and not reached for his waist band. The officers clearly didn't want to shoot the guy...They demanded over and over for him to put his hands in the air and chill out...Bailey refused, put himself, others and the officers in potential danger, and the result is the tragic death of the young man's life.

I'm a white male, who couldn't possibly understand the pain, fear and injustice that black men feel when encountered by the police, but that doesn't change the fact that Bailey would be alive today had be showed minimal compliance.

Isn't the standard for a police officer firing a weapon supposed to reasonable fear for life and self defense. If so, when they started firing, there was no self defense involved. We've had two officer fatalities in my small Alabama city with in the last year and I carry tremendous sympathy for officers and the fear they must have every day on the job, but this instance looks like excessive use of a fire arm to me because I don't see how anybody's life was in imminent risk when the police officer started shooting.

 

[WFcatamount22]

Those cops were too nonchalant and unprepared to confront someone they later claim to be too unsafe to let run away.

When they got the 911 call and heard the circumstances, they should have locked down the area, brought in major reinforcements and protection and the proper tools to apprehend this asshole. They knew the name and the address.

If he was too dangerous to let run AWAY from them, then why the fuck are they so casually approaching them? . The cops put themselves and this fuckwit in danger.

No one is arguing this kid is a saint or even very smart, but killing him was flat out wrong according to the law and to police procedure you fucking ninkompoops. A cop on here just told you that.

We are talking about a bunch of washed out losers with barely a high school diploma. You think they are capable of orchestrating something like that?? If these people people weren't out there shooting at criminals and being dicks because of deep seeded authoritarianism issues they'd be flipping burgers.

 

[DDA]

Those cops were too nonchalant and unprepared to confront someone they later claim to be too unsafe to let run away.

When they got the 911 call and heard the circumstances, they should have locked down the area, brought in major reinforcements and protection and the proper tools to apprehend this asshole. They knew the name and the address.

If he was too dangerous to let run AWAY from them, then why the fuck are they so casually approaching them? . The cops put themselves and this fuckwit in danger.

No one is arguing this kid is a saint or even very smart, but killing him was flat out wrong according to the law and to police procedure you fucking ninkompoops. A cop on here just told you that.

This.

Junebug and Creamy seem to ignore the context that led up to this event. And even given all of that, for god’s sake, he didn’t need be shot three times in the back and killed.

 

[DeaconSig]

We are talking about a bunch of washed out losers with barely a high school diploma. You think they are capable of orchestrating something like that?? If these people people weren't out there shooting at criminals and being dicks because of deep seeded authoritarianism issues they'd be flipping burgers.

Brad- is this the "Tunnels Left" to which you were referring?

 

[Gooner]

We are talking about a bunch of washed out losers with barely a high school diploma. You think they are capable of orchestrating something like that?? If these people people weren't out there shooting at criminals and being dicks because of deep seeded authoritarianism issues they'd be flipping burgers.

Maybe we should expect better from law enforcement rather than giving them a pass because “lol well they’re dumb and couldn’t be anything else”

 

[Biff Tannen]

Maybe we should expect better from law enforcement rather than giving them a pass because “lol well they’re dumb and couldn’t be anything else”

So, more training, fewer hours, and more pay. Lots of police officers have college degrees.

 

[Gooner]

So, more training, fewer hours, and more pay. Lots of police officers have college degrees.

I agree with all of that. Bernie was right, we expect police to cover every aspect of public interaction, from social worker to negotiator to risk assessment to actual law enforcement. If we want better results, we need to have more resources given to law enforcement. And not the usual resources like MOAR GUNZ!!!1!1!!

 

[PhDeac]

A lockdown and dragnet for a report of an armed robbery of someone’s wallet? What sort of resources do you think the Colorado Springs police department has? Also, talk about fascism. Geez. The police cannot, and should not be required to, conduct their affairs as if every suspect will bolt.

So he was dangerous enough to kill but not dangerous enough to warn people about?

 

[ImTheCaptain]

friday and gannon's faces might be a good replacement for the facepalm

 

[WakeandBake]

A lockdown and dragnet for a report of an armed robbery of someone’s wallet? What sort of resources do you think the Colorado Springs police department has? Also, talk about fascism. Geez. The police cannot, and should not be required to, conduct their affairs as if every suspect will bolt.

are you serious, Clark? You're whole argument to justify this shooting is based on "conducting their affairs as if the suspect will bolt." You just gave the cops a pass for shooting a man in the back.

A dragnet of a 6 square block area is too much to do, but murdering the guy for running AWAY from the cop and possibly hitting pedestrians with cop bullets is A-OK? You have no idea what you are talking about, sir. Zero. Go back to school you are embarrassing yourself

 

[WakeandBake]

I guaran-damn-tee that if an armed robbery suspect was loose in my whitebread neighborhood there would be a chopper and about 15 cop cars with full body armor cops and fire trucks and shit surrounding the whole area. I live in suburb of about 27k people. Police forces all over the country are awash in paramilitary equipment. good lord

 

[Strickland33]

A lockdown and dragnet for a report of an armed robbery of someone’s wallet? What sort of resources do you think the Colorado Springs police department has? Also, talk about fascism. Geez. The police cannot, and should not be required to, conduct their affairs as if every suspect will bolt.

Murdering a guy by shooting him in the back for a report of an armed robbery of someone's wallet? Be honest. Do you pleasure yourself when you're reading these reports of the police murdering suspects?

 

[MHBDemon]

I agree with all of that. Bernie was right, we expect police to cover every aspect of public interaction, from social worker to negotiator to risk assessment to actual law enforcement. If we want better results, we need to have more resources given to law enforcement. And not the usual resources like MOAR GUNZ!!!1!1!!

Ugh, just no

 

[Gooner]

Ugh, just no

Sorry that Anarchy in the USA isn’t going to happen anytime soon, might as well try to improve what we’ve got than life by the broken status quo

 

[MHBDemon]

Sorry that Anarchy in the USA isn’t going to happen anytime soon, might as well try to improve what we’ve got than life by the broken status quo

The whole current situation we are in, from police to prisons, was driven by the belief we could make them better by throwing more resources at them. Your ideology literally got us to the status quo. Reformers should be advocating less resources for police, and more resources for health, housing, education.

 

[WakeandBake]

It's as if Junebug as no inkling about police work or the laws of use of deadly force by law enforcement, and when a cop comes along and tells him he is wrong his head goes farther up his ass.

He keeps going back to the fact that this victim was (almost certainly) a criminal, an idiot, and dangerous to society to justify his murder in cold blood. We get it, he was all those things, but you still don't shoot him in the back.

 

[birdman]

A lockdown and dragnet for a report of an armed robbery of someone’s wallet? What sort of resources do you think the Colorado Springs police department has? Also, talk about fascism. Geez. The police cannot, and should not be required to, conduct their affairs as if every suspect will bolt.

The seriousness of the potential risk to the community is the justification you used for shooting this kid in the first place. What the fuck, man?

 

[TownieDeac]

The whole current situation we are in, from police to prisons, was driven by the belief we could make them better by throwing more resources at them. Your ideology literally got us to the status quo. Reformers should be advocating less resources for police, and more resources for health, housing, education.

Or put another way let's have the police focus on doing police things like protecting and serving. Not seizing civil assets or meeting quotas to fill municipal coffers. Not playing social worker or psychologist. Defund the paramiltarization, fund training for de-escalation and citizen advisory boards. Institutionalization has proven a failure in both the drug war and the way we treat mental health and poverty-related crime. Structural reform should replace a focus on just throwing more police and more guns at the issue.

 

[Gooner]

The whole current situation we are in, from police to prisons, was driven by the belief we could make them better by throwing more resources at them. Your ideology literally got us to the status quo. Reformers should be advocating less resources for police, and more resources for health, housing, education.

Or put another way let's have the police focus on doing police things like protecting and serving. Not seizing civil assets or meeting quotas to fill municipal coffers. Not playing social worker or psychologist. Defund the paramiltarization, fund training for de-escalation and citizen advisory boards. Institutionalization has proven a failure in both the drug war and the way we treat mental health and poverty-related crime. Structural reform should replace a focus on just throwing more police and more guns at the issue.

I mean I literally said this. I even shouted out your boy Bernie.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Isn't the standard for a police officer firing a weapon supposed to reasonable fear for life and self defense. If so, when they started firing, there was no self defense involved. We've had two officer fatalities in my small Alabama city with in the last year and I carry tremendous sympathy for officers and the fear they must have every day on the job, but this instance looks like excessive use of a fire arm to me because I don't see how anybody's life was in imminent risk when the police officer started shooting.

I certainly agree that it was excessive use of a fire arm. Firing at the dude 7 times was effed up and where they went wrong. I still standby my original post that Bailey would still be standing today had he simply complied, but I do agree with you that 1 or 2 shots would have sufficed. Also, I struggle with why they didn't solely go for the guys legs...Maybe they did and they have bad aim, which is also a problem.