As I sit on a bus of Charedi Israelis traveling to Bnai Brak, I learn about the most recent case of a white police offer shooting a black man. This time, the black man was armed with a knife and had just stabbed a Jewish Chabad student in Brooklyn. I feel the many parts of my identity crashing together as I watch the video of the standoff with the police. I watch how the man becomes increasingly agitated as he sees the cop brandish his weapon. I see the Jewish bystanders surrounding the man telling the police not to shoot. I wonder about the mental health of this 50 year old man who asked for a bible before stabbing the student. I already imagine the responses from people around the country to this event and I fear the potential chasm that may result in the justice movement underway. And yet, what is most apparent to me as I consider this multi-pronged tragedy is that deescalation does not only come in the form of a gun. Whether someone is armed or not, whether they are engaging in illegal activity or not, conflict may arise, which will require well-trained police officers to respond with sensitivity, humility, and calm. They must understand mental illness and threat perception. They must recognize that their display of a weapon, and even their very presence, escalates the situation and makes violence more likely. So as we mourn, march, and demand change, let us ask nuanced questions: not whether or not an officer had to shoot, but how do we provide police with more options so that they dont feel that they need to draw their weapon as a first resort. Or at the very least, not to shoot to kill.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 14:09:35 +0000
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