Hobbs Thursday Thoughts As both a lawyer and a freelance journalist, I think that the most troubling aspect of last nights shooting death of Vonderitt Myers, 18, in St Louis is that I find it extremely difficult to trust off hand the police account that Myers fired three shots at the off duty police officer who was working a private security detail. There are so many questions in this latest shooting that must be answered, such as why did the off duty officer feel the need to walk up and interrogate the four young men in the first place? Was he aware of any warrants? Was he responding to a BOLO (be on the lookout)? Why did Myers take off? Was Myers fleeing a consciousness of guilt of some sort, or did he flee in fear of this particular officer since, as has been reported, Myers was no stranger to law enforcement. And as to that police statement, what does that mean, precisely? Even more crucially, I wonder whether we can trust the story that Myers fired three shots. Heck, it has been exactly two months since Mike Brown, 18, was shot in nearby Ferguson, Mo while unarmed and with the international scrutiny that Browns case has received, is it not convenient that Myers fired shots and a 9mm has been recovered? What evidence has been collected to prove that Myers brandished that weapon or fired it? Will the FBI run independent tests for prints on the shells or weapon to see if any evidence links Myers to it, or are we to trust the examination of Missouri officials once released? There are far too many questions folks and to me, the real tragedy lies in the fact that many of us no longer feel comfortable believing what is told to us by law enforcement. I mean, most reasonable people would agree that if a crime had been committed and during a pursuit, a suspect fired at an officer and was duly killled, that such is justifiable regardless of the race of the suspect and/or the officer. But the ever increasing proliferation of suspect police shootings and Tasings of supposed black suspects is enough to turn even the most optimistic black man or woman in America to a skeptic if not a cynic. And this morning, perhaps the worst aspect of my growing cynicism is that while so many blacks have titles: mayors, police chiefs, sheriffs, governor, attorneys general both state and federal and yes, even President of the United States, those titles inure precious few real or tangible benefits as far as lessening the occurence of crime and yes, police and/or vigilante violence in black neighborhoods across America.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 11:30:28 +0000
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