What the heck? People are rioting because a cop defended himself against an armed robber?
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar says the Berkeley shooting victim was black and the officer white.
Belmar says police were called about a theft and as the officer questioned two men, one pointed a gun at him. The officer fired three shots. One hit the gunman.
A violent protest broke out. Two officers were injured, police cars were damaged and fire was set at a QuikTrip store. Four people were arrested.
It is very difficult to be a cop in this atmosphere. The anti-cop rhetoric and riots are causing a general breakdown in civil order.
I attended the Bucks game last night. The police did an excellent job in a tough situation trying to allow people to enter the game. I’ve run into the Hamilton protestors on many occasions the past couple months.
The positive thing is that I do not sense this particular group is gaining any grassroots traction. It seems to be the same 100 or so people, organized and directed by paid staffers from different community groups, some from outside the City.
Even most African Americans last night did not seem particularly moved by the protests. They just wanted to get in to see the game.
While I feel for the Hamilton family in the loss of their son, I think they are being used by some professional rabble rousers for political purposes. This whole thing feels much different than the situations in the past, going back to the Earnest Lacey days, where there was significant grassroots anger.
I’d still rather be a cop than a young black man in America.
Barack Obama, Ben Carson, Allen West, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, and on and on and on were young black men in America. Perhaps the problem is not racial but cultural.