Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Suicide is not a justification for a death. Someone makes up their mind to die and the police are the method? The police aren't prepared for action other than accommodating the suicide?

That is astounding. This occurs on the streets of the USA and the police simply accommodates the person seeking suicide. There are no other methods to bring a person under control? Just kill 'em. They were asking for it anyway. This country has a long way to go to move away from the killer cop.

August 19, 2014
By Meg Wagner and Corky Siemaszko

Two St. Louis city police officers (click here) shot and killed a black man who came within several feet of them brandishing a knife on Tuesday in a confrontation a few miles from the turbulent suburb of Ferguson, authorities said.
The man, 23, had taken energy drinks and a package of pastries from a nearby convenience store, Police Chief Sam Dotson told reporters. He said that the man was “acting erratically, walking back and forth, up and down the street.”
The chief said that the officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the knife. The chief said the man answered: “Shoot me now. Kill me now.” He said the man moved toward one of the officers and came within 3 to 4 feet.
“One of the witnesses described it as a suicide by cop,” Dotson said....

How often does it happen that cops kill mentally ill wishing suicide? I'm just wondering if police are a real source of death for those finding it difficult to kill themselves?

...It is no coincidence (click here) that the murder rate and gun violence rate spikes in large cities with large gun populations....

This article is typical of the excuses for 32,000 American deaths, including suicide, accidents and children deaths by gun. The excuse is there are guns in the USA and there are people that use them for self-defense and they have a right to have them. 

That is not a reason for 315 million guns in the USA.

This gun death was one where the person didn't carry one, didn't have one to kill himself. The death in Ferguson is one whereby the young man was unarmed and guilty of nothing. He was anticipating his college years and now he is dead.

There is a problem, a very real problem in socioeconomics that creates an underclass of people segregated and unable to find upward movement in their lives. The answer by society is when these folks are 'out of place' as Michael Brown, Jr. obviously was, or is SUSPECTED to be out of place as in the case of Trayvon Martin they are a threat. That is a fact. These folks are a threat when out of place. They are more than out of place, they are immediately criminals and the answer by the USA is to kill them with guns, either private or public. That is not an answer.

There are many, many entries on this blog about the problem of police safety. First it was moving from a 6 shooter to a 9mm semi-automatic. Now, local police are in military gear with armored vehicles. There are problems being a police officer, but, their absolute authority CREATES a threat. If police don't handle that threat well and abuse their power against unarmed citizens, especially those sensitive to their skin color, they don't need to be police.

Police wear uniforms so citizens can distinguish them as a person of authority. If someone is impersonating an officer it is a serious offense because it leverages power of the average citizen and not simply because the uniform indicates they belong to a club. In MOST instances when police are driving or walking citizens recognize there authority and there is incident. Often police are viewed as a reassurance or better said they used to be viewed as a reassurance.

It isn't unusual for citizens to recognize they are 'at risk' in the presence of police in the year 2014. There was a young woman with an infant in her arms when a Swat officer delivering legal papers simply decided it was in his best interests to kill the woman because he believed her a threat. She was completely innocent, opened the door without any resistance and was carrying her newly born infant, but, yet the officer believed her a threat. That 'idea' she was a threat was in the officer's estimation before he ever arrived at the door to the home and he was going to draw his gun at ANY idea there was resistance. The American police force HAS become far too dangerous. Many in the nation are tied of losing people because of stupidity.

There are entries on this blog that PROVE there are very poorly prepared police in the USA. They enter training and in 8 or 9 weeks they are given their badge, their gun and their pay check. The graduates then go on to be trained to be Swat officers. This is ridiculous. 

...The 2012 statistics (click here) show that the estimated rate of violent crime was 386.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,859.2 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. While the violent crime rate remained virtually unchanged when compared to the 2011 rate, the property crime rate declined 1.6 percent....

That statistic is up by 0.7 percent from the previous year. 

So, to gun advocates the country has to accept right wing zealots in Arizona and dead young black men in our communities just because that is 'the way it is.' We are suppose to accept 'suicide by police' is okay. That is crazy. Guns are the answer to everything now and technique, proficiency and excellent outcomes for citizens means nothing. The movement to protect oneself beyond any need for police has been sweeping the country. Where does that leave the USA and it's laws? The laws are only enforceable of the disadvantaged and don't apply to those that can afford their way in the world whereby police officers are never needed, except, to file the paperwork when someone is dead by reason of "Stand Your Ground" and/or "The Castle Doctrine."

What a country.

...Among racial and ethnic groups, (click here) blacks are over-represented among gun homicide victims; blacks were 55% of shooting homicide victims in 2010, but 13% of the population....

The deaths in number have decreased but USA minorities remain disproportionate in violence gun deaths. This graph is artificially effected because the USA military when at war is over 25 percent minorities (click here). So, when the USA is at war and our military personnel are in foreign lands, the domestic rates will be effected. Notably in 2008 the death rate of black Americans increases as poverty leads to crime. That is a fact. The wealth quotient among minorities compared to Caucasian creates a more deaths of the ethnicity.

Do something about it!!

Housing in the USA is skewed toward segregation. There may not be rules within the zoning of the city or town stating "Blacks live in the west end of town and everyone else lives where they want." It isn't that obvious. The opportunities and the ability to build wealth is just as much a zoning problem as the actual law. It is socioeconomic dynamics that creates USA segregation.