There were many ways this could have ended without the death of an American. I don't understand the laughter by the police officer before the other officer arrived. I thought the first officer cared about Mr. Brooks, but, it got out of control when the second officer decided to end the encounter and Mr. Brooks became afraid. I think the second officer was more zealous than the first. It would be up to Mr. Brooks to state what he was thinking when his first wrist was locked in a handcuff. We can only guess now.
It is a bad time in this country. There is little that can be said to make it better. Police need to be sensitive to the fact African American men and women are worried an encounter with the police will end in their death. This is not new. These encounters have been carried out for at least two decades. Today, however, our society is far more sensitive to the fact African Americans are being killed because of police and their wrongful protocols and not because there was the reason for deadly force.
There is no way anyone can justify the death of Rayshard Brooks. He was asleep in a car with the door open. He obviously didn't have control over his actions at that point that brought him to a car stopped in a fast-food drive-through. For some reason, he passed out. Whether it was due to alcohol hasn't been established. I find it very odd that a man would stop in a drive-through lane and lose consciousness. Alcohol or not, he was passed out. Difficult to arouse. He needed to be transported to a hospital for evaluation even if he did not pass the sobriety test. A word that the officers were concerned for his well being and had an ambulance on the way would have served the situation better than a wild chance of a man finding himself being handcuffed.
Mr. Brooks wrestled the taser (click here) from the officer's hand because he did not want to be tased. If Mr. Brooks was taken to an ER to be evaluated he wasn't blameless if he was guilty of driving under the influence. Police take people to the hospital all the time to be sure they are safe even if they are charged or going to be charged.
I cannot believe the police officer fired his gun in the vicinity of other people in cars at a fast-food drive-through. That has to also be considered when realizing he is unfit for service as an officer. Mr. Brooks was fatally shot while running away. Guns are not to control an unarmed man scared of the police.
Where was Mr. Brooks going to go? He didn't have his car and if he didn't return for it, it could have been impounded. There are many reasons to believe that Mr. Brooks would have to come before the law even if he got away. Mr. Brooks was no real danger to anyone once he was out from behind the wheel of the car. He was unarmed.
Life is hard enough these days without making it harder. The officers did not have masks on and had no idea if Mr. Brooks was well at all.
I want this aggression to stop, it is being used inappropriately with people that are no danger to others. Every incident in the past decades that have resulted in the death of a person by police should be evaluated and set right. While a police officer cannot be charged twice the record will be set straight and in that the beginnings of an answer to this travesty of government.
My other concern lies in the coroner reports that protect wrongful acts by police. George Floyd's government coroner report was crafted out of the imagination of the coroner. If there was one for George Floyd, there were others. Any coroner corrupting their reports for their own reasons, including covering up deaths by police officers, need to be brought up on charges and held for trial.
I have nothing more tonight. The country has enough to deal with.
