Patterico's Pontifications

4/24/2021

Constitutional Vanguard: 2019 Police Shootings of Unarmed Black Men, Explored

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:03 pm



As a follow-up to my recent post about an error in the Washington Post shooting database, I decided to look at all shootings from 2019 that database lists as shootings of unarmed black men. Over the next 2-3 weeks I will send out information to paid subscribers about those shootings, including what we have learned since the original reports.

I’m covering one shooting per email. I was going to put all of them in a single email at first, but it’s too much. The emails will go out once every couple of days for the next little two or three weeks.

The first one covers the shooting of Isaiah Thomas. All Big Media told you is that he was a naked 17-year-old child. There is . . . more to that story. Paid subscribers can read the rest of the story here. You can become one of them by subscribing here.

17 Responses to “Constitutional Vanguard: 2019 Police Shootings of Unarmed Black Men, Explored”

  1. Actually, although I say “unarmed black men” I didn’t click gender in the database, and one of the shootings — from Fort Worth — was of a female. As we will see, that one resulted in a murder charge for the officer.

    Patterico (e349ce)

  2. You would be hard put to find a case now that deserved to be prosecuted that required any pressure to get an investigation, let alone prosecuted. Sometimes there was an initial coverup by the first people there.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  3. Sammy I’m not understanding your comment. Can you reword?

    I’m usually quite interested to read your thoughtful takes and am not following here.

    nate (1f1d55)

  4. The DA decided not to prosecute the officers in September, 2019. Since then, people have been organizing protests and petitions to have him reopen the case.

    nk (1d9030)

  5. Is your example of a person who was unarmed, but then armed themself with the law enforcement officers weapon a distinction with a difference? I think so, but these days am hesitant to apply the obvious

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  6. The DA decided not to prosecute the officers in September, 2019. Since then, people have been organizing protests and petitions to have him reopen the case.

    Has any evidence emerged to support this request, though? I didn’t see anything, although I will confess I have not dug through all the lawsuit materials. I saw an editorial calling for bodycams, which I support, but I am aware of no actual evidence that undercuts the DA’s findings.

    The next newsletter features a case that does have bodycam footage. I’ll probably send that out in a couple of days. I hope people don’t tire of these stories; like I said, I could have put them all in one email. But it’s a pretty overwhelming undertaking for one email.

    Patterico (e349ce)

  7. Is your example of a person who was unarmed, but then armed themself with the law enforcement officers weapon a distinction with a difference?

    It seems like a distinction *without* a difference to me, frankly.

    Patterico (e349ce)

  8. Officers found Lewis running naked through the neighborhood, and they watched him break into an occupied home.

    I knew about “went into a home”, but not “break into” or “occupied”, from other stories. I think that pretty much settles it. It does for me, anyway. I have a home which I mostly occupy.

    Apparently, there was no multi-million lottery jackpot err Danegeld ahem settlement since Mr. Google says the family filed a federal lawsuit in July, 2020. Maybe they’ll still get something in the present climate. But no jury should find these officers guilty of anything.

    nk (1d9030)

  9. We cross-posted, Patterico. No, I saw no claims of new evidence except what I linked in 8.

    nk (1d9030)

  10. I probably should have included the breaking into a stranger’s home in the summary, nk. But there were so many salient details I omitted that one.

    Patterico (e349ce)

  11. Wholly understand the rationale behind this effort. But, as they say, ‘if you’re explaining you’re losing.’ You’ve nailed who the bad guys really are in this campaign of ‘heightened awareness’ with two words: Big Media.

    ‘Police shootings’ just happen to be the hottest “T&A” show of late across multiple platforms. It’s being done for the most crass and commercial of reasons, too: ratings; clicks and eyeballs.

    As an alumnus of this ‘big media’ monster myself, it is an alarming and disappointing trend; a ‘business plan’ put in motion by management helmed by 30-something news directors and editors chasing profits literally tallied minute by minute– while pursuing career boosting attention.

    Network’s Max Schumacher saw it coming: “Suicides, assassinations, mad bombers, Mafia hitmen, automobile smash-ups: “The Death Hour.” A great Sunday night show for the whole family. It’d wipe that fvckin’ Disney right off the air.”

    ‘Big Media’ is an increasing embarrassment today in the United States. But like one of their own creations, Donald Trump, it cannot be shamed to change– unless there’s a buck to be made doing so.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  12. Police shooting black men and women is symbolic racism to most in the black community. When what they call “whitey” brings up exculpatory details to defend the police actions, since the black men/women are symbols of white racism it has no meaning. Bringing up the checkered past of the victim (they even tried this with tamer rice) says its all right to shoot unarmed black men and women. Nbc news didn’t even show the picture of the 16 year old black girl holding a knife because it would be used by racists (the enemy to liberal nbc) as a defense. I don’t know and I don’t care racist! is the black communities answer to your evidence. If conservatives on supreme court come down with another dred scott type decision. Watch out.

    asset (56d6fd)

  13. You would be hard put to find a case now that deserved to be prosecuted that required any pressure to get an investigation, let alone prosecuted. Sometimes there was an initial coverup by the first people there.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 4/24/2021 @ 6:43 pm

    3. nate (1f1d55) — 4/24/2021 @ 6:56 pm

    Sammy I’m not understanding your comment. Can you reword?

    I’m usually quite interested to read your thoughtful takes and am not following here.

    The protests are all for nothing.

    You’d be hard put to find an exception to the assertion that every single case of a police officer killing an African American in the last half a dozen years has been handled properly without any need for pressure. Although sometimes the very initial police report was untrue, it didn’t take much to get that reversed.

    With the use of body cams, and the proliferation of cell phone cameras and security videos, cover-ups have been made close to impossible.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  14. Police Shooting TeeVee: “see how the sausage is made.”

    Just another source of entertainment programming. If you put a camera in front of an aquarium 24/7 w/a soothing music soundtrack and ran it on a cable channel, it would find an audience. Hell, at holidays people actually watch cts ad dog by the fire of a Yule Log for days on end.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  15. Police Shooting TeeVee: “see how the sausage is made.”

    I hate those shows.

    Dustin (4237e0)

  16. “Why should a man walk around with a pistol, and then let himself be insulted? It’s mighty strange.” — Lee Van Cleef, For A Few Dollars More (1965) Video

    That trooper should have referred the incident to Intelligence for a more thorough check of the driver.

    nk (1d9030)

  17. Obviously, my previous comment is on the wrong thread.

    nk (1d9030)


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