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I'm mixed on how this story is told/editorialized. I think the militarization of the police issue is a serious problem and that police treating POC worse is als
by malandrew 11y ago
I'm mixed on how this story is told/editorialized. I think the militarization of the police issue is a serious problem and that police treating POC worse is also a serious issue. The reason I'm mixed on this is because I'm a 6'5" caucasian male and have also stared down the barrel of an unsafetied M16 and had unsafetied handgun (I don't recall if it was a revolver or took a clip) pointed point blank at my temple when two police officers pulled up behind me in Rio de Janeiro because I was running at 10pm at night in street clothes in the neighborhood of Gávea.
Cops in Brazil operate in much the same way as US police officers do (assume violence in defense, be prepared to shoot), but they've been operating that way for far longer. It's been a serious problem there (probably since the GV dictatorship) and has been a growing problem in the US as service men return from war zones and police the same way at home that they did when at war.
I don't have statistics here, but my impression from the news is that cops excessively single out POC in routine police work (traffic stops, stopping pedestrians, etc.) and that the excessive militarization of police actions affects everyone, not just POC. This story seems to be more an issue of the problem with militarization of police action more than a POC issue up until the misunderstanding was cleared up. Once the misunderstanding was identified it seems like a story that is about both how POC are treated unfairly and how cops always protect their own even when they are wrong.
What's very frustrating is how everyone (cops and neighbor) acted after it was clear that there was misunderstanding, that degree of force was unnecessary and that the cops failed to take corrective action and protected themselves and were generally uncooperative.
+1 for the comment about how body cameras are needed.