America at Gunpoint (op-ed)
Old saying: Man’s a beast pretending to be civilized.
Agree or Disagree?
August third there was a police chief summit in Washington DC. The purpose: To discuss the midyear increase of shootings nationwide. “We have not seen what we’re seeing right now in decades.” said DC’s police chief.
In 35 big cities homicides are up 19 percent, and 62 percent of cities reported increases in non-fatal shootings.
In Milwaukee, police say, gun violence is so rampant 80 percent of gun shots do not result in 911 calls. Chicago police seized over 3,400 illegal firearms since January. Chicago police superintendent said, “We’re taking three guns for every one that Los Angeles takes, and seven for every one that New York takes.” But Chicago’s number of gun arrest has increased by 22 percent.
In Baltimore there were over 40 people killed in May and June, a city first according to the Baltimore Sun. The police chief was fired, and the interim chief requested federal help to investigate the city’s unprecedented murder cases.
During that same period a shootout at a block party in Detroit left a 19-year-old gunman dead and eleven people wounded. (Four women and seven men, the oldest 47) Out of frustration Detroit’s police chief called perpetrators of gun violence “urban terrorist”. (Detroit’s police chief is black can you imagine if a white police chief used this term?) Because residents refused to cooperate with the police efforts to apprehend the killer, Detroit’s police chief stood in the basketball court where the shooting occurred and said, “This is a passionate plea for the neighborhood to say something and step up … Speak up. Say something. Your silence is not acceptable.”
The police chief summit concluded: There are no clear answers. Policing alone can’t solve the growing violent crime problem. Policy makers must find effective ways to address larger social problems such as metal illness, unemployment, and lack of access to education.
Another old saying: I rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.
On the same day the nation’s capital hosted the police chiefs The Washington Post ran this headline on their website: Police shot and killed more people in July than any other month so far this year. (Since 1976 the federal data has never recorded more than 460 fatal police shooting in a year. The Post identified 463 in the first six months of 2015.)
According to a Washington Post database tracking all fatal on-duty police shooting this year 103 were killed last month. The previous high was 90 killed in March. July joined April as a month with at least one fatal police shooting each day. There were 14 days in July with four or more shootings -- July 7 had eight.
87 of the 103 that were killed were armed and mental illness factored into the others. There was one woman. Police received a call about a suicidal person. When they arrived the woman pulled out a handgun and ignored police orders to drop her firearm. The police weren’t taking any chances.
As of August third The Washington Post’s database tracked 570 fatal police shootings.
Ironically three days later in Boise, Idaho close to 100 residents gathered at a navy veteran’s house to protest claims that federal officials were planning to confiscate the navy veteran’s weapons. Among the protesters was the county sheriff who promised to stand guard against any federal attempts to confiscate guns. A state representative said the event was “defiance against tyranny.”
There’s an old saying that starts: It takes a village…
But what if the village is uncivilized?
First published at the New Pittsburgh Courier 8/12/15
Agree or Disagree?
August third there was a police chief summit in Washington DC. The purpose: To discuss the midyear increase of shootings nationwide. “We have not seen what we’re seeing right now in decades.” said DC’s police chief.
In 35 big cities homicides are up 19 percent, and 62 percent of cities reported increases in non-fatal shootings.
In Milwaukee, police say, gun violence is so rampant 80 percent of gun shots do not result in 911 calls. Chicago police seized over 3,400 illegal firearms since January. Chicago police superintendent said, “We’re taking three guns for every one that Los Angeles takes, and seven for every one that New York takes.” But Chicago’s number of gun arrest has increased by 22 percent.
In Baltimore there were over 40 people killed in May and June, a city first according to the Baltimore Sun. The police chief was fired, and the interim chief requested federal help to investigate the city’s unprecedented murder cases.
During that same period a shootout at a block party in Detroit left a 19-year-old gunman dead and eleven people wounded. (Four women and seven men, the oldest 47) Out of frustration Detroit’s police chief called perpetrators of gun violence “urban terrorist”. (Detroit’s police chief is black can you imagine if a white police chief used this term?) Because residents refused to cooperate with the police efforts to apprehend the killer, Detroit’s police chief stood in the basketball court where the shooting occurred and said, “This is a passionate plea for the neighborhood to say something and step up … Speak up. Say something. Your silence is not acceptable.”
The police chief summit concluded: There are no clear answers. Policing alone can’t solve the growing violent crime problem. Policy makers must find effective ways to address larger social problems such as metal illness, unemployment, and lack of access to education.
Another old saying: I rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.
On the same day the nation’s capital hosted the police chiefs The Washington Post ran this headline on their website: Police shot and killed more people in July than any other month so far this year. (Since 1976 the federal data has never recorded more than 460 fatal police shooting in a year. The Post identified 463 in the first six months of 2015.)
According to a Washington Post database tracking all fatal on-duty police shooting this year 103 were killed last month. The previous high was 90 killed in March. July joined April as a month with at least one fatal police shooting each day. There were 14 days in July with four or more shootings -- July 7 had eight.
87 of the 103 that were killed were armed and mental illness factored into the others. There was one woman. Police received a call about a suicidal person. When they arrived the woman pulled out a handgun and ignored police orders to drop her firearm. The police weren’t taking any chances.
As of August third The Washington Post’s database tracked 570 fatal police shootings.
Ironically three days later in Boise, Idaho close to 100 residents gathered at a navy veteran’s house to protest claims that federal officials were planning to confiscate the navy veteran’s weapons. Among the protesters was the county sheriff who promised to stand guard against any federal attempts to confiscate guns. A state representative said the event was “defiance against tyranny.”
There’s an old saying that starts: It takes a village…
But what if the village is uncivilized?
First published at the New Pittsburgh Courier 8/12/15
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