You know when people claim that the government is behaving in a fascist totalitarian manner, then there are the times when you see it in clear bold evidence.
This is one of the latter cases: http://www.dailykos.com/...
Lisa Mahone, her two children, and her boyfriend Jamal Jones were rushing to a Chicago hospital to see her mother after receiving word from hospital officials that her mother was near death.
She was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, handed the officer her license and insurance information and informed them they were in a hurry to see her mother before she passed. For whatever reason, the officers decided they need to see ID from her boyfriend as well. He did not have a current license due to a traffic violation and rather than let it go, they asked him to get out of the vehicle.
Jamal reached for the information about the traffic ticket from his book bag, which would prove his ID. At which point one Officer pulled his gun. Then after thirteen minutes of continued discussion, which everyone in the car is in terror and afraid to move, police smash the passenger side window spraying glass on the seven-year-old in the back seat, tase Jamal and drag him out of the car.
And when they watched the video back on CNN, the legal analyst, one white, one black, both agree the police acted within their technical legal authority, even though they "screwed up" by failing to find a better way to do things, the black female analyst grows incensed at what she has just seen.
“And as a woman of color, I don’t know what to do!” Hostin exclaimed in frustration. “Because this could happen to me, this could happen to my child, this could happen to my father, this could happen to my husband. What do we do about the inherent racism over and over and over again in these United States during these traffic stops!”
What's even more amazing to me is the response of the White analysts who insist this could happen to a white family in the exact same way?
Oh really?
See this guy?
Yeah, him. That is 18-year-old Steve Lohner, who was stopped by Police earlier this year while walking down the street with a shotgun over his shoulder. Police came up to him, and asked for his ID. And you probably assume that he very quickly and simply handed it right over, and
you'd be wrong.
Video Link
Trust me, when you compare these two videos - one with an unarmed black family who are trying to provide the ID they have and the other with a Colorado teenager carrying a loaded shotgun over his shoulder to Refuses to Provide ID to police the contrast is striking.
And I don't just mean because the family is black and the teenage is white - the contrast is in how differently they're treated by police.
Officer: Do you have ID?
Lohner: No.
Officer: You have a driver's license or anything?
Lohner: Yes.
Officer: Ok, can I see your license?
Lohner: Uh, No.
Officer: How come?
Lohner: Have I committed a crime?
Officer: Well you're walking around with a shotgun...
Lohner: That's not a crime.
Officer: It's not a crime, but you're causing alarm to people. [Several calls to 9-1-1 had been made]
Lohner: That's not intentional.
Officer: That doesn't matter, Ok? Can I have th shotgun for a mintue?
Lohner: No.
Officer: Cuz I'm gonna need it?
Lohner: Uh, why?
Officer: To make sure it's not stolen, and for my protection.
Lohner: Do you have any reason to suspect that it is stolen?
Officer: I don't know, I don't know you - you're not telling me who you are.
Lohner: I'll give you a first name if you like.
Officer: No no no... it doesn't work that way son. How come you won't give ID?
Lohner: Because I don't need to.
Steven explains that he carries the shotgun for his own protection because he had been assaulted by four men behind McDonald's, and he's not 21 yet so he can't carry a handgun. They argue they need to the ID to shows he's not a felon, and therefore it's legal for him to carry the shotgun, he argues for them to give any reason for any suspicion that he's "a felon". Then they start talking about his "obstructing an investigation" - which is very similar to what LAPD Sgt Jim Parker said to Actress Daniele Watts when he intimated she might be in violation for "interference" [Which is part of the same California Penal Code as "Obstruction" CPC 148(a)(1)]. He then asks if he's being detained for a crime, and the Officers
chuckle at him because they figure he's got the youtube footage he wanted to get. The last thing they are... is
afraid of him and his "
big, white, scary, armed self" He does give his date of birth in order to prove he's 18 and he's old enough for the weapon. So they again asked his last name, and he's says "No". This goes on, and on... and on.
Ultimately they gave him a citation for "Obstruction" and let him go. With his gun. And without his ever providing them his ID.
This is exactly the treatment Black people Don't Get when they do the exact same thing. [Note they do use the same condescending sing-song adult-splaining tone speaking with Steve that Sgt Parker used speaking with Daniele Watts] And guess what, even though Colorado is an "Open Carry" state, the fact of the matter is that it is also a "Stop and Identify" state just like Nevada and for that matter Indiana. But that's not the law in California or in, so yet again Daniele was right to refuse but Lohner was in fact, wrong, that he didn't have to provide his ID in Colorado. He does.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Things did not go the same for this man when police in Florida - which is a "Papers Please" State - demanded his ID, allegedly for jaywalking, and then tased him.
Or here with where Chris Lollie is assaulted and tased by Police for again, not showing ID in Minnesota, which isn't a "Papers Please" State.
People might like to claim these examples are anecdotal or not fully representative, and I'll grant this is an unscientific set of snap shots even if the video of these events tend to be compelling and thus drive forward a certain narrative. And clearly that can create an impression that can be unfair toward all the individual officers who aren't likely to engage in these types of tactics. However, we do have stats on this and the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that in 2002, 2005 & 2008 the rate of Use of Force incidents - including use of stun guns - with Latino citizens is (1.6-2.6%) twice the rate of Whites which ranged from (1.1-1.2%), and the rate of Use of Force incidents with Black citizens is Three Times as high ranging from (3.4 - 4.3%)
http://www.bjs.gov/...
That's a bit more than a average rate of standard statistical deviation. So I myself was floored when I heard this from the White CNN Legal Analyst, Callan.
Callan tried to argue that there was “no evidence” that the traffic stop was a race-based incident.
“Give me a break!” Hostin shot back. “This is about race. Give me a break, Paul.”
“If this was a white family, this would have happened,” Callan interrupted.
“This would not have happened!” Hostin said.
“You have no idea,” Callan replied.
“I do have an idea,” Hostin insisted. “Because I live in the United States and I’m the person I am.”
“To turn everything into a racial issue…” Callan complained.
“It’s not everything, but this is! This is!” Hostin said. “If you were with your family in your car, this would not have happened. Period.”
If this had been a white family, they would not have been wracked with paralizing fear when being stopped for their seat belt. If it had been a white family, a police officer probably wouldn't have
pulled his gun when Jamal went to reach for his documentation. If he had been a white family, they wouldn't have had to worry about the remote possibility that police would smash their window and tase Jamal - without any overt movement or threat made by him - while there was a seven year-old in the back seat right behind him. That a police officer might tase you because your window is broken and he's too impatient, then
throw you on the ground smash your head and put you in a coma, isn't the kind of thing most white people have ever had to even imagine, let alone consider is a potential given.
I'm pretty sure this kind of thing is the last thing they would even think of as being possible. Oh sure, it's always a remote possibility, but the "safe bet" of how police will treat you just isn't the same for everyone.
Black people consider the possibility all the time. Even if they're a prominent Hollywood emmy-nominated producer like Charles Belk. Even if they're a Hollywood Actress from an Oscar Nominated Movie like Daniele Watts. Even if they are Hollywood Actor who'se been in an Oscar Winning Movie like Terence Howard. Fame, Fortune and "Respectability" are little protection for a taser, pepper spray, tear gas or a bullet.
Callan then went on to argue that police are justified in this type of use of force because "40-50 People are killed every year, every day". Besides the fact that "40 a year" doesn't mean a cop killed every day, Callan's estimate is wrong according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
The number of Officers Killed in 2010 was 171, in 2011 it was 122, and in 2012 it was just 100, in 2013 it went down to only 78, while in 2014 it has gone back up - so far - to 90. However, it should be noted that not all of these deaths were by Shootings or Officers being killed by Suspects. Here in L.A. we've had nearly a half dozen Officers killed recently in traffic accidents. Breaking it down further the firearms related incidents the numbers for 2013 and 2014 were 24 and 38 respectively [this might be the number Callan is referring to], while the number of traffic related causes were 32 in both years and other causes were 22 and 20.
So it turns out that for those Officers killed while on duty, nearly twice as many of the die from traffic accidents and other causes, rather than being shot by suspects.
And this is supposed to justify and rationalize between 570,000 and 712,000 use of force incidents every year?
Here's a another question, how many people do police kill? Well, actually no one really knows but what we do have from the FBI is a listen of "Justifiable Homicides" by Officers and Citizens.
Justifiable Homicides:
Year Police Citizen
2007 398 252
2008 378 265
2009 414 266
2010 397 285
2011 393 260
2012 409 330
That's about 700 people per year.
And this isn't all the cases because it doesn't include those where the Officer or Citizen who have claimed they were justified or "Standing their Ground" was ultimately charged with Manslaughter or Murder as in the Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Jonathan Ferrel or Renisha McBride cases. How many more than 700, no one really knows. How many of them are proportionately black, or white, or other? Nobody knows. (Or rather no one is regularly publishing this data, even though they've been required to do so by law for 20 years)
The 1994 law further directed the Justice Department to "publish an annual summary of the data acquired" concerning excessive force. The provision was inserted by senators, records show. At the time, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee was Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, now the vice president of the United States.
The excessive force report requirement was one of a number of report obligations imposed on the Justice Department under the 1994 law.
Well,
almost nobody.
According to the numbers produced by the CDC and studied by the American Journal of Public Health the number of persons who've died as a result of "legal intervention" between 1979 and 1997 are not really that surprising considering what else we already know.
For this study, the category “all homicides” was defined as ICD-9 E (external cause of injury) codes E960 through E977. The ICD-9 definition of legal intervention (E970–E977) includes “Injuries inflicted by the police or other law-enforcing agents . . . in the course of arresting or attempting to arrest lawbreakers, suppressing disturbances, maintaining order, and other legal action.”
Of the 5486 total deaths due to legal intervention during the 19-year period 1979 to 1997, 5330 decedents (97%) were male. Whites accounted for 3447 deaths (63%), Blacks for 1885 deaths (34%), and “others” for 154 deaths (3%). When rates of death due to legal intervention were examined, striking variations by race and sex became apparent (Table 1 [triangle]). The average annual rates of death due to legal intervention were more than 27 times higher for men than for women. When mortality was stratified by race and sex, death rates of Black males on average were 4.7 times those of White males from 1979 to 1988 and averaged 3.2 times higher from 1988 to 1997 (ranges = 3.4–6.7 times and 2.6–5.0 times, respectively).
So the death rate by law enforcement for Black males compared to White males used to be 4.7 times higher on average, and now it's down to a mere 3.2 times? Well, whoopee, that's a great relief to know for all of us who just thought things were nearly as bad now as they've always been.
See. It's all "Better" now.
Despite the knee-jerk denials and poo-pooing of people like Callan, the lived experience and fear of police by Black people is not a mental or cultural defect, or a phantasm, or an excuse. It's real, genuine, justified fear in the same way that a person who's been a crime victim, been robbed, assaulted or raped has a deep seated atavistic fear of that happening again when similar conditions arise. It's just as genuine, if not more so, as the claim made by so many self-proclaimed "non-racists" that their actions and arguments are just the result of "statistics" that show black men are "more dangerous" - even when the real data doesn't really show that - than everyone else.
So who is more dangerous, to whom?
In truth, what we have here are two comparative justifications for reasonable fear and suspicion. They are not independent, one influences the other and vice versa.
Is it unreasonable for police to use force to demand compliance and obedience in order to maintain "Officer Safety" even if they have to tase - or club, or pepper spray, or shoot - people who they shouldn't have even stopped in the first place, or as in the situation with the seat-belt ticket they had already been complying with all the requests for ID as best they could? Possibly not, even though the situation clearly sucks for those involved.
But somehow Stephen Lohner doesn't have to comply. And he doesn't get beaten, or tased. [Although he may have been cuffed, I can see an officer take out cuffs at the end of his video before they cited him. Don't know if he was arrested or was taken into custody.]
Is it unfair, particularly for Black people to have a inherent fear of police bias and violence, when many of them have had terrifying personal close calls [I know I have], have had dozens of horrifying video samples from the shooting of the a man who was simply trying to get his ID in compliance with the Officers instructions to Michael Brown and so many others, and then you have the statistical information which shows that black people are 20-30% more likely to be stopped, 50% more likely to be searched - even when police disparity reports do not show that more illegal items are found on them or they've committed more crimes - twice as likely to be arrested, three times more likely to have force used against them and at least 3.2 times more likely - based on available CDC data - to be killed by cops than other people are?
About three dozen officers are shot and killed a year. Contrasted with hundreds of citizens who are killed by Officers, and nearly a half million every year who suffer use of force? How many of those killing are unjustified? How many times is the force excessive?
Could police be sometimes over-reacting - in either outrage, arrogance or paranoia - to the fear black people have of them? Could black people be [sometimes] over-reacting to the threat that police pose to their lives and safety? When both of these things occur can it all get completely out of control?
Until we finally have definitive answers, no one can really say. All we have left then, is our fear. And the terror. And the bodies.
Vyan