Yesterday, Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta police after they found him asleep at a Wendy’s drive-through. After fighting with the officers, Brooks ran away with one of the officers tasers, he attempted to fire it, and was immediately shot down and died later at the Hospital.
A taser is not a deadly weapon, is deadly force reasonable against non-deadly force? Is deadly force authorized when a suspect is running away?
According to Tennesee V Garner, it’s not.
Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a police officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect only if the officer has a good-faith belief that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.
Brooks fired the taser and missed. Does he present a “significant threat of death or serious physical injury” any more? Shooting at a fleeing suspect, shooting at an unarmed suspect, shooting at a suspect you think might be armed. Shooting at a suspect who is armed, but isn’t brandishing their weapon. All these are treated as a death sentence via street justice… if the suspect is black.
What about when they’re white?
This video by Cenk Urger is four years old from the day after Philando Castille was shot and killed right after he had admitted he had valid concealed carry permit. Cenk goes on to show a portion of a video showing a white man brandishing an M-16 for a full 40 minutes before law enforcement comes and sits down next to him to talk.
He shows other videos of armed White men who manage to argue the police down and send them on their way packing. Videos are armed and brandishing white men who are shot — once — then allowed to get back up and crawl under a shady tree. There are plenty of occasions where white men walk around armed, locked and loaded and they get chance, after chance, after chance to put the gun down peacefully.
With Rayshard Brooks it took seconds before was fired on and killed.
Seconds.
That’s what people are marching about.