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I'm torn on the topic because "aggressive policing" has been shown to be an effective reducer of murders, they are currently doing this in kansas city MO and are touting it's success.
What that means is targeting people just like the guy on the bike for whatever excuse they can find and as a result they are bagging felons with illegal guns etc. and then those guys aren't out on the street shooting up the bus-stop or the 5 guys hanging out in front of 7-11 etc.
So, what you get is reduced total crime but it comes with the price of the occasional innocent victim or just people getting harassed.
Of course, these discussions just get polarized and nobody wants to see the shades of grey. They just want to jump all the way into the cops are out to kill blacks or the other extreme that "thugs got it coming" and mistakes happen.
Me personally, I'm disturbed by either extreme but I'm more than a little irritated that you can have gangs gun down 500 black youths in Chicago in a year and that's a "statistic" but if a cop shoots someone like Michael Brown then suddenly we have an "epidemic of police just killing black youths".
I think any efforts we can make to foster better relationships between the community and the police will help this ongoing problem. *WE* is always better than *us vs. them*.
What it comes down to is that you can only marginalize a group of people so long before having to pay the piper. The expressed anger and protest we're seeing now is a consequence of years of profiling and stop-and-frisk, whether it was called that or not.
Impression - watched it without sound, and absolutely no context about the officer, the person who was stopped, why that person would try to run away, or why the cop shot that person. No background, no meta information about the entire scenario, nothing contextual whatsoever.
So, without context of any kind, other than skin color of the participants, my impression is that one of Leviathan's attack dogs got off the leash again, and tragedy once more ensues. But that impression again is like walking past a Monet and just with my peripheral vision saying "it's blue."
What do police officers ask you for when they stop you on a bicycle assuming the bicycle hasn't been stolen? Are you stopped for riding on the wrong side of the street? Are you stopped because your reflector is out? Do some places force you to wear a helmet? Are you stopped for riding barefoot? Are you stopped for riding on the sidewalk? Can you get a ticket for not signaling a turn on a bicycle? I'm trying to figure out if most bicycle stops by police area bicycle related or would the same person be stopped for walking, let's say after a drug buy.
What do police officers ask you for when they stop you on a bicycle assuming the bicycle hasn't been stolen? Are you stopped for riding on the wrong side of the street? Are you stopped because your reflector is out? Do some places force you to wear a helmet? Are you stopped for riding barefoot? Are you stopped for riding on the sidewalk? Can you get a ticket for not signaling a turn on a bicycle? I'm trying to figure out if most bicycle stops by police area bicycle related or would the same person be stopped for walking, let's say after a drug buy.
Those are good questions.
Again, I'm just trying to figure out how this guy "looked suspicious" and how a police officer can determine whether or not the guy should be in the area when it's a public area. People riding bikes always ride in areas they don't live in or come from.
And since when do cops need to know where you're going or where you're coming from if you're not committing a crime?
Lin was cleared to return to duty four days after the shooting. He remains with PBSO and has taught community policing and officer safety.
And though he regrets Stephens' injuries, the deputy said in a deposition that he would take the same shot again.
"What he (Stephens) did to me that day is what his choice was," Lin said. "He decided to reach with his left hand and pointed at me like it was a gun.
"I saw a black object. I'm not going to wait for a muzzle flash to show in my face. I'm not going to be behind the eight ball."
unfortunately that seems to mean that if you have anything at all in your hand that can be construed as vaguely gun-like, it can be used as a reason for shooting you.
Everywhere I have lived bicyclists knew the rules of the road
It is when bicyclists think they are above the law or rules don't apply to them that problems arise.
If a bicyclist is riding towards me, he will have to risk his life by going around me as I will hug the shoulder.
I've been run into by bicyclists while those fools were riding in the sidewalk with me walking, 1 rider I almost sent flying into traffic.
Bike riders NEED to be nailed by the cops when breaking traffic laws. Period.
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Do some places force you to wear a helmet? Are you stopped for riding barefoot? Are you stopped for riding on the sidewalk? Can you get a ticket for not signaling a turn on a bicycle? I'm trying to figure out if most bicycle stops by police area bicycle related or would the same person be stopped for walking, let's say after a drug buy.
