"But let justice roll down like waters;
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. . ."
Amos 5:24
Like many, I've had the situation in Ferguson on my mind. Absent a video tape of the entire confrontation, there's probably no way of knowing the truth of what happened, no way of knowing if justice was done.
The media has been over-flowing with stories, memes, interviews, and explanations of the judicial system, statistics of cop killers and killer cops. . . everyone has an opinion.
Here's mine. It's time for every law enforcement officer to wear a camera .
When people with toy guns, developmentally disabled people, mentally ill, or even angry people who feel they've been picked on just one time too many are shot dead, a videotape of the incident would make clear the level of the threat the officer was confronting.
I know that law enforcement people at at a huge risk. I know that they are (mostly) good guys. I know that the trope of shooting the gun out of the bad guy's hand a la westerns from my childhood isn't feasible. But when officers aren't held to close scrutiny for the use of deadly force, perhaps they become a little overeager to defend themselves against a perceived threat.
'Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six," the sheriff's deputy conducting my concealed carry class told us, in discussing the use of deadly force.
How much clearer that judgement would be if those twelve could watch a videotape of the incident. And perhaps this simple step would go a long way to restoring confidence in our law enforcement. . . and our justice system.
7 comments:
I totally agree!
It is really frightening how easily death may visit in response to a perceived threat.
Not an easy theme which is repeating itself worldwide. One just happened close to here a few weeks ago. So sad.
My first thoughts upon reading the words from Amos were of Martin Luther King. And my heart aches for all those who did not participate in any violence but who are doomed to live with the result.
I totally agree that our justice system is flawed, from the police on the beat to the grand jury process to elected justices, and sadly, to the United States Supreme Court.
So many people are so angry, and sad. That is how energy is raised to make change. We need change!
It would seem that with all our technical skills we could invent a less lethal weapon that would put a person down and subdued without killing them.
The people who have been mistreated for millennia. That old adage: you reap what you sow continues; instead as, they reap what we sow.
The show on PBS TRACING YOUR ROOTS does away with the myth of pure race. We are made up of many races and ethnicities over time and the idea of tribal groups is fiction. Skin color does not define a race or tribe, the actions of the individual defines his or her goodness or badness.
i think that we confuse justice with our own needs at times...that being said, if we are not there it is hard to truly understand what happens in a moment...the taking of life is a sad thing regardless, but....
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