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*Updated September 22, 2016 U.S. Department of Justice – Police stop shooting unarmed black men

Charlotte, NC – Tulsa, Oklahoma – Police Shooting Unarmed Citizens

Enough is enough

If anyone caught the footage of Terence Crutcher’s shooting from Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma it was pretty disturbing. I watched it half a dozen times in disbelief of what I was seeing. I honestly could not believe it.

Terence who was a pastor had a stalled vehicle, he was unarmed and did not have a weapon in his SUV.

I’ve seen multiple headlines pop up with regards to why the police shot him, in fact one headline stated he was shot because the officer thought he was on PCP.

The cop who shot him backs that headline up…what the???

Is that what cops are trained to do these days? Shoot anyone you suspect is on drugs or is it just African Americans you think are on drugs?

I was left with a sense that I was watching predators circle the prey and then go in for the kill.

Imagine what he must have felt or thought in those last moments of his life.

Confused, not able to understand why he was being surrounded by police, not able to think clearly because he was trying to process what in the hell was going on, then he was shot and killed.

Was that necessary or does it prove the point that African American’s are trying so hard to get a across? In no way, shape or form am I saying that all police and all police departments are like this, I’ve said it before, I know they are not, but come on the guy was unarmed and confused or disoriented.

*Update – As of September 22, 2016 Officer Berry Shelby has been charged with Manslaughter for the senseless shooting of Terence. What’s more is that she has changed her story from she “thought he was on PCP” to she “thought he had a gun.”

Then we had the shooting from Chrarlotte, NC, where Keith Lamont Scott was waiting in his car for his son.  The police say that he was armed, his family says that he was not. We don’t know enough about that case to draw a solid conclusion, yet.

If things played out the same way that they did when police confronted and fatally shot Terence Crutcher, regardless of whether or not Keith Lamont Scott had a gun, it would be easy to better understand why or how Keith might not have complied with orders, trying to process what is happening, confused and disoriented about what was happening as multiple cops rushed him, circling around him like prey.

The Black Lives Matter Movement started back in 2012 over the shooting of Treyvon Martin. It grew with each shooting that happened after of unarmed African American males. They have asked for sweeping changes, some are a little outrageous but they ask and…

It seems like the U.S. Department of Justice and police departments nationwide are taking this back seat, we’ll fix it when something bad happens approach.

That is not good enough. It’s also not working.

I have heard countless stories of police treating African Americans differently than whites, in fact the director of the FBI mentioned it last year and more or less shrugged it off as if that’s just the way it is like it or not.

Well it’s not ok and people are pretty tired of seeing these shootings. Are officers no longer taught how to de-escalate and defuse intense situations or are we just shooting unarmed African American men these days because the officer “thinks” the guy is on PCP? Are officers taught to encircle a man not even a suspect at this point as if he is prey that they intend to kill?

I ask because point blank that is exactly what the Terence Crutcher video looks like.

I’ve stuck up for police and a lot of the shootings, I have come down pretty damn hard on the Black Lives Matter Movement because instead of peaceful protests they have gotten out of hand, they’ve made some pretty un-doable requests and I know deep down that not all police departments or cops are bad,  but enough is enough.

2012, since 2012 people have been begging for changes to be made and it’s not happening until someone is shot and killed. That individual didn’t have an investigation before being shot and killed, no one defended them or the actions he took or the way he behaved as he felt threatened by police, he was just killed.

Think about it, as a cop if you feel threatened you react, what do you think these citizens felt?

The Department of Justice has had enough time to study the issues both the police and the public face, they have had enough time to consider sweeping changes, they have also had enough time to implement those changes.

The problem with having the DOJ police it’s own is that it takes too long, they him-haw around, waste taxpayer dollars and the changes they choose to implement cost the taxpayers even more in the long run not to mention that some changes take years and years to implement.

Well, that isn’t the answer and it’s not good enough anymore.

If the United States Department of Justice can’t police it’s own as they so clearly have shown and put into place some positive changes and reform, then the United States Government needs to hand that project off to someone who will come in and make the sweeping changes that are so desperately needed where they are needed.

Cristal M Clark

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