Yet another death happens in police custody: Freddy Gray

IrishTrajan wrote: »

The man was a drug dealer, with quite a long list of crimes. It's not like he was a misguided soul, he was a criminal. If he's dead, who cares?

The man was arrested for a long list of crimes. I haven't seen his criminal record yet and, I'm willing to bet, neither have you.

And everyone should care when someone is illegally killed by the state. The fact that this should have to be explained to some people is truly mind boggling.

Amazingfun wrote: »

Except that we only hear this "was not racially motivated" in black on white attacks. It's ALWAYS racist when it the rare black on white cases occur but the attention to them by media makes it seem like it's an every week occurance.

Who cares if it's racially motivated or not?? It's either right or wrong, and I'd like to think that most people would classify a man having his spine severed by the police as wrong.

With the latest news bulletins from Baltimore, the troubles elsewhere in America, weekly occurrences involving white police officers,are we any closer to a racial compromise in the U.S.?

This divide has been visible for generations, improved marginally, or in some cases a lot, but there still seems to racial tension throughout the U.S.

It's 2015 now, so who's to blame? I watched a report recently about a black man terrified to leave her house, knowing that there's a strong danger there that he will be targeted based on his color, regardless of the situation, he'll always be at a disadvantage!

Is there a way to stop it? What gives white police officers the right to target innocent black men in this day and age, use unnecessary force, verbal assaults and so on......

What should be the first steps in order to clear up this mess? Is it possible to clear racial discrimination and are we capable of equally living together in a society split with Whites, Browns,Blacks, Asians and so on without any violence and atrocities?

What gives someone the right to judge people based on their skin tone? Are we living in a society that follows are predessors, painting every black with the same brush, not taking their credibility into account?

I just can't figure it out. Why is their minimal racial tension between Whites and Asians, and so on, why does every bloody headline have to involve a helpless black, being targeted for no reason?

Why is this happening in America and not elsewhere?

catallus wrote: »

Who?

The black man who died in police custody a few days ago in Baltimore!

Wouldn't it be best to wait for the inquest Before we label it as a killing.

More white men are killed by cops in america than black men.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/21/police-kill-more-whites-than-blacks-but-minority-d/?page=all

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Does it matter? The fact is that when the cops kill someone in the US, they rarely face any accountability for it. The rules regarding lethal force by the cops are far too lax - it should be a rare and last-resort tactic rather than being as routine as issuing a parking fine.

I agree they are too brutal. But there are so many dangerous feckers in america with easy access to guns. The cops operate in a high risk high anxiety atmosphere. They don't give the benefit of the doubt to anyone.

Letree wrote: »

More white men are killed by cops in america than black men.

Well, shouldn't that be expected? There are more white people in the US than black people, black people only make up 13.2% of the US population. The thing is, there are a greater proportion of black people killed by police than white people.

InitiumNovum wrote: »

Well, shouldn't that be expected? There are more white people in the US than black people, black people only make up 13.2% of the US population. The thing is, there are a greater proportion of black people killed by police than white people.

Blacks accounted for 42% of all cop killers in 2013. Source - http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2013-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-and-assaulted

Young black men are fourteen times likely to kill compared to young white males - http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/22/viewpoint-dont-ignore-race-in-christopher-lanes-murder/#ixzz2ciWBxj00

Blacks commit 53% of all murder, despite being only 13% of the population. Source - http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/tables/table-43

Considering the above, is it any wonder that they overrepresented in violent altercations with the police?

Cold War Kid wrote: »

As for the more general questions: "Black youths in ghettos need to take responsibility for themselves" is too simplistic unfortunately - America is a hugely unequal society where people do not have the same opportunities. But... "Black youths in ghettos are a product of prejudice" is utterly victimising them and absolving them of any accountability, which is of no use to disenfranchised groups.

The reality lies somewhere in the middle I think. Easier access to education, but *also*, more of an emphasis on education within their communities... would make such a difference IMO.

More whites live in poverty than blacks.

The 10 U.S. counties with the lowest annual median household incomes are:
1. Owsley County, Ky. – $21,177
2. Zavala County, Texas – $21,843
3. Clay County, Ky. – $22,255
4. Knox County, Ky. -$22,493
5. Wilcox County, Ala. – $22,611
6. Quitman County, Miss. – $22,625
7. Sumter County, Ala. – $22,857
8. McCreary County, Ky. – $23,163

http://m.cnsnews.com/news/article/america-s-10-poorest-counties-are-gulf-coast-states-kentucky-and-indian-reservations

All these are predominantly white/in the Appalachia region.

Yet, the violent crime rate for Appalachia in 2010 was lower than the national violent crime rate average by 56.76%.

crockholm wrote: »

Wouldn't it be best to wait for the inquest Before we label it as a killing.

Surely you know how this works by now, just like the Siteserv issue and many others. If the inquest/inquiry finds in favour of the authorities/DOB etc its a cover up and a scandal, rich protecting their own etc. If the find against them ,justice. Spending millions investigating stuff is pointless. Ask the mob what they think, sentence accordingly.