The False Narrative That The "Hands up...Don't Shoot" Protesters Are Perpetuating

Nazi propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, once said: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."  I believe that is what is happening as a result of irresponsible black leadership and the "Hands up...Don't Shoot" protests.

In a recent CBS poll, 74% of blacks and 28% of whites believe the police in this country are "too quick to use deadly force".  The problem with that belief is that the statistics don't support it.

Last year there were exactly 320 officer involved killings.  This out of an estimated 13+ million arrests (data estimated because the latest FBI arrest statistics are for 2010).  That's one shooting death for every 40,600 arrests.  Not nearly solid proof that cops are "too quick to use deadly force." At the same time, 105 police officers were killed in 2013.  So, in essence, for every 3 civilian shooting deaths, one officer is killed each year. 

The protests, mostly organized by Al Sharpton, are irresponsible and based on a huge exaggeration of a statistically rare occurrence.  It is even more irresponsible for members of Congress on the House floor, and for their staffers to stand on the Congressional steps with their hands in the air in order to perpetuate the lie.  Worst of all is having America's top cop Eric Holder, and his boss Barack Obama, and the Mayor of America's Largest city Bill DeBlasio, and strengthening and supporting the fantasy.

I don't know what these protestors expect to accomplish, but one thing is sure, they are damaging the character and reputation of our police forces.  Police, who day after day, risk their lives to protect us all.

References:

Joseph Goebbels On the "Big Lie" | Jewish Virtual Library: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/goebbelslie.html

Police Too Quick To Use Deadly Force: http://www.pollingreport.com/images/CBS141214.GIF

 List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, 2013: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States,_2013

FBI Statistics: Crime in the United States: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/persons-arrested

Honoring Officers Killed in 2013: http://www.odmp.org/search/year?year=2013

Four Members of Congress Put Their Hands Up in Solidarity With Ferguson Protesters, None Voted to Limit Police Militarization: http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/02/four-members-of-congress-put-their-hands

U.S. Capitol Staffers Raise Hand For Ferguson: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/226862-congressional-staff-walk-out-over-brown-garner-decisions 

The Ferguson Missouri Shooting: We Need Calm Not Violence

On the Monday following the shooting of an unarmed 18-year old black male by a white cop, I was listening as an angry black male called into a radio talk show.  His simplified accounting of what happened in Ferguson, Missouri was that the police officer involved, shot Michael Brown because he and another black man wouldn't get out of the street. Sadly, this is how the situation in being portrayed and this can only inflame the community further.  Certainly, the mere presence of Al Sharpton in Ferguson only intensifies the anger because, if he's there, its assumed that the shooting must have been a racist act.

Then, Jesse Jackson felt obligated to write an opinion piece for USA Today entitled: 'There's a Ferguson' near you' where, in the very first sentence, he writes:

"Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American male in suburban Ferguson, Missouri, who had just graduated from high school and planned to start college, has joined a long line of blacks, especially black males, who have recently been gunned down, wrestled down and killed by white men and/or white police officers who claim "reasonable fear" or "self-defense" as their defense."

So,  again, racism is being implied in the Ferguson shooting, Additionally, there is also the implication that blacks are being shot at random by both white men and white cops.

The first problem with all of the above is the accounting of the event.  From the Cafemom website, here is the most concise report of what is currently known to have happened:

"Apparently, around noon on Sunday, an officer approached Brown (who was walking to his grandmother's home, according to his parents) and another man. As the cop exited his vehicle, one of the men allegedly pushed him back in the car and assaulted him. During the struggle, a shot was fired inside the car. As Brown left the scene, the officer shot him about 35 feet way. The report noted that several shots were fired from the cop's gun. "

To me, this seems to be a more logical explanation of what happened than the belief that Brown was simply shot for not getting out of the street. Then too, the real truth may lie somewhere in between and only a thorough investigation will uncover the facts.

The other problem I have is Jesse Jackson's implication that there is a "long line of blacks" being killed by white cops and other white men claiming "reasonable fear" or "self-defense" as their defense.  The problem with that claim is that statistics don't support it.  First, a decades long study found that 94% of all black deaths as victims of shootings were committed by other blacks.  The remaining 6% is made up of not just whites but, also, Hispanics.  So, if Mr. Jackson has a problem with blacks being killed, it should be directed at his own ethnic community.

Additionally, in 2011 it was determined that there were a total 1,146 officer involved shootings that year.  Of that there were 607 deaths.  When taken against a base of roughly 780,000 officers in the U.S., that's less than two-tenths of one percent of all officers who where even involved in any shooting and less than one-tenth of one percent that were involved in a shooting death.  Now, what is true is that about half of those deaths were black. But, then too, one out of every three black men is expected to be involved in a crime that results in imprisonment during thei lifetime.  So, with the higher rate of criminal activity, there is also going to be a higher rate of officer involved shootings and deaths.

What Mr. Jackson also neglects to mention after he tells us of Ferguson being 70% black, is the fact that violent crime in that St. Louis suburb is 25% higher than the national average and total crime is 58% higher.  Yet, the police force is relatively small compared to the national average.  This fact alone serves to keep tensions high between the police and the community, and the higher percentage of lawlessness is probably why there is all the looting and violent protests.

We need black leaders to stop stirring the pot and fomenting violence.  We need calm to allow the investigation to go forward and determine the truth.  If it is true that the officer killed without cause then, let him be tried in our courts for murder.  If he isn't brought to justice; only then should the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson get involved.

References:

Cop Shoots & Kills Unarmed Teen for Reason Many Aren't Buying: http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/175891/cops_shoot_kill_unarmed_teen

Jesse Jackson: There's a 'Ferguson' near you: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/08/12/jesse-jackson-ferguson-riots-column/13957197/

A Black Man is Killed in the U.S. Every 28 Hours by Police: http://www.occupy.com/article/black-man-killed-us-every-28-hours-police

The Trayvon Martin Killing and the Myth of Black-on-Black Crime:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/15/the-trayvon-martin-killing-and-the-myth-of-black-on-black-crime.html

Police Involved Shooting Statistics: A National One-Year Summary:  http://jimfishertruecrime.blogspot.com/2012/01/police-involved-shootings-2011-annual.html

The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/

List of countries by number of police officers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_police_officers

Ferguson, Missouri Crime Stats: http://www.areavibes.com/ferguson-mo/crime/

Ferguson, MO Crime by Year and Type: http://www.usa.com/ferguson-mo-crime-and-crime-rate.htm