NY police officers acquitted

http://www.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2008/02/23/Police.Shooting/

I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, as the judge did, but 50 shots, 31 from one officer?

 

I was surprised that there wasn't a thread about this earlier. However, as recent discussions of race have not gone well around here, I wasn't in a big hurry to start one. This is a disturbing case, but I don't have an opinion on it, as I haven't researched it. Anyone with an informed take, I'd be interested to hear it.

 

I don't think this has anything to do with race. Two blacks cops and one white cop unloaded 50 shots into a group of unarmed men.
In my opinion, what shows the character of these officers, is during their press conference, only one of them apologized to the damn family. that's messed up.

 

Gee, why isn't Al Sharpton threatening riots tonight?

 

I didn't hear one word of testimony, so I'm unable to say anything about the verdict. 50 shots, however, require one hell of a story. I applaud everyone who's kept their sanity; sounds like that was a difficult thing to do.

 

http://brucespringsteen.net/songs/AmericanSkin.html

 

Different case, ESJ.
That song's about Amadou Diallo.
Does this happen in Bay Ridge or Howard Beach?
No, it doesn't.
It's about race.

 

I'm gonna disagree. It's about inexperienced officers who have minimal time to guess what to do, and fail miserably.
2 of 3 officers are black, no?

 

So what?
Cops in New York opened fire because the target person was black.
50 shots?
Reloading the gun?
At an unarmed guy in the middle of the street?
This does not happen to white people.
At all.
It's about race.

 

So the race of the victim matters but the race of the cops doesn't?

 

OK, very slowly.
Yes, as a matter of fact, in this case, I believe it does.
Because the ACT of killing this man -- hell, the ACT of opening up 50 shots on a city street in these circumstances -- was a racist ACT. Mostly for the reasons I said, which is that there is a fundamental institutional racism regarding the relative worth of a black human life compared to a white one, and regarding the relative worth of a human life in one neighborhod, but not in another. It doesn't matter what color the cop is. The racism is in the underlying cultural and societal context within which the act took place, and within the institution of an armed police force that sees this act as justified -- I believe -- by that same context.

 

Disagree. Strongly.