Killer Kop Protest

From the Journal:

“We have 27 killings since 2010, and I believe they should have another venue, another state, with all due respect,” demonstrator Nora Anaya said.

Other activists at the protest called it “ironic” and tone deaf for the competition to be held in Albuquerque. In April, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded its investigation into the police department and found that a majority of shootings it examined were not constitutional and that the department had gaps in training, accountability and organization.

Protesters also said they would have preferred a competition that instead rewards officers for successfully de-escalating situations that could otherwise end in an officer-involved shooting.

“It’s not about who can get the better shot and kill the most people,” protester Renee Garcia said as gunfire rang out from competitors at the shooting range.

The apologists for the Killer Kop Kompetition beg to disagree. For them, it is very much about that "better shot" and killing more people more efficiently, doing the best job possible by eliminating all those many threats and keeping us safe.

I think I posted a link to the story of the shooting of John Rogers in Bloomfield, and it's really quite shocking how cavalier and almost casual the department and the media has been about killing this man who was just going about his business according to his family when he was accosted by armed men, one of whom shot him in the upper body, killing him. According to his family members who were there, Rogers was not armed and he was not threatening police. It didn't matter. He "reached" for what they said was a gun in the glove compartment of his truck. Bam! There is no way to prove whether he "reached for a gun" or not, however. Why, in any case, should "reaching" be a death sentence?

The Bloomfield police department describes the internal investigation of the shooting:

“It's more of an internal check to see what we can do to make our department the best it can be.”

How much better can they get at killing people? Oh. Well. I'm sure they can get much better at it if they really put their minds to it. What nonsense.

And they use the incident as a means to recruit officers, as their current numbers are somewhat down:

 
The two officers called to the scene of the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. Three more officers have recently left the department or retired, reducing the number of active officers from 20 to 15.

Foster said his department is currently accepting applications for two open positions. He said he hopes to have the positions filled in the next few weeks.

OK then. Priorities, I guess. And routines. And procedures.

Rogers is dead, so he can't complain about it, and his family, well... too bad for them. You know if they didn't want this to happen, they shouldn't have called the police... it's their fault, right? If a neighbor called, it's still the Rogers family's fault. It was, after all, the second time police had been out there that day. They don't have time to deal with trouble making Indians in the middle of the day. It's their own fault, right?

Rogers "reached into the glove box of his vehicle and pulled out a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol". Given the annoyance he'd already caused, who wouldn't shoot him, right?  Police start yelling, "gun! gun! gun!" and bam! bam! bam! they drop the guy like a deer.

Except New Mexico is an open carry state, isn't it? Well, so what? Dude was Navajo, never mind he owned a trucking business and was well regarded, yadda yadda, open carry doesn't ever really apply to non-anglos, does it? Indian with a gun! Kill! Kill! Kill! Bam!

This is what the training and conditioning at the Killer Kop Kompetition is all about. The Kops are being conditioned to see threats everywhere, especially guns and weapons of all kinds in the hands of myriad "types" -- Outlaws one and all -- which include just about everyone who isn't white, and who isn't at least upper middle class, and who isn't instantly obedient. Are you deaf? Too bad for you. Bam!

Those who threaten suicide, the mentally ill, the homeless, Indians, Blacks, Mexicans and other sorts of brown people,  the poor, the marginal, the outspoken, the disobedient and the defiant, all are designated Outlaws by the authorities, and all are subject to summary execution. The Killer Kop Kompetition going on now in Albuquerque is one of the many means by which the police condition their minds and hone their skills to eliminate threats from these Outlaws -- by shooting and killing them. Bam!

The thing of it is, most are ordinary people trying to go about their lives as best they can. Some of them have difficulty doing so for all kinds of reasons, but that shouldn't mean they are eligible for summary execution. Some get into squabbles with family or neighbors. That shouldn't make them eligible for summary execution. Some use drugs or alcohol. Yes? Does that automatically make them eligible for summary execution? A few become suicidal -- again, for all kinds of reasons. Why do the police so often feel it is their job to help these suicidal people along by shooting and killing them? Why are police so frightened of the public -- ordinary people -- that when they perceive someone "reaching" they believe their lives are endangered and they must shoot to kill? Why? It's insane. Crazy. Mindless.

Why does the sight of a gun -- which is probably perfectly legal to possess and show -- make them so fearful they believe they must shoot to kill (assuming of course the gun is in the hands of one of the categories of designated Outlaw)?

And why, ultimately, are the police protected when they kill? Yes, I know the law protects them, but departments can have policies that curb the killing. Why don't they? Why do they encourage officers to react to the kinds of scenarios that are part of the Killer Kop Kompetition?

These Killer Kop policies can and must change.

The killing must stop.

At least 1519 dead since May 1, 2013.