Blue Justice

You have got to be kidding me.

I am usually one of the first people to defend police officers. Sure, as a Black man raised in a big city I have enough reasons to dislike police in general. I've been stopped and sometimes harrassed by them growing up as a teen of the '80's and I know that all police share the one major flaw of being human. But, I will tell anyone that being a cop is a tough, dangerous and thankless job. I probably couldn't do it. I'm not sure if I'd want to.

One of the usual points I like to bring up when police debates flare up is the fact that I think cops first promise should be to come home at night safe and sound to their familes. The second promise should be close behind and should be to protect and serve. I never think I have those two mixed up because if I were a cop, or a fire fighter, or a plumber or a truck driver - my FIRST promise is to always come home to my wife and kids!

I think when police are in a dangerous and life threatening position, they should use as much force as needed to protect themselves, their fellow officers and the public in general. They should be brave and smart and shoot straight and true.

But then you have cops like New York's Mike Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper. Murderers.

(In fact, I'm not even typing their names in blue, because they are not true cops)

These guys murdered Sean Bell in cold blood. And worse than that - New York Judge Arthur Cooperman decided that they were justified in shooting 50 times at a car containing three unarmed Black men. 50 TIMES!!!

Okay, granted. When this event was going down in the early hours of November 25, 2006 outside of a strip club in Queens. The shooters didn't know the car was empty, but they damn sure knew that NO ONE WAS SHOOTING BACK AT THEM! One of this men actually lowered his gun, popped a clip out, pulled a fresh one out, popped it back in, charged his gun and continued firing. 50 TIMES!!!

And this judge basically told them, "Nice job guys. No harm, no foul. One Black guy dead and two injured. Next time shoot straighter, see if you can get'em all."

That's what he told them. And, yes - I know that two of the cops where Black [looking].

This verdict is nothing short of a slap in the face of all minorities. This verdict is a sham and a travisty of justice. It shows that in New York, you can gun down Black men wholesale and as long as you are wearing a badge. You are teflon; you are safe, you are golden, you are held harmless to accountability.

This is sadly not the last time that New York cops are not going to murder a minority in cold blood. The NYPD... excuse me... not the [whole] NYPD, just the arrogant NYPD assholes that equate gun caliber with genitalia size, will consider Cooperman's verdict as a free pass to claim "fear" as justification to rain down hot lead on innocent civilians.

If there is a spirit of justice in this country, if she is blindfolded and truly issues her verdicts without bias towards race or stature, then today she must be sheding a tear, she must be sad, she must be blue.

TTBM