THE news reports of the shooting last week of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge show shocking police brutality. These reports appear to be reliable. Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was selling pirated DVDs outside of a convenience store when he was accosted by police. When he attempted to reach into his pocket, one of the officers said he had a gun and another shot him in the chest, killing him. The owner of the store recorded the shooting on his cell phone. See The Daily Mail’s latest account here; police have seized the CCTV video from the store. (Warning: graphic images.) While Black Lives Matter is manipulated by those who care nothing about improving life for blacks, it also represents real grievances. Murderous police tactics have become increasingly common in America. If the reports are true, this is a case of police savagery. Five other men, all black, have been killed by police in the Louisiana city since 2013. In the history of the Baton Rouge police department, over the course of more than 100 years, 10 police officers have been killed by gunfire.

[Update: Here’s a reported breakdown of police killings for the year.  White males comprise the largest group by far, though blacks are disproportionately represented among victims, which is not surprising given their higher rates of gun violence.]

— Comments —

Terry Morris writes:

I’m telling you that none of this became “clear” to me about police “brutality” until I faced (when I was totally unarmed, and more importantly obviously unarmed) my own (police) executioners back on July 17, 2010, in (quiet) McAlester, Okla. That date changed my life … and my attitude about modern police forces (especially unionized police forces).

 Laura writes:

I remember you telling that story before of how you were stopped on a false report and were roughed up.

Mr. Morris writes:

For the record, I didn’t say the police roughed me up. They didn’t rough me up.

Laura writes:

Okay. Do you remember the post in which you described the incident?

Mr. Morris writes:

To answer your question, I know that you and I once had a private conversation about the incident, but I don’t think anything in real detail was ever posted at TTH. I can describe what happened if you like. In short, my vehicle was surrounded by six or seven police cruisers (after I’d pulled over), whereupon about ten officers held me at gunpoint as they screamed orders to “kill the vehicle and throw the keys out (which I obeyed), then to exit the vehicle (which I also obeyed), and to lay face down on the ground (which I flatly refused). When I exited the vehicle I (consciously) held my opened hands to my sides, palms facing police, as I pleaded with them to “put those guns away before you shoot an unarmed, innocent man.”

What started all of this was a bogus 911 call in which the caller kept upping the ante until dispatch finally consented to sending a unit. While en route police officers worked themselves up into a frenzy, several other units self-diapatched and the rest is history. I know all of this because I obtained a cd copy from police of the original 911 call and dispatch of police. Oh, after the initial officers first “lit me up,” I continued to drive for about a block looking for a place to pull over (this was in a residential neighborhood and both sides of the street were lined with cars). I was driving 5-7 mph. Police later described this as a “chase” and initially accused me of “evading police,” but that charge and several others were later dropped.

Laura writes:

Wow.

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