Some folks think that police should not engage in any traffic stops, and that would "solve" all of the "problems" of offenders with fines, outstanding bench warrants for non-appearance, etc. Some folks think that traffic stops are "unfair" in certain neighborhoods, or that they "target" certain races or cultures.
KG was driving a car with a cardboard sign in place of a license plate that said "Free Traveler"-- that is why she was pulled over in the first place. ANY driver with cardboard signs that said that, in place of license plates, would be pulled over for that---black, white, asian, hispanic, rich, poor, etc. She was not being racially profiled, picked on, or harassed. She WAS being "identified" as someone who was violating the law.
Her car had cardboard signs in place of license plates, and police were well within their duties to pull her over and find out more about exactly what was going on. She knew that, too. She deliberately put those signs on her car to PROVOKE the police into pulling her over, IMO. It was a set up for a confrontation that she was orchestrating, complete with kids in the car and her video recording, and mouthy and defiant refusal to cooperate. The police had that figured out, too.
Driving is a privilege, not a right (as any parent of a teenager who drives has said many times!). KG was free to "not believe" in traffic laws and registration laws, but she was not free to do as she pleases in terms of driving a car. She was subject to the same requirements for licensing, registration, insurance, and compliance with traffic laws as every other driver, as well as subject to providing proof of those when asked by law enforcement.
She could have chosen NOT to drive, and still held her (IMO, not sincere) "sovereign citizen" ideas, without breaking any laws. She could have walked, taken a taxi, rode a bicycle, taken public transportation, asked a neighbor for a ride, or just stayed home. The very fact that she put the cardboard sign on the car with the intention to drive it, is evidence that she knew precisely that what she was doing was not only legally wrong, but provocative. Again-- BEHAVIOR in putting the sign on the car, not beliefs, is the focus.
And her BEHAVIOR at the traffic stop is the next problem. The car was being impounded, she was being ticketed, and she refused to cooperate, even when officers offered to let her walk the few hundred feet to her apartment with her kids. Her BEHAVIOR earned her the arrest. This was not "over policing" or "police brutality".
Then her BEHAVIOR in not appearing in court, and not making other arrangements if she was unable to appear, earned her the bench warrant for her arrest.
And her BEHAVIOR when police arrived to serve the warrant caused her own death, and the injury to her child.
The police are not in the wrong at all here. This woman had numerous chances at every step of the entire 4-5 month process to cooperate with LE and the justice system. In the end, she chose to threaten police, endanger her child, and other bystanders, with a shotgun. For HOURS upon hours of negotiation. She wouldn't even listen to her own family! Her shooting was entirely justified by her behavior. Just like Michael Brown, Jamar Clark, and many others.
I'm incredulous that anyone, any reasonable, intelligent person, could think that what the police and the justice system did at each step in the process was not entirely justified by her actions. And it's a shame-- for someone so young and pretty on her outside, she was very ugly and despicable in her attitude, behavior, and treatment toward others, including her own child. I feel very bad for the police officers that had to deal with her, but I don't feel any sympathy, empathy, or pity for her. She was a terrible excuse for a human being, IMO.
