is this your typical reaction when you hear 4 witnesses recount the same version of something they have seen?
what specifically do you know about these people that would make you question their honesty and say that they are heavily biased against the police?
thanx.
liljim, I have to tell you that half my family thinks I am the most liberal thinking person in the world. The other half thinks I'm painfully conservative. Lol!
I try to keep an open mind, and I evaluate each situation from my personal collection of moral and social ideas, and life experience, just as we all do. I like to hear all sides of an investigation. We've only heard a tiny bit of perceptions of what happened, and as JeannaT pointed out, I'd be more inclined to believe the report of someone completely uninvolved, such as a passing delivery truck driver. The companion to MB has his story and perception, as do the other 3. That is not the end of the story-- it is only the beginning. There is much more.
As a general rule of thumb, I don't have a bias against all authority figures. I know how hard their job is, and how hard they have to work just to get there. I generally respect authority figures until I have a compelling reason not to. The officer has 6 years of a good and uneventful record, per the chief's words. Just because he was involved in a fatal shooting does not automatically mean he was acting unlawfully, or with undue force. He was assaulted and required ER care. I want to hear more about what happened. Until then, and based on everything else that has elapsed, I tend to believe there was a serious provocation of the officer, and due to social/ racial perceptions of that altercation, there has been a vastly disproportionate response of some of the local public to what happened.
And I think the altercation and shooting death has been used as an opportunity (not an excuse) for some thugs to get out and indulge their inclination to riot, loot, burn, injure, fight the police, etc.
