When the suspect is black -- and so is the cop

In reporting about crime and race, 'facts don't matter'

Larry Elder

After the death of a young black man by a Milwaukee police officer, riots, looting and fires followed. In one instance, as a gas station burned, people watching chanted, “Black power!” Local news reported that the 23-year-old suspect was not only armed but that he also defied orders to drop his gun. The Milwaukee police chief refused to identify the officer involved, but did say that he was “black.” At one time, such a fact would suggest that racism and police brutality were not at play.
But as the death of Freddie Gray – a black man who died after being transported in a Baltimore police van – shows us, not necessarily. Of the six officers involved in Gray’s arrest and van transportation and who were prosecuted, three were black. In fact, just weeks before the death of Gray, a White House task force praised the Baltimore Police Department, as well as its black chief, for “implementing national best practices for policies and training” and “use of force” reforms.

 

In Baltimore, at the time of Gray’s death, the No. 1 and No. 2 heads of the Police Department were black, and most of the command staff and rank-and-file officers are people of color. The mayor of Baltimore is also black, as are the majority of the city council and the state attorney who brought the charges. Four of six officers were tried, and in each case the state failed to obtain convictions. This led to the decision to drop charges against the remaining two officers and plans for the retrial of one of the four. Zero for six............Read more