Sean Bell thoughts

[carterjt47]

damn

[Fisue928]

They were considered a threat because they were Black. If someone was walking up to your car with a gun, you would be a fool not to try to kill them. If you felt threatened, and you shot someone several times, reloaded then shot them so more, you would be locked up for life. Those police officers were told, it is just fine to kill Blacks, just say you feel threatened. We should all be able to do that.

[cboy8]

They were considered a threat because they said they were going to get a gun! Wake up! John White (black) shot and killed a white kid that he felt threatened by on Long Island. He got off. Funny thing is Al defended him, marched for him because of the threat he felt and the actions he took. I think John White was OK to defend himself because of the perceived threat against him and his family. So you are able to do that. Protect yourself, just don't threaten people, you'll be fine.

[Fisue928]

What gun? Where was it? That was a lie those paid killers made up.

[cboy8]

This may stop the next guy from talking shit about getting a gun to f..k somebody up with. If you want to believe the guys that couldn't keep a story straight on the stand, that were worried about how their testimony would effect their 50 million dollar lawsuit, that's fine. We won't ever agree then so there's no further point to waste time discussing this. Paid Killers? 30,000 plus cops on the streets, 1 questionable death every few years and you call them paid killers? That's comical

[lkspence]

First things first. Sharpton does protest gangs. But in as much as protests don't really mean anything, what he does (against police brutality or against gangs) matters little.

Folks make comparisons between gang violence and police brutality all the time. This comparison only works if either the gangs engaged in violence are given the authority by the government to commit murder.....or if the police are a gang.

Which one is it?

[cboy8]

Al considers them a gang. He calls this Blue on Black violence because with the amount of minority officers on the job, he lost the white "racist" aspect he so adored. Cops aren't given authority to commit murder. They are given authority to do the most dangerous job out there. Sometimes things go very wrong. It would be easy to just discontinue all undercover operations. How bad would crime rise in some area? Wouldn't protesting gang violence benefit the minority community a lot more?

[lkspence]

The police are the only agents authorized by the government to use force. To commit murder, to defend themselves, to create order. Given the power they wield, if you have a choice between getting police officers to act right, and fulfill their taxpayer sponsored mandate...and between getting gang members not to act like gang members, which do you choose?

[cboy8]

I'd choose the one that would save more lives. Maybe I'm nuts. I think gangs wield more power by far. "No snitches" sums that up. No problem having a witness come forward to point out a cop. You show some videos of police in action. If they were gang members and you filmed it, we wouldn't be having this conversation, you'd be dead or not have that footage. So if Al Sharpton's intent is to help black people, not his agenda, he'd channel his energy elsewhere.

[lkspence]

i'm not sure what al's intent is...but i don't think it matters. what is more important to me is creating a climate where black people feel safe in their homes. the first step there is getting the police to do their jobs. why should black people do the job of the police?

[cboy8]

The cops were doing their jobs that night. Things went tragically wrong. How many operations do they perform every day like this that don't result like Sean Bell's case. They are trying to keep you safe. These guys were drug dealers, they were acting like thugs, they caused what lead to this. If the cops didn't step in, I wish they didn't, the pimp in the truck probably would have shot them. One of their lives was going to end like this.

[lkspence]

I know the police officers involved would take the events of that night back if they could.

But they chose the job. They have a responsibility to do the job right. In this case it is pretty clear they did not...no matter what crimes Bell and his partners were previously guilty of (and selling wolf tickets isn't a crime).

[cboy8]

Imagine having a job for 20 years and never making one mistake? Imagine if that mistake could lead to this. I had a girlfriend, her brother was on the job, shot and killed in the line of duty. Split second decision, I guess he waited too long. He left a son, a wife and a family that never was the same. There's two sides, they both suck. It's like white people grouping blacks together when a couple do bad things, the cops are the same. They unfortunately are human.

[lkspence]

I know. This is a bad deal all the way around. The black police officer who (i believe) apologized to the family didn't even have facial hair. He was just a kid himself. The policies I think were ignored here are there for a reason--to save police officers AND the people they are supposed to protect. More than any other time I fully understand and appreciate the job police officers do. But we can't afford to live with mistakes like this. (They can't either.)

[cboy8]

As a black man, does it bother you that unless a killing can benefit AL Sharpton, he could care less about black people killing eachother every day. He doesn't protest gangs. They kill more black people the cops. CO gets murdered the other night. No protest that this innocent man was gunned down by two thugs. Black people are killing black people by the thousands each year, but the only attention is when there is a questionable shooting by police. The cops are the least of the problem. JMHO

[cboy8]

Well thought out. Your final sentence said it all. Sean Bell and his friends were perceived as a threat becuase of their actions and words. I find Sharpton commical. Black guy on the Island shoots and kills a guy he percieved as a threat. Sharpton backs him because of the threat of violence. There was a threat of violence the evening of Sean Bell's death. The cops acted. Both defendents were not convicted because of this perceived threat. Correct on both accounts.

[pigoprha]

The problem lies with blacks because you are trying to make this a black thing when it a evil thing and blacks don't do anything about this CONTINUAL PROBLEM. Blacks do not understand that we are at war. and you don't go to court when someone has declared war on you. You protect yourself. This happens everyday and blacks still don't how to unite and protect yourself.