Posted on 08/28/2014 7:37:24 AM PDT by Kaslin
Why has there been no media interest in the police shooting of an apparently unarmed suspect in Salt Lake City?
Just two days after the shooting death of Michael Brown, an officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old. The Salt Lake City Police Department equips some of its officers with cameras. The department confirmed the officer who shot had a camera and that footage of the confrontation and shooting was captured, but they would not elaborate further, and the video of the encounter has yet to be released publicly. As with the Michael Brown case, this "lack of transparency" has caused some family members of the deceased to raise questions.
But what of the race of the decedent and of the cop?
The local newspaper, the Salt Lake City Tribune, reported the story this way:
"A wanted fugitive fatally shot by Salt Lake City police, who were looking for a man reportedly brandishing a handgun outside a convenience store, was unarmed and trying to comply with police orders when he was killed, his brother claims.
"Investigators, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation and need to protect evidence, remained mum on whether a gun was found at the scene of the Monday night shooting at a 7-Eleven store. ... Police also would not discuss conflicting witness reports that Dillon Delbert Taylor, 20, appeared to have reached toward his waistband during the confrontation.
"Taylor was facing a felony arrest warrant when police challenged him outside the store, court records confirm. But Taylor's brother, 22-year-old Jerrail Pete Taylor -- who court records show served time on a 2009 second-degree felony robbery count himself -- insists that police did not mention the warrant when they approached him, his brother and a third man outside the store.
"'We're walking out of the 7-Eleven with a drink, when the cops show up and start harassing us with guns,' Jerrail Taylor told The Salt Lake Tribune. ... South Salt Lake police, who are investigating the shooting, said Salt Lake City police were answering a 911 call reporting a man there was waving a handgun; Dillon Taylor purportedly matched the description of the armed man.
"Dillon Taylor was wearing headphones and didn't respond to the three officers until they surrounded him, Jerrail Taylor said.
"'He couldn't hear them, so he just kept walking. Then ... they had guns pointed at his face. That's when he turned off the music,' he said. 'I saw them point guns at my brother's face, and I knew what was going to happen.'
"One officer told Dillon Taylor to get on the ground, while another told him to put his hands on his head.
"'He got confused, he went to pull up his pants to get on the ground, and they shot him,' Jerrail Taylor said.
"Witnesses said they heard two shots. Taylor died at the scene; his brother and cousin were detained for questioning."
Notice anything missing? No mention of the race of the police officer or the man killed?
Local newspapers, when they describe the officer's race at all, ID him as "not white." The police chief would only say the firing officer "is not a white officer." As for the decedent, most newspapers' accounts say nothing, but local bloggers say he is "white" or "white and Hispanic." Some family members say he is "Hispanic."
As with Ferguson, some family members have taking to the streets in protest. But, unlike Ferguson, they protest without the glare of CNN or Al Sharpton yelling, "No justice, no peace" or President Barack Obama offering his "deepest condolences" as he did to the Michael Brown family.
The officer, whose name has not been released, has been removed from active duty during the investigation. The Salt Lake City police chief, Chris Burbank, said, "You will see on camera ... the actions of everyone involved, including up to the point where our officer utilizes deadly force and his response thereafter." The Tribune reported: "Burbank indicated that if Taylor's shooting is found to have been unjustified, the officer involved would be held accountable. In the past five years, the chief noted, two officers have been dismissed for using excessive force with a firearm."
There has also been little national media attention about the shooting death of a 9-year-old in Chicago, shot twice in an apparent targeted shooting. Repeat: 9 years old. The crime remains unsolved, and one local writer called it an "assassination." Other locals, including at least one clergyman, call it an "execution."
How about a little perspective?
Being a cop is a difficult job, which requires making decisions in a split second with life and death hanging in the balance. And bad guys don't care about your race or your gender. What happened in Ferguson, an unarmed black killed by police, is rare. What happened in Chicago to the 9-year-old boy, an urban black person shot and killed, is all too common.
Black cop...white victim...nothing to see here.My standards would be just the same as they would be for white cop,black victim.It’s my understanding that there was some sort of serious,or potentially serious,situation occurring at the time and during it the black cop ordered the white guy to raise his hands but he failed to do so because,most likely,he didn’t *hear* the order because he was wearing headphones.Sounds plausible to me.With that info I’m not prepared to claim “wrongful shooting”.With additional info I may,or may not,change my mind.
Even worse is the number of blacks killed by other blacks. Talk about misplaced outrage and fear.
They are the enemy.
It’s because there is no white Sharpton or Jackson or USAG who is white. Which is a good thing.
Not white means a lot of things, he could be Asian or Latino as well, both are ethnicities I have found to be somewhat of a demographic in SLC.
The FBI stats I've seen (from 2009,IIRC) strongly suggest that the large majority of murder victims...black *and* white...are killed by members of their own race.
***Dillon Taylor was wearing headphones and didn’t respond***
I’ve never understood why people would walk around with headphones on. You cannot hear trains, cars, other people, and so many people look like they are oblivious to what is going on around them.
Yep. And the reason for that is most people associate with people of the same race. Not all the time but people often predominantly associate with people that look like them. Racism? Maybe / maybe not but that’s a fact jack.
How could reporting on that situation make YT pay more?
I don’t get why you even bring it up!
/sarc
'I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.'
Totally disagree. Given the facts presented this would be minimum 3rd degree manslaughter.
Take away the badge and lets say the shooter was a civilian with a concealed weapon. Still think the shooting may be justified? If not then you must ask why does a badge make it ok?
Being a cop does not give you a pass and in fact cops should be much more prepared to make the right decision than a civilian. If police are not held to the same proctorial standards as anyone else in the use of deadly force then we as a society are literally giving them a license to commit murder.
It’s about the return of tribalism, “us” vs “them”. Regardless of intra-tribal violence, and despite “them” not wanting anything to do with tribalism (adhering to principles instead), some are trying real hard to stir up inter-tribal warfare. Only accusations of “they’re unfairly harming us, kill them” matter to these leaders.
Well...no.Simply because an ordinary civilian doesn't have the legal authority to order another to raise his/her hands.Yet,under certain circumstances,a cop *does* have that authority.
Every (fornicating) media account of brown/ferguson had the words “brown was Black. the cop is White.”
The media is completely irresponsible. It wants to destroy this country.
That little detail about an outstanding warrant is an interesting addition to the story; I had not previously heard about it.
Headlines: UNARMED YOUNG WHITE MAN (22- can’t say teen) SHOT BY NONWHITE POLICE OFFICER. RIOTING AND LOOTING ESCALATES.
Oh, wait...
White boy killed by wigga pants.
That's irrelevant.
Not raising your hands does not give a police officer or anyone else the justification to kill.
If deadly force is used there must be a valid reason. In this case either the police officer or other persons lives must be in grave danger otherwise deadly force was not justified. With the facts presented it's very clear no one's life was in grave danger from the suspect as he was unarmed and not an immediate threat. This is minimum, manslaughter.
You wouldn't be a member of FR's rather large "All Cops Are Cold Blooded Murderers" brigade,would you?
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