When someone clearly dies as a result of excessive force by a cop, it’s grounds for outrage. Not mayhem, disorder and destruction that could endanger others.
That’s even more true when the story isn’t clear — as with the deaths of Eric Garner here in New York City and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. So let’s hope activists don’t stir up more mayhem, disorder and destruction in either place.
Activists, in particular, like the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Let’s not act like we’ve solved the problem because we now have the cops marching with the marchers,” Sharpton said Friday, referring to the relative calm in Ferguson after Gov. Jay Nixon put state police in charge. “We’re not out of this yet.”
It almost sounds like Sharpton is upset by the calm.
Nixon’s move to send in the state police proved wise. In prior nights, Ferguson had been gripped by unrest, including bottle-throwing and the burning of a convenience store.
Protesters were outraged at a cop’s fatal shooting of Brown, an unarmed black teen. Police responded with tear gas and snipers in what seemed like a military operation.
But the facts of that case are in dispute: Police say there was a struggle between Brown and the cop, involving the officer’s gun. A witness says Brown was shot while trying to surrender.
Back in New York, Sharpton plans a major protest of the Garner case next week. Here, too, the facts are unclear.
The medical examiner cited a cop’s “chokehold” as the primary cause of Garner’s death while resisting arrest, and a video captured the incident. But the ME’s full report has yet to be released. And so far, there’s no conclusive proof the cop acted unlawfully.
In both cases, the facts are key. Any conclusions are best drawn only after those facts come out