I’ve begun to wonder if American press and law enforcement practices contribute to racial distrust.
Law enforcement example:
Twelve year old Tamir Rice reportedly pointed a weapon (later identified as an airsoft toy pistol) at a police officer who quickly shot the youngster. Eric Garner argued with police about whether he had been selling untaxed cigarettes and was physically restrained, face down on the ground. He died as a result of the methods used by police. Both Rice and Garner were black.
Cliven Bundy refused to pay taxes and illegally grazed cattle on federal property. He refused to leave when ordered to do so by officers. His supporters occupied and barricaded a highway overpass, using it as a sniper position from which they aimed rifles at the officers. Neither Bundy nor the snipers were charged with any crime or forcibly removed.
How would police respond if heavily armed black men occupied federal property; defied orders to leave; and pointed rifles at officers?
Press Examples:
Cliven Bundy was associated with the radical Sovereign Citizens movement, America’s top killers of police. That fact was barely mentioned in press coverage. Forbes Magazine extensively covered Bundy and the Sovereign Citizen and militia movements that supported him. Their reporter criticized a US senator for inflaming the situation by referring to Sovereign Citizens as “domestic terrorists” even though their members have set traps to ambush police. The FBI also calls them domestic terrorists. Their ideology is similar to the militia movements – the kind of thinking that spawned the Oklahoma City Courthouse bombing. Press coverage of them is infrequent and sometimes sympathetic, as it was for Waco’s Branch Davidians or Randy Weaver’s clan at Ruby Ridge.
One black man killed two NYPD officers as revenge for police killing Eric Garner. Cable news, broadcast TV, and newspapers gave the story continuous coverage including live broadcast of the funerals with close-ups of officers insulting their mayor. Pundits blamed activists including Rev. Al Sharpton for inciting black citizens. Whatever you think of him, Sharpton was unarmed; and he did not encourage Bundy-style armed resistance.
News coverage of police shooting black men (who turned out to be unarmed)included statements that people must comply with police orders and allow themselves to be detained, even if they are not officially under arrest. Police made the case that people may justifiably be shot if they make a move that an officer perceives to be threatening. That was not the message when white snipers were aiming weapons at officers.
Do these facts represent news media bias by respecting the views of radical whites while discrediting those of black protesters? Do police have a greater propensity to use force when the suspected offenders are black?
Such questions merit thoughtful introspection by both the press and law enforcement. What is your opinion?