Those words were uttered by a white cop at a black man, Stephon Clark, as he lay on the ground motionless in his grandmother's back yard in Sacramento, CA on Sunday evening. He was motionless because two cops had just shot him 20 times.
Notice the shot-counter at 1:10 in the above video, like in a videogame, which might be funny if this weren't footage of an actual murder. After unloading their magazines, the cops then engage in buddy talk for several minutes, unconcerned about the dying man on the ground.
"You alright? You hit?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"You alright, dude?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. I don't think I'm hit or anything."
Of course the cops weren't hit--Clark only had a cell phone, and a white one at that. Maybe if your IQ is just 75, a white iPhone can look like a gun. For five minutes, the cops continue to hide just around the corner of the house from where they shot Clark, playing out the videogame scenario.
"I got him at gunpoint, dude. You do a tactical reload okay?" as if the dead Clark were going to pop up and attack like video game creatures do. One of the cops makes it clear (over the radio) that no one important has been injured: "I want everybody to know--we are fine, no officers are hit." Why is that even relevant to the situation?
Other cops arrive, and all four continue to stand there, shouting periodically at the bullet-riddled Clark. "Hey can you hear us?" and "Let's see your hands!" If there was any chance of saving his life, it evaporated in those five minutes.
The four heavily armed, sissy cops then call for a body bunker--a riot shield--before approaching the dead Clark.
Maybe police are rightfully cautious. Maybe there are people out there gunning for them, and who could blame anyone after all the recent murders by police? But this incident, like hundreds of other recent killings by police, highlights a serious and growing problem in this country: the lives of cops (and state employees in general) are valued more highly than the lives of everyone else. In 2017, cops in Amerika shot and killed 987 people, but only 46 cops were killed.
What does all this have to do with Hoofers? To some of us, the parade of cops who are getting away with murder is eerily similar to the lack of charges in the death by motorboat of Yu Chen almost a year ago now. At least in Sacramento, authorities released the video after a few days; the Dane County Sheriff and DA are still refusing to release the video of Yu Chen's death 10 months later.
Kinda makes ya wonder what it shows.
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And poor Yu Chen was just run over by a motorboat.
ReplyDeleteNo one alerted Hoofer Club Members or the general public that his severed arm was out there in the lake. We could have been looking for it, found it and his family could have buried all of his body. Instead, just left to rot in the lake like some log bumping under a pier.
okay, everyone knows about the arm, lets not gross people out. if they had announced it, then what, tell everybody to bring a plastic bag and tongs on board whenever they go sailing? I for am anxious to see the report to find out if they did actually find it. We dont know that they did not. now enough on the arm already.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll spend this nice Sunday re-reading a Hemingway classic. I'll spare you the title because it might make people uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? They should have alerted the water-going public to be on the look-out or keep out of the area while search and rescue looked for the missing limb. If a citizen saw something in the water they could wave their arms in the air or use their cellphone to call authorities. The Sheriff could then come and collect the remains.
ReplyDeleteWhat is so hard to comprehend about that?
From day one this alleged investigation has been behind closed doors, public and family in the dark and the silence just keeps on going. 2 months until this has been a full year of silence.
I agree with everything you say, except most sailors being able to call anyone on a cell phone they left in their locker back at Hoofers. In any case, the appendage in question likely sunk to the bottom never to be seen again.
ReplyDelete.....just a Tiger Muskie with a Fitbit watch in its tummy....
ReplyDeleteIntelligence officials fear China's global 'kidnapping' program has reached America
ReplyDelete"Chinese nationals living in the United States have also begun to disappear under suspicious circumstances, although unlike previous targets, "they were not high-profile folks," said one former U.S. intelligence official."
http://theweek.com/speedreads/764194/intelligence-officials-fear-chinas-global-kidnapping-program-reached-america
I feel so badly for the UW-Rescue motorboat operators and Yu Chen. All of their lives changed forever in those horrific minutes on the lake. No one wants anyone demonized here. It was just an awful and tragic event that will haunt the boat operators and Yu Chen's family forever.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has suffered enough. I'm sure the DA is thinking the same thing. Sometimes the best justice is none served. It would be best for the DA to say so and that should be good enough.
Everyone has suffered enough? What if your kid was studying overseas and the local govrnor's drunken son ran him over and killed him while snorting a line of coke off his buddy's bare leg? Would you just say to yourself"Oh well...shit happens"? I think not.
ReplyDeleteWait a sec! Anonymous above, are you categorically stating that the Governor's son was on that boat when the accident occurred? The world has enough fake news without your contributions. Or, do you have anything to back that up?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analogy
ReplyDeleteAnonymous above: Analogous to a fictitious scenario. Quite impressive. You should be a screen writer for straight to DVD movies. Paging Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Segal, your next movie script is here.
ReplyDeleteAbove the Law II: New Sheriff in Town.
ReplyDeleteSheriff Seagal turns his martial arts on Wisconsin's Martial Law as he investigates a homicide on a bucolic lake; all the while taking on a cabal engaged in a cover-up of the violent death of a foreign national.
The press is silent
The community is silent
The sailing club is silent or hungover or both
Only Sheriff Seagal can tear the lid off this conspiracy of silence and the bad guys will know: No one is above the law!
Coming this Spring on Netflix, Steven Seagal in Above the Law II.
I saw that a Hoofer is organizing a remembrance for Yu Chen. That is a nice positive thing. Way to show compassion, support and a true sense of community. It's the little things that make a difference.
ReplyDelete