Flaky Cops, Flaky Defenses: whitewashing America's black deaths
Daunte Wright found himself in a state of flux: confused, afraid, trapped in a deadly situation. While in the clutches of two cops pinning him down, another cop from outside his white Buick LaCrosse yelled, “I’ll tase you…I’ll tase you!” Then, “Taser, taser, taser!” Seconds later, a hollow-point bullet was fired into Wright’s heart. Not long after, he was pronounced dead!
Potter claimed she thought the device she had drawn was her taser but instead she “…grabbed the wrong fucking gun!’’ Sounds like another “Oops, I/we've done it again!”
She claimed she did not know Wright had been shot until his last breathed words, “You shot me!” Guess her ‘unconscious’ mind missed the bright flush of crimson red and Wright's bloodied body slumped over into his seat.
Reasons behind the stop? Expired vehicle tags and an air freshener hanging in Wright’s rearview mirror. My God, can't a brother just breathe?
"Taser, taser, taser!" Pap! Does this clearly inept cop really believe this black kid—already convicted in the womb—ever had a chance? Rewind: just what did she expect Wright to do, folded into a car seat like cheap luggage? Or does that even matter in her whitewashed world?
Interestingly, there was no mention of why Wright initially conformed with being cuffed then abruptly flinched away. Ever thought the restraints were too tightly applied, cutting into his flesh, causing him insufferable discomfort? Ever considered the body’s proclivity for pain; its instinctive movements; its tendency towards unconscious responses? Of course not, that’d be too much like displaying compassion, humanity, or signifying that Black Lives Matter.
Neither am I buying that the shooting was accidental or void of malicious intent. Who holds a firearm for 6-seconds not knowing it is a gun? Potter’s itchy fingers were several times dancing around her Glock-17; she was as poised as any well-seasoned gunslinger with great resolve! Likewise, I was unmoved by her feigned bucket of tears. Actuality, I did not see a single drop. By her own admission, she was far more worried about going to prison than about taking a life. Her demeanor on the witness stand was coldhearted, and without an ounce of humility. Who dare takes such caustic, adversarial posture when they have just robbed a mother of her son’s life?
Now that a young black man has been savagely murdered, white America do what it has always done, paint him as a career criminal. Presumably, Wright had previous brushes with the law. Who the fuck has not? Especially if you’re the average black man likely to have been jailed for just about any petty infraction including anything done while black. Interesting how this shady tactic—vilifying the black decedent—always makes its way into the defense’s playbooks; and a black man’s unrelated past, used to seal the deal.
Notice too how much fuss was made about Wright’s attempts to flee. If in fact, he was attempting to take flight, who could blame him? Young black men know how matters involving sadistic cops can escalate and go very wrong. They’ve witnessed enough of their kind senselessly shot like rabid beasts. Are well attuned with who ends up on the receiving end of notorious blood baths. Seems to me, Wright had every reason to bolt. His senseless death should be confirmation enough!
Incidentally, while we’re handing out free passes to Potter for fearing her “rockstar” friend, legal advisor, and entrusted coach ("Officer Johnson"), was so worried about Wright driving off with him (Johnson) half-in, half-out of the vehicle, why not give Wright the same exemption for wanting to preserve his own life?
There came a moment in the trial after all of Potter’s feigned whooping and hollering, that the defense waved a white flag, pleading for a break. I suspect this timely ploy was so Potter could regroup, collect herself, polish her lies. I initially applauded the prosecution for bringing the pain, holding up a mirror of Potter’s transgression in front of her face. Upon reconvening though, instead of picking up where she left off, Eldridge backed off, cutting Potter too much slack—a luxury never accorded to blacks. Evidence enough that the justice system is disinterested in prosecuting crimes committed against blacks with the same vigor and vitality that it prosecutes crimes against whites.
There was another moment of clarity—that infamous air freshener—symbolic of yet another innocent, young black man needing to breathe; needing fresh air; wondering if he'd ever escape this loathsome world alive. I'm sure many recall the 2018 shooting of a 26-year-old accountant (Botham Jean) by another flaky cop (Amber Guyger) who claimed she entered Jean's apartment believing it was her own. On the witness stand Guyger opined, "Thought I was entering my own apartment...and he (the black intruder) was coming toward me." See the keen resemblance of two, of many, fanatical minds? The latest in an arsenal of foolishness, “Holy-shit, I Shot a Boy! Thought it (The Glock-17) was my Taser!”
The epic saga continues; the tangled yarn remains unspooled. Raw portraits of innocent black men callously slain and unhinged white cops vindicated with a repertoire of half-baked excuses. White cop impunity is at an all-time high! A daunting proof that, the only justification required for killing a black man is the fact that he is black!