Police killed a black man dressed up like an anime character

[Laerod]

What matters is the evidence, and the evidence provided by the autopsy suggests that the killing was not justified.

it wasn't justified because death penalty is againsthe the UN's human rights

Killing someone in the line of police duty does not inherently violate human rights or constitute capital punishment for that matter.

[Nord Amour]

What matters is the evidence, and the evidence provided by the autopsy suggests that the killing was not justified.

it wasn't justified because death penalty is againsthe the UN's human rights

While I don't necessarily agree with the death penalty, I don't see how the fact that a statement was issued by the UN makes it any more potent. The UN is not the final authority on morality or reason, and I don't believe that they should be recognized as such.

[Savoyae]

Jesús Christ, not every shooting is racially motivated. It's people like you that are reopening racial wounds.

precisely, this.

racism isn't doing something against black people. its doing it against someone because they're black.

what will actually end racism in the USA is not caring about skin color. ever.

Colour blindness is still racism.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/col ... orm-racism

[Ethel mermania]

it wasn't justified because death penalty is againsthe the UN's human rights

Killing someone in the line of police duty does not inherently violate human rights or constitute capital punishment for that matter.

i was sort of laughing at wondering about that post myself, i was going to say something snarking, but you beat me to it with rationality and reason

*CUrses*

[Obeyistan]

Remember kids, the moment you give a certain group of people a shiny badge and a privilege to shoot to kill people who have a 'weapon' out, or make some shit up so the situation would seem so, tyranny is just around the corner.

[Nord Amour]

precisely, this.

racism isn't doing something against black people. its doing it against someone because they're black.

what will actually end racism in the USA is not caring about skin color. ever.

Colour blindness is still racism.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/col ... orm-racism

You're not honestly giving "psychologytoday" as your source...

[Red Birds]

it wasn't justified because death penalty is againsthe the UN's human rights

While I don't necessarily agree with the death penalty, I don't see how the fact that a statement was issued by the UN makes it any more potent. The UN is not the final authority on morality or reason, and I don't believe that they should be recognized as such.

OK OK

[Obeyistan]

precisely, this.

racism isn't doing something against black people. its doing it against someone because they're black.

what will actually end racism in the USA is not caring about skin color. ever.

Colour blindness is still racism.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/col ... orm-racism

Not being racist isn't being racist. Simple logic.

[New Connorstantinople]

precisely, this.

racism isn't doing something against black people. its doing it against someone because they're black.

what will actually end racism in the USA is not caring about skin color. ever.

There tends to be a pattern of police acting against black people in manners inconsistent with how they would treat white people, however.

Which tends to suggest they might be caring about skin color quite a bit.

or is this being reported because the media gets better views if they ignite the race card? white people can, and have, been shot too. we need to start examining these situations from a non-racial point of view to see if it was justified, before immediately assuming it was racially motivated.

[Castille de Italia]

While this shooting wasn't justified, OP is wrong. Black youth aren't being targeted by police. Lamestream media wants you to think so. It's just police not following protocol and shooting for no appearant reason.

[Occupied Deutschland]

Only if you're black. Blacks have the mutant power of making any object they hold look like deadly weapons to police.

"HE'S GOT COTTON CANDY!!" *BLAM BLAM BLAM* "Justifiable Homicide."
"HE'S GOT A PIECE OF PAPER!!" *BLAM BLAM BLAM* "Justifiable Homicide."
"HE'S GOT A HAMBURGER!!" *BLAM BLAM BLAM* "Justifiable Homicide."

So on and so forth.

Yes, because swords are safe tools.

Here's some people open-carrying firearms in Utah, in one instance DIRECTLY BESIDE police officers. None were reported as being shot.

As such, I'm going to say the threat judgement by the police of this dude with the sword sounds like it is suspicious, at best.

[Nord Amour]

Colour blindness is still racism.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/col ... orm-racism

Not being racist isn't being racist. Simple logic.

It's Psychology Today, the same source that claimed that people adhering to the philosophy of determinism can't be political libertarians, even though these two things have no relation whatsoever.

[Laerod]

Nah. Read thread for details.

I don't agree. I completely understand the sentiment where most of the posters here are coming from, I really do. Cops can be assholes. Most of the family members I mention in my post are poorly educated and full of faux bravado, not to mention just absolute racists. My dad and I frequently joke that the police is where college football linemen go when they don't get drafted to the NFL...with the exception that I too was a college football lineman but am highly educated (master's in history, University of Glasgow, Ph.D international relations University of Exeter) and joined the army ;)

But I digress! I recognize that cops can be very hostile, and since most people's interactions with the police tend to be negative, there isn't a lot of love lost with them especially when human nature in a confrontation says to be defensive. But ultimately, police are the authorities and do have the right to command you to comply with them. You do not have the right to resist compliance, and if you do so your experience will go much smoother and have less tragic consequences. While yes Utah has open carry laws, you also are required to provide proof of this when police confront you, before anything else. You also should not be brandishing the weapon, fake or otherwise, in public. It is illegal to do so. It was a tragic incident, and while perhaps the truth of what exactly happen will not come out, I'm inclined to believe that while a misunderstanding, this could've been avoided with smarter behaviour: not brandishing a weapon, toy or otherwise.

The problem here is that the attitude with how American cops (enough for it to matter) approach their job is utter bunk. They're trusted with guns and the authority to arrest people. That means they damn well need to be able to show a lot more restraint when that authority is disrespected. I'm sure very few, if any, of the foxes where I used to live had rabies. That doesn't change the fact that I treated every single one of them as though they might because my health and safety were on the line if I didn't. It's fucking ridiculous that I need to treat American cops this way, especially when I consider that I don't have to treat German cops in this manner.

[Zelacraux]

Source: http://www.dailydot.com/news/darrien-hu ... osplaying/
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/nt ... gear-.html

For the second time in two months, a black man has been shot and killed by police officers while holding a toy weapon.

The Utah police fatally shot 22-year-old Darrien Hunt on Wednesday. He was holding a fake samurai sword, which led some to believe he was cosplaying, or costume playing, as Mugen from the popular anime Samurai Champloo.


Hunt was killed outside the Panda Express in Sarasota Springs, Utah, after police responded to a complaint of a "suspicious individual" with a sword.

The initial police statement claimed that Hunt had "brandished the sword and lunged toward the officers with the sword" before they shot him.

Hunt's family, however, is claiming that a private autopsy shows Hunt was shot in the back numerous times, and that multiple witnesses saw him running away from the police.

Hunt's case is eerily similar to another recent police shooting that took place in the toy department of Walmart. On Aug. 5, John Crawford III from Dayton, Oh., was also shot and killed by police who mistook his toy weapon for a real one.

In both cases, police responded to a call of suspicious behavior. In Crawford's case, witnesses stated that he was talking on his cellphone and leaning on a toy rifle that he had picked up while shopping in the store. Witnesses speculated that Crawford did not hear police directions for him to turn around, since he was shot while still holding his phone.

Both Utah and Ohio have open-carry laws, but the "weapon" in both of these cases was a toy—in Crawford's case an unpackaged BB gun, in Hunt's case a blunt-edged fake replica of a katana, or Japanese sword. Even if Hunt's sword had been real, it is legal to publicly carry a sword under Utah's open-carry law.

What the fuck? Something needs to be done about police targeting black youth on the street. This is completely ridiculous, it wouldn't happen to a white man. Americans, why do your police act like this for?

Okay that's beyond disgusting.
If the guy was trying to kill someone, that's something. Then the police is supposed to WARM him first and then IMPRISON him if he actually kills someone but he wasn't hurting anyone.
This just proves the racial discrimination against colored people.

[Nephmir]

Funny, if it was a white man that held a toy weapon that looked like a real one, while pretending to attack the police nonetheless, this conversation would go more like "what an idiot. Typical Americans."

[Aurulie]

How much is an "awful lot"?

This much.
And then some.
And then some more.

The sources don't reveal the whole story, and again a white on black shooting isn't racist, unless race was a reason why they shot. Oh, and being unarmed doesn't mean shit.

[Obeyistan]

Not being racist isn't being racist. Simple logic.

It's Psychology Today, the same source that claimed that people adhering to the philosophy of determinism can't be political libertarians, even though these two things have no relation whatsoever.

Heh, another joke site I see.

[Zelacraux]

Another thing I forgot to mention.
This one kid in my school was going to be arrested once for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
I feel so bad that i couldn't do anything about it. He kept on saying "I didn't even do anything. Why are you arresting me" and he was trying to sound all calm and HE LOOKED ME DEAD STRAIGHT IN THE EYES because he was in my class and I know he was hoping I'd do something but I sorta freaked out.
But yeah, he's colored and the white police officer stopped him and cuffed him for being colored. WELL, okay police officers. I never knew being colored was a crime.

[Lemanrussland]

This much.
And then some.
And then some more.

The sources don't reveal the whole story, and again a white on black shooting isn't racist, unless race was a reason why they shot. Oh, and being unarmed doesn't mean shit.

Being unarmed does mean shit, but there are cases where you can justify shooting an unarmed person.

[Aurulie]

Source: http://www.dailydot.com/news/darrien-hu ... osplaying/
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/nt ... gear-.html

What the fuck? Something needs to be done about police targeting black youth on the street. This is completely ridiculous, it wouldn't happen to a white man. Americans, why do your police act like this for?

Okay that's beyond disgusting.
If the guy was trying to kill someone, that's something. Then the police is supposed to WARM him first and then IMPRISON him if he actually kills someone but he wasn't hurting anyone.
This just proves the racial discrimination against colored people.

How so? The police are supposed to prevent crime, running around with a sword isn't rational at all.

[New Connorstantinople]

Another thing I forgot to mention.
This one kid in my school was going to be arrested once for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
I feel so bad that i couldn't do anything about it. He kept on saying "I didn't even do anything. Why are you arresting me" and he was trying to sound all calm and HE LOOKED ME DEAD STRAIGHT IN THE EYES because he was in my class and I know he was hoping I'd do something but I sorta freaked out.
But yeah, he's colored and the white police officer stopped him and cuffed him for being colored. WELL, okay police officers. I never knew being colored was a crime.

could you please describe what he was being arrested for, and how he was innocent, or do we just have to assume it was racist?

[Lordieth]

Funny, if it was a white man that held a toy weapon that looked like a real one, while pretending to attack the police nonetheless, this conversation would go more like "what an idiot. Typical Americans."

Yes, but then he'd be alive and in a jail cell, wouldn't he?

[Blazedtown]

precisely, this.

racism isn't doing something against black people. its doing it against someone because they're black.

what will actually end racism in the USA is not caring about skin color. ever.

Colour blindness is still racism.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/col ... orm-racism

TL;DR version: If you judge a man by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin, you're racist.

[Aurulie]

The sources don't reveal the whole story, and again a white on black shooting isn't racist, unless race was a reason why they shot. Oh, and being unarmed doesn't mean shit.

Being unarmed does mean shit, but there are cases where you can justify shooting an unarmed person.

No, it doesn't it goes beyond that, it depends on their location from you and others.

[Zelacraux]

Okay that's beyond disgusting.
If the guy was trying to kill someone, that's something. Then the police is supposed to WARM him first and then IMPRISON him if he actually kills someone but he wasn't hurting anyone.
This just proves the racial discrimination against colored people.

How so? The police are supposed to prevent crime, running around with a sword isn't rational at all.

In Utah, it's not a crime to hold a sword and it was FAKE. The police should have checked first to see if it was real or not. It still doesn't give them a right to KILL him. That's murder and the man died for no reason. Again, I'll repeat what a lot of people are saying here. If it were a white man, they would have checked to see if it was real or not and once they see it is a fake sword, they would have let him go.