If I was making unsupported guesses, I’d say possibly high and scared of being caught with drugs. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he had a bag of weed or somesuch in his hand.
But I don’t make those unsupported guesses, because I wasn’t there, I don’t know, and because premature speculation about these things rarely leads to anything other than slandering the victim and excusing the murderers.
And, more importantly, because:
- Intoxication.
- Nervousness.
- Deafness.
- Mental illness.
- Not speaking English.
- Attempting to conceal contraband.
- Resentment for the abuse of authority.
None of those things give the police a licence to murder.
I am mentally ill, and I have a medication-induced motor disorder that gives me Tourettish physical symptoms. I twitch, and mutter, and squeak, and my limbs fly about of their own volition. And it gets worse when I’m startled, under stress, or when I’m self-conscious about being observed.
If a cop pointed a gun at me and started yelling orders as shown here, I’d be instantly kicked into full-throttle twitching/screaming mode. Given the available evidence of their procedures, I’d be lucky to be alive five seconds after my first encounter with American police.
