I’m not making excuses. Racism is a huge cultural problem, but we can’t ignore that giving the wrong people an uniform and a gun is what kills people. Over here in the EU racism is also rampant, much less among cops, at least compared to the US, still we have white cops beating and killing white people. Does it change something? Take away racism in the US and you still get violent cops that could pull you over and crush your face just because you wore the wrong shirt. There are two very different (although intersecting) problems here, we should deal with both.
As long as systemic racism exists, we get these results.
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Look at the list posted here.
There are plenty of ways proposed there to discourage violent thugs from joining the police force, but “drug testing for steroids” doesn’t make the list at all.
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Actually, quite a few (but not nearly all) precincts DO test for steroids. Sadly, though, we also get very little solid info on a) who fails, or b) what actually happens after (as opposed to the written rules), so it’s of questionable worth, to put it nicely.
Just another symptom of their utter lack of accountability.
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That’s exactly why steroid testing is a low-priority item for people who think seriously about police reform in the U.S.
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God damn that prosecutor. Unless that “other evidence” shows that Floyd had a third unrestrained arm that was actively wielding a hatchet, he can go fuck himself sideways. This violence is on his hands.
And, not for nothing, let’s not forget that the wails of anguish from Klobacher et al ring more than a little hollow at this point given she had the power to rein Chauvin in while this pattern of behavior was being set. She chose not to, because she wasn’t forced to, because there was no video. The only reason she (and a host of others) aren’t playing the “well, police have a hard job, so it’s not our place to second-guess these life & death decisions…” is because the public has seen the video. If there was no video, or if a Rahm Emanuel figure suppressed it sufficiently, these officers would be on patrol today.
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Agreed! That prosecutor damn well needs far more of the shame and blame here, there’s plenty to go around.
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Coming to this conversation late, but wanted to point out: seems as though the “vandalism” was initiated by agents provocateurs:
ETA: The above thread points out that after the AutoZone was vandalized, protestors were teakettled into it using tear gas canisters. No wonder it caught on fire.
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Quit while you’re behind 
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Well fuck. Prosecutors charge for murder on less evidence than that every day.
ARGH. I’m concerned about virus transmission among the protestors. They are already part of vulnerable populations. It shouldn’t have changed their decison to protest, this isn’t like the stupid protests about stay-at-home orders. But I’m worried for them.
The fire was a bad idea, strategically. I know and understand why the protestors did it (if they did, more on that in a bit), but it has shifted the focus.
I’m glad it burned though.
The protestors may have set fires in the building but it went up so fast. I could see some retreating cops leaving some flammable shit around to help things along.
I’m pretty impressed with the mayor.
And Trump. Fuck that horrible little man.
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Remember the good old days when video was considered near incontrovertible evidence of something happening? Body cams were supposed to help but somehow the courts still seem to be able to dismiss cell phone video as well as bodycam footage.
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Andrea Jenkins, vice president of Minneapolis City Council, says George Floyd and Officer Chauvin worked at restaurant near Third Precinct.
“They were coworkers for a very long time.”
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I was wondering about this. I’d seen reports of this guy on twitter. Supposedly the guy’s ex identified him as a cop from the video.
I’m no expert and have never been in a riot but this guy’s strolling along breaking windows with a hammer doesn’t look like out of control rioters. Can’t call it looting because he was just breaking stuff and not attempting to enter the store and take anything.
My thought on the umbrella was maybe an attempt to interfere with drone footage?
What’s up with the dude with the pizza?
The whole thing just seemed surreal.
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Police have been caught more than once doing similar stuff. It was rampant during Occupy Wall Street, for example (undeniable footage is pretty easy to find, if anyone needs me to).
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My understanding is that dude with pizza is just a community dude who’s trying to get the asshole with the hammer to stop smashing up the building. Guessing he was just a dude with a pizza who was trying to be on the right side of matters.
(Tangentially: This thread also provides evidence that suggests that dude-with-hammer is also the one who spray painted “free stuff zone” on the building.)
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It’s really frustrating knowing that not only law enforcement and judicial systems are broken but that police will also purposefully incite violence and destruction within a protest in order to crush them. It’s nothing new and these scumbags illustrate why minorities have a complete lack of trust and faith in this country.
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It’s not only “nothing new”, to me it feels like their actions are waxing to some terrible denouement that I can’t really imagine, considering what’s already happened in our history.
@brenbart: Yeah, that damn movie comes up a lot in my thoughts lately for that very reason. And screw you too, because now you made ME feel old xD!
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They claim he isn’t theirs, but what else can they say?
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