My feelings about cops are .... complicated. I've known a lot of cops, I've done the usual ride-alongs as a reporter, I've seen them at their best, and I know them at their worst. I don't trust them as a rule, but I do understand the array of factors that make their jobs so stressful -- and in some respects, almost impossible.
That said, I'm really, really sick of how, no matter what, cops are always the victim. Always. And when something like the Rayshard Brooks killing happens, AND WE CAN EVEN WATCH IT, the problem can't possibly be that cops are paranoid and shooting at everything -- it's that we don't appreciate them enough. It's a grievance cult.
Now, there's no question that there are individual cops, maybe most of them, who are unhappy with the cowboy mentality bad cops have. But they aren't the ones in the spotlight -- it's these hardcore, paranoid bozos that even the good cops keep reelecting to head their unions. And as long as the clowns are in charge, we'll have a circus.
Look at how they called out in Atlanta last night. I know this trick: It's invariably accompanied with a chorus of "Oh, you don't like us? Fine, see what it's like without us!"
Sigh. The men with the guns and the almost unlimited freedom to use them are having a sad at the thought they might have to follow some rules.
"Good morning, Steph. Yeah, there is mixed reaction at this point," Catie Beck told Stephanie Ruhle this morning from Atlanta.
"There's some relief and vindication among protesters and demonstrators who have been looking for this justice for days and they're relieved to hear the D.A. say these charges yesterday. But there's also new outrage over hearing those details you just described. How these officers treated Mr. Brooks' body after he was shot in the back twice. Those details were particularly disturbing to a lot of protesters yesterday. And several told us we're not satisfied yet with just charges. They want to see this go through the process. They want to see justice on the other end of this which would mean a guilty verdict."
She interviewed Tomika Miller, Rayshard Brooks' widow. "This is not something she's at peace with yet. Here's what she had to say."
"Catie, we're also hearing from Rayshard Brooks himself in his own words. What is that about?" Ruhle said.
"Well, a video has surfaced from a group called Reconnect, which is a start-up that deals with criminal justice reform. They interviewed him about what his experience is like with the criminal justice system, reintegrating himself back into society. Here's what he had to say.
"Again, haunting words after District Attorney Paul Howard showed those images of one officer kicking Brooks, the other standing on his shoulders as he was fighting for life. The district attorney made very clear that the crux of his decision was based on the fact he did not feel at any point Brooks really posed any threat to those officers. And, therefore, he went with the steep charges he did against them."
