This is just a taste of why American streets are on fire...

[MrScorpio]

[samnsara]

1. wow....that was tense and I had NO idea how it would turn out..

[c-rational]

43. Agreed, painful to watch and it left me angry. Too typical.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. Another "busybody" cop, seeking trouble.

Maybe there's just too many of them?

Here's a story that I shared here a few days ago, and the cop in that situation should have just left me alone too.

I "complied" like crazy, but the truth is that nobody should even have to deal with that nonsense!

(Cut-and-pasted)
The cops in my area, a neighborhood which is about 90% white, are always patrolling the poorer areas like where I live. When I drive around the wealthier enclaves, I don't see cops just parked along the streets like they do where I live.

And maybe there's indeed more crime where I live, but I don't see it! My guess is that we'd have more people selling drugs or whatever to survive, and the cops that are often "hunkered down" here are hoping to file additional charges whenever they stop someone for a broken headlight or whatever.

And here's something that happened to me here, many years ago:

I had returned home from my 2nd shift job and then went outside to smoke a cigarette. I was sitting just outside my apartment door, smoking quietly a little after midnight when most of my neighbors were apparently asleep.

A police car pulled into an adjacent apartment parking lot and I quietly watched him. Then he stopped and yelled, "Hey! What are you doing!!" I assumed that he was yelling toward someone else that I couldn't see. Then he repeated it a couple more times until I stood up and said, "Me?"

"Yeah, you! Come over here!" So I started walking toward him and he yelled for me to put out the cigarette. So I did.

As I got near him and his car, he asked if I knew about a windshield that was busted out of a car about a mile away?

Me: "No, I just come home from work not long ago."
Him: "Oh, yeah? 'Cause you seem to match the description of the perpetrator. Got ID on you?"
Me: "Yes, but it's still in my car over there near my apartment."
Him: "Show me. Let's go!"

So he walked behind me toward my car, and I unlocked it. I then forewarned him it was in the glove box, so I'd have to open it. He put his hand on his gun. (Aww, jeezuz.)

I pulled out my driver's license and showed it to him, and then he talked on his radio like he wanted someone to check my background.

Within a couple minutes, he returned my ID (which I shoved into a pocket) and told me that I shouldn't be outside at night because some teenagers were causing trouble. (I was middle-aged. Did he mistake me as a teenager when I supposedly matched a description?)

Then he asked this dumb question: "Is this where you live?!"

Me: "Yes, this is the address from my driver's license. That's my car, and I was sitting just outside my door earlier in this chair." I opened the door and said, "See?"

He told me to go inside and stay there, like we were dealing with a 9/11 terrorist situation in my area.

So I went inside and waited for him to leave. Then I returned to the outside chair and smoked another cigarette. There were far more apartment lights turned on after all of that loud ruckus from him.

I told coworkers about it the next day, and they said they would've just walked into the the apartment and locked the door in that situation. "Fuck that cop! Why did you even walk toward him?!"

[paleotn]

37. Das Gestapo.....

The funny thing about drugs and theft. They exist in wealthier, white neighborhoods just as much as poorer areas. In my high school days, in a white, middle class neighborhood of a large southern city, we all knew who had drugs. And they could get you whatever you wanted, if you had the cash. Want a new car stereo, but don't want to pay full price? If you didn't mind it being white hot, we could hook you up. Nice guy, athlete, sister was a cheerleader, good family, and he had his very own car break in ring. Be warned, though. Don't give him a dime until he delivers the merchandise, because he will rip you off.

And where were the police? You guessed it. Patrolling the poorer neighborhoods, while crime was rampent in the very neighborhoods THEY lived in. It was just quiet and carried out by young white people so I guess that made it OK. I doubt things have changed much in 30+ years.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

47. Same was true in my parents' neighborhood.

I grew up there, and I almost never saw cops parked along the sides of the roads and just waiting for the slightest mistake to have "cause" to investigate you.

During the rare times that I saw them, they'd wave and smile when you waved at them, like on Andy Griffith.

The usually showed up only after they were called by someone.

And I can verify that all kinds of illegal things were happening in that neighborhood. I went to some parties as a teenager, and knew about it in other ways too. It might have been more prevalent there than here! Most people in this neighborhood stick to themselves and don't even go outside much of the time. (Maybe they're worried some BORED cop will bother them?)

[SiliconValley_Dem]

57. more than busybody. even in supposedly enlightened northern states, whites regularly demand

that black people and other people of color be reminded of their place in our society. They want to deny black people have a right to be treated as any white person would be treated. THIS is classic case of institutional racism and deck stacked against black people in this country.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

58. Absolutely. Profiling happens a lot!

It's worse for African Americans, but they do it to just about anyone if they don't look wealthy or whatever. Even guys with long hair can trigger them.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. That was very painful to watch.

I can see it clearly in this video. The way the police try to strip down the confidence of a black man. Try to remind them that they live under the boot of white authority.

[Celerity]

10. +100000

[Pacifist Patriot]

59. Very

And how stupid do you have to be to not recognize a clamp for trash pickup? Good grief!

[RVN VET71]

4. Defiant, courageous even

But he could have gotten himself killed. When dealing with low information and probably racist cops with guns, it's really best to try to be the person who calms the situation down not the one who riles up the gin and taser toting cop. The kid was absolutely within his rights. No question about it. But so was Trayvon Martin.

It's better, I'm saying, to point out to the fascist cop what he is doing to violate your rights while you cooperate with him. Survival 101 is never get up in the face of a dangerous criminal, especially one who belongs to a gang of dangerous criminals he can summon via radio. (And yes, by "dangerous criminal" I mean white police officer who sees you picking up trash and hassles you, threatens you and summons 6 or 7 of his buddies -- all armed and ready to shoot -- to assist.)

[EffieBlack]

16. He wasn't defiant

Defiant suggests he was refusing to cooperate. He was simply defending himself from being violated. That’s not defiance. That’s self-protection.

[Rainbow Droid]

35. Defending yourself is defiance when they're beating, gassing, tazering, or murdering you.

So just fucking submit and your murder might be quicker and less painful. If they feel like killing you then that's their right. Who are we to question the police? It's not like they work for us. Besides, haven't you heard there's a war in progress on America's streets? In case you missed it the cops are the Good Guys and the civilians are enemy combatants.

[RVN VET71]

52. Refusing to cooperate is defiance.

Defiance, in this instance, is righteous, of course, but call it what it is. Self-protection? I was fearful for this guy while watching the video because I thought he was going to get himself killed. Fortunately he seemed to know that this cop and his comrades in arms were not as prone to murder as the police in many jurisdictions -- or maybe he just knew that the cop had not turned off his body cam.

But, oh yes, what he exhibited was defiance, proudly and bravely. Defiance is NOT a bad thing.

A toddler defies his parent and walks into the street because he doesn't care what his parent says -- --- that's bad defiance.

But this student's defiance is good defiance, it's defiance in the cause of dignity, of freedom and, ironically, the law.

(Actually, Naropa University is in Boulder Colorado, I think. I don't know if the police in Boulder are a more pacific breed than, say, the uniformed thugs in MPLS and Buffalo. Maybe they are and maybe that's why this scene didn't end tragically. On the other hand maybe the student was just extremely lucky.) (Naropa is named after a Tibetan sage and sees itself as Buddhist inspired, so it is even more ironic and odd that the cop would threaten one of its students with violence, sadly ironic.)

[Duppers]

29. Agree! nt

[wnylib]

49. I'm nor sure that trying to

calm a situation down while complying necessarily works. How many people have been shot while cooperating and not being any kind of threat?

Pointing out what the cop was doing at various steps, like hand on the gun, reaching for a taser, etc., may have been a wise move, for the camara and for the cop's behavior, making him think about what he is doing.

I did notice that, while the cop insisted on seeing ID to verify the student's address and right to be there, he had no such problem accepting the word of the white faculty member without proof.

Who makes sure they have ID with their address on it when doing yard work where they live?

[FakeNoose]

5. Once again, I'm asking why aren't there more black cops?

A black man in uniform would have handled this much differently, and the response from the resident would have been way less resentful. Yes this white cop was awful at this, but he was close to provoking an incident whether it was his intention or not. Whether the white cop is a racist or not is almost beside the point. And I say that because the incident he tried to provoke could have happened, at which point it becomes a racial problem. Maybe it wasn't before that, but who is going to care?

The fact that white men go around with badges, uniforms and weapons asking questions of black men in a provocative way - that all has to stop. Have more black cops on the force to handle such a situation, and it will almost never become a racial incident, as this one could have so easily become.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. That would be helpful too, probably.

I suspect that there's just too many of them.

If that's how that cop decided to spend his time, then he apparently has way too much time on his hands.

[LiberalArkie]

23. When a black man, asian man joins the force, they begin to think like the white racist cops. They

begin to think they are better than the non-cops. But to the white racist cops they are nothing.

[uponit7771]

33. Like Ice Cube said that doesn't really help unless its a mostly black police force cause the black..

... officers feel the need to fit in.

[Harker]

6. Liberal bastion Boulder, CO.

Cops have a subculture all their own, and it seems to exist everywhere.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. Ugh, and that's a city where I felt "at home" in the past.

Yeah, the cops are apparently similar everywhere.

[Harker]

19. I spent fifty years in Boulder, Loveland, and Drake.

With the growth of the city during that time, I saw some big changes in the way the PD related to the populace.

There's not a particular moment when the small town feeling vanished, but the downtown mall had a lot to do with it. If you play a saxophone or make balloon animals you're attracting money to the businesses, but if you're homeless and hungry... you don't belong, and you'd best move along.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

25. I haven't visited since the 80's.

My brother lived in the ultra-conservative Colorado Springs (for an engineering job), and we'd travel to Boulder during my visits sometimes.

Edit: I just had an old memory come back to me. My brother said that a couple cops at Colorado Springs visited him and his wife when they first moved in (like a cop-version of a "welcoming party" or something), and they told him to buy a gun. Then they advised him to "shoot to kill" if they were ever burglarized, which would "reduce headaches for everyone" later. My brother was shocked by it, and he only later realized how the city seemed to be a right-wing hellhole.

[Harker]

30. Wow.

I've only been to the Springs once, when I was in high school in the 70s. I've long been aware of its being something of a "conservative" city, but gads... that's some welcome wagon.

[DENVERPOPS]

20. Some of us call Boulder

The Peoples Republic of Boulder........which is very fitting of both the city and the cops......

[Harker]

24. The town had a character, that's for sure.

And characters. I never thought I'd be a "those were the good old days" sort, but dammit - the 60s and 70s in Boulder - those were the good old days.

[DENVERPOPS]

50. No kidding.

I used to work on the hill during the late 60's, and walk down to the "sink"? for lunch every day.
I refused to go to Boulder for the next 40 years. I wanted to remember it for the way it was......
The same is true for a lot of Colorado these days......

[uponit7771]

34. +1, that culture seems to be the police against the population first

[Harker]

39. I can't help wondering whether this cop was responding to a call

or if he just happened by and prejudicially thought Mr. Atkinson looked as though he "didn't belong there... sitting on the patio or picking up trash with that "blunt object."

[IronLionZion]

7. "did not conclude he was racially biased"

I'd like to see how diverse the group of people reviewing this actually was.

It's illegal to exist. When this young man felt frustrated and yelled "I'm a citizen of this country" I can totally relate.

[malaise]

11. No words

Racist pigs versus a young man who knows his rights

[70sEraVet]

12. I hope he becomes a lawyer.

I admire him for refusing to give up his dignity.

[AllyCat]

13. So the white guy has to vouch for the black guy.

Is there some law with cops that black people always need a white escort to do basic things.

[dalton99a]

26. +1.

[ms liberty]

14. I am shaking and can barely type

That young man's frustration and justifiable anger, I was terrified for him.

[EffieBlack]

15. This is infuriating

Among the most frustrating things about this and an excellent display of how white privilege works is that the officers accepted without question everything the white man said. He wasn’t asked to provide ID, wasn’t asked to prove he was who he said he was, wasn’t asked to prove that he held any position of authority or that he was in any position to vouch for this young man. They just accepted he was who he was because he said he was. But the young black man was not accorded anything close to that deference and was instead treated like a potentially dangerous criminal. And then he was blamed for the situation “escalating.”

Most black people know this happens. I venture to guess that most of us, on more than one occasion, had to be “rescued” by a white friend this way because their word would be accepted while we were looked at with suspicion and treated as if we weren’t who we said we were and we did not belong where we were.

[PatSeg]

17. Too many communities

have far too many cops, with too little to do. How on earth could someone picking up trash look like a crime in progress?

[kentuck]

18. That is the police culture.

They set social behavioral rules for others according to how they interpret the "law". They see it as some sort of "prevention of a crime", although no crime has been committed.

It is a power thing. They have a gun. You don't. The heat is always there, subtly whispering into their ears, they have to follow the rules that you, the cop, sets.

They say, what do you want? A lawless society?

There is a balance and compromise to be met, in my opinion.

[MomInTheCrowd]

21. BOULDER,CO???? unreal... but... not :(

[paleotn]

22. Papers......

......your papers are not in order.

When fascism comes to America wrapped in a flag, carrying a cross...it's also a racist fucker.

[Maeve]

27. That was painful to watch

And the cop should have been fired. There should also be a database of cops fired for cause that prevents them from working police/security ever after.

[Crunchy Frog]

53. Someone should start maintaining an independent database of bad cops.

Just for the benefit of the public.

[llashram]

28. got to maintain

law and order plus white supremacy over those POC. Otherwise...this just enrages me. The arrogance and threat this type of LEO presents to POC. everyday, everywhere in america.

[dalton99a]

32. Their very existence is at the discretion of white police officers

as amply demonstrated time and again

[NNadir]

31. Was this racist officer fired?

[obamanut2012]

38. no

[csziggy]

46. The end of the video said he retired two weeks later

I would bet he is working for some other police department now.

[Nevilledog]

54. It said he RESIGNED two weeks later.

Young fucker. I guarantee he's on another police force now.

[csziggy]

55. Shit, mistyped. Thanks for the correction.

Trying to post to DU in between chores around the house is not a good look.

[Evolve Dammit]

36. Some cops are just plain violent and virtually all are above the law. Not new, but now

being recorded for the world to see. Police Unions dissing Biden shows how deep it goes.

[democrank]

40. Infuriating.....so unjust

What have we become?

[Harker]

41. Zayd Atkinson now... from the Boulder Daily Camera.

https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/06/05/people-are-sick-and-tired-boulders-zayd-atkinson-reflects-on-george-floyd-police-protests/

[dlk]

42. The cruelty is the point...

[Yavin4]

44. Some White Americans are afraid to live in a world where they aren't in the majority.

The police are used as a para-military force to protect their majority status.

[Moostache]

45. Exhibit A in the case for why we need LESS police and more community involvement...

I live in a an idyllic nearly all-white area of a racist as fucking hell metro area (St. Louis).

Before I EVEN moved here, I was introduced to the not so subtle distinctions of zip code and who "belongs" where.

South County? ALL white (or 90+%)...looked down on by the richer all-white West County (95+% white)...
After 2014, the whole country learned the names "Ferguson", "Michael Brown" and "Darren Wilson"...they may not have internalized what St. Louis area residents have beaten into them like a drum - that's "North County"...some racists call it the "NC" and the 'n' is exactly what you'd suspect from that caliber of 'human'.

East St. Louis, Illinois has had a national reputation for crime going back to the 1970's or earlier...even being parodied in the 1983 film "National Lampoon's Vacation" in seriously racially insensitive manner implying the citizens of the region were all grifters and criminals looking to prey on white people like Clark Griswald character.

What the nation knows is that "North St. Louis is dangerous because of those riots...", what the state of Missouri assumes is that places "like that" are irredeemable and MUST be kept on a short leash, lest 'those people' would 'get out into other areas'.

This kind of not even subtly coded language is absolutely rife in the region. It is packed with stereotypes, assumptions, prejudices and hatred born of fear. Fear that is TAUGHT from before you even sign a lease or move into the area, or even before many people ever even encounter a person of another race at all.

I came to St. Louis, so I am not "of St. Louis"...no matter how long I live here, I am convinced that it will never fully be "home" and, like I said, I am a privileged white. I cannot imagine the pain and ostracism experienced in "North County" or "East St. Louis", even though I can see it and hear it.

The change we need is an education program - a societal program, not a government program alone - that brings people together outside of a culture of fear and the resulting hate. We need this through media - radio, TV, internet...all forms of communication. Fear starts in ignorance and if that ignorance is not filled with reality, it IS filled with propaganda and with the agendas of people looking to profit and take advantage of suffering and an unequal system of 'justice'.

Racism is not limited to people using vile words or slurs or even using economics and power to figuratively keep a knee on the collective necks of the underprivileged and the needy and the 'other'. Racism is insidious and pervasive and relies on white attention being focused on fear and black attention filled with righteous anger, but the balance between those two extremes is what allows it to survive and thrive.

While I do not consider myself to hold common cause with the likes of David Duke or the other loud, and obnoxious agents of hate and racism, I do consider myself guilty of subtle, unconscious racism...of not having the courage to speak out when it happens around or near me but never to me. THAT is my guilt, my short coming and yes, my racism. All I can do is recognize it, own it and try to be better every day, try to make more positive change by not accepting the status quo.

This world would be so different in so many ways if the tools of mass media were use to educate instead of separate. There is a better world out there, we just have to have the courage to chisel it out of the formless, daunting granite in front of us.

[Upthevibe]

48. ....................

.....................

[Crunchy Frog]

51. Naropa? Is this in Boulder CO?

Unacceptable, but if it were me, I would do whatever the pig said, and file a complaint later.

[Demovictory9]

56. k&r