Race Issues Raised When Oakland Firefighter, Kids Detained By Police Officer

[tazkcmo]

11. Nope

You cannot and should not leave your children alone in a vehicle for even a second. It is a law and for a good reason. I would have done it a little differently than this man but I definitely would have had my kids with me. They would have been RIGHT at my side not because I'm protective but because I don't trust those little shi*ts alone for a second! Especially in an unattended fire station! lol

I'm no fan of cops (hate 'em, don't trust 'em) and haven't been for a very long time. Just as they assume we are all guilty of something, I assume the same thing with them.

Having said all that, I believe the cop was good for stopping the fire fighter, he didn't actually draw his gun and eventually listened to reason and allowed the man to prove his identity w/o anybody getting shot, tazed, knocked to the ground or other wise molested. The firefighter was coming out of the building at the time and the cop was responding to a call. This in comparison to a cop seeing a black guy and his kids just walking along and then doing all the exact same stuff

. At the same time, he should have apologized and probably could have been quicker to realize 2+2 wasn't adding up to 4 (Who takes their kids on a burglary, they were probably all well dressed/groomed/clean or at least presentable and they weren't scurrying about collecting stuff to steal as a thief would have been doing) but cops aren't exactly known for their brilliance these days. Along with that, I'm sure the firefighter's race was a major factor and the cop would have been in less fear for his life had it been a white guy and his 2 kids.