A Great Solution To End Police Shootings Of Black Youths

It happened again today. Two white policemen in north St. Louis shot and killed a black man…

A man who pointed a gun at police was shot and killed by officers in north St. Louis, according to St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson.

One suspect was hit, continued running, collapsed, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was a black male in his early 20s, and he had a gun reported stolen from Rolla, Mo.

A number of other suspects were taken into custody, along with four guns and a quantity of crack. The house has had warrants served before.

The arresting officers, of course, had to put up with protests from the neighbors:

The shooting that left a black suspect dead drew protests, with many of the roughly 150 people who gathered at the scene hurling obscene gestures and expletives at investigators and questioning the police use of deadly force. Some chanted “Black Lives Matter,” a mantra used a year ago after the police shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.

“They provoked the situation,” Price, 33, said. “Situations like this make us want to keep the police out of the neighborhood. They’re shooting first, then asking questions.”

Living as they do near an obvious crack house, I admit I have to questions the mental processes of these people. After all, one less thug in a neighborhood like that, especially one crazy enough to point a gun at two policemen should be a blessing.

But on the other hand, maybe they have a point. Perhaps these policemen are vicious, racist cops who just wanted to shoot down a black youth. Maybe he just wandered in and didn’t realize the place was a crack house. Maybe he didn’t shoot at the police. Maybe the stolen gun was given to him by someone else to hold, or the racist white cops planted it.I’m sure that’s the way these people’s thoughts are running.

Since none of us were there to actually see what occurred, I think it’s fair to accept the view of these residents of the neighborhood as just as legitimate as the police chief’s, or mine for that matter. And therein lies a perfect solution.

The locals don’t like the police, to put it mildly, and I’m sure that the police themselves don’t enjoy going into neighborhoods where their attempts to do a difficult job are looked upon by a significant number of the inhabitants as the provocation of racist interlopers.

Mr. Fred Price points the way to a win win resolution that will please everyone. Let’s indeed give the residents of north St. Louis and other similar areas a way to keep the police out of their neighborhoods.

Let the residents take a vote on making their neighborhoods off limits to police. If such a vote passes, let the residents make their own arrangements for crime prevention or policing should they see fit to do so,and offer property owners a discount on their taxes based on this city service they would no longer be using.

Police would be limited to enforcing the perimeters of such neighborhoods, so that thugs and criminals would be prevented from leaving these neighborhoods during certain hours. But inside the perimeter, the residents themselves would take responsibility.

Based on certain incidents that have happened in neighborhoods like this in the past during tense times, it would probably make sense to eliminate or at least cut back fire department and EMT service as well, since many times they require a police escort in order to guarantee the safety of the firemen and EMT personnel. Or perhaps these communities might be able to make arrangements not to attack them.

Like I said, a win win. The inhabitants of these neighborhoods would get the kind of policing they deserve, and those vicious police killers would have no opportunity to practice their racism.

Of course, if the people in these communities voted to continue to allow the police to serve them, it certainly wouldn’t be out of line for the police to demand respect and a healthy benefit of the doubt in exchange.

Res Ipsa Loquiter.