Unrest in Milwaukee

"It all started Saturday afternoon, when a pair of police officers stopped two people driving through the north-side neighborhood, police said. That led to a foot chase between the people in the car and police, which ended when an officer shot one of the two -- a 23-year-old man who was armed with a handgun, authorities said." - Link

...

"Police said the suspect had a "lengthy arrest record," though the specific crimes were not detailed. The suspect was carrying a handgun taken in a March burglary in Waukesha. The owner reported that 500 rounds of ammunition also were stolen." - Link

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UPDATE:

"Chief Flynn said Sunday afternoon that officer is African-American. That officer is not being identified, as Flynn said there are concerns for his safety."

"There was a body camera the officer was wearing. The video will be under the jurisdiction of the state of Wisconsin. I have seen a still photo extracted from that video. That photo demonstrates, without question, that (Smith) had a gun in his hand. The police officer didn't know it at the time, but there were 23 rounds in that gun."

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So let's summarize this in order to wrap our heads around this concept. We have an individual who has a lengthy arrest record driving with a stolen gun on his person, foot bails, and is shot by cops. A sizable group quickly responds to protest via social media organization and it quickly evolves into unrest. They set businesses on fire, cars on fire, threw bricks/bottles and other crap at police. And of course, actions like this (NSFW due to language).

America's going to hell and we Canadians can do is watch it burn.

But according to Hillary supporters. Having Hillary elected theres going to be rainbows and candies for everyone lol.

Guess they were feeling left out, not having any reason to set things on fire and all.

And that's part of the problem right there, the left blames the right and the right blames the left. When are Americans going to see that WallStreet and the lobbyist run this country. It's crazy how most people can't see the manipulation.

Nothing says "take me serious" more than burning down buildings and acting like a bunch of animals.

These people are beginning to bore me with their selective outrage.

It's not. Most places in the country are much the same as before.

Yeah. Things are actually better than ever. That's not to say some places have it crappy, though (and this is Milwaukee, after all...).

Trump really has gotten to a lot of gullible people that think the news represents the reality of the world, and he has capitalized not only on sensationalism, but on conspiracies as well. I suggest these people get a grip and look outside: things are fine, the world is not ending, and there is no need to submit to fear and hate.

While their actions are terrible, their outrage is justified. I still do not understand how law enforcement justifies shooting a fleeing suspect.

With that said, there are better victims than some hoodlum to get behind, so really I am kind of in your boat; tired of the predictability and stupidity of people making a fuss over some idiot. I mean it sucks he was shot, but not surprising.

And the worst thing is, most probably didn't even care about the facts. They were just looking for an excuse to do these things.

Their is, in fact, a few situations where a fleeing criminal can and will be shot. These protesters have got to stop trying to turn unrepentant criminals into martyrs. Not every black person shot by a cop is a innocent saint. We do have major policing issues as it relates to race, but much like the pyscho shotgun lady who endangered her own child, this is not an example of it.

No riots for a black man killed while reaching for his ID who specifically informed the cop he was armed and had proper registration beforehand, no riot for the black man shot while laying on the ground with his hands up, but for a hardened dangerous criminal armed with a stolen gun and ammo? Riot. What message does that send?

Saddening to see this crap happening. It seems that EVERY person killed by police is lionized and it totally cheapens any type of movement built upon reforming bias in our police form. We're too quick to rush to judgement.

Supposedly, the officer that shot and killed Smith was black himself.

They were just fighting against global warming. White media lying again!

Saddness.

Trump is making the same type of delusional idiotic promises. That is the problem. We get these dipshits giving us 2 absurd responses, and everybody starts loading their diapers. This is all done before all the facts come in. Nobody gives a shit about facts, though. Bitchy, halo polishing responses are what gets airtime.

Meanwhile, the risk of violence being done to me, or anyone else in America, goes down year by year.

Queue 'Pork and Beef' - The Coup

@Pedro Where you at? Tell me how these people are not a bunch of pendejos and how shooting an armed man is not justifiable and racist.

Well he had internalized racism, duh.

I blame the media and Hillary

A spark in a long stream of racism and police brutality from the Milwaukee Police. It was bound to happen. As for the shooting itself, it seems justified considering the circumstances but it doesn't erase the problems with the Milwaukee police and the community itself that is in poverty and under-educated.

Really? Because it seems that it's the exact opposite. Whoever gets shot by the police is automatically labeled a "thug" if he/she has the slightest criminal record (because having a record itself is the basis for getting shot), where as the police officer in question is defended to no end, no matter how wrong they were.

I've updated the OP with this information. I'm sure the charlatans out there are already upset by this news.

@drunk_pi: maybe because most times they are just criminals.

You want to fix the "race issue" then it needs to start in the black communities.

Something makes me believe these people are not outraged. Rather, they are using this event to act out in manners unfit of an adult. The laws are different all over but circumstances do arise allowing a fleeing suspect to be terminated. One factor is whether or not he/she is posing a threat to others and not necessarily the cop with whom the suspect is fleeing.

Have you looked at this person and his record? He was 23 years of age and has a rap sheet bigger than the combined sheet of a small town of people. Calling him a hoodlum is putting it mildly. Based on his past history, he was destined to be a statistic who would end up in prison or dead by the hands of another black. In this case, his own actions did him in.

Or maybe they're being profiled because they're black. Again, having a criminal record =/= automatically guilty. An unarmed suspect fleeing =/= justified shooting. And even then, there are times when blacks are profiled and treated far worse for similar crimes compared to whites.

As for your second comment, yeah communities want to be safer and help their own, and they are doing that. Unfortunately when the community constantly goes against you and doesn't support you, you feel powerless to do anything which is why people act out and become violent. It's a vicious cycle but it's not as simple as most people think it is.

Certain police departments have problems with race. Milwaukee is one of them. While the thread is covering the riots, it's making the assumption that blacks are mad because of that one single incident. It's a long chain of events, similar to the Baltimore riots and how the Baltimore Police has a major problem with race.

Odd how this only seems to happen in majority black neighborhoods with high crime rates...but yeah let just keep blaming it on racist cops supposedly profiling.

How can you tell me that these communities want to be safer and help their own when these communities shoot each other over a look and are completely destroying their own community because a criminal was killed? How can anyone help these communities when they are highly likely to get robbed or shot just for being there?

They don't want to better themselves, they want to live the life that's being glorified everyday in their community. There's no excuse for them to act like animals

Yes, really. Its possible that BOTH sides can be right and wrong. I admit we have racial discrepancies and bias in our police forces and judicial system, however I'm not going to justify a bunch of assholes burning down their own neighborhood and personal property of others. It simply isn't justified.

Rioting is simply going to uncut potential progress and give people the means to continue to label them as 'thugs'. Feeding right into the narrative that its just a problem of the black community.

Would it be too much to ask of you to give us a break down of who is committing crime in Milwaukee?

criminals

Our government tends to break it down in specifics but that would mean the elephant in the room would be addressed in this discussion.

sorry, i'm not the government.

Nor a realist either, right?

@Solaryellow: we can't talk about black on black crime. It's racist to do so. There's absolutely zero connection to that and high number of arrest in those communities.

At least they're rioting for a cause they believe in. When white people riot, it's usually because of sports. :P

But seriously, I do agree that rioting isn't always the answer. And Smith's family has condemned the violence and there are peaceful protests in Milwaukee. You do have people who are peacefully protesting and trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately, some use violence and violence is usually magnified by the MSM.

The riots have all occurred in Black communities where the Democrats are in charge. You would think the residents would be happy after all the Democrats are taking care of them.

@drunk_pi: why are they protesting anyway? He was an illegally armed criminal. Atleast his father took the blame for being a poor role model, it's too bad the others cant see that it's their own fault as well.

Because they can? Free country. Like I said, judging from what I read from the story, the shooting seemed justified. He was armed and a possible danger to the community. Although he didn't point a gun to the officer, he didn't follow commands to drop the gun. That being said, it's a spark of a long chain of events that led to what happened in Milwaukee. It's similar to what happened in Baltimore. Freddie Grey was a questionable guy but the Baltimore PD has committed serious acts of police brutality before Freddie Grey. Smith, like Grey, was the spark.

Because they can, free country. I forgot that justifies looting and destroying your own community over a criminal being killed while doing criminal shit. It doesn't at all reflect the poor condition of these communities, does it?

Most time these so called "police brutality" cases are exaggerated by MSM and false accusations of the victim.

These issues will be fixed as soon as the black communities clean themselves up.

Their is definitely a lot of internal reflection the black community as a whole needs to do about what is going on. Not all of the problems they face are external, and not all of the solutions are going to come from without.

If the black community does not want to have run-in's with the police, the answer is very simple: Stop committing a disproportionate amount of crime that leads to interaction with law enforcement. The "poor" excuse won't cut it. The "unemployed" excuse won't cut it. People are giving up on you because you leave them no other choice.

America needs to be shutdown

Fixed.

Sigh...

Not sure which is worse, these riots or reading these comments.

@Solaryellow:

You just took the cake for the most redundant and thoughtless comment on this thread.

"If Police don't want riots, then stop shooing black people! Implicit social cognition excuse just won't cut it!"

"If Americans don't want crime, than provide a cradle to grave socioeconomic system! Free market capitalism excuse just won't cut it!"

"If we don't want gun crime than stop manufacturing guns and ammunition! Freedom to bear arms as an excuse just won't cut it!"

All equally idiotic arguments, just flipping the narrative, the partisanship, and the bullshit.

Who is committing such a disproportionate amount of crime? The only thing we're supposed to do is bury our head in the sand and make excuses but that isn't how it works. People have to take responsibility for their actions rather than blaming everyone else. Keep being an apologist for these people while I'll remain a realist.

1. Are you willing to make the concession that in a lot of these cases, the police are justified?

2. Please propose a system other than capitalism that you would put into place.

3. With guns being created more and more with 3d printing, along with the black market a gun ban would create, what policies of regulation would you propose to deal with these markets?

@hillelslovak: So you got the idea? These are all (like the post I responded to) bullshit arguments. You can't simply relay an ultimatum that at first makes sense but upon further inspection/reduction is actually completely ignorant.

I dont have the answers. I just dont like unqualified statements being thrown around, backed by not by policy, but by rhetoric.