Comments

Are we going to show our outrage over the shooting death of four Oakland police officers? Are we REALLY openminded and wanting justice and change for ALL? Or are we filled with bias and pseudo-intellectual rhetoric designed for our own spurious agenda and desire for avant-gardism?

I know I am late ringing in on this, and no I am not from California. However, I feel compelled to share my opinion. I have the utmost respect for all law enforcement officers and military personnel. They perform duties which I could never carry out, make split second decisions, and are out numbered by the general public they protect. Because of this, I don’t think the general public has room to judge an incident which we cannot begin to understand. This is not to say I feel the officer was in the right shooting Grant. I’m simply stating, unless you’ve been in a situation, how can you determine what is right and wrong? Is it tragic someone died? Absolutely, no negation. I feel for Grant’s family. I also feel for family of the BART officers involved. As cheesy as it sounds, when I heard of this, the movie A Few Good Men came to mind. Read the following and see if any leeway avails itself in your opinion.

I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me, you need me. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.

Great.Who is going to hold these guys accountable? For all this needless loss of life. It looks pretty clear from the video. Who are these guys in these police departments? Good job Hub and Witness. I always knew we needed you. But, it is too late when it had to come to this. And, $25M in taxpayer money to pay for these guys' wrong doing? Like which taxes are going to pay for that? Will the court case be a just one? Or will somebody get off the hook like in NYC last year? We've got a big problem America! There are too many holes in these systems. This feels kind of like a developing country, not the super power of the free world. We need better ways to hold everyone accountable everywhere, including us voters and taxpayers who haven't paid close enough attention all these years to the people we're trusting and giving our money to. Clearly, from some of the comments, we don't have consensus in our own minds about what was right and wrong about this situation. That is part of the problem. When I was a kid with my toy pistols, I definitely learned that shooting in the back was a big cowardly no no. Like hitting my sisters!

That person dressed as a cop might be completely disconnected from his true self and discharges his frustration on that poor kid. That person dressed as a cop is nothing but a scared little child who lived/lives a tough life, physical or psychological, or both. That cop lacks love and sees on that poor kid an opportunity to release his piled up anger and shoots him. I beleive the source of all violence are fear and lack of love that comes from disconnection from our true selves.

Police brutality has always been there, especially against minorities. If not for videos they would all be getting away with their crimes. The Bush Administrations love of torture and arrogance in ignoring the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; must give these brutes an inflated ego too. It's time cops start doing hard time for their crimes.
Peace and love,
Tammi Dee Voytek

Its really sad to got this piece of infor that, a policeman who are suporpose to save lives and properities shot unarmed person.This is really unjust.The law must take it curse he must be punish.

in response to reply to jesse-have you ever been raped or had to deal with someone who has? some pain is not temporary.

in response to the video- Before judging you have to kno the story on both ends. Honestly tho its 2 in the fucking morning, those guys were detained for a reason.. The guy that was shot & his friend should have gone home instead they wantd to stick around and try &tlk to the cops come on-dont fkng wandr around.. that was a threat to the deputies.(profiling will always be around & it works 99%of the time) im sorry to hear he got shot. But there are diff reasons as to why the police officer shot him. Seems like it was an accident. Wrong place at the wrong time.. his ass should of been home instead of the streets at 2am.
ANYWAYS THE MEDIA ALWAYS OVER DO IT- THEY LEAVE A LOT OF SHIT OUT..

ppl jst have a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to cops... let me tell you somthng if you thnk they are corrupt(which they arent-mayb a couple but no ones perfect) government/politics is worst..