SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Crucial Differences: A Response to Killing of Brooklyn Police Officers
We at National People's Action offer our deepest sympathy to the families of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos who were shot to death Saturday in Brooklyn, NY. This senseless act of violence is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities grieving the loss of both men.
Dec 22, 2014
We at National People's Action offer our deepest sympathy to the families of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos who were shot to death Saturday in Brooklyn, NY. This senseless act of violence is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities grieving the loss of both men.
Since the press announced that Saturday's shooter may have committed the crime in retaliation for the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by police officers in Staten Island, NY and Ferguson, MO, people on all sides of the issue have drawn comparisons between the three incidents. While no family should have to mourn the loss of a loved one to senseless gun violence, it is vital to recognize the difference between these killings.
The aberrant actions of one individual cannot reasonably be equated with the common practice of police departments across the country. There is no question that the senseless killing of officers Wenjian and Liu falls squarely outside of the lines of acceptable behavior in our society. What remains in question is whether the killing of unarmed Black men by police will continue to be a regular occurrence, supported by the justice system or if we will make the taking of the lives Black people by police equally unacceptable.
There are crucial differences between state sanctioned police violence, enforced by institutions and the actions of individuals. A critical distinction is that fatal police shootings are unusual. Police officers are rarely shot to death while on duty. According to the LA Times, the last New York City policeman to be shot to death while on duty was Peter J. Figoski in December 2011. A single Internet query tells us that, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 113 police officers died while on duty in 2014, 46 due to gunfire. Gun violence in the US kills roughly twice the number of Black people than white, though we do not know the exact number of unarmed Black men who were killed by police officers this year because that data is not tracked. Nor is there a website to honor all of the Black men and boys who have died while going about their daily lives.
Another key difference is that killing police officers is clearly unacceptable. Police deaths always trigger immediate response from government and the public. In this case, officials on all sides of the issue released statements in response to the killing of the officers calling for immediate action; some directly placing the blame on demonstrations against racially targeted police violence. Several officials claimed that police have become "targets of violence" and all demand action to immediately ensure police safety. In contrast, the killing of unarmed Black men by police has gone largely unnoticed by the broader public. Only now, with protesters in as many as 200 cities around the world holding sustained demonstrations and protests, is this issue getting the public attention it deserves.
Comparing the killing of the two officers with those of Michael Brown and Eric Garner is dangerous and misleading. It asks all of us to pretend that power has nothing to do with the equation and to assume one man, apparently dealing with mental illness of some kind, operating alone and without the sanction or support of any organized group, be put in the same category as the combined armed, organized, force of police departments through out the United States. It is our hope that Mayor de Blasio will rescind his call to suspend protests in New York and that the NYPD will ignore reactionary calls for escalation. Irresponsible, uninformed accusations blaming protesters for the officers' deaths serve only to ratchet up tensions and do not increase public safety. What is needed, in fact, is continued support for on-going, non-violent protests and demonstrations calling for reforms that end racially biased police practices and increase public safety.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
We at National People's Action offer our deepest sympathy to the families of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos who were shot to death Saturday in Brooklyn, NY. This senseless act of violence is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities grieving the loss of both men.
Since the press announced that Saturday's shooter may have committed the crime in retaliation for the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by police officers in Staten Island, NY and Ferguson, MO, people on all sides of the issue have drawn comparisons between the three incidents. While no family should have to mourn the loss of a loved one to senseless gun violence, it is vital to recognize the difference between these killings.
The aberrant actions of one individual cannot reasonably be equated with the common practice of police departments across the country. There is no question that the senseless killing of officers Wenjian and Liu falls squarely outside of the lines of acceptable behavior in our society. What remains in question is whether the killing of unarmed Black men by police will continue to be a regular occurrence, supported by the justice system or if we will make the taking of the lives Black people by police equally unacceptable.
There are crucial differences between state sanctioned police violence, enforced by institutions and the actions of individuals. A critical distinction is that fatal police shootings are unusual. Police officers are rarely shot to death while on duty. According to the LA Times, the last New York City policeman to be shot to death while on duty was Peter J. Figoski in December 2011. A single Internet query tells us that, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 113 police officers died while on duty in 2014, 46 due to gunfire. Gun violence in the US kills roughly twice the number of Black people than white, though we do not know the exact number of unarmed Black men who were killed by police officers this year because that data is not tracked. Nor is there a website to honor all of the Black men and boys who have died while going about their daily lives.
Another key difference is that killing police officers is clearly unacceptable. Police deaths always trigger immediate response from government and the public. In this case, officials on all sides of the issue released statements in response to the killing of the officers calling for immediate action; some directly placing the blame on demonstrations against racially targeted police violence. Several officials claimed that police have become "targets of violence" and all demand action to immediately ensure police safety. In contrast, the killing of unarmed Black men by police has gone largely unnoticed by the broader public. Only now, with protesters in as many as 200 cities around the world holding sustained demonstrations and protests, is this issue getting the public attention it deserves.
Comparing the killing of the two officers with those of Michael Brown and Eric Garner is dangerous and misleading. It asks all of us to pretend that power has nothing to do with the equation and to assume one man, apparently dealing with mental illness of some kind, operating alone and without the sanction or support of any organized group, be put in the same category as the combined armed, organized, force of police departments through out the United States. It is our hope that Mayor de Blasio will rescind his call to suspend protests in New York and that the NYPD will ignore reactionary calls for escalation. Irresponsible, uninformed accusations blaming protesters for the officers' deaths serve only to ratchet up tensions and do not increase public safety. What is needed, in fact, is continued support for on-going, non-violent protests and demonstrations calling for reforms that end racially biased police practices and increase public safety.
We at National People's Action offer our deepest sympathy to the families of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos who were shot to death Saturday in Brooklyn, NY. This senseless act of violence is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities grieving the loss of both men.
Since the press announced that Saturday's shooter may have committed the crime in retaliation for the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by police officers in Staten Island, NY and Ferguson, MO, people on all sides of the issue have drawn comparisons between the three incidents. While no family should have to mourn the loss of a loved one to senseless gun violence, it is vital to recognize the difference between these killings.
The aberrant actions of one individual cannot reasonably be equated with the common practice of police departments across the country. There is no question that the senseless killing of officers Wenjian and Liu falls squarely outside of the lines of acceptable behavior in our society. What remains in question is whether the killing of unarmed Black men by police will continue to be a regular occurrence, supported by the justice system or if we will make the taking of the lives Black people by police equally unacceptable.
There are crucial differences between state sanctioned police violence, enforced by institutions and the actions of individuals. A critical distinction is that fatal police shootings are unusual. Police officers are rarely shot to death while on duty. According to the LA Times, the last New York City policeman to be shot to death while on duty was Peter J. Figoski in December 2011. A single Internet query tells us that, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 113 police officers died while on duty in 2014, 46 due to gunfire. Gun violence in the US kills roughly twice the number of Black people than white, though we do not know the exact number of unarmed Black men who were killed by police officers this year because that data is not tracked. Nor is there a website to honor all of the Black men and boys who have died while going about their daily lives.
Another key difference is that killing police officers is clearly unacceptable. Police deaths always trigger immediate response from government and the public. In this case, officials on all sides of the issue released statements in response to the killing of the officers calling for immediate action; some directly placing the blame on demonstrations against racially targeted police violence. Several officials claimed that police have become "targets of violence" and all demand action to immediately ensure police safety. In contrast, the killing of unarmed Black men by police has gone largely unnoticed by the broader public. Only now, with protesters in as many as 200 cities around the world holding sustained demonstrations and protests, is this issue getting the public attention it deserves.
Comparing the killing of the two officers with those of Michael Brown and Eric Garner is dangerous and misleading. It asks all of us to pretend that power has nothing to do with the equation and to assume one man, apparently dealing with mental illness of some kind, operating alone and without the sanction or support of any organized group, be put in the same category as the combined armed, organized, force of police departments through out the United States. It is our hope that Mayor de Blasio will rescind his call to suspend protests in New York and that the NYPD will ignore reactionary calls for escalation. Irresponsible, uninformed accusations blaming protesters for the officers' deaths serve only to ratchet up tensions and do not increase public safety. What is needed, in fact, is continued support for on-going, non-violent protests and demonstrations calling for reforms that end racially biased police practices and increase public safety.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.