The video shows Officer Ryan Westlake speaking to Tavion Koonce-Williams through his car window and seconds later firing his weapon toward the teen, whose arms were raised.
I’m not surprised either but I thought folks would appreciate the local context.
This is an issue our community is truly trying to address (it was something the new mayor was quite passionate about in his campaign and the community police oversight board was something he pushed for/got done when he was a city council member).
I (personally) have found that while Akron has made national news for police related shootings, the shootings often are far more nuanced than say, those out of Columbus, OH or what happened with George Floyd.
Yeah, there was an attempt to rationally explain the events, and the person’s conclusion was that “the officer reacted reasonably”. i.e. They think shooting a totally compliant unarmed child was a reasonable action.
The thing is, most of us here disagree with that assessment. There are a myriad of other ways that the police officer could use which don’t involve using a lethal weapon on a child. These type of incidents cannot be treated as just bad luck. They are systematic, problematic, and unacceptable. To conclude that ‘the officer reacted reasonably’ is unsatisfactory. That kind of conclusion is what supports police to act with no accountability.
Eh, read the article and read all their comments and tell me they’re being reasonable. There’s a certain kind of white person–and yes, race matters because black people have first hand experience of how awful the police are–who grew up being told that cops, firefighters and soldiers deserve our respect, admiration and honor. And no matter how much evidence to the contrary they are confronted with, they find a way to maintain that belief that cops are essentially good, honorable people. Yes, there is an occasional “bad apple;” yes, sometimes mistakes are made; yes, some cities have systematic problems in their police departments; but the police in their town are good honorable folks. Not perfect–nobody is, but they are doing their best to serve and protect in a dangerous world, and we should be grateful to have them out their protecting our families. When something happens, they always give the benefit of the doubt to the cops, never the citizen. They’re like the willfully ignorant wife of an abusive step-father.
nuance in everything, which is something you clearly don’t understand
Nuance doesn’t automatically support your argument, just because things can be more detailed than originally assumed, doesn’t mean that those details support your argument.
The fact that the police officer in question has already been fired for dangerous behavior and has been suspended since his union got his job back is a piece of nuance you have consistently downplayed or ignored.
Every rebuttal people have supplied for your claims adds to the nuance of an opinion, as it has been extrapolated upon. You’re just utilizing nuance like it’s a magical spell whenever you paint yourself into a stupid corner.
You don’t care about nuance, you don’t care about polite discourse, you just want to lick boot.
Very rational take.
It doesn’t surprise me you get a good deal of downvotes.
I’m not surprised either but I thought folks would appreciate the local context.
This is an issue our community is truly trying to address (it was something the new mayor was quite passionate about in his campaign and the community police oversight board was something he pushed for/got done when he was a city council member).
I (personally) have found that while Akron has made national news for police related shootings, the shootings often are far more nuanced than say, those out of Columbus, OH or what happened with George Floyd.
You and people like you are the reason cops have no accountablily in this country and this state, speaking as another Ohio resident.
Person 1: tries to rationally explain all the events that happened to give context to the story.
Person 2: YOU’RE THE REASON WHY COPS KILL EVERYONE!!!
Yeah, there was an attempt to rationally explain the events, and the person’s conclusion was that “the officer reacted reasonably”. i.e. They think shooting a totally compliant unarmed child was a reasonable action.
The thing is, most of us here disagree with that assessment. There are a myriad of other ways that the police officer could use which don’t involve using a lethal weapon on a child. These type of incidents cannot be treated as just bad luck. They are systematic, problematic, and unacceptable. To conclude that ‘the officer reacted reasonably’ is unsatisfactory. That kind of conclusion is what supports police to act with no accountability.
Eh, read the article and read all their comments and tell me they’re being reasonable. There’s a certain kind of white person–and yes, race matters because black people have first hand experience of how awful the police are–who grew up being told that cops, firefighters and soldiers deserve our respect, admiration and honor. And no matter how much evidence to the contrary they are confronted with, they find a way to maintain that belief that cops are essentially good, honorable people. Yes, there is an occasional “bad apple;” yes, sometimes mistakes are made; yes, some cities have systematic problems in their police departments; but the police in their town are good honorable folks. Not perfect–nobody is, but they are doing their best to serve and protect in a dangerous world, and we should be grateful to have them out their protecting our families. When something happens, they always give the benefit of the doubt to the cops, never the citizen. They’re like the willfully ignorant wife of an abusive step-father.
“People like you” are the reason why I have to block people and get disgusted with social media.
There’s nuance in everything, which is something you clearly don’t understand, and I have no interest in discussing anything with you further.
Nuance doesn’t automatically support your argument, just because things can be more detailed than originally assumed, doesn’t mean that those details support your argument.
The fact that the police officer in question has already been fired for dangerous behavior and has been suspended since his union got his job back is a piece of nuance you have consistently downplayed or ignored.
Every rebuttal people have supplied for your claims adds to the nuance of an opinion, as it has been extrapolated upon. You’re just utilizing nuance like it’s a magical spell whenever you paint yourself into a stupid corner.
You don’t care about nuance, you don’t care about polite discourse, you just want to lick boot.