So, the two cops, Barney and Goober were doing their job as proscribed by law, policy, and the Chiefs CURRENT direction, with the mayor and councils approval.
Spoke with a couple of APD supervisors and asked them what they would have done, and both said arrest per law, policy, and directive.
Just like a number of other DUI arrests that night that went fine.
And this one would have gone fine if the suspect had not fought, and there would have been no uproar, just like there was no uproar over the other DUI arrests that night, that were definitely filmed by on lookers.
Currently, you wont make any arrest since George Floyd that isnt filmed by on lookers, and it will definitely be hostile filming in any democratic shithole.
AND JFWIW, none of the leaders have ordered DUI arrests stopped b4 or since. Hmmm... and DUI arrests in those shitholes continued after the APD event.
What you HAVE seen is use of force policies under review in both shitholes and out. And changes in both areas...
Back to APD... so Chief orders ALL continued law enforcement after George Floyd with the admonishment of no excess uses of force that follow stupid behavior like kneeling on necks.
Then two veteran black officers snatch and tase a black college student, in a situation very common in todays LE, some older black officers take ZERO shit off black youth, being much harder on them than whites....
And the mayor shits her panties and fires them, and a DA in trouble going into a run off election tries to capitalize on arresting the two officers. Neither the mayor or chief thought that prosecution was warranted.
Chief sends a memo that says, "I stand with you in this troubling time of uncertainty but we must continue to uphold the laws." Its clear she didnt want the two black officers fired or prosecuted but it's out of her hands.
Moving on to Brooks. Enforcement was to continue. No stop. No dumb ass excess use of force, professional enforcement please, dont be stupid.
No one knows what some hard nose precinct supervisors may have said, but the general consensus was LE must continue unabated with protecting the public still priority.
The 40 minutes of professional behavior by Barney and Goober right up to resistance shows they were doing as instructed with a higher level of "dont show the public stupid shit".
All was going good until it wasnt. The arrest went sideways, and this was not predictable. The shooting was not predictable. Other officers might not have shot. Others nobody knows.
The immediate firing and arrest showing the political issues with the Chief stepping down after the political response, because in good faith, she could no longer order officers to do their job AND FACE prosecution for doing their job as trained and ordered, under the law.
Mayor punts to chiefs job to a black man to appease the public, and he orders the officers back on the street to GO DO YOUR JOBS, arrests do not stop. Hmmm. New black interim chief has no problem ordering law and order..... even inside all the turmoil.
Officers say f' this with that rabid DA and mayor gonna fuck us for doing the job you just ordered us back out on, new chief....
Nobody said this was pretty.
Absolutely in this situation, all this could have been avoided IF the officers had called a cab. But, all veteran officers KNOW there is no guarantee it wouldn't have led to worse. So, to historical pattern that has worked for years, proceed to arrest.
Brooks chose to fight, take taser, appear to try to use it, and rightly or wrongly, the officer shot him. Courts will decide.
Atlanta is not burning to the ground today, so, there is indication the majority of the citizens are on standby to see what happens in future police actions, in court, and within the level of uncertainty.
And MSM is quiet.
Yankee isnt going to stop believing the officers should have called a cab.
700,000 of the 990,000 officers out there wont even consider Yankees premise.
The pattern is entrenched.
The old way is gone. The past is another country swallowed by a paradigm shift and no longer exists.
Whether or not you choose to agree or disagree with Yankee is visibility of the war between the past and common sense he and most of us were raised to consider, and the intractability of the new future as people search for security and stability in some very trying times.
This is a learning experience for all of us.
I ran a training class this a.m., and heard from a number of different officers from all backgrounds, b/w/hisp, and various ages, but none with less than 5 years of service. Several with 3-10 years of mil service in gwot.
I used this class to test Yankees premise, because I wanted input from todays serving officers with the variance detailed above.
None of them would have called a cab or got him a ride, none could have foreseen the result ending the way it did. None would have done any differently up to the point of resistance. None would have called a supervisor, that was a pure routine event that went to shit.
There is no good way to end this post that will make a lot of people feel good.
The majority of these would leave if and when a better opportunity arises. ALMOST to the point of let it burn, let the people eat their choices. Most support the walk out, and will continue until the politicians start doing their job and demand the rioting, looting, and damaging stop, and institute positive changes to that end. Very few believe that's gonna happen so, see above, that opportunity to leave.
Those who voiced staying do so out of a sense of public service and duty, something instilled in many of them in previous mil service.
And, jfwiw, having dealt with this crew b4, there weren't any slacking shitbirds in this crew. Maybe bc old school me hand picked them all over the last 15 years...
Are they an exception to the rule, who knows. I think they are pretty much the average professional LE across the board who you never read about.
VR