Death, Demonstrations, More Death & Weekend Demonstrations
As late as Sunday evening, demonstrations against the murder of Alton Sterling by Police Officers, continued in Baton Rouge with the number of arrested and detained activists totaling more than 160 and expected to increase. According to the Associated Press, 30 to 40 individuals had been detained on Sunday alone. Marches and protests have been going on continuously since Thursday, July 7th.
It has been only days since the nation and the world first learned about the shooting death of Alton Sterling. Sterling was shot multiple times by Baton Rouge Police Officers on Tuesday July 5th, after the BAPD had received a call from a homeless man reporting that a man [Alton Sterling] had brandished a firearm.
Two officers responded to the call and the altercation with police was recorded by two separate bystanders, positioned in different locations. The videos show clearly show Mr Sterling being confronted, tackled and ultimately shot dead by the officers on the scene. One of the videos was posted to Instagram and the story became national headline news shortly thereafter.
In the days that followed, the nation became witness to yet another shooting of a black man by a Police Officer, this time in Falcon Heights – a community outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shooting death of the Minnesota native, Philando Castile, was broadcast live on Facebook when Mr. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, recorded a live video of the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The video recorded the death of Mr. Castile and ultimately the incarceration of Ms. Reynolds, all while Ms. Reynolds 4 year old daughter remained in the back seat of the vehicle. The violently graphic video chilled the nation, even prompting attention during FBI Director James Comey’s Congressional hearing on Wednesday, when Sen. Elijah Cummings of Maryland interjected at the end of his allotted time by saying,’ [he] had woken up to [his] wife crying’ as she reacted to the shooting of Mr. Castile.
He went on to say:
“I am a lawyer. And I know how important police are, and I know there’s so many great folks, but, Mr. Director, if you do nothing else in your 2,000-plus days left, you have got to help us get a hold of this issue. It is so painful.”
Demonstrations spread throughout the nation in reaction to the deaths of Mr. Sterling & Mr. Castile, some led by the well-known Black Lives Matter activists, others led by rappers Snoop Dog, and others veritable collections of a patchwork of Americans. These are collections of citizens furious about the rash of gun violence in the nation has been plagued by and while emotionally moved by the very real, very violent and very live feed of the death of Mr. Castile, they are now physically moved.
Thursday Night, only hours after the viscous footage of Mr. Castile’s death had been released, the nation was rocked once again by another mass shooting – this time in Dallas, Texas. Black Lives Matters organizers marched peacefully through the streets of Dallas on Thursday afternoon, when toward the end of the organized march a barrage of gun shots rang out. Protesters, bystanders and law enforcement scattered, while media outfits covering the march soon modified their stance to cover the ensuing melee. The shooting, precipitated by a lone assassin, would eventually leave five Dallas officers dead and several other civilians and officers injured.
Protests continued into the weekend and while the movement picks up momentum, the very zeitgeist of the nation is being tested. Police departments throughout the country are stepping up security measures and are having to respond to ever-growing crowds of activists in cities across the country: Atlanta, Memphis, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, Rochester, New York City and of course, Minneapolis & Baton Rouge.
Perhaps the most charged scenes played out Saturday evening in Baton Rouge & Minneapolis, where thousands marched in defiance of the latest Police Shootings of black men within their respective communities. Marches in Baton Rouge led to more than 100 arrests, including that of DeRay Mckesson, a well-known Black Lives Matter activist. In Minneapolis groups of armed police squads gassed and sprayed demonstrators with pepper spray.
Most of the demonstrations that formed around the nation have been primarily peaceful. However, the unexpected nature of the movement has revealed the inadequacies within some of the lesser equipped and poorly trained police forces. At its worst, the demonstrations have shown some less flexible departments infringing on the civil liberties of demonstrators and the press; at times officers have been seen instigating and aggressively handling participants.
Saturday evening, in Rochester, two black journalists were arrested while simply reporting on the protests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ivLp4FhtoM
More protests are expected to continue around the nation, as President Obama returns from a tour of Europe. According to reports, The President has made plans to visit Dallas upon his return. Further, there is speculation that the President will also make trips to Minneapolis & Baton Rouge in the wake of the tragic shootings which have directly impacted each of the communities.
While meeting Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid, President Obama did comment on the violence occurring stateside, saying with regards to the shooting in Dallas:
“Whenever those of us who are concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system attack police officers, you are doing a disservice to the cause,”
While the nation tries to recover from the attack in Dallas and the tragic deaths of Alton Sterling & Philando Castile, it will look to the President to provide solace, unity, healing and direction through these murky waters. A witness to more mass shootings than any sitting president, he has been here several times during his two terms.
The President has shared the very heavy burden of lax firearm laws and the ever increasing frequency of mass shootings. He will, no doubt, draw on these latest tragedies to help escalate the debate for common sense gun control that has been blocked by the Republican controlled Congress. It is a debate that is desperately needed so that the nation can begin to mend these very raw wounds and to avoid future carnage.
Image via YouTube.
