Protests grow after police seeking suspect kill different man in Charlotte

I'm sick and tired of these protests, too. I'm also sick and tired of the shootings by police that trigger the protests. Over the years, we've given cops more and more non-lethal weapons -- batons, pepper spray, beanbag projectiles, Tasers, etc. -- and yet they still often grab for the gun the moment they're nervous about a person they encounter. Most cops are decent, hardworking people who do their job for the good of the community. What we have to come to grips with is the fact that we have too many cops who are racist, who view entire sections of the community as a threat, who are trigger happy, or who thrive on confrontation. Until we, and police departments, deal with those people in their midst who constitute a threat to the rest of us, the shootings are likely to continue and the protests will continue.
That said, I will add that for protests to be effective, they must be non-violent. Yes, burning things, destroying things and attacking cops will get attention, but it's not the sort of attention that yields positive results.
I will also agree with the posters here calling for all LEOs to wear body cameras. Yes, they're expensive to buy, but they're also a lot less expensive than a multi-million-dollar settlement or jury verdict against a police department. I spent my last ten years before retiring as a criminal defense paralegal. We had countless cases where video footage would have likely settled a case before it ever went to court; sometimes in favor of our client, sometimes in favor of the police. Instead, we get conflicting stories with ambiguous evidence for the jury to sort out. Video recording can not only resolve those questions, but also can reduce unnecessary confrontations when both parties know that what they say is being recorded.

Its always sad when police have to kill a man SPC Britanny *Winnie* Balthaser even if he is wrong to begin with. While I have not followed the story very closely SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" it does seem to be the same person. I also think SPC Balthaser summed it up very well. You cant approach a police officer with a gun drawn and then refuse to obey his commands. And as an aside note, it was a black cop who fired the fatal shot.

From the Washington Post, "“The officers gave loud, clear verbal commands,” instructing Scott to drop the weapon, the chief said. “In spite of verbal commands, Mr. Scott exited his vehicle armed with a handgun as the officers continued to yell at him to drop it. He stepped out, posing a threat to the officers” — at which point, Putney said, an officer fired his service weapon, striking 43-year-old Scott, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital."

The primary driver in the rioting is the notion that cops are killing blacks at some sort of disproportional rate or are doing so with some sort of malice. Below are a few facts that might make you at least think and maybe so some research of actual crime statistics. They are fully available from the FBI free and on line. Very easy to do unless you are simply a pot stirrer looking for problems where they do not exist.

This doesn't mean there are no bad shootings by LEO's but they are the exception, not the rule. The riots are a monumental waste of time and resources and in too many cases destruction of private and public property.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQCQFH5wOJo