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In September of 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky, mob violence once
again broke out after justice took its normal course but did not meet the demands for a community
lynching of the accused.
“Angry protesters in Louisville, Kentucky, screamed and broke out into
tears Wednesday upon learning of a grand jury’s decision to only indict one cop involved in the
shooting death of Breonna Taylor — and not for her killing.
“Hordes of demonstrators had gathered in downtown Louisville ahead of the
announcement of the much-anticipated findings in the grand jury probe into the fatal March 13
incident.
“As the announcement played over loud speakers . . . that the grand jury . . .
had charged {a} former Louisville police detective . . . with three counts of wanton endangerment
in the first degree, some protestors could be heard shouting, ‘What the f—k is this?’ ‘What the hell?’
and ‘Is that it?’ . . .
- - -
“Moments after the grand jury decision demonstrators began to march through
the streets in protest, some chanting, ‘No justice! No peace!’ while others called out Taylor’s name
and held up large signage reading, ‘Abolish the police.’
“The grand jury did not announce any charges against the two other officers
involved in Taylor’s death.
- - -
"None of the charges are directly related to the death of 26-year-old
Taylor.
“As hundreds of protestors marched through the streets of Louisville
Wednesday afternoon demanding justice for Taylor, some yelled and cursed at cops on the scene.
- - -
"An apparent militia group of about eight donning helmets, bullet-proof
vests and long guns was also spotted trumping through the downtown area.
“The charges against {officer H, the shooter of Taylor} come six months
after Taylor, an EMT, was shot by Louisville police while carrying out a search warrant at her
apartment as part of a drug investigation.
“Cops had believed Taylor was stashing drugs for her ex-boyfriend, though
no drugs were found in the apartment.
“{Officer H} fired off 10 shots during the botched raid and was indicted
because some struck neighboring apartments.
“Taylor’s death, along with the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in
Minnesota, have sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and for racial justice.
“The city of Louisville was bracing for riots and civil unrest ahead of
the grand jury announcement.
“Members of the Kentucky National Guard were also deployed in the city,
where a state of emergency has already been declared in anticipation of protests.
“Barricades have been set up to restrict vehicle access to downtown areas,
stores and restaurants.” (Ref. 1)
Indeed, the day following the news of the grand jury decision, two Louisville
police officers were shot.
“At least two police officers were shot in Louisville, Ky., on Wednesday
night as protesters flocked to the streets to rally against a grand jury's decision regarding three
officers who were involved in a March drug raid that left Breonna Taylor dead, authorities said.
“The grand jury indicted one of the officers . . . for wanton endangerment
over stray bullets that found their way into a neighboring family’s home. He was fired in June.”
(Ref. 2)
Some six years ago, I wrote about the vigilante or mob justice being demanded,
following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri. In 2014, protests broke out following a
grand jury’s refusal to indict a police officer who had shot a Black man. The edited version of this
article, written in November of 2014, is presented below. What I had to say in 2014, applies today in
2020, but with more urgency in light of the violence accompanying today’s “protests” and the violent
rioting that have characterized the Black Lives Matter protests since the death of George floyd
in Minneapolis earlier this year.
“With the Missouri grand jury’s decision to not indict Ferguson Police Officer
Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown, the demagogues in our midst have again come out of the
woodwork, eager to once again play the race card. One more time, they have again raised the old
time-worn charges of racism, racial profiling, oppression of blacks, and the rampant murdering of
blacks by whites. The truth remains that . . . the killing of Michael Brown is truly a tragedy,
. . .
“Following the announcement of the grand jury decision, violence
erupted in the St. Louis area and in other cities across the nation. Immediately after the announcement
of the verdict, more than 80 arrests were made in the St. Louis area, as protesters fired more than
100 gunshots and burned and looted as many as 25 buildings and vandalized police cars in Ferguson,
Mo. [Emphasis mine]
{What has changed in the past six years? What did America learn in the
past six years? Six years later, where is America heading? }
“These events recall what transpired following the 2012 shooting of a
17-year-old black youth, Trayvon Martin, by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, in
Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted of charges against him and rioting and protests
took place after the verdict was announced.
“{Today’s violent protestors are accomplishing} little except to antagonize
the majority of thinking Americans and to discredit their movement. The rioters, arsonists, looters
and misguided protesters that have taken part in protesting the grand jury decision in the Michael
Brown killing {were} not different . . .
“Legitimate protests are a time-honored American tradition, but
blocking traffic, looting businesses, burning down buildings and torching cars does not constitute
legitimate protest. What we have witnessed in Ferguson, Missouri and elsewhere around the nation
is nothing but a call to vigilante justice by perpetual agitators, malcontents, ‘professional’
protestors, and closet anarchists. [Emphasis mine]
“I wasn’t present in Ferguson when Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed
Michael Brown - neither were any of the people protesting his killing. I wasn’t in
the grand jury room during the months of testimony and presentation of evidence in the case -
neither were any of the people protesting his killing. The only people who have
heard all the testimony and seen all the evidence were the 12 people on that grand jury. The grand
jury of nine whites and three blacks had been meeting weekly for over three months to consider
evidence in the fatal shooting of the 18-year old Michael Brown. The panel met for 70 hours and
heard from 60 witnesses. Those jurors, and only those jurors, had the right to judge whether or
not to indict Officer Wilson. They were the only people who heard every witness and reviewed all
the evidence. The undisciplined protesters now rising up in indignation and who remain ignorant of
the facts in the case deserve no respect or support for their actions. They prejudged Officer Wilson
and found him guilty without a trial, without hearing all the testimony, and without being presented
with the evidence in the case. Shame on them! America does not need vigilante or
mob justice – it has a system of justice that is fair to all. We all need to let the system do its
work and we need to abide by the verdicts that are produced by this system. There are more appropriate
means of appeal than irrational protests and the violence that nearly always accompanies these
protests.
“The English and American concept of a trial by jury means that guilt or
innocence of the accused is to be determined by a jury of one’s peers after all evidence for and
against the accused is presented. While the American system of justice presupposes innocence, it does
not mean that one is innocent. It simply means that guilt must be proven during the trial. The
determination of guilt or innocence awaits the conclusion of the trial and the verdict by the jury.
“This concept appears to be incomprehensible to a number of people in this
country. We see, read and hear about people proclaiming the guilt or innocence of persons on trial and
also their victims before a trial even begins and before all of the facts in the case become known.
Such behavior smacks of gross stupidity, ignorance, prejudice, and/or a total disregard/disdain for
the English and American concepts of justice and the law.
” All too often today, we have ‘trials by tabloids’ or ‘trials by media’,
when media outlets create a widespread perception of an individual’s guilt or innocence through the
release of prejudicial material before any trial actually takes place. The sensationalism that
frequents today’s media severely threatens the judicial system’s ability to render an unbiased
verdict in many cases. All too often, people decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused long
before the actual facts are presented at trial or in grand jury hearings.
“Prior to and during the trial, our judicial system requires a presumption
of innocence on the part of the accused. It is up to the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that the accused is guilty. Adverse pre-trial publicity and media bias are inimical to the
American system of justice – freedom of the press should not foster a lynch-mob mentality in the
public.
- - -
Those who are spreading the venom of racism are no friends of the
black community. They distract the black community and their supporters from attacking and
solving the real problem. While these protesters rant and rave and stir up racial animosity, thousands
more of young blacks are being killed. These professional hate-mongers keep the pot of racial hatred
boiling. Their divisive actions direct attention away from the real issues and waste the energies of
the black community and their well-intentioned, but blissfully ignorant supporters. America
needs to ignore and condemn those trouble-making vultures who are always in need of a cause – and,
in this case, that cause is disunity and race-based animosity. . . .”
(Ref. 3)
Ultimately, among those Americans paying the price for the violent
riots over the shooting of Breonna Taylor, there is one group that suffers the most - American
Blacks.
“Police in cities across America are unable to protect the neighborhoods
that need them most if they are called to help control riots . . .
- - -
" ‘In this situation, the losers are poor Blacks . . . they are the ones that
are suffering. It means that if police are downtown policing riots, it means they are not in the
neighborhoods protecting them.’
- - -
“. . . a reduced police presence nationwide amounted to a ‘death sentence
for young people in these neighborhoods.’
" ‘There is a direct correlation between reduction in police presence and
an increase in violence and murder. In Chicago last week there was a community group appealing
to buy bulletproof backpacks and baseball caps . . . they are not buying these to protect themselves
from the police . . . [Emphasis mine]
"{Blacks in Chicago buying bulletproof backpacks and baseball caps
to protect themselves from the police} ‘is just a lie intended to keep Black America inflamed and
agitated so we can be controlled.’ " [Emphasis mine] (Ref. 4)
I wasn’t present in Louisville when Officer H shot and killed Breonna
Taylor - neither were any of the people protesting her killing. I wasn’t in the
grand jury room during the testimony and presentation of evidence in the case - neither
were any of the people violently protesting on the streets of Louisville.
The only people who have heard all the testimony and seen all the evidence were the 12 people
on that grand jury. Those jurors, and only those jurors, had the right to judge whether or not
to indict Officer H. They were the only people who heard every witness and reviewed all the
evidence. The undisciplined protesters now rising up in indignation and who remain ignorant of
the facts in the case deserve no respect nor support for their actions. They have prejudged Officer
H and have found him guilty without a trial, without hearing all the testimony, and without being
presented with the evidence in the case. Shame on them! America does not need
vigilante or mob justice – it has a system of justice that is fair to all. We all need to
let the system do its work and we all need to abide by the verdicts that are
produced by this system. There are more appropriate means of appeal than irrational protests and
the mayhem that has accompanied the violent “protests” in Louisville.
Here in America, one’s guilt or innocence is supposed to be
decided in a court of law, not on the streets!
Here in America, guilt or innocence is supposed to be
decided by a jury of unbiased citizens who have heard all the facts and seen all the evidence,
not by an angry mob of biased vigilantes pursuing an agenda, who have pre-determined one’s
guilt without hearing any testimony and without seeing one shred of evidence!
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References:
- Louisville protesters react to Breonna Taylor grand jury decision, Natalie Musumeci,
New York Post,
23 September 2020.
- Louisville police officers shot as Breonna Taylor protesters take to streets,
Fox News, 24 September 2020.
- The Call for Vigilante Justice, David Burton, Son of Eliyahu; Article 205,
26 November 2014.
- Civil rights activist reacts to Louisville riots: 'In this situation,
the losers are poor Blacks', Yael Halon, Fox News, 23 September 2020.
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