@fire with fire

responding to:

Although the ethnic dimension of "Black Lives Matter" is legitimate in my opinion for several very good reasons, the phrase, by definition, does not address cop paranoia, which I think is an even worse and more prevalent problem for everybody than White On Black police violence.

It is built into cop culture these days to "assume" that anybody of any age, size or color can suddenly produce a weapon and blow your head off. Not exactly wrong.

When I used to represent a police union as a lawyer, I learned that they call it Voice Control -- they affect a tone of voice that intentionally suggests imminent violence if you do not obey. This mentality of domination fits perfectly with what the military veterans bring back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

yes, many PDs give vets preferential hiring, as they know how to operate the weapons of military war given to PDs in the 1033 program. one suspects that many have PTSD, and anyone in their sights may be interpreted as 'the other'.

as to cop paranoia abut weapons being justified, many times they lie and have throw-down weapons, or they really saw a cell phone. but in the rare instances that killer kops reach trial, unions spend a hella lotta money on professionals who can re-enact 'split second decisions' kops face. and most get off.

yes: the first rule by kop is: OBEY, even when impossible. many homeless have mental health issues, and get mega-confuded my multiple orders from kops,including off the top of my head: james boyd in ABQ and kelly thomas in fullerton, CA, for two.

another heart-breaker was dear marvin booker, a street preacher in denver who spoke many of MLK, jr/s words to passers-by. but he wend back to get the only pair of shoes he owned, thus: failing to OBEY, and was killed (tased to death) for that audacity. i can't find an easy link or video, but this is the closest.

At the end, you hear the cops yelling, "Get down!" or something like that. You could hear the adrenalin in their voices. For committing the crime of not lying on the ground, the cops blasted the shit out of that individual.

Although the ethnic dimension of "Black Lives Matter" is legitimate in my opinion for several very good reasons, the phrase, by definition, does not address cop paranoia, which I think is an even worse and more prevalent problem for everybody than White On Black police violence.

It is built into cop culture these days to "assume" that anybody of any age, size or color can suddenly produce a weapon and blow your head off. Not exactly wrong.

Instead of looking at the potential violence as something that can best be dealt with by a hail of bullets, our society that spends a lot of money on law enforcement might consider lowering the overall tendency to solve problems with gunfire -- starting with "policy" on shooting people who are not following orders to prostrate themselves. I get the cop response about how quickly somebody can kill you -- but they can shoot from the ground just as easily as they can shoot standing up.

When I used to represent a police union as a lawyer, I learned that they call it Voice Control -- they affect a tone of voice that intentionally suggests imminent violence if you do not obey. This mentality of domination fits perfectly with what the military veterans bring back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

When you act like an occupying army, the citizens very rationally get paranoid too, and some go fucking crazy.

This is the America we built.

@Lily O Lady

original coverage of wsws's narrative, i'd asked if this was what you'd meant, but now i see i'd misconstrued what you'd offered. or i may have. but to say the truth, i agree that at least the police version [by way of video??] of what she'd said when she called them was manifestly different than this she'd said in most interviews:

I said, he's unarmed, he doesn't have anything, he just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming. He's a kid he's trying to get attention, he doesn't know how to regulate.

She said she was to stay while the two officers went through the front door of the home in the area of 500 S. Navajo Street in the Glendale neighborhood. She said in less than five minutes, she heard "get down on the ground" and several gunshots were heard.

She thought her son was dead and the officers didn't immediately say if he was or was not dead. They handcuffed him, according to Barton.

[this is quite telling, although there were several officers]:

Additionally, she said she heard from someone that the other officer could be seen grabbing his own head in disbelief for what had happened. He said out loud, according to what the mother was told, "He's just a child, what are you doing?"

i'd dug one out this one that included mum and her elder son speaking as well.

i sure like your benadryl idea, and am so glad your hospitalizations of your son included no cops.

we have a relative with a 13-yr-old son with autism spectrum disorder who's been running away from home repeatedly. they sic the police on him send him to a psych, he's out, back in...so far as we know he's still alive but 'in the system'. but this hit home as you might imagine.
we both wish we had even close to the wherewithal to give him a home. but being old, infirm, and broke...not a chance, dagnabbit. i figure he's running away from home for some good reason.

thanks, lily o lady.

now adult Aspie I find this situation frightening. When he was a teenager my son made a suicidal comment to his psychiatrist while in session. The psychiatrist told me that he had to be hospitalized and that if I didn’t take him myself then he, the psychiatrist, would have to call the cops. I determined that the police were a danger to my son and worked very hard to convince him to let me take him to the hospital.

In my opinion, considering the way cops are, the mom was over sharing with her information. She told the police that her son had said he would shoot someone. She did not say whether or not there were lethal firearms in the household.

Personally, I would have tried to drug something the kid ate or drank with Benadryl. Once he was really sleepy it could have been possible to get him into the car and to the hospital. I’ve been through two hospitalizations with my son without cops.

Police can even be difficult in a non-emotional situation. My f-I-l found that he couldn’t move one day. We needed an ambulance to take him to the hospital for a diagnosis. It turned out to be a B-12 deficiency. But the police had to ask questions and puzzle over why my f-I-l needed the hospital. It was an awkward process since I was trying to diagnose him and very incorrectly guessed a stroke. All my f-I-l could say was that he couldn’t move. The police were apparently looking for something very suspicious. I would rather have dealt directly with the paramedics.

We’ve gone way down the rabbit hole to crazy town. The police are one of the scarier symptoms.

@vtcc73

explanation of 'cow face'. i will say our relative's son is very affected by noise, and was even advised to wear ear muffs in school. as he'd aged, i'm sure that he wasn't comfortable with doing so.

as to your final paragraph, i think it has merit as far as it goes, but many become police just to be authoritarians, by my reckoning.

this quote by officer ruff kinda inadvertently explains WTF crisis intervention teams are doing with bullets in the first place:

“We’re very comfortable with the program we used and with the individuals who are teaching it,” Ruff said in an interview with the Associated Press following the shooting. While declining to state what steps or decisions might have led the police to unload multiple rounds into a child, Ruff reiterated, “there’s more than one way to be CIT trained.”

It's very common for autism spectrum disorder people to have an extreme sensitivity to loud noises, chaos, and essentially anything that has the potential to overload their senses. My adult son with Aspergers still has the infant startle reflex. He's less sensitive to noise, shouting,, and lots going on around him but as a child he would shut down or go into a near panic in those conditions. The standard "training" police get to control a situation is like tossing 130 octane gasoline on a fire with people suffering these disorders. I bet these guys hadn't a fucking clue what they were stepping into. They were set up by their superiors and those above them.

I learned a technique I called "cow face" when J was agitated and nearly out of control. Flat affect, be very still, be very, very calm, and STFU. Above all else - STFU. If he was too worked up it often helped to gently restrain him with a gentle hug although that can be hazardous because it activates a touch sense that can overwhelm them further.

"Cow face" works with teenagers spectacularly too (most people actually). When you do speak you only speak very softly, clearly, and slowly showing no emotion or more movement than is necessary. With teens, only ask questions that can't be answered with a yes or no and wait giving plenty of cow face. Wait as long as it takes for an answer. They can't not say something and will give themselves away quickly. Don't react. Keep doing the same thing. If you don't know exactly what to say then don't say anything. You will fuck it up. WILL. Teens, especially, know that they have your ass if they can get you talking. It's a damn hard technique to do at first but, once learned, it's positively evil how effective it is with most people.

I didn't watch the video. I didn't need or want to. I've read the book, seen the movie, had the experiences, and don't need the fucking T-shirt. I know how this tragedy went except for the details. I'll go so far as saying it's criminal the way police are not trained to de-escalate and deal with people as human beings first. I don't necessarily blame individual officers as much as I do the law and order culture and the authoritarian assholes who lead us. The way police are trained is guaranteed to produce these events.

@BayAreaLefty

such constant dread. my stomach roiled again reading this, and its likelihood:

He probably has/had no clue what had just happened, and it's even odds as to whether he even understands really why he doesn't feel good, or how being shot can have that affect.

seriously, given 11 shots, it's hard to believe he's still alive. wish i could lighten your constant anguish, BA Lefty.

I didn't want to, because I have an autistic child. He's, as they say, "high functioning," but this kid's "I don't feel good" after he's been shot really resonated with me (not in a good way). These kids literally don't know/understand what they're doing or why others are reacting the way they do. He probably has/had no clue what had just happened, and it's even odds as to whether he even understands really why he doesn't feel good, or how being shot can have that affect.

I live in constant anxiety that my kid will run afoul of our demented police forces, just like this one did. There was absolutely no reason for them to shoot at him. None. I hope they get some pretty damn harsh treatment from the "justice" system--but I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting.