Riots in Milwaukee after Police Shoot Suspect.

I don't know the races of the people involved, but this seems like a time when these sort of actions don't correlate with the situation.

http://ift.tt/2aKWbgA

Quote:

MILWAUKEE — A standoff between police and an angry crowd turned violent Saturday night in the hours after a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed an armed suspect during a foot chase. More than 100 people gathered near the scene on the city’s north side and at times pushed against a line of 20 to 30 officers, some of whom were in riot gear. At one point, the officers got in their cars to leave, and some in the crowd started smashing the windows of a squad car and another vehicle, which was set on fire. As officers returned to the scene, this time many more in riot gear, gunshots could be heard about 8:45 p.m. CT. Soon thereafter, the crowd turned on and attacked reporters and a photographer from the Journal Sentinel. The police were trying unsuccessfully to disperse the crowd. But appeared to pull back. The violence erupted not long after a woman who identified herself as a family member of the dead man implored the people to leave the scene. "We don't want anyone else to go to jail or get hurt," she told the crowd. Some left but many stayed as tensions built. The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon. City police officials said two officers stopped two suspects in a car at about 3:30 p.m. The suspects then took off on foot. During the pursuit, a six-year veteran of the department shot and killed a 23-year-old Milwaukee resident, who was carrying a semiautomatic handgun, police said. The officer was not hurt. Shortly after the shooting, Milwaukee Police Assistant Chief Bill Jessup said at the scene that it wasn't immediately clear whether the suspect pointed the gun or shot at the officer. "Those additional facts will come out in the coming days," Jessup said. City police officials have not interviewed the officer, Jessup said. That responsibility will fall to the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, which is required by state law to take over officer-involved shooting investigations. "That officer had to make a split-second decision when the person confronted him with a handgun," Jessup said. "This is a risk they take every day on behalf of our community." Jessup said he didn't immediately know why the officers stopped the suspects. Police said the suspect had a "lengthy arrest record," though the specific crimes were not detailed. The suspect was carrying a handgun taken in a March burglary in Waukesha. The owner reported that 500 rounds of ammunition also were stolen. The officer is 24 and will be placed on administrative duty during the investigation and subsequent review by the district attorney's office. The second suspect who fled on foot, also a 23-year-old man, was apprehended and is in custody, Jessup said. The shooting occurred about one block northwest of the scene of a Friday evening homicide, and about four blocks west of a Saturday morning double homicide. Five people died in shooting-related homicides during a nine-hour stretch in the city on Friday night and Saturday morning. "As everyone knows, this was a very, very violent 24 hours in the city of Milwaukee," Jessup said. "Our officers are out here taking risks on behalf of the community and making split-second decisions." Nefataria Gordon said she knew the man who had been killed by the officer. "He was a nice good person. He was really respected. That's why everyone came out. They're angry."

MY reason for saying the above is this: "Police said the suspect had a "lengthy arrest record," though the specific crimes were not detailed. The suspect was carrying a handgun taken in a March burglary in Waukesha. The owner reported that 500 rounds of ammunition also were stolen."

Now I know people who go to prison aren't inherently bad people, and can do good things, and the guy probably didn't deserve to die, but a lot of this clearly seems like the suspect was in the wrong. It doesn't really say why they were running, besides probably trying to be arrested for being suspected in previous crimes, but the evidence does add up that they were in the wrong.

So why the outrage this time? Again, guy probably didn't deserve to die, but the rioting in this case seems less like a call to action and more of an excuse to riot in general. We do have a lot of problems in certain places regarding how the police force operates, but it isn't cause for every situation now to paint the police as the villains.

Riots in Milwaukee after Police Shoot Suspect.