Just to Clarify...

In my last post I stated some startling facts. That's all these are, just facts. These aren't opinions. There have been a lot of officer-involved shootings in the Seattle area the past five or six years. I'm not here to say whether or not any of these were justified shootings or not. There are a few that stand out that I have very strong feelings about and I will write a lot about them, but if I were to sit here and say that all these shootings were unjustified I would be a complete idiot. There are obvious cases here where the police had no choice but to shoot. I think we can all agree that Maurice Clemmons deserved what he got in many ways. The man gunned down four officers who were sitting in a coffee shop.

What concerns me most is the sheer numbers. Seattle is a medium sized city. The area is growing but in a lot of ways it is still very rural. Drive almost any direction and in twenty minutes and you are in the woods. Seattle's crime-rate is low. Sure, property crime is a little high due to the influx of drug-use in the region, but overall Seattle is a safe city to live in. Unlike most major cities, Seattle really doesn't have a bad area. You could argue that the Rainier Valley is pretty bad, but if that's what Seattle's projects look like, then Seattle is doing pretty well. I wouldn't recommend you go walking in Rainier Beach at night by yourself but if you had to, you would probably be ok. I can't say that for parts of Boston, LA, Chicago, Dallas, New York, ect.

The big question is why are there so many officer-involved shootings? Everyone should be asking themselves this. Is it the economy? Well, it's tough everywhere right now. I live in a city that has a lot of crime. A lot more than Seattle. But I rarely ever read about an officer-involved shooting. It does happen, but not even close to the rate it's happening in Seattle. I can't speak for other major cities because I don't live in them, but I can say Boston cops aren't nearly as aggressive as Seattle cops. Cops here don't stop you for jaywalking, not wearing a seat belt, talking on your cellphone while driving, ect. I have never seen it.

In Seattle you can be stopped for anything at anytime. This has happened to me several times. I have been approached by officers just walking down the sidewalk and minding my own business. They have stopped me,  interrogated me, searched me, made me feel like a criminal, all for NO REASON. No probable cause. A few times they made up something about looking for someone that "matched my description" but other times they gave me no reason. Sure, I could be non-compliant and give them a hard time and ask them if they have a right to search me blah, blah blah. But I would only be making my problems worse. Regardless, it's something I don't see here in Boston.

It just makes me wonder. If cops weren't so aggressive maybe a simple jaywalking incident wouldn't turn into someone getting killed. That should never happen. But look, if you point a gun at an officer, you made your own bed at that point. Someone pulling a garden hose on an officer though? I have a real issue that a trained officer can't tell the difference between a garden hose and a real gun. This is what is happening all over Western Washington. Why the numbers are up I couldn't tell you. But there has to be a reason for this spike.That's what we all have to figure out. I don't think anyone can prevent an idiot with a death wish from pointing a gun at a cop. But I'm sure a lot of these shootings didn't need to happen.

One thing is for sure. The more aggressive cops become, the more scared criminals become and that doesn't bode well for anybody. If cops continue to disrespect everyone they will be putting themselves in danger by making the criminals more aggressive towards police. I'm all for stopping crime. But there is a right way to do it. There is a way to treat the suspect with respect while still doing your job safely. I don't think cops in Seattle understand that too well.