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Opinion / Religion - June 22, 2020

Mike's World View by Mike Henry

The Ferguson Effect is a term used to describe an increase in crime due to the police backing off from engagement in minority communities.
I now fear a Floyd Effect, where black suspects are embolden and believe they have a right to resist police commands or arrest. This could lead to more tragic situations like the one we saw in Atlanta. We always seem to focus on what the police do wrong, but never on what the suspect does wrong.
Have you ever heard of suicide by cop? It's common knowledge that if you fire a weapon at a cop, 90% of the time they will return lethal fire. It happens. The murder charge against the Atlanta cop is ridiculous. It's the DA that should be fired. Once the suspect turned and fired the stolen taser at the cop, the cop had just cause to return fire. You can argue that he shouldn't have under the circumstances, but it's still his discretion.
If black lives truly matter then Black Lives Matter should take some of the millions of dollars they've received and use it to teach young blacks how to respond to the police without getting killed. It can be done. You simply obey police commands and then file charges later if you feel you were wronged.
Those who are continually stoking the flames of racism make it nearly impossible for the police to do their job. Public safety only happens to be the number one function of government. As far as defunding the police, there's an old saying, "Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater." I know some cops are on a power trip which is irritating, but the vast majority do a reasonably good job. The rest should be rooted out.
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