Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn's comments about race, crime, and protestors on November 6 went viral this week. The video and transcript are posted below.
Well, I hear a lot of things. Certainly there are some folks in this
community that are legitimately grieving, and we’ve heard from them.
We heard a lot of people who believe the First Amendment only applies to
them, and took great pains to shout down anybody that disagreed with
them. Despite my ongoing disagreements with the police union, I’d have
to say that their members tonight conducted themselves, I thought, with
great restraint given the ad hominem invective that was being unleashed
on their ward personally and the police department generally.
So, you know, this is a controversy, this is a tragedy, I’ve said it
over and over again, this is a tragedy for the family, a tragedy for
Officer Manney, a tragedy for the community. But I’m not blind to the
fact that there’s a lot of people lining up to take advantage of this
tragedy to flog their own agendas, and that was clear tonight, as well.
[Reporter:]
You’re accused of saying something to one of the protesters, or one of the people in the stands, who accuses you…
[Edward Flynn:]
I – you know – he was making so much noise I have no idea what he was talking about. But, if he feels insulted, too bad.
[Reporter:]
What’s your response to some of the people who thought you were being
disrespectful by being on your phone and not being attentive to them?
[Edward Flynn:] Source: LYBIO.net
Well I was on my phone, and yes, that’s true. I was following
developments with a 5-year-old little girl sitting on her dad’s lap who
just got shot in the head by a drive-by shooting. And if some of the
people here gave a good goddamn about the victimization of the people in
this community by crime, I’d take some of their invective more
seriously.
The greatest racial disparity in the city of Milwaukee is getting
shot and killed. Hello!! Eighty percent of my homicide victims every
year are African-American. Eighty percent of our aggravated assault
victims are African-American. Eighty percent of our shooting victims,
who survive their shooting are African-American.
Now they know all about the last three people who’ve been killed by
the Milwaukee Police Department over the course of the last several
years. There’s not one of them that can name one of the last three
homicide victims we’ve had in this city.
Now there’s room for everybody to participate [in] fixing this police
department and I’m not pretending we’re without sin. But this
community’s at risk all right. And it’s not because men and women in
blue risk their lives protecting it. It’s at risk because we have large
numbers of high- capacity, quality firearms in the hands of remorseless
criminals who don’t care who they shoot.
Now, I’m leaving here to go to that scene… and I take it personally,
okay? We’re going there and there’s a bunch of cops up there processing
the scene of a dead kid. And they’re the ones who are going to be out
there patrolling and stopping suspects and they have guns under the
front seat. They’re the ones who are going to risk their lives to clean
this thing up. Alright?
[Edward Flynn:] Source: LYBIO.net
We’re responsible for the things we get wrong and we take action. We’ve
arrested cops, we’ve fired cops, and so on. But, the fact is, that the
people out here, some of them, who had the most to say, are absolutely
MIA when it comes to the true threats facing this community. And it gets
a little tiresome, when you start getting yelled at for reading the
updates of the kid who get shot… yeah, you take it personal. Okay, now,
no offense, I’m going up there now.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Milwaukee police chief has a few things to say (video)
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6 comments:
Boom.
Good. For. Him.
So sick of this crap. Folks get shot all the time of all colors. Value life and stop rioting. Maybe things will improve.
I applaud everything said. I like very much that he holds his force to a high standard of professionalism.
The reactions have been excessive and there's no excuse for violence, looting and arson.
Those protesting peacefully should pause to examine what strategies actually are effective. The goal is to persuade others to your cause, not to preach to the choir.
But, we also should be concerned about the number of deaths, particularly of innocent civilians, at the hands of law enforcement each year.
8 times more innocent civilians are killed in police pursuits every year than officers die in the line of duty. There aren't good statistics about how many die in the course of arrests other than pursuits as the government doesn't keep such statistics.
And, we should know and be able to contrast and compare those statistics with those in other modern civilized countries .
We aren't reacting sensibly if we don't at least ask if this incident in Ferguson could have been avoided altogether but instead give law enforcement and those in authority a blank check.
Let's not forget Brown was clearly identifiable on tape and Ferguson is a small town. That he'd be arrested was never in doubt. And, as crimes go, it was certainly small time.
Unless we truly believe every crime is deserving of the death penalty, and unless we don't think those who have the authority to arrest and detain us should be held to a high standard of professionalism, we might stop and ask ourselves if this could have been handled better.
Shouldn't we want this sort of thing, including Wilson being in a position to be assaulted, not to happen in the future?
I wish everyone would calm down and take a deep breath.
Maybe Brown was on the path to being the next Al Capone but isn't also possible, that an arrest might have led to a wake up call?
I know some young adults who did worse that are now successful professionals and businessmen. One of the wealthiest businessmen I know was given a choice of joining the military or serving time. He's done a great deal to help other troubled youths and been successful in doing so.
If y'all are honest, you know of someone you went to school with who got stupid and was lucky an officer didn't see them being stupid. Some of those who had stupid moments are even political conservatives !
7:40
The "kid" assaulted the officer while the officer was still in his car. The officer was not arresting him, he was telling him to get out of the middle of the street and the kid instigated the physical encounter.
While there are many things about the militarization of the police that should be addressed, being stupid about what events you utilize for your message just makes one look stupid and minimizes the argument.
If anyone goes up to a police officer and initiates the assault, I have no issue with the officer using his service weapon to shoot and kill that person, just as I have no problem with any civilian doing the same.
As far as your comments about innocent civilians being killed in pursuits... well, that's the price you pay for living in a civilized, free society. Providing loopholes for criminals to avoid prosecution is the same idiotic approach as making otherwise legal actions illegal because they "might" lead to an actual illegal action.
Even in Utopia, the predators still eat the prey
There is an even stronger video by a black sheriif blasting
Eric Holder , same town
sheriff David Clark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMQCFqgAGyM
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