No, she wasn't murdered.
There is a lesson here for citizens. Don't struggle with the police.
They have a license to kill.
My post today isn't about rights or about justice. In fact, it is about the opposite of that. It is about surviving an encounter with the police.
Tyre Nichols got killed. Ashli Babbitt got killed. Nichols was the man beaten up and killed by Memphis police officers last week. Babbitt was the January 6 Capitol rioter who was killed while breaking through a door to climb into the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Marjorie Taylor Green compared Nichols and Babbitt on the floor of the House this week. Green said Babbitt was "murdered." She said Babbitt was one of the "many people that came into the Capitol on Jan. 6, whose civil rights and liberties are being violated heavily." She is echoing Trump, who called Babbitt "an innocent, wonderful, incredible woman, a military woman," and a "patriot." Two days ago Trump wrote in all caps: "ASHLI BABBITT WAS MURDERED!!!”
Tyre Nichols' death, at the fists and feet of Black police officers, muddles the normal partisanship we would expect from White populists when a Black man is killed by police. The police officers were Black, so there was no need for her defend White police. Green addressed a fellow House member. “Miss Crockett, I do agree with you about Tyree Nichols’ death. I watched the video, and it was tragic and extremely difficult to watch.” Then she likened it to Ashli Babbitt's death.
The death of Babbitt muddles things for liberal Boomers who might normally react by defending protesters. That was the early training of those who remember the 1968 Chicago police riot, the 1969 Kent State shooting, pot busts, and police being called "pigs" by hippies. However, Babbitt was in a scrum of Trump-supporting rioters in the act of breaking down a door to find House members. As Kevin McCarthy put it, in contradiction to both Marjorie Taylor Green and Trump, “I think the police officer did his job."
I agree with McCarthy. I would consider it dereliction of duty if the armed Capitol police failed to protect members of the House and Senate. They are armed for a reason.
I consider the cases of Nichols and Babbitt very different, but there is a common lesson for citizens in both. Police consider themselves justified--and the law concurs--when they use deadly force if they feel themselves or others endangered. Citizens should be treated with respect by police, but encounters with police are a poor time to demand respect. Police are looking for submission. Not attitude.
What are citizens to do if their goal is to survive encounters with the police? Comply. Give police what they want, control of the situation. Recognize that this is a dangerous situation for the police.
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A police officer approaching a car in a traffic stop does not know if the driver is armed, intoxicated, or in good mental health. The citizen can hope the police officer is in good mental health, too. One can count on the fact that the officer is armed.
The practical reality is that the police officer's interpretation of events is what matters. This includes times when police are dishonest. The Memphis officers were doing a performance for their body cameras when they were shouting for Nichols to stop resisting. They had pepper-sprayed his face, and it is natural for a person to bring his hands up to protect his eyes and head. Nichols was shouting that he was on the ground and trying to comply as they were beating him.
I watch videos of police confrontations and fervently wish that people who are stopped by police had simply complied. Not run. Not resisted. Not argued. Not justified themselves. Take the roughing up and disrespect if the police officer is in the mood for that. It isn't justice, the Bill of Rights, or maintaining self respect. It is getting through a dangerous situation.
One can hope the officer has a body camera. Have a dashboard camera of one's own. One or both of those cameras may tip things in your favor, if the encounter goes badly.
What Ashli Babbitt and Tyre Nichols have in common is that neither complied with the police and both are dead.
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11 comments:
Tyre Nichols had done nothing to warrant being yanked from his car by a police unit renowned for its brutality and had good reason to be terrified. Ashli Babbitt, on the other hand, went out of her way to get shot. In fact, they had nothing in common.
Readers may not be aware of the following:
- A possible personal connection (ex-wife/girlfriend type of relationship) between one of the officers and Tyre Nichols is being investigated.
- The officers were part of a special police unit, SCORPION. Perhaps they felt that they did not to play by the same rules as other, regular officers.
- Memphis, the largest city in Tennessee, is 65% black. It is predominantly Democratic.
- The police chief is a black woman.
- The current mayor is white; however, the 2 previous mayors were black.
People run from the police when they are guilty and/or they believe that they are in jeopardy No Matter What.
There is actually a bigger difference.
The Nichols case was unprovoked. Beating up citizens was routine for those officers and it was only a matter of time before someone was killed. I wouldn't make the assumption that Nichols was resisting, but it's not hard to imagine that he panicked, and became a target for escalated abuse.
On the other hand Ashli Babbitt was actually in the process of committing a crime, one for which hundreds of offenders who could have been, but were not, justifiably shot have been prosecuted. She deliberately placed herself in harms way and suffered a consequence.
The only equivalence I see is between Republican racist pandering and the rogue police. Both lead to violence.
The African-American judge in the Murdaugh case is Judge Clifton Newman. I submitted the comment because the situation in the courtroom defies certain racial stereotypes and certain stereotypes about the South in general and the Deep South in particular. Same goes for the Tyre Nichols case in Memphis. (Surprise!)
For those unaware, there's a rumor circulating on social media recently ... folks are claiming, without evidence, Tyre worked at FedEx in Memphis with one of the officer's wives and had a relationship with the woman, the implication being the cops were out for revenge.
If it’s on the internet, some people apparently assume it must be true. No wonder they’re embarrassed to use their name.
I guess the original comment was lost or rejected. Oh well.
Do not be surprised or disappointed if you post anonymously and a post that you feel is perfectly legitimate and useful does not get published.
A Medford supporter of Trump makes fruitless efforts to get comments published using names of other commenters. My default is to delete all comments that are plagiarisms or yet another pathetic effort by the Trump supporter to get his comments published here. In the past I noted his self-described brain damage and legal problems each time he attempted a comment, but it turns out that neither brain damage nor legal problems are disqualifying for a Republican candidate for local office. I thought the Republican would be an embarrassment to fellow Republicans, but a significant number of them apparently OK with his obscenities. I think it reflects badly on the local GOP, but apparently not. Now I just quickly delete comments that are either obviously his or possibly his. The ones that would help prejudice a jury against him I save for the file I give to the District Attorney and local law enforcement.
Furthermore, my initial comment clearly states that a POSSIBLE connection is under INVESTIGATION. Careful reading for comprehension is an important skill that learned in primary school.
And by the way, are you so naive and out of touch with reality to think that the police Never do anything illegal, immoral or unethical? Seriously? WAKE UP
See Newsweek article 2-1-23. Contact Newsweek if you have a problem with it.
I post anonymously and it doesn't bother me if my comments are not posted. It is what it is, not gonna cry about it.
I just thought some readers might be a little confused.
I have many more important things to worry about on a daily basis, believe me.
Correctional officers are like cops and I worked in prisons for 30 years. The main thing I attempted to convey to inmates in dealing with staff is don’t challenge their authority. Let them understand that YOU understand that they are the power and are in charge. The inmates who had the most run ins with staff were the the inmates who were rebellious toward following the directives given. It is difficult to do when you think the officer is in the wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that the officer is in charge.
Hey, Anonymous; pretty hard to know how many people use that handle on this blog. Why don’t you change to Anonymous 1, Anonymous z42, or jhst use a fake name-Bubba or something.
Peter, those are wise words,advising people to obey the police's orders. I guess. On the other hand, if we follow illegal or immoral orders, i think that makes them feel entitled, and maybe encourages worse behavior.
When I was in my thirties, and working out of town, staying in a motel on the north end of Clear lake, Calif, I was walking along the dark highway at the edge of town, seeking a phone booth (remember those?) to call my wife. Suddenly, a couple of local gendarmes pulled up in their black and white and, very rudely,demanded to see my drivers license. I guess I was one of the hippies back then, the ones you referenced calling cops pigs. I’ve outgrown that as I have aged, but anyways I got pretty sarcastic with them, saying something along the lines of, “%Say WHAT? Are you telling me I need a license to WALK in this town”? Of course, all I accomplished was more aggressive behavior on both sides. I’ll spare you all the details, but after I threatened to Sue their asses, they drove off in a cloud of burning rubber.
I think I might still stand up for my rights, even at 77 years old. However, I’m not sure if the cops would leave without a couple of nightsticks making a bit of contact with my elderly body first. The times,they are changin'
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