"At some point, shots were fired." Week 18 police killings
The passive language reporters use assumes the police are always in the right — and pushes that assumption on readers.
It’s always interesting to see what information police will release after they shoot or kill someone. It’s almost never the name of the person shot or killed. And it’s almost always something that leads the reader to assume that the police were in the right. Additionally, the passive language used by reporters in describing these events also provides that assumption to the reader.
“At some point, shots were fired,” writes a reporter in Fremont County, Colorado, where officers with the Canon City Police Department shot and killed one man, and injured another. It of course goes without saying that “shots” aren’t just “fired” and are instead the result of a human being’s decision. As for the reason for shooting the two men and what we know about them? They were driving “[...] a 1999 Infiniti at around 10:00 p.m. near the Quality Inn motel along US Hwy 50 and Dozier Avenue” when police were “attempting to make contact with the driver.”
At a certain point, it’s worth considering whether publishing these stories even provides anything close to the truth of these events or is simply re-writing a press release for the police.
Here are U.S. police killings in the 18th week of 2021:
Tuesday
Police in Bakersfield, California killed a man after he shot a K9 following a car and foot chase. Dalton James Gerrit Kooiman was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen, police said. BWC footage exists and the department says it will release it. Under California law they have 45 days to do so.
Thursday
Police in Lincoln County, Missouri killed a man suspected of shooting a police officer after a car chase. Joe Robideau, 21, shot an officer at a previous traffic stop before being spotted later. There is almost surely dashcam footage of the incident but it’s unclear if BWC footage exists.
Sunday
Police in Warren County, Ohio killed a man they say pointed a .357 revolver at them following a domestic dispute and alleged shots fired. The reporter who wrote up the incident fails to even address whether there is BWC footage or not. A follow-up story notes that there is no BWC footage because Hamilton Township police officers do not wear them. (Why!?)
Friday
A suspect in a double homicide was shot and killed by Kansas City (MO) police officers after he allegedly brandished a long gun. Hanad Abdiaziz was the suspect in the killing of two teenagers the previous night, police said. No mention of BWC footage.
Saturday
The aforementioned driver of a 1999 Infinity was killed by at least one officer in Canon City, Colorado.
Police in Nashville killed a homeless schizophrenic man whose mother said was “armed and I personally would consider him dangerous but he has never actually been violent. I really don’t want the police to kill him… but I really don’t want him to kill anyone else either,” she added. In what was a tense and lengthy standoff seen on BWC footage, Jacob Griffin fired one shot from a gun, then dropped it, as he was surrounded by police Sunday afternoon. Later, Griffin fired another shot, apparently in the air and not at police like the first one. As dusk fell, police deployed dogs, one of which had Griffin wrapped up as officers closed in, demanding he show his hands. (The video appears to show the dog had a hold of at least one of Griffin’s arms.) Police shot and killed him. This one’s weird. Police look like they showed a lot of restraint throughout the day but it seems odd to demand that someone show their hands when they’re being attacked and trying to defend themselves from a dog that’s biting them. Initial determination: Questionable.
Police in South Haven, Indiana shot and killed a man inside his home. Alexander Tuzinski died after police entered his home following a disturbance call and allegedly found him with a handgun. The identities of the officers have not been released and the story on the incident fails to mention anything about BWC footage.
Today
Police in Camden County, Georgia shot and killed someone while executing a search warrant, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
In other news:
Police released BWC footage of the killing of Mario Arenalas Gonzalez in Alameda County, California on April 19. Gonzalez appears to be homeless, or at least drinking in a public park as police approach and say they received a call that he was “not feeling so great.” The officer then asks Gonzalez for his ID so he can ensure he has no warrants and the police can “go on their merry way.” “Like a merry-go-round,” asks Gonzalez, who appears to be drunk. If Gonzalez can’t provide an ID, the officer would “have to take you,” the officer says. Two officers then grab Gonzalez by the arms and try walking him to a squad when he starts weakly struggling with them. The cops take him to the ground and spend the next five minutes pinning him with their knees and elbows as they try to slap the cuffs on. Eventually, Gonzalez’s unintelligible cries for help go silent as his face is buried in the dirt. A cop turns him over to find him unresponsive. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
A man with diagnosed schizophrenia died in a northern Texas jail after police pepper-sprayed him and put a spit mask on his face, leaving him apparently unattended for several hours. Seven officers were fired over the killing of Marvin Scott, who it sounds like brutally suffocated under his own breath that day in March. Well-known Texas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt is handling the lawsuit on behalf of Scott’s family, and I hope they put the hurt on whatever law enforcement agency runs the Collin County Jail in McKinney.
Officers right here in Savannah were suspended after one of them shared an image of a noose in a group text following the alleged suicide of William Zachary Harvey, who was in police custody when he apparently hanged himself in an interrogation room on April 2. “Too soon?” wrote an officer after sharing the noose image in the group text. The police chief has not yet released the identities of the officers but I’ve filed a request under the Georgia Open Records Act that seeks their names, ranks, and any formal complaints lodged against them during their tenure. The request also seeks communications regarding the incident including the text thread itself. I have advised the Department that I am willing to sue in order to obtain these records, so hopefully that’ll put some fire under their ass to provide some transparency.