We have a hard life and sometimes death doesn’t make it go away.
Colorado State Patrol troopers are armed with tasers, but it doesn't appear he even tried to use his before shooting her multiple timesLGBTQ NationBy Bil BrowningJune 17, 2020Jayne Thompson was shot and killed by a Colorado State Patrol trooper last month, but it took until this week before it was disclosed that the officer had killed a transgender woman. For weeks, the Colorado State Police and local media misgendered her and said a man had been shot.Thompson was killed the same week two Black transgender women: Dominique Rem’mie Fells of Pennsylvania and Riah Milton of Ohio. All three were slain as the country protested police brutality and racial justice with massive marches and rallies. Thompson is white.According to details provided by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, Thompson was reported lying motionless near a grocery store and unresponsive when passersby offered assistance. When Trooper Jason Wade arrived on the scene, Thompson “began to act aggressively and brandished an approximately 10-inch knife” according to the police report.
In the old days (When I was growing up) I don’t think that there were that many people who were shot by the police. Maybe I was naive, maybe it was because I lived in a white suburb, or maybe as people said that nobody had cellphone cameras but it seemed to me that there were a lot less police murders.
“[I]t is clear that Jayne was in crisis when she was approached by Colorado State Patrol,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative, said. “When members of the community need help, the expectation is to protect and serve and not to be killed.”[...]Police nationwide frequently misgender transgender people and use their given “deadname” to the media instead of the name the victim actually used that matches their gender identity.
Back then it seemed like the police were willing to talk people out of jumping off a ledge and now they push them. Now it is shoot first because it is easier than trying to talk to someone I think that is because they know that they can kill someone and get away with it.
I can't help but think how it might have been different if it was a social worker who responded to call with a police officer if the social worker might have defused the situation avoiding the killing.
In this day of age, the police should not be misgendering trans people, I can only assume that it must be done on purpose.
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One of the places I lay the blame is on the media, not the news-media but police shows and movies.
Look at shows like Hawaii 50, or Magnum, P.I. and compare to old 70s shows to the new shows and look at how the violence is portrayed, how much more violent and gory the new shows are.
Not only that but the shows today have a lot more police who cut corners and don’t follow the rules. Yes, there were some movies about rogue cops especially “undercover” cops but now there are TV shows that are about rogue police squads. The ends justifies the means.
I don’t think you can lay all the blame all on the media, after all we are watching it. If we were not watching it, it wouldn’t be in the movies or on TV. But I do think it has a created an environment where violence is acceptable.
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It might be difficult to report the correct gender identity of someone who is no longer alive to declare it. Also, the individual may not be out, and reporting their assumed gender, just by their appearance at the time of death, may not be the gender they would want made public - even in their death. Outing a transgender person could be more egregious than a mis-gendering, depending on the circumstances. If Jayne was carrying an ID that had a male name and gender marker, I think that the mis-gendering could be forgivable, then. I don't know all the details, though.
ReplyDeleteI agree that social workers should be available to deal with certain incidents, but I sure wouldn't want to be the social worker who had to talk down a person who was brandishing a 10" knife. Maybe the police officer acted irresponsibly by shooting, but it would also be irresponsible policy to send an unarmed social worker alone to a scene. Again, I don't know all the details of this case.
I like to watch old crime shows (Film Noir), and I don't watch too much of the newer ones. The old ones could have a lot of gunfire, but not much blood and gore. They are sometimes even campy and comical, the way the cops shoot at fleeing suspects as they are running down a crowded sidewalk (not very responsible). Of course, they rarely took good aim, either, and would usually whip the gun in a motion as if doing so could cause the bullet to have more oomph. Still, as in real life, the police almost always act on the suspicion of guilt. While the courts are supposed to presume innocence, the police shouldn't be involved unless there is reasonable cause. Reasonable force is another matter.
Too many cops think they are also judge, jury and executioner, I think.