Police brutality! All Cops Are Bastards (ACAB)! Police Violence. We need to defund the police to protect our communities. Police need to de-escalate!
Such is the repetitive rhetoric from Marxist-inspired groups like Black Lives Matter and the neo-Nazi and Fascist “Antifa” organization; both of which are so far succeeding in their “4-D Plan” to Disenfranchise and Distance law enforcement from their communities and then Defund and Dissolve police departments nationwide. However, their “truth” about officer-involved shootings is far from the real truth about law enforcement use of deadly force upon civilians in the U.S.
“So far this year, twice as many people of color in Chicago have been shot/killed by other people of color in acts of justifiable self-defense than by police!”
For some context and a reality check, let’s look at the City of Chicago, run by Mayor and staunch BLM supporter Lori Lightfoot. As of the end of July, citizens in Chicago have already shot 2,359 and murdered 417 in acts of gun violence. Police in Chicago on the other hand have shot/wounded only 5 and killed 3 citizens. A whopping 95% of all people of color in Chicago are shot/killed, not by “racist” police, but by other persons of color! In fact, so far this year, twice as many people of color in the city have been shot/killed by other people of color in acts of justifiable self-defense than by police! I’ll bet you didn’t know that.
Contextually, last year (2019) approximately 600,000 active law enforcement officers working in a country of approximately 328 million, with literally tens of millions of citizen contacts monthly had only 1,004 officer officer-involved shooting (OIS) fatals. In comparison, so far this year, homicides in the City of Chicago alone have accounted for over 40% of all of the officer-involved shootings nationally in 2019, and that’s just Chicago. Hello!
Now you remember those “racist police” who the BLM, Antifa, and their ignorant supporters and politicians attempting to placate their base often refer to? Well, of the 1,004 fatal OIS’s we had in 2019, only 235 of those or roughly 21% were blacks and 158 involved Hispanic suspects. White suspects accounted for 370 of those fatals. Once again and historically consistently, officers kill far more white than black suspects in officer-involved shootings. These statistics and many more like them have been extensively researched and written about in my book, “The Truth Behind the Black Lives Matter Movement and the War on Police,” and by my colleague Dr. Heather MacDonald, in her book, “The War On Cops.”
Again for context, keep in mind that while roughly 40% of all suspects killed by police in 2019 nationally were people of color and only 21% of those suspects were black; 75% of all gun violence shooting/murder victims in Chicago were black and 17% were Hispanic who were killed by other people of color; not by police.
In case you may have missed my point, in Chicago alone, people of color shot/killed 32X, and shot/wounded 19X more of their fellow citizens of color than their police officers did. The reason that you probably were not aware of these statistics, which are definitely newsworthy is because the news media does not want you to know about these inconvenient truths.
So how can these blatant “in your face” thoroughly researched and vetted statistics possibly be reconciled with the irresponsible and deceitful, emotional rhetoric and false narratives of the Progressive Left, the Marxist BLM or the neo-Nazi and Fascist Antifa movements and their followers and supporters? The fact is that they can’t be reconciled at all, but that doesn’t stop them, placating politicians, a complicit left-leaning news media and ignorant corporate CEO’s, Hollywood celebrities and entitled and pampered professional sports figures who financially support these radicals from repeating the false narratives that police are racist and violent.
I assure you that if I were to take time to statistically analyze the civilian gun violence homicides of the fifteen largest metropolitan cities where we are seeing the most chaos and violent protests, I assure you that their shooting and death statistics would easily constitute over twenty times the number of officer-involved shooting deaths of people of color we have seen in 2019 and this year alone. And I may just do that in a subsequent column.
The salient points I want to raise here are that: (1) there is only one truth – and that’s the REAL truth, supported by researched forensic facts on officer encounters with the public. Statistics consistently prove that less than 2% of all officer-citizens contacts result in any use of force whatsoever, let alone deadly force. (2) Americans need to have a studied and informed response to rhetoric, instead of an emotional one. Educate yourselves, stay informed and engaged with what is happening in your country and with your police. (3) Challenge the anti-police rhetoric; even from your family members, friends, and associates whenever you hear it.
Don’t be intimidated by the people you know and don’t worry about the risk of offending people because in the end, they vote for politicians who want to defund and destroy law enforcement who are the protectors and enforcers of the Rule of Law.
We are in this predicament because of ignorance, disengagement, a propaganda-laced leftist news media, a sub-standard education system and a Fifth Column of ignorant and liberal politicians, our own professional colleagues, and people you know who actively, tacitly, and/or financially support these groups and their dangerous rhetoric and actions.
Support law enforcement, the Rule of Law and taking America back before it’s too late begins with your involvement. Educate, inform yourselves, remain engaged and vote!
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Ron Martinelli, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized forensic criminologist and a retired police detective. He is the author of the best-selling book, “The Truth Behind the Black Lives Matter Movement and the War on Police,” available at: drronmartinelli.com.
Copyright © 08-04-20
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Research Sources
Statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/
FBI UCR Statistics
Washingtonpost.com>society>crime>lawenforcement
Washingtonpost.com>policeshootings2019
Heyjackass.com