Jury Verdicts are Justice

Justice or Vengeance?

The Kentucky Grand Jury’s decision to not prosecute the officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor incited black America. Protests followed in many major cities. Two policemen were shot during the demonstrations in Louisville. Protesters blocked the Brooklyn Bridge this weekend. The national media seems to applaud the demonstrations. The front-page article in last Thursday’s Spokesman Review assumes the verdict is unjust and racially motivated. The article presents statements by representatives of Black Lives Matter and the NAACP as if they were factual and unbiased. This is far from the truth.

The death of Breonna Taylor is a tragedy, but it was neither a criminal act on the part of the police nor was it racially motivated. The Kentucky Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, who convened the grand jury and defended its findings is black and clarifies some of the misinformation about the incident. It is assumed the police entered Breonna’s apartment unannounced with a “no knock” warrant and her boyfriend thought the police were intruders. The Grand Jury, however, found the police announced themselves before they entered the apartment, and the police acted in self-defense when the boyfriend shot at them. The Grand Jury found no explanation as to why the boyfriend opened fire on the police. Thus, the Grand Jury’s findings were decidedly different from what the public was led to believe. Despite the evidence, the demonstrators call for vengeance in the name of justice.

America is not a racist society. Does anyone really believe Breonna Taylor was killed because of her skin color? It just isn’t so. How about George Floyd? There is the widespread assumption, he died because he was black. I cannot find proof of racism. The police officers were serving a legal warrant. Up until Officer Chauvin placed his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck and held him down, it was a routine arrest of a suspected felon. The methods used to subdue the suspect were wrong, and Officer Chauvin will be prosecuted under the law. That is justice. Anything beyond that is vengeance. Demonstrators call for vengeance not only against the officers who mistreated George Floyd but vengeance on society in general. Was the shooting of Jacob Blake racially motivated? Police were called by a distraught woman who said Blake was leaving with her children. When police responded, he resisted arrest and threatened an officer with a knife. Would officers have done any different if the suspect were white? A similar incident in Spokane a few years ago seems to say no. Police answered a domestic disturbance call, and an angry white male threatened police with a knife. He was shot and killed. I believe Jacob Blake was shot because he threated a police officer, not because he was black.

Why is it popular to conclude all incidents between black and white are racially motivated? A few years ago, there was an uproar because the number of Academy Awards nominees were disproportionately white. Elementary statistics tells us that any given year the number of award nominations will either be disproportionally white or disproportionally black. Bias can only be demonstrated by long term trends. But the publicity forced the Academy to modify their nomination process. The recently organized black political party held its first national convention in July. Its platform included defunding the police and reparations for slavery. All-white political parties like the Arian Nation are rightfully considered to be white supremist hate groups. If we eliminated all bias, an all-black party would equally be considered black supremist.

I believe in equality. I believe in integration. I don’t believe in white supremacy nor black power. I abhor all racial bias. We need to eliminate any and all racial bias from our police, our legal system, and our society. Then, and only then, will we have justice for all.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 20 years.