By Thomas Madison
The “Black Lives Matter” campaign is now in full swing in St. Louis. On Christmas Eve protesters in Berkeley forced news crews to abandon their coverage and flee the area. Churchgoers at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica were prevented from worshiping the birth of Jesus without the protection of riot police.
When does the insanity end? Let’s review the facts. In the case of Michael Brown a young man became angry and violent during and after a strong arm robbery. He assaulted a police officer and attempted to steal his firearm. He wound up being shot. He then charged the officer who had no choice but to fire on the assailant until he was immobilized. Unfortunately the assailant died from his wounds, but in no way is the officer to blame for this. He was doing his job and defending his own life.
There are several recent cases of white police officers shooting and killing young black men in the St. Louis area, and in every case it is clear that the young black men are the initiators.
In the case of Antonio Martin in the St. Louis suburb of Berkeley Martin pointed a loaded handgun at a police officer. Martin was shot and killed as a result. The police officer is not to blame.
Yet protesters are demanding justice. Justice? What the hell is the matter with these people?
By JIM SUHR & Jim SALTER, Associated Press
Martin died at the scene, though Belmar declined to specify where the fatal bullet hit Martin.
Berkeley is near Ferguson, Missouri, where white police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old, on Aug. 9, sparking weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations. A grand jury’s decision to not charge Wilson last month in the shooting has spurred a nationwide movement to protest police brutality.
The 34-year-old, white Berkeley police officer, a six-year veteran of the police force in the 25,000-resident suburb, is on administrative leave pending an investigation, Belmar said. St. Louis County police and the city of Berkeley are investigating, Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said.
“He will carry the weight of this for the rest of his life, certainly for the rest of his career,” Belmar said of the officer whose name was not immediately released. “There are no winners here.”
The officer wasn’t wearing his body camera, and his police cruiser’s dashboard camera was not activated because the car’s emergency lights were not on, Belmar said.
Police released surveillance video from the parking lot outside the store. The nearly two-minute clip shows two young men leaving the store as a patrol car rolls up, and the officer gets out and speaks with them. About 90 seconds later, the video appears to show one of the men raising his arm, though what he is holding is difficult to see because they were several feet from the camera. Belmar said it was a 9mm handgun — loaded with one round in the chamber and five more in the magazine.
Police were searching for the other man, who fled on foot.
Martin’s relatives were not immediately available for comment Wednesday. The address listed for Martin turned out to be a vacant, boarded-up home, and a neighbor told The Associated Press that the family had moved out some time ago. He said he wasn’t sure where they moved.
It was the third fatal shooting of a black suspect by a white police officer in the St. Louis area since Brown was killed. Kajieme Powell, 25, was killed on Aug. 19 after approaching St. Louis officers with a knife. Vonderrit Myers Jr., 18, was fatally shot on Oct. 8 after allegedly shooting at a St. Louis officer.
Each shooting has been met by protests, and a crowd quickly gathered late Tuesday in Berkeley. The demonstration involving about 300 people turned violent.
More than 50 police officers, some in riot gear, responded. Video showed some wrestling with protesters. Belmar said officers used pepper spray but not tear gas. Four people were arrested on charges of assaulting officers.
Belmar said three explosive devices, perhaps fireworks, were tossed near gas pumps, and some protesters threw rocks and bricks. One officer hit by a brick was treated for facial cuts, and another was treated for a leg injury sustained as he retreated from an explosive.
“I understand police officers have a job and have an obligation to go home to their families at the end of the night,” said 36-year-old Orlando Brown, one of the protesters. “But do you have to treat every situation with lethal force? … It’s not a racial issue, or black or white. It’s wrong or right.”
Brown said he was pepper-sprayed during the protest and that his friend was among those arrested.
Hoskins said it is unfair for protesters to compare the Berkeley shooting to the Michael Brown case, noting there was no video of the fatal encounter in Ferguson. Ferguson also was criticized for having only three black officers on its 53-member force. Seventeen or 18 of Berkeley’s 31 officers are black, as is the police chief and the city’s top elected officials, said Hoskins, who is black.
Hoskins’ news conference was interrupted by a pointed exchange with Jason Keith Coleman, a black Baptist minister who insisted the shooting was the latest example of deadly aggression by “trigger-happy” police toward blacks.
“Call it what it is — a police officer has killed another black man and this has got to stop,” Coleman shouted at the mayor.
“Everybody don’t die the same,” Hoskins countered. “Some people die because they initiate it, and at this point, our review suggests police did not initiate it.”
Belmar said Martin had a criminal record that included three assault charges and others for armed robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Some protesters questioned why the officer couldn’t use pepper spray or a stun gun.
“Frankly, that’s unreasonable,” Belmar said. “When we had somebody pointing a gun at a police officer, there’s not a lot of time.”
