Dakota Beacon

It is not nice to tell a lie. But race lies are commonly pushed from the highest levels of government, academia and the liberal media. Police are a mortal threat to black Americans; police pose the greatest threat to black Americans today.

Subordinate lies surround and prop up this Big Lie. 1) The criminal justice system is biased against blacks. 2) A black underclass actually does not exist. 3) Crime rates are comparable between blacks and whites.

These lies, pushed by race agitators claiming “police brutality” in response to curtailing criminal behavior, served as the focal point for a series of riots and demonstrations.

First there was the Eric Garner incident in Staten Island, New York, July 17, 2014. The 350-pound asthmatic Garner died from a heart attack while resisting arrest and not from a choke hold. On December 3, 2014; a grand jury decided not to indict the arresting police officer Daniel Pantaleo. Hundreds of “police brutality” demonstrations, some turning violent, ensued nationwide.

Next was the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson, Missouri, August 9, 2014. Both a grand jury (November 24, 2014) and the US Department of Justice review (March 4, 2015) exonerated police office Darren Wilson in the self defense shooting of Brown. Race baiters perpetuated the lie that Brown was shot with his hands up while trying to surrender. From this lie was born the mantra “Hands up, don’t shoot.” One pro-police wag appropriately mocked the Congressional Black Caucus, other politicians and community organizers who were defending the thug culture with the counter slogan, “Pants down, don’t shoot.” For over a week rioting, vandalism, looting and shooting occurred in Ferguson under the guise of “civil disobedience.”

Then there was the Freddie Gray incident in Baltimore, Maryland, April 12, 2015. Gray died in a coma on April 19 while in police custody. On May 1 State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby filed charges against six police officers after the medical examiner’s report ruled Gray’s death a homicide from a broken neck. Charges ranged from second degree murder to manslaughter to reckless endangerment. A grand jury indicted the officers on May 21. April 18 through May 3 saw violent protests, looting, rioting and mayhem in the streets of Baltimore.

But, will the charges be upheld in a jury trial. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz believes Mosby overcharged the officers. A motion for Mosby to recue herself from the case on grounds of personal gain by Mosby and her husband, personal relationship with witnesses and the financial interests of Gray’s attorney, a close friend of Mosby. The judge will rule by June 26.

What have these lies produced? These lies have promulgated assassinations of policemen around the nation, attacks on police facilities and the hindrance of police in a number of American cities in protecting law abiding citizens and their property.

None other than President Barack Obama and his former attorney general Eric Holder have travelled across America bolstering the idea that the criminal justice system is biased against blacks. Holder for years pressed the argument that police routinely engage in racial profiling warranting federal intervention in every local police force. What’s next? A federal police force placed in every community nation-wide?

Predictably, academia quickly reinforced the Obama administration. Harvard president Drew Faust and Smith College president Kathleen McCartney joined the chorus “black lives matter.” Apparently black lives matter only when a white cop shoots a black criminal in self defense. However, in Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, New York and many other cities, the mantra “black lives matter” doesn’t apply to the black-on-black murder rate which has skyrocketed.

Then there is reinforcement of the lie by the media. Picking on The New York Times, that paper stoked the anti-cop vitriol in an editorial by stating the Ferguson riots were justified and claiming “the killing of young black men by police is a common feature of African-American life….”

If the police ended all killings of all civilians today, it would have no effect on the black homicide rate. The greatest risk of a black being shot comes from another black. In 2013 there were 6,261 black homicide victims in the US, almost all killed by black civilians. On the other hand, during the same period police killed 200 blacks, most armed and dangerous.

Sadly, the constant anti-police drumbeat produced what St. Louis police chief Sam Dotson calls the “Ferguson effect.” Police are choosing to back away from any situation that will compromise their safety, integrity or career. In other words, they have second thoughts about discretionary law enforcement. Criminals feel empowered to engage in law breaking and mayhem without consequence.

By November 2014 in St. Louis County alone arrests were down by a third, homicides up 47% and robberies up 82% by November 2014. Crime continues to remain high. In May there were 43 homicides in Baltimore, the highest monthly rate in 40 years.

Today, when deadly force charges against a white police officer are dropped by a grand jury or a not guilty verdict is rendered in a jury trial involving a black, liberals automatically presume the system to be racist and biased against blacks, a cause for violent protests. Maybe it is time to reject the lies, encourage civility and promote respect for our defenders, the law enforcement folks.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).