INTERESTING CASE OUT OF DALLAS, TEXAS.
A JUDGE IN TEXAS HAS RULED A CASE INVOLVING A POLICE
OFFICER WHO SOUGHT HIS WEAPON 41 TIMES AT AN ARMED INDIVIDUAL
WILL AND IN A MISTRIAL, AFTER THE JURY FAILED TO COME TO
A CONCLUSION AND AGREEMENT TO CONVICT HIM OF MANSLAUGHTER.
THIS IS IN REGARD TO FORMER GARLAND TEXAS COP PATRICK TUTOR,
AND THIS ALL OCCURRED WHEN A MAN NAMED MICHAEL ALLEN LED
POLICE ON A HIGH-SPEED CHASE; HE WAS DRIVING 100 MPH.
EVENTUALLY COPS WERE ABLE TO CORNER HIM, ONE COP HIT
HIS VEHICLE AND WAS ABLE TO STOP HIM.
HE WAS CORNERED, NOWHERE TO GO.
AT THAT POINT, THE COP IN QUESTION, PATRICK TUTER,
STARTED SHOOTING HIS GUN.
HE HAD TO RELOAD A COUPLE OF TIMES TO CONTINUE HIS SHOOTING.
HE HIT MICHAEL ALLEN THREE TIMES, WITH THREE BULLETS,
AND THE REST OF THE BULLETS WERE JUST ALL OVER THE PLACE,
PUTTING RESIDENTS IN THE AREA, AND OTHER COPS, AT RISK.
HE STOOD TRIAL, AND ACCORDING TO THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE 12
PERSON JURY BEGAN DELIVERING ON THURSDAY DETERMINE IF
PATRICK TUTER, WHO IS WHITE, HAD ACTED CRIMINALLY IN THE
SLAYING OF MICHAEL ALLEN, A WHITE MAN WHO HAD LED
POLICE ON A HIGH-SPEED CHASE.
THIS IS VERY RARE, BUT MEMBERS OF HIS OWN TEAM, HIS OWN
PLEASE DEPARTMENT, TESTIFIED AGAINST HIM.
TAKE A LOOK.
SOME OF THE MOST COMPELLING TESTIMONY CAME FROM GARLAND
POLICE OFFICER WILLIAM NORIS, WHO WAS THE SECOND CAR IN
THE CHASE.
HE TESTIFIED THAT TUTER ACTED RECKLESSLY IN OPENING FIRE IN A
NEIGHBORHOOD, WITH OTHER POLICE OFFICERS AROUND.
HE TESTIFIED THAT ALLEN HAD HIS HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL
WHEN THE CHASE ENDED.
SO WAS INTERESTING IS, AFTER THE SHOOTING, THE MESQUITE POLICE
DEPARTMENT SHOWED UP AND THEY DID THE TYPICAL THING OF
COVERING FOR TUTER.
AT THAT POINT, THE CAR WAS NOT MOVING, POLICE OFFICIALS
HAD MANAGED TO STOP THE VEHICLE.
THEY HAD HIM CORNERED.
IN A CUL-DE-SAC.
ONE COP EVEN TESTIFIED THAT MICHAEL ALLEN HAD BOTH HANDS ON
THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN THE OFFICER OPENED FIRE.
I'M GLAD YOU CLARIFIED THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHICH
ONE IS WORSE.
IF HE'S MOVING, THAT'S DANGEROUS TO SHOOT AT A MOVING CAR.
IF HE STOPPED, WELL HE'S ALREADY STOPPED, IT'S NOT A CASE,
HE'S AT THE END OF A COLD THE SACK, IT'S OVER.
AND NO ONE ELSE FIRED.
HE RELOADED SEVERAL TIMES, SHOT 41 TIMES.
NONE OF THE OTHER COPS ON THE SCENE FIRED.
MESQUITE POLICE ABOUT THE SHOWED UP AND IT WAS LIKE, WHAT DO
YOU NEED US TO DO?
BUT THE GARLAND COPS WHO WERE DOING THE CHASING WERE
LIKE, NO, IT WASN'T RIGHT, I'M SORRY, IT WASN'T RIGHT.
SO GIVE THOSE OFFICERS A TON OF CREDITS.
THEY SAID THEY FELT MORE DANGER FROM HIM THAN THEY DID FROM
THE GUY THAT THEY WERE CHASING.
THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
THINK ABOUT IT.
HE OPENED FIRE, SHOT 41 BULLETS, AND HE HAD TO RELOAD HIS
GUN TWICE TO CONTINUE SHOOTING.
SO HE SHOOTING IN THE DIRECTION OF MICHAEL ALLEN, WHERE
THERE ARE ALSO COPS.
THEIR LIVES ARE AT RISK, PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AREA WERE AT
RISK BECAUSE OF THIS, AND THERE WAS NO REASON TO DO IT
BECAUSE HE WAS UNARMED.
THEY FOUND A METH PIPE IN HIS CAR, WHICH SHE DID NOT KNOW
AHEAD OF TIME, AND THAT IS STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH REASON TO
FIRE AT HIS CAR.
THE GUY IS RUNNING FROM THE COPS GOING 100 MPH, YOU ARE SUPER
RIGHT TO BE PISSED, NOBODY DISAGREES WITH THAT.
YOU WERE NOT RIGHT TO EXECUTE HIM.
AND EVERY OTHER COP ON THE SCENE AGREE WITH US, AND AGREE
WITH US SO MUCH THAT THEY WERE WILLING TO TESTIFY AGAINST
THEIR FELLOW OFFICER IN COURT.
A FEW THINGS I THINK ARE IMPORTANT AS A WAY FROM THE
STORY.
1ST
OF ALL, WHEN WE COVER STORIES INVOLVING EXCESSIVE FORCE, OR
POLICE BRUTALITY, THERE'S ALWAYS THAT COMPONENT OF RACE INVOLVED.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AS YOU LOOK AT THE STATISTICS,
POLICE BRUTALITY DOES DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT
MINORITY COMMUNITIES; HOWEVER, WITH THAT SAID, IT DOESN'T
MATTER WHAT YOUR SKIN COLOR IS.
HE DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE BLACK OR IF YOU ARE WHITE,
IF A COP OPENS FIRE WHEN HE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO, AND
MEMBERS OF HIS OWN DEPARTMENT TESTIFY AGAINST HIM, IT'S STILL
UNLIKELY THAT HE'S GOING TO GET CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER.
IN THIS CASE, THE VICTIM WAS WHITE.
MICHAEL ALLEN WAS WHITE, AND THE JURY STILL COULD NOT
CONVICT THIS GUY.
WHAT'S INTERESTING IS, IS THAT IF IT'S A WHITE JURY, THEY ARE
MORE LIKELY TO GIVE THE COPS A BREAK, INDEPENDENT OF THE
PERSON THEY SHOT; WHETHER THAT PERSON IS BLACK OR WHITE.
AGAIN, THINGS ARE ALWAYS DISPROPORTIONATE WHEN IT COMES
TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THERE ARE STUDIES THAT BEAR THAT OUT,
BUT EVEN IN A CASE LIKE THIS WHERE YOU MOVE RACE OUT OF THE
EQUATION, BECAUSE BOTH THE SHOOTER AND THE GUY WHO GOT SHOT
ARE WHITE, THE IMPORTANT PART OF THE EQUATION IT TURNS OUT IS
ACTUALLY WHAT RACE THE JURY IS.
LET'S GIVE YOU STATS ON THAT, SO THAT YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE
REFERRING TO.
AGAIN, THIS IS NOT OUR OPINION, THIS IS BASED ON STUDIES OF
ACTUAL JURY DECISIONS.
THIS IS, BY THE WAY, BASED ON A SURVEY DONE BY THE CATO
INSTITUTE, WHICH IS NOT LIBERAL BY ANY MEANS.
IT'S LIBERTARIAN.
I WANT TO GIVE YOU GUYS WHAT THEY FOUND BASED ON THE
SURVEY CONDUCTED BASED ON A NATIONAL SAMPLE.
THEY FOUND THAT 68%
OF WHITE RESPONDENTS REPORTED HAVING FAVORABLE VIEWS OF
LOCAL POLICE IN A POLL RELEASED IN EARLY DECEMBER, COMPARED
WITH ONLY 40% OF AFGHAN AMERICANS, AND 59% OF HISPANICS.
JUST 35% OF WHITES SAID POLICE ARE TOO QUICK TO USE LETHAL
FORCE, COMPARED WITH 73% OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND 54%
OF HISPANICS.
IN THIS CASE, THE WHITE RESPONDENTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO
GIVE POLICE OFFICIALS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, AND
IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.
IF YOU ARE LICE ñ IF YOU ARE LESS LIKELY TO GET TARGETED
OR HARASSED BY COPS, THEN OF COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE
A MUCH MORE FAVORABLE VIEW THAN MEMBERS OF MINORITY COMMUNITIES.
LET ME PAUSE THERE BECAUSE THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT.
BASED ON YOUR CONTEXT AND PERSPECTIVE YOU MAY THINK
COPS ARE GREAT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN THEM DISCRIMINATE.
THEY MIGHT BE LOVELY, IN FACT I'VE HAD GENERALLY SPEAKING VERY
POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH COPS IN MY AREA, SO I MIGHT BE AMONG
THE PEOPLE WHO SAY I'M IN FAVOR OF YOU, OF MY LOCAL POLICE.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS ARE NOT GETTING THE SAME TREATMENT,
THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE A CLEARLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON
THAT, AND FOR THEM THE SHOOTINGS COME MUCH QUICKER.
EVEN IF YOU ARE A BLACK COP, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT SHOT A WHITE
DEFENDANT, YOU WANT A WHITE JURY, BECAUSE THE WHITE
JURY THINGS, I TRUST COPS.
THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO GIVE THE COP THE BENEFIT OF THE
DOUBT, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS CASE.
THE JURY WAS SPLIT AMONG THE WHITE STIRRERS AND THE
BLACK JURORS.
THE WHITE JURORS NOT WANT TO CONVICT THIS COP OF
MANSLAUGHTER, THE BLACK JURORS DID.
THE MAIN TAKE AWAY IS THAT THERE IS A HUGE ISSUE IN THE
COUNTRY AND IT DOES NOT IMPACT JUST ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE.
IT IMPACTS ALL OF US, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT COPS TO
PROTECT AND SERVE, AND WHEN THEY FIRE THEIR WEAPON, IT'S NOT DONE
IN A WAY THAT IS NOT ONLY HARM OF ñ NOT ONLY HARMFUL FOR THE
VICTIM, BUT HARMFUL FOR EVERYONE ELSE IN THE GENERAL DIVINITY.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET EVERYBODY TO OPEN THEIR MINDS UP ABOUT
HOW THEY DO THINGS, AND UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT THEIR
EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN IS NOT WHAT EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN.
SO, IF YOU ARE A WHITE PERSON WHO HAS HAD GREAT EXPERIENCES
WITH COPS, UNDERSTAND THAT MAYBE OTHERS HAVEN'T.
SO WHEN YOU ARE AT A TRIAL, TRIED TO BE OPEN-MINDED
ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE COP DID NOTHING WRONG OR RIGHT,
WITHOUT JUDGING IT AS, IT'S A COP SO IT MUST BE RIGHT.
SEE WHAT I'M SAYING?
AND IF YOU ARE ON THE OPPOSITE CAMP, WHATEVER THE HELL THE
OPPOSITE CAMP IS, THEN BE OPEN-MINDED ABOUT COPS, BECAUSE
LOOK AT ALL THE COPS THAT TESTIFIED AGAINST HIM AND SAID
HE DID THE WRONG THING.
SO DON'T JUST PREJUDGE COPS EITHER.
AND IF YOU ARE AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN, AND
YOU'VE GOTTEN REALLY ROUGH TREATMENT FROM COPS, IT
DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT COP IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE IS
GUILTY, SO HAVE AN OPEN MIND ABOUT THAT.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES COPS ARE LOVELY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE
WHITE.
WE ALL HAVE TO BE OPEN-MINDED ABOUT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.