Not News Anymore

The cops have shot and killed another innocent black person. Here's the story. And another. This is getting to be so commonplace in our culture that it barely causes a blip on the radar any longer. I'm sure I'm wrong, but it happens so frequently that it seems that cops killing an innocent African American has become a weekly event. I find myself wondering how the African American community continues to live with this sort of thing going on year after year for decades. "Killed by police while being black" is no clever flippant explanation . . . if you happen to be young, male, and black just about anywhere in America.

John Crawford 

The latest outrage happened in a Wal-mart store in Beavercreek, Ohio. John Crawford, a 22-year old African-American was in the store on his cell phone with LeeCee Johnson, the mother of his two children, ages 4 months and a year old. (Who is pregnant with their third child.) Crawford had been playing video games in another part of the store, and he had apparently wandered over to the toy section where he picked up a bb-gun the store sells and was walking around the store with it.The last words she heard him say were: "It's not real." Then a bunch of shots and "Get on the ground," from the cops. But Crawford was already on the ground shot to death. According to witnesses, from the time Crawford first encountered the police to the shots 10 seconds elapsed.

Apparently, an ex-Marine in the store at the time, called 911, which in turn summoned the Beavercreek officers. Read the first story cited above for a reporter's skepticism about the semi-official version of the story. Including the latest announcement that investigation of the shooting will not be concluded for "months." He wants to know why. Good question.