Alton Sterling: TASERED First, THEN Shot and Killed

Just finished watching (on Democracy Now) the interview of the shop owner who filmed a portion of the incident which resulted in Mr. Sterling being killed in Baton Rouge.  We don't know the full story yet; details have been a bit slow in coming.  Following is what we do know from the eye witness account and the film.

The shop owner and Sterling were friends of six or so years.  The owner allowed Mr. Sterling to sell DVDs in front of the shop.  For some unknown reason, the police showed up, grabbed Sterling (why is not known at this point), slammed him onto the hood of a vehicle, backed off, and TASERed him.  That was not filmed because apparently it happened rather quickly.  Then two cops pinned him to the ground.  That's when the shop owner started filming.  Next, one of the officers yells "Gun!", pulls out his weapon, and shoots point blank, killing Mr. Sterling...after he had been TASERed.  Again, after he had been TASERed.  I've yet to hear or see that bit of info on the Corporate Media...not even the allegation that's what happened.

After that, Mr. Flahti (the shop owner) is detained for hours & hours (4 of them in a hot police car), his cell phone is seized, his shop is commandeered for about six hours, and all his shop video/security equipment is removed...without him ever being presented with a Search Warrant.

SIDE NOTES:

Being TASERED totally incapacitates a person.  People have died from that.  Some years ago, the total number of TASER-induced deaths was 12;  I think it's up to 20-something now in this country.  After the very first death, TASERs should have been banned.

Eric Garner, the NY man who died two years ago as a result of a police choke-hold, was approached by police because he was selling loose cigarettes on the street.  The guy who filmed that incident is the only one going to jail (on unrelated charges, after being harassed by police for two years).  He's not Black.

Judge Andrew Napolitano, who most police surely must admire, has stated more than once:  filming police doing their job in public is perfectly legal and guaranteed by the Constitution.  And yet, some police berate, harass, and even abuse people who film them in public...especially when the cops involved are being brutal.
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As I stated in the piece immediately before this one, all these incidents are not only about racial prejudice.  The Oligarchs are cracking down on the "little people".  Whether it's political, economic, environmental, or anything else, dissent will not be tolerated...and those who practice it either will be marginalized or crushed.  Such is life in the USA today, the Land of the Free.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The TASER Police State

Query: after the first death as a result of tasering by law enforcement, why were tasers not banned from use by law enforcement? There have been dozens of deaths, and yet tasering continues. The TASER (Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle) is a barbaric tool...and being completely misused by some Peace Officers.

It's important to remember that those people who died were innocent; in this country, one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. At least, it used to be that way.

I've seen video clips of people being tasered while in handcuffs, or while two or three officers were holding a person on the ground. People have been tasered for not getting out of their vehicles, or not moving fast enough when an officer says "jump". This whole thing is out of hand. Police now routinely use the TASER in cases where they would not use a firearm or a baton. The ethical questions involved are significant. No one should ever be tasered unless that person actually is attacking an officer or another person.

The militarized police need to take stock of their methods. Many of them appear to be treating every civilian as an "enemy combatant", not as an individual with unalienable rights. Who is providing oversight?

Next will be the tasering of folks involved in peaceful civil disobedience and not threatening officers in any way. That's when you'll know for certain that we now live in a Police State.