More professionalism needed from cops and reporters
by Jordan Cooper
Our news programs are not supposed to show for public viewing dead bodies before the deceased family gets the chance to see their family member. Blacks shot by the police are displayed like school lunch menus for the week on many television channels. Nobody wants their dead body broadcasted to the public right after a vehicle accident, health problem, strangulation, drowning, or shooting. These depictions are too gruesome for people to take in with their eyes. Also, it dehumanizes the humans that are involved in the situation thru making them appear as extraneous disfigurements of the human race. Furthermore, these showings desensitize us from being completely caring citizens, since they are put on air in the manner they are.
On the other hand, these recent police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota are severely senseless. A hand is a lethal object and can extremely damage someone to the point of death, if hit in a certain place. So, if you think the person is a boxer, can you shoot them even though their fists are not pointing towards your body? A foot can be a deadly object, too, and can cause death if struck in a particular place. So, if the person is a black belt in karate, can you shoot them because their feet are turned at you? No, we cannot use end of life force in situations like that.
People who did not appear to have guns in their hands with the barrel pointing towards something other than themselves have no reason to be passed away. These two guys killed in Louisiana and MInnesota could have been off-duty police officers, acting out of character, that had badges in their pockets. Our cops put their lives on the line everyday but we must help them better access high-pressure scenarios thru more meticulous training for our law enforcement agencies. The best people to train these people are police officers who have successfully quelled incidents without a delfacation of their police responsibilities.
Our media was made to inform not to inflict distress. Our police forces were made to keep our people out of harm’s way, not to bring trauma to our people. Above all, we were created to be filled with grace.
Jordan Thomas Cooper is a 2015 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in History and a 2010 graduate of the RealEstate School of Success in Irmo. He is the first African-American to serve in both the governor and lieutenant governor’s office as an aide and first to serve in the Inspector General’s Office in S.C. (Haley) He is also the first person to serve in the top three offices in the gubernatorial line of succession in South Carolina (Haley, Bauer, McConnell). He says research shows he is the second black presidential campaign speechwriter in American history and the first for a GOP presidential campaign (Bush 2015). He also played football for Coach Steve Spurrier.
graphic via graphicstock.com