The recent shooting death of Nicholas Thomas by Smyrna Police administering an arrest warrant should not be viewed in the same light
as police actions taken across the country.
It is easy to put all police actions in the same box. However, to do so
would create a contentious and endless cycle of blameworthiness. Suffice to say
that in most police actions, an officer is responding to the overt actions of
another individual. The point of contention becomes how an officer interpreted
those actions.
Fortunately, WSB-TV has done an excellent job of bringing
balance to the reporting of this incident. Since there reportedly is no video of
all that transpired, we can decipher from a previous video that Mr. Thomas had a
track record of encounters with the police. Because this information was
introduced early, it quashed any comparisons between police actions taken in
Ferguson, MO and New York. Although professional agitators would like to draw
similar conclusions, none can be made. The cultural and political histories are
different, which is why there were no violent protests in the streets of
Atlanta.
Atlanta being the bedrock of the Civil Rights Movement may
have effectively thwarted the stigma and volatility of less advantageous cities.
Kudos to such advancements.
Edward Brown,M.S.
Former Atlanta police officer
Police Advocacy Commission (PAC)
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