I happened to be in the grand state of digestive bliss this Saturday morning when I came across this graphic video after surfing the internet to see what was happening out in the world.
My mood went from ecstasy to one of extreme anger when I saw with my own two eyes how Police Officer James Moody killed 34 year old Ernesto Duenez Jr. in Oakland California by shooting him eleven times in 4.2 seconds from a distance where he did not appear to be a threat to the officer’s safety at all.
Now while I am very emotional right now I will say that there was more to this story than meets the eye, I will include a link to it and you can also do a search on your own to come up with the facts independently if you wish. But apparently the police were called because Mr. Duenez was wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident that had happened earlier that same day. He was also on parole at the time of the shooting.
Now, I am not going to split hairs here but was it really justified for this so called officer of the law to unload this many bullets into this man like he did?
And after he was obviously not able to move at all because of the amount of lead that he took the cops still put the handcuffs on him as though he was going to jump up and beat them all down!
My heart went out to the young lady who came out from the side of the house to discover her loved one on the ground dying with all of those officers holding their weapons up to him. I thought to myself – DAMN! – Are they going to shoot her down like they did him too?
Now granted, so many things can happen in such a short period of time and I know that when you are discharging a weapon you can lose a portion of your fined tuned motor skills and not be as precise in your ability to aim for the extremities in order to reduce the threat but this is unacceptable.
Now they say that Mr. Duenez had a throwing knife in his possession at the time of the shooting and Officer James Moody was cleared of any wrongdoing in this incident but might we all just consider that this was a bit of overkill?
I don’t care what kind of prior record one has you just don’t rush in like that and start shooting someone so much without a more clearcut reason to do so. If you are a Police Officer and walk with that amount of fear in your heart even with a weapon then you don’t need to be out there on the force because this type of thing is bound to happen.
Too many officers are not trained properly and when they are it is in a cookie cutter fashion just to pass them through and the real money is spent in the damage control when these types of mishaps transpire. I’ve personally known a few “gungho cowboys” who couldn’t wait to become police officers so that they can rid the world of the so called “bad guys” by using the heavy handed renegade tactics that they saw on the television and movies themselves.
I believe these psychological examinations that the various law enforcement organizations require are too easy to pass because so many of these same officers are so damn imbalanced going home drunk to beat their girlfriends and wives behind closed doors because of the pressure that they feel when truly seeing the world up close and personal in the harsh manner that it is to them.
But is it the world that is messed up and needs the heavy handed treatment of these wayward officers or is it the mentality that they possess that colors how they see the world?
I believe it is the latter.
Why? Well while it is easy to “say” the right things to get that “prized” job, it is another thing when what is truly in your mind and in your heart manifests for the world to see when that officer begins his career hitting the ground running as incidents like this reveal to the world what was always hidden deep down inside of someone.
But in reality those of us who were born and raised in these inner city environments know this to be a common event and the ultimate bad thing that will happen when dealing with the police.
It’s life as usual when you are a minority, more so when you are a male, to get those hateful stares from the police as you go about your normal day minding your business. Most Black and Latino men have their own stories to tell that are all so similar of the regular harassment from the cops for no apparent reason other than you are guilty of something even if there was nothing to be suspicious of.
I do hope that there are some good cops out there but as my fiftieth birthday approaches I have given up all hope of living under a system where there is justice for all and fairness rules out in the end.
…….it seems like it just ain’t happening.
But yes, I do know some good officers and it is sad what even THEY have to see behind the scenes that breaks their hearts but it appears that even they have made up their minds that they are just going to do their time and get out as soon as they can retire. Many that I know are in this predicament but even then it shouldn’t be where we as civilians have to seek out the good officers as the high standards of expected performance should hold them all to doing the best that they can without allowing their personal prejudices override protocol.
But with the track record of overreacting in situations such as this one I just don’t think it will be important enough for any law enforcement agency to change their way of thinking yet I hope they don’t get shocked when a downed officer is not helped while the communities that they have harassed ignore their cries for help. It works both ways.
How does the family feel about what happened? Hos does the community feel about Officer James being cleared of any excessive activity? Is he now allowed back on the job with a weapon as though nothing ever happened before? How will he react when faced with a situation that might be slightly more suspect but nonetheless totally non threatening to his person? Is he now a target for a revenge killing?
There are so many questions once again that must be asked because even as the police lay another suspect case to rest while another heartbroken Mother does the same for her child, the universe is perfectly fair and will balance out this injustice somewhere somehow whether we know it or not. God is always just and things will balance out just when you least expect it for all of the hell that many have inflicted on my people here in this place call the United States of America.
If you don’t understand what I mean, maybe the words of The Honorable Louis Farrakhan on the Newtown Connecticut High school shootings will shed some light on how I’m feeling…….
Check out his official release on that tragic event:
Why should our president, a father, shed tears over the precious lives that were torn away from their parents and friends? It’s to help a nation see that guns, and the weapons of war, cannot bring about the joy, happiness and peace that was robbed from the people of Newtown.
And hopefully, the president of the United States, sending drones into Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and other places, killing men, women and children—and the word says “collateral damage,” and we go on killing…
Could it be that these precious lives lost, and the pain that it has caused every one of us who shares the pain of those parents, and those loved ones who lost those precious children and the lives of the teachers who taught them… Could it be that God wants us to see that until you can feel the pain and suffering of others that has been inflicted upon them on the basis of a lie, and America’s reach for the resources of that area of the world, then maybe you will understand that this may be “chickens coming home to roost.” “For as thou hast done”—the Book says—“so shall it be done unto you.”
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Servant to the Lost-Found
Nation of Islam in the West
_______________________________
So as the slaughter and exploitation of an entire people has been big business in America for hundreds of years and doesn’t seem as though it will ever change no matter how Black a President we have in office, it is these smaller injustices that add up over the years that bring death, pain and tragedy to your doorsteps in a big way as it seems that you who have done us wrong with no justice served forgot how the scales must be balanced in order for the higher laws of the divine must be made manifest.
So while a James Moody is nothing new to our experience here in this country, know that a Columbine, a Newtown, a Virginia Tech and so on won’t be new to theirs…….
…….it’s how the scales are balanced.
Do right by your fellow man and you won’t have a thing to worry about. Your God will take care of it for us.
Let’s pray for the comfort and strength at this time for Rosemary Duenez and her family, friends and all who have been affected by this unnecessary tragedy.
Peace & Righteous Love Always,
LanceScurv
407-590-0755
He was too scared to be a cop!
He could have took cover behind his car but he went trigger happy!
What ever happen to them finding the knife that Ernest had? Hell, for a minute I thought that the officer was trying to plant that knife on Ernest by the way he kept on sending everyone from over there, but he looked and noticed that the Police camera was still running so he was fucked. Even when he sat the knife of the officer’s on the truck it was recorded. He shot him really when he could have tazed him! It wasn’t justified!