Always Bet On Black

I've been holding back on this subject for a week, waiting to see how it plays out. And it played out as predictably as I thought it would.

After a 13-year-old boy went joyriding in a stolen car with a friend last week, at 3:30 in the morning, cops spotted them and gave chase. The car crashed into a fence, the friend got out and ran, then the 13-year-old backed-up and hit the patrol car. The officer got out, fired 10 shots, and killed the boy.

At this point, the question becomes, "Did the officer over-react?" In my opinion, no. They are in South Central Los Angeles, where crime is a major problem. But of course, the citizens never blame themselves:

Community activists blamed racism. "There seems to be a complete disregard for black life," said Danny Bakewell, head of the Brotherhood Crusade.

How are these people certain the cops were 100% certain themselves that the occupants were black? At 4 in the morning? Do these people think the cops were actively hunting for blacks? They were looking for people breaking the law. The fact that they were in South Los Angeles gave them a high probability the law breakers were black.

Fault in the Brown incident wasn't entirely clear-cut. Officer Garcia shot Brown after the boy apparently backed the car directly into the side of the police cruiser; Garcia was crouched behind the door. LAPD policy allows officers to shoot into moving cars, but only if the vehicle threatens the life of a cop or bystander.

And many citizens, black and white, wondered why the cops were shouldering all the blame for an incident that started because a 13-year-old was driving illegally, in a stolen car, at 4 in the morning. "We see young, innocent kids killed by gangbangers, and we don't see [this much] outrage," says white City Councilman Dennis Zine.

Councilman Zine makes my point. I've even read an article that states that joyriding is a rite of passase for young men. They see beer and car ads and want to drink and drive as early as they can. To me, that's a bunch of horseshit. The first time I tried beer, I was 12. I took one sip, spit it right back out. Never tried it again until I was 30. As for driving, none of my friends ever took a car in the middle or the night, or even the day, and went joyriding. We knew the value of patience.

13-years-old, driving a stolen car, 4 in the morning. And when the cops spotted them, they chased him for three miles. That's almost the length of 53 football fields.

Cops in L.A. are constantly chasing idiots driving 90 miles an hour on our multitude of freeways. When these people stop, there is no telling whether they will try and attack the police with their cars until they are completely out of their vehicle.

Bottom line in the blame game: try the parents.