In my town of Minneapolis, we’ve gone through a tragic situation where two white police, responding to an assault call on 911, shot and killed a black man.  After weeks of investigation by an outside agency, the local prosecutor has declined to charge the cops with a crime.  See the story in the Star Tribune article:  http://www.startribune.com/freeman-gives-emphatic-defense-of-decision-questions-why-officers-didn-t-have-tasers/374121321/  Let’s look at the responsibility of the victims.

Of course, like so many of these circumstances, there are always questions about police brutality and their behavior toward the black community.  It is important to acknowledge the long history of the brutal and unfair treatment the black community has received—that’s factual.

Just like the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri (Reported in the NY Times here:  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?_r=0) where a white cop shot a black man, the same questions remain.

Why weren’t these cops charged with crimes?  Was there any responsibility of the victims?

As for the cop in Ferguson, the U.S. Justice Department did an exhaustive investigation and found he acted according to proper police procedure and the killing was what any “reasonable cop would do under the same circumstances.”

Understandably, people have anger and opinions as to the justice of these decisions.

Here’s my question:  in all the media coverage, all the protests, and all the discussion about these situations, why doesn’t anyone look at the responsibility of the victims?

Of course, it’s tragic when police intervention causes the death of anyone.  But there are actions that people take that can lead to the use of deadly force by the police.  Rarely, do the media or protesters look at the actions of the victim.  Do those actions give the police a reason to react with deadly force?  Many times, they do.

Let’s look not only at the actions of the police, but also at the actions of the deceased to see if there is any responsibility of the victims also.