And Here We Go Again....

It just doesn't seem to end!  Every time  there's another event, I think to myself  "enough is enough, it's got to end now";  but it doesn't end. Not only does another one happen, it's usually one that makes me open my mouth in incredulity at the brutality of it, as well as the stupidity. Sometimes I wonder just what kind of excuse they're going to come up with to try to rationalize their actions , or if they're even going to bother with one at all.  After all, how do you rationalize two officers suddenly just starting to shoot at a man who is sitting at a table eating fried chicken and fries? Even with the "rusty pocket knife" allegedly in his hand, he was sitting,  eating a plate of food! They couldn't have tased him or something? Where was the danger, the threat to their lives?

#DeEscalateDontKill: Black Man Fatally Shot by Florida Cops in His Own Backyard

In the last year, there has been a hashtag directed towards law enforcement all over the nation: #DeEscalateDontKill.

But the police in Broward County, Fla., must have missed the memo.

The Broward Palm Beach New Times reports that police responded to a domestic disturbance call on Friday night and shot and killed a man who was holding a pocket knife—a “rusty pocket knife”—in his own backyard.

The tragedy was set in motion at about 10 p.m. after Gregory Frazier’s sister called 911 because he was arguing with his niece.

By the time police arrived, Frazier, 56, was planted in the backyard of his Pompano Beach home eating chicken wings and fries with a small Swiss Army-style pocket knife in his hand.

The outlet reports that Frazier’s nephew, Quartaze Woodard, says three deputies showed up and told Frazier to get down on the ground. Frazier responded, “Leave me alone.” The deputies repeated the order. Again, Frazier asked them to leave him alone.

Moments later—not one, but two—deputies from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office opened fire. The New Times reports that neighbors say Frazier was hit between five and six times in the back.

Then, after handcuffing him, and removing the handcuffs once they realized he was non-responsive, police attempted to perform CPR. But it was too late.

As per departmental policy, the deputies were placed on paid administrative leave.

“Yes, he had a pocket knife. A rusty pocket knife,” said sister Deborah Frazier to the Miami Herald. “I believe those three cops could have sat down, talked to him, used Tasers, anything, to constrain him.”

She added to the New Times, “I never would have called the cops if I’d known this was going to happen. They just came in and started shooting right away.”

Read more at the Broward Palm Beach New Times and the Miami Herald.