Nowadays
it's beginning to seem as if the majority of the police officers across the
country are taking the same training course somewhere, the one we could call ‘If
the skin is black, shoot first, cover up later, and never ask any
questions’. It doesn’t matter if the
person is already pinned on the ground with officers on top of him, he was
“reaching for a weapon” so shoot him in the head and kill him. Doesn’t matter
if the person is in the car with another passenger and a 4 year old child, when
he turns to get his ID he might be
going for a weapon so shoot into the car multiple times and kill him. After
all, in both of these cases I’m sure the officer was in fear for his life
despite there being no weapon in sight! So what’s the difference in North
Carolina? Are the officers given different training? Do some officers have more
common sense or just more balls? I don’t know, what do you think?
In the past two days, we’ve seen two black men—Alton Sterling
and Philando Castile—fatally gunned down by police officers in two different
states while legally carrying, but not holding or pointing, a firearm.
And then there’s William Bruce Ray of Raleigh, N.C., who was safely
apprehended after pointing a pistol at a Wake County sheriff’s deputy this
week.
According to WRAL, the incident unfolded Tuesday after
Sheriff’s Deputy D.R. Farmer stopped to question Ray after receiving reports of
a man pointing a shotgun at passing drivers. Ray reportedly became combative
and pointed a gun at Farmer.
“The deputy luckily grabbed the barrel and pushed him back,” Sheriff Donnie
Harrison said. “The man says, ‘I got something for you’ and reached in his
pocket and came back with a pistol.”
As Deputy Farmer pushed the .22-caliber weapon aside, the gun went off.
“Luckily, nobody got hurt. That’s the good thing. God was looking out for
us,” Harrison said. “[Ray] was very fortunate that he didn’t get shot, very
fortunate that anybody didn’t get shot.”
Fortunate indeed.
It is unclear why Ray was allegedly pointing a shotgun at passersby, but
Harrison said the 62-year-old had been drinking.
“He was very angry about something. We’re trying to piece it together. He’s
not being real cooperative with us,” he said.
Tommy Manning, Ray’s attorney, said that he has known the defendant for 26
years and that Ray suffers from mental illness. Manning requested a lower bond,
explaining that Ray poses no flight risk and has to support his family, but a
judge denied the request, setting bail at $150,000.
Ray is facing charges of assault on a law-enforcement officer with a
firearm, which could likely be upgraded to attempted murder, a prosecutor said
in court Wednesday.
The 62-year-old is also charged with injury to personal property after
allegedly damaging a surveillance camera in the sheriff’s office.
“We had him in interrogation room where we talk to people. We try to film it
and record everything for investigative purposes. He got angry and snatched the
cameras off the wall,” Harrison said.
I have a question for Sheriff Donnie Harrison:
According to WRAL,
“It is unclear why Ray was allegedly pointing a shotgun at passersby, but {Sheriff Donnie}Harrison said the 62-year-old had been drinking.
“He was very angry about something. We’re trying to piece it together.”
Why is it that after this man fired his weapon at Deputy Farmer you’re ‘piecing
together’ what he was angry about, rather than drawing a chalk line on the
sidewalk and trying to decide how to tell his family? What is the difference between
William Bruce Ray, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile?
Here's a hint:
 |
| Philando Castile |
 |
| William Bruce Ray |
 |
| Alton Sterling |
