Today's MOSTLY TRUE STORY: Why Did He Run?

F LoBuono

We were in the Record Room at the network. It's a high-tech control room that receives video feeds from all over the world. These raw feeds are recorded in their entirety and then edited for use on the network's various news venues, including the Internet. And, when I say RAW, I mean RAW - literally and figuratively. These long feeds must be edited for time AND content. I mean we see it ALL first. And, that can often mean the blood and the guts. I'll leave it at that.

My co-worker and I were asked to record 3 videos that were just coming in from Minnesota. They were 3 different angles of bodycam footage of a recent police involved shooting. We began the recording procedure and watched the video for technical quality and content. The first video began in a police car from the vantage point of the officer driving the vehicle. He is in contact with his dispatcher who relays a message of a man, possibly intoxicated, discharging a firearm in a residential area.

He drives at high speed for a minute or 2 before he radios that he sees the possible subject and describes him as a young black man wearing brown shorts and a tank top. He jerks the car into park and opens the car door aggressively to approach the subject. He begins to say "SIR" when the man rises and he notices something on the man's hip and yells, "GUN, GUN, HE'S GOTTA' GUN!" For a reason not entire clear to us, the man, who was sitting on a curb, bolts and runs as fast as he can down the street. The police officer is now in hot pursuit, screaming, "STOP! STOP! PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP"! The man replies, still running at top speed, replies, "LEAVE ME ALONE. I DIDN'T DO NUTHIN'! I AIN'T GOT NO GUN"! The cop, hot on his heels, his own weapon now exposed and ready, responds, "YES, YOU DO MUTHA' FUCKER. DROP THE WEAPON. STOP RUNNING. PUT YOUR HANDS UP OR I WILL FUCKING SHOOT YOU"!*

Now, as we're watching, our jaws are hitting the floor. This is the real deal - it is NO made for TV drama. This is playing out in breath-taking real time! So, our adrenal is up. I can only imagine how it was for the participants. My partner, a guitar playing black man and I, between "holy shits" are screaming too - "JUST FUCKING STOP!" And, even though the footage is in real time, i.e. they're running HARD, we can clearly see what appears to be a pistol in the suspect's hand. At one point, he even seems to point it back towards the officer. The drama continues: "STOP! PUT YOUR HANDS UP OR I WILL FUCKING SHOOT YOU!" "I AIN'T GOT NO GUN". "YES, YOU DO. STOP. PUT YOUR HANDS UP OR I WILL FUCKING SHOOT YOU!"

The suspects turns left on to another street when we see at least one other policeman in pursuit. The cop with the bodycam makes one final appeal when, without further warning, he squeezes off about 5 or six rounds. POP. POP. POP. POP. The suddenness and violence of it was astounding. The bullets left without so much as a bang as a whoosh. The policeman's two hands on his weapon in classic combat pose, recoiled with every discharge.

Suddenly, obviously hit in the back, the suspect spins slightly as the bullets rip into him, and then collapses on his face in a pool of blood. As he falls, he lets go of what he had in his hand and it appears to be a weapon. The officer who discharged the fatal shots calls his dispatch, "SHOTS FIRED. ONE DOWN." Other policemen approach the victim. One yells, "HE'S STILL MOVING." Another, weapon trained on the body, approaches the body and kicks away the gun that was apparently in his hand. The video ends shortly after. The other 2 videos were of different angles and support the 1st. And, of course, because it is topical, it should be noted that the police officers where white and victim, black.

It literally took our breath away and we needed a few minutes to recover. Then we discussed what we had just seen. Both of us were shocked by the shear violence of it. It was so apparent that decisions were being made, life and death ones, with split-second frequency. It was so hard to see how anything good could be possibly derived from such a confrontation. Was there no way to avoid this tragedy?

On one hand, it was difficult to find fault with the police. We know what we saw. And, that young man HAD a gun. And, at points, despite what he may have SAID, we saw what he could have wanted to DO. And, that was to shoot that cop. We cannot know for sure? And, neither could that cop! We were puzzled. Why didn't he just STOP and comply? With a dark sense of humor, we both agreed that getting rough-up a bit sure beats the shit out of getting shot dead! And, WHY was he armed in the first place? Guns only lead to violence - and, it did again here. It was all so strange. More would need to be discovered.

On the other, it all escalated so quickly that the outcome seemed sealed from the very beginning. Was there no other way to defuse the situation? And, the young man was shot when he seemed most vulnerable. Could he not have been subdued without the use of such deadly force?

Now, both my co-worker and I have been, and continue to be, outspoken critics of the high level of violence being perpetrated by the police, particularly against black men. Statistics consistently show a disparity in the use of violence by the police against minorities than that against whites. However, still, painting with such a broad brush that it covers the truth can never be right thinking.  And, we saw what we saw. Yes, there are still many questions remaining to be asked, but none more compelling than, why didn't he just STOP?

The two unidentified Minneapolis police officers will not be charged in the death of Thurman Blevins. Some of the local African-American community there are outraged, saying that Mr. Belvins posed no real threat. This MAY have been the case but they are not seeing things, literally, from the viewpoint of the police officers. The police saw a man with a gun who refused reasonable commands to stop and explain himself. Was there a reason for this? Now, we will never really know.

But, what I do know is what I would like to leave with: everyone, put the guns down. White or black. Violence, as represented by our fetish with weaponry, can only bring more death and pain.

* Paraphrasing. I do not have a transcript.