I am against the death penalty. I am against torture in any form for any reason. So it follows that I am against tazing. No one should have to be afraid of the police, for then, it is not long before we are living in a police state. And like it or not, I believe that many of our African-American citizens live every day of their lives in a police state, right here in America.
Cast your minds back to Eleanor Bumpers. She was a mentally ill black woman in NYC, shot dead by six policemen because she was wielding a knife. Ooohhh..a knife you say, but...she was grossly overweight and old and hardly light on her feet and skilled at knife-throwing. Any number of strategies would have worked to defuse the situation, but they were not utilized.
Then you may recollect Abner Louima, brutalized in a brooklyn police station without pity and for no reason, and even so-called good guys in the department did nothing, until they were forced to.
Next comes Amadou Diallo, murdered in a hail of bullets for having the nerve to reach for his wallet, and oops, don't forget that the "authorities" then tossed his apartment, looking for some evidence to exonerate their actions! Even freakier is when you realize that the officers involved received a change of venue for their trial, went up to Albany and were found "not guilty" within a week! That had to be one of the shortest murder trials in recent history. We must ask "why".
Right now in our newspapers we read about the trial in Westchester where a black police officer was shot dead by officers from another department! while he was doing his job! because he didn't follow their directions.
We can not go back and raise someone from the dead, but we can soul-search and humbly realize that our attitudes must change most of all. Every one is of equal value. Every one is guaranteed equal rights. Why are our African-american citizens so often deprived of their rights, even in a time when we have seemed to come so far.
If it is not fair for everyone, then it is not fair for any one. No one could ever argue that African americans have not borne the brunt of police brutality. There are a lot of good and even great cops out there, and they more than anyone else, have to engage in self-examination and educate their collegues accordingly.