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Shootings Of Terence Crutcher And Keith Lamont Scott Become Another Reason For Talks About Race Relations

By Ernest Shepard
Published on: 23:39 PST, Sep 21, 2016

The shooting deaths of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott are no more shocking than what has taken place in Chicago over the past few years. At the end of the day, the loss of life, regardless who did the shooting, is a loss of life. The difference is who has taken the lives. That is the reason for necessary dialogue, which could lead to some changes.

Police are the culprits in the shooting deaths of Crutcher and Scott. And the frustration has come from the thought that black-on-black violence does not receive the same vitriol as an officer killing a civilian does.

There is a lot of shock that came with the Terence Crutcher shooting, which took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to The Daily Beast, it was Crutcher who came asking police officers to help him after his vehicle stopped. Had it been the police officers pulling Crutcher over for a violation, or a crime, his shooting death would be less damning.

Even if he had a gun in his vehicle – one was never recovered – there was never any justification for what took place. Terence Crutcher was a man who reportedly did what was asked. Even if there is evidence released about his past, we cannot look at him as a man who was without the capacity to change his life.

So often the victims of the shootings involving police officers are pigeonholed as menacing, or former menaces to society. The picture can be painted where you have a man in Terence Crutcher, who has a past. We cannot be holier than thou and act as if a person cannot reverse the course.

Again, no weapons were found in Crutcher’s vehicle. And if there was one, how can we as people dismiss his Second Amendment rights?

Yes, the same Second Amendment rights that those who have attempted to condemn Crutcher cling to anytime gun control laws are brought up. Is he not deserving of gun ownership if he has proven to be a positive member of society?

Another question to ponder is how can a person who is asking police officers for help find themselves a suspect of a crime and under arrest? Why was that the immediate reaction to Terence Crutcher’s plea? And if Terence Crutcher were the same ethnicity as the police officers who shot him, would there have been any suspicion in the first place?

Wrapping our heads around those questions can boggle the brain. And honestly, talking about the pending divorce of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie just makes for an easier conversation to have.

It is easier to get into that discussion than to explain to others why police officers killing minorities is a wrong. The distraction of the divorce has allowed people cover to avoid talking about the Crutcher and Scott shootings

We cannot ignore what took place. The shooting and death of someone like Terence Crutcher is guaranteed to happen again. And each time it happens, these shootings become a lesser part of our conversation.

As we become immune to the Terence Crutcher shooting, other police shootings wind up having less of an impact. That means Crutcher’s death, as well as the deaths which came before his, will begin to affect us less because it becomes expected.

Those lives, whether they had a criminal history or not, matter. At least according to the distractive words of All Lives Matter. Terence Crutcher’s shooting will likely go in vain. Yet if he were in your family, or a neighbor, your cries for answers would not go dismissed. It is hard to see something so heinous as what happened to Crutcher happening to someone you know. And because you’re unaffected by Crutcher’s shooting death, it can easily be washed clean. That is worrisome. What is worse is that the divorce of two entertainers draw more of your concern, than police killing an innocent man in Terence Crutcher.

Our compassion and empathy decreases as the body count rises. The same outrage being displayed over Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem should take place every time an officer kills a civilian when it can be avoided. And Kaepernick’s stance to kneel is justified every time someone like Crutcher or Scott is killed by police.

And killing a civilian, or a suspect can be avoided. It was avoided with the suspect in the New York and New Jersey bombings, Ahmad Kahn Rahami.

Rahami actually had a shootout with police officers. He was captured (courtesy of Reuters) after only getting shot in the leg. Officers did not kill or use excessive force with Rahami because they wanted to interrogate him.

Terence Crutcher did not get the same respect. Many are still wondering why was Crutcher asked to freeze and put his hands up when he was looking for help.

The conversations some have had with in their homes, must take place around the water coolers. Right now we have a conundrum.

The Keith Lamont Scott shooting, like the Terence Crutcher shooting, has sparked a number of protests. Violence has erupted in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to NBC News. There is even a death that happened during the protests in Charlotte, which turned into a series of riots.

Violence has broken out during the riots in Charlotte, North Carolina. The riots began as protests in the wake of the shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott. [Image by Brian Blanco/Getty Images]

There is no more justification for the violence that has taken place in the wake of Scott’s death, than the actions which begat the protests.

Unlike the Terence Crutcher shooting, details about the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott are sketchy. Did he have a gun, or was it a book? And should that even matter since Ahmad Khan Rahami, who attempted to murder hundreds of people and shot at police officers, is still breathing?

The tough question is why are two men, who may or may not have had any malice, are dead while a potential killer is alive?

But we have people without answers. And those who can offer some form of solace refuse to. They are too busy taking a side, rather than taking a seat and lending their presence to talk about Crutcher, as well as the other people who have been victims. They are busy looking for ways to silence the deafening cries for avoidance and solutions, while ignoring the fact that they hold the keys to what is being sought after.

In the meantime, unrest ensues. At some point, the Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott shootings will go away in the minds of those who it does not affect. These are the ones who need to lend their voices in order for change to take place. Ignoring the fact that each man is supposed to have the same liberties as they do, while offering smokescreens to sweep things under the rug is how we got here.

As for those who wonder why the police shootings have taken the headlines over black on black crime. We are not supposed to be immune to police officers killing civilians. Police are to serve and protect, not make the headlines for the controversial deaths of fathers who were looking to enjoy the same liberties that the majority does.

Sadly, like the others before them Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott lives may likely be taken in vain.

[Featured Image by Brian Blanco/Getty Images]

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