Deadly encounters for some.

Do y'all remember a fellow named John Crawford?

If not, I will bring you up to speed.

 "A 22-year-old man was shot and killed last week in an Ohio Wal-Mart after failing to obey police officers’ orders to put down a bb/pellet rifle he was holding. Beavercreek police say officers followed proper protocol when they shot John Crawford III in the store. But Crawford’s family is speaking out, saying they believe the officers used excessive force against the young man, the Dayton Daily News reported. 

Crawford was holding a Crosman MK-177 air pump rifle as he walked through the store, WHIO, Dayton, reported. The weapon, which can shoot both pellets and BBs, had been removed from its original packaging. April and Ronald Ritchie told WHIO they were in the hardware section of the Wal-Mart when they saw Crawford walking with the air pump gun in his hand. They became alarmed and called 911 to report him.

Once on the scene, Beavercreek police Officer Sean Williams and Sgt. David Darkow located Crawford and instructed him to put down the replica rifle. When he didn’t comply, he was shot by the officers. Crawford died at a local hospital shortly after the shooting. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office ruled Friday Crawford died of a gunshot wound to the torso and listed his death as a homicide." [Source]

Yes, he was the black man that was shot to death in a Walmart store while holding a toy gun.

Fast forward to the summer of 2017, where I will bring you to the town of Novi, Michigan.

"Video from a bystander shows a woman pull out a gun during a fight inside a Walmart store in Novi on Monday afternoon.

 

An argument broke out between two pairs of women over the last notebook on the shelf at the Novi Towne Center store, according to police.

 

The fight involved two Farmington Hills residents, ages 46 and 32, and a mother and daughter from

 

WCRZ-FM reports that the two Farmington Hills women were shopping for school supplies, and when one of them reached for the last notebook on the shelf, a South Lyon woman also reached for it. Police told the Free Press that it was the 20-year-old who reached for it. 

 

The two women pulled the 20-year-old’s hair, and the woman's mother was pushed aside before pulling out a gun, according to Fox2Detroit." [Video]

 

If you noticed the difference between the gun toting Walmart shopper in the video above and John Crawford move to the head of the class. This is just one example of the disparate treatment between people of color and those in the majority population in situations like this.

 

This all brings me to that poor nurse in Utah. People are outraged at  the way she was treated by the police officer in the hospital, and rightfully so. There are now calls for him to be criminally prosecuted for the way he manhandled and cuffed her, and ultimately held her in his police cruiser for 20 minutes.

 

The police officer's conduct was outrageous to be sure, but thankfully nurse Wubbels will live to see another day. She suffered bruises to her arm and her movements were restricted for 20 minutes of her life. 

 

People of color such as Sandra Bland and others who had similar contacts with the police did not survive their encounter, and sadly, we will never hear from them again. 

 

If they had only lost 20 minutes of their lives I am sure that their loved ones would have taken that.