Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Robby Soave — Of Pool Parties, Police Brutality, and Institutional Racism

Robby Soave, a writer for Reason magazine, argues that Conservatives should demand better behavior from McKinney cops, instead of offering apologetics.


(Reason)

Was the police response to the pool party incident in McKinney, Texas, a clear case of law enforcement overreacting—once again—to a trivial dispute, or a necessary response to the antics of delinquent teenagers? Did racial animus play a role, as one bystander claims, or were the black kids the ones who were misbehaving, as a neighborhood resident claims?

The video evidence and eyewitness testimony suggests the former (although the latter may possess miniscule kernel of truth). Police responded to a fight that had broken out between a girl and a mother. A video of the encounter establishes that the fight did indeed take place, but it only involved a couple people—not the large swath of teenagers who were later detained by officers.  When the officers arrived, they treated all the minority teenagers as suspects and ignored the white kids, according to 15-year-old Brandon Brooks (who is white). When the kids tried to run, Corporal Eric Casebolt “flipped out,” according to Brooks:


Read entire article here: http://tinyurl.com/ohravpo