Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is currently running in a tight race against Democratic opponent Jaime Harrison, and his remarks on the latest police shooting of an unarmed black man won’t help him one bit.
Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times by a white Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer earlier this week in front of his three children. It does not appear that Blake did anything wrong in video footage, although he reportedly tried to intervene in a domestic dispute. As Blake attempted to get back into his car, the police officer following him with his gun drawn shot Blake seven times in the back at point-blank range.
Outrage immediately ensued with riots and protests that have lasted for three days.
It was only a few months ago that a police officer in neighboring Minnesota murdered George Floyd and police killed Breonna Taylor in her home in Kentucky.
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Protests for justice in both of those shootings continue to this day.
It used to be that shooting anyone in the back was considered dirty, especially for a law enforcement officer. Shooting an unarmed man in the back is even worse.
Yet while admitting that he doesn’t know what happened in the Blake shooting, Graham suggested that Blake is to blame.
“I don’t know what happened there,” Graham said at a press event to accept the endorsement of pro-police organization South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. “Let’s find out. It’s dangerous being a cop. I don’t know why the gentleman didn’t yield when he was asked to yield. I don’t know what the facts are.”
Audio doesn’t exactly back Graham’s insinuation as it’s not clear if police actually ordered Blake to yield. Nevertheless, he did not deserve to be shot in the back seven times for not complying. There are multiple instances of white people not complying with police and they don’t get shot. Hell, a white male belonging to a right-wing militia group shot and killed at least two protesters in Kenosha and the police did not arrest him right away. That pretty much blows up Graham’s next claim.
“Police are not above the law,” Graham insisted. “There are places where police act with impunity. This is not one of those nations.”
Yes, it is. Police get away with committing murder all the time. Just ask the countless black men and women who have been shot and killed by police through the years. Hardly any of them have lost their jobs, nor have they been arrested and prosecuted.
Blake is lucky to be alive, but he’s still paralyzed and his family has been traumatized and forever changed because a white cop could not be bothered to exercise control of himself and his weapon. After all the protests and media attention in the wake of George Floyd’s death, police have learned nothing. Clearly, peaceful protests don’t change a damn thing. Defund the police.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
