Milwaukee Explodes

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

The American response to the police doing their job has become violent rage.  Without knowing the details of anything, if the person caught in the crosshairs of police is shot or manhandled, the crowds automatically seem to think it is an excuse to go berserk, act like a bunch of animals, and riot.

This time the idiotic mob violence that infects our country emerged in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The suspect was a 23 year old man who, while brandishing a handgun, was shot and killed during a foot chase.  After the incident, the mob emerged with rage seething from their pores, filling the streets.  They smashed a police car, and set fire to another.  One officer was injured by a flying brick; a gas station and auto-parts store were set alight. Police said gunshots were heard.

According to police, three people have been arrested so far.  The mob was numbered at around a hundred people.  The identity of the dead suspect has not been released.

Milwaukee's mayor said the man was struck twice — in the chest and the arm — and that he believes the officer involved had a body camera on at the time of the shooting.  Milwaukee Police Assistant Chief Bill Jessup told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper it wasn't clear if the gun was pointed at the officer.

Police said the man shot had a "lengthy arrest record" and was carrying a semiautomatic handgun reported stolen in a burglary in Waukesha in March.

The officer who shot the suspect is a six year veteran of the force, with three of those years serving as an officer.  He was placed on administrative duty following the incident to get him off the streets as the incident is investigated.

Members of the media had to retreat as threats were also leveled against them, with one reporter being thrown to the ground.

The damage and destruction to businesses and city equipment costs money, so the rioters first, by their actions, ensured that their community will have less by way of businesses and incoming products, the insurance will go up so the cost of goods will increase as well, and city tax dollars will now have to be spent to replace the two destroyed police cars. . . which will lead to higher taxes locally.  Congratulations, violent mob, you just screwed your neighbors and yourselves economically with your childish temper tantrum.

We hear time and time again when these incidents happen, "Why did the cops have to kill him?  Shoot to injure."  Honestly, nobody is a crack shot.  The movies are the movies, and only the magic of Hollywood can enable a man, running, with a moving target in front of him, to be so precise that he is able to hit a specific location of the body of the fleeing man.  All the officer knew was that the criminal was fleeing, he needed to be stopped, but catching him and tackling him may not be an option because the individual was carrying a firearm he was likely to be willing to use.  Therefore, the best way to take him down was to shoot him. . . regardless of whether or not the gun had been pointed at the officer or if the firearm being carried by the fleeing suspect had been fired.

This kind of violent mob reaction to the police doing their job will simply result in the police becoming more careful.  They will hesitate, second-guess, and hold back because of the fear they may spark this kind of ridiculous response.  The result will be that they will be less effective.  Lives will more so be at risk.  The criminal element will be emboldened by the police getting skittish.  If they think they have the police back-pedaling, and they have screaming mobs running to their rescue should the police try to keep law and order, the crooks will be more vicious, and the police will simply stop patrolling the neighborhood as it gets more and more dangerous.

The mob in Milwaukee just set us back, again, just as this kind of stupidity has in other cities.  The children in these neighborhoods will now be living under worse conditions, thanks to this kind of idiotic violent response.  Ultimately, the mobs are giving the central government an excuse to bring in its iron fist.  The federal government is itching to federalize the police in the country unconstitutionally, and once that happens, the tyranny these rioting idiots believe they are getting from local police will be a cake walk compared to the level of authoritarian control that will be delivered by a federally controlled police force.

When there is no law and order, there is no orderly society.  When there is no orderly society, there is no freedom.  Either your liberty will be at risk because of the rioting thugs in the streets, or because of the thuggish response by government.

Benjamin Franklin: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.  As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Milwaukee Crowd Turns Violent After Police Fatally Shoot Armed Man - NBC News

Police Shooting in Milwaukee sparks violent protest - CBS News

Violence Erupts After Officer-Involved Shooting - Milwaukee•Wisconsin Journal Sentinel