ATLANTA, GA – Juneteenth, a day which is celebrated for the ending of slavery in the United States, brought several festive get togethers throughout the United States. The vast majority of these were peaceful, as large numbers of people joined together to give thanks for the complete end of the evil that was slavery.
That is, except for the one in Atlanta.
Near the Wendy’s where Atlanta Police Officers shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, there were two incidents of gun violence during the so-called peaceful protest.
One incident occurred earlier in the evening when a dispute over the protesters blocking the roads ended in gunfire. The second shooting occurred while a crew was filming the protests, one of the bullets struck a female who was walking through the crowd.
The victim is heard screaming as she falls to the ground. Bystanders immediately assist her with rendering aid as a male is heard for whomever is shooting to stop as there was a girl hit. After his request, several more shots rang out causing people to run. Medical and police were called to come to the scene and assist.
White male shooting at protestors in Atlanta during #BlackLivesMatter #AtlantaProtest – one injured, possible second injured. pic.twitter.com/f86Eaxqx5f
— Anonymous (@AnonHears) June 20, 2020
On the video from TMZ, the officers are seen with the female trying to ascertain what occurred and ensure that the scene is safe for the medical personnel. The information relayed to police was that an unknown black male was walking through the crowd, firing his gun, then changed to a white guy was driving through the crowd and firing his gun.
At this time, it is unclear if police got any accurate information from anyone who was in attendance.
As they were conducting their investigation, the officers, all black, were seen talking to the crowd and standing by the woman who sat on the ground being treated by medical personnel.
For some reason, a person in the crowd decided to shove one of the officers which caused him to stumble backwards. In normal circumstances, this person would have been arrested for obstruction of justice and battery of a law enforcement officer.
Shooting at Rayshard Brooks “memorial” aka burnt out Wendy’s building in Atlanta, GA. pic.twitter.com/D2CKSkQdnK
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 20, 2020
Instead of what should have happened, the Atlanta Police officers merely took him aside and did their best to calm the situation. The cameraman was laughing at the person shoving the officer and getting away with it.
This is an interesting situation: my belief is that allowing a suspect to control the situation always ends badly. If a suspect knows that they no longer have to listen to what they are being ordered to do by law enforcement, there is no reason for them to comply.
For instance, if I order you to stop for me, you know that you can keep running because the last officer did not chase you. If I order you to turn around because you are under arrest, you do not have to because the last officer let you go or begged you to comply.
And if their friends see this happen, just like in the camera video, they laugh and note that they can create resistance in order to get away and not have to deal with the consequences. To make matters worse, this emboldens them to elevate their use of force toward the next officer who is forced to deal with them.
That is why I told my officers my philosophy, when dealing with someone, you ask, order, then make them comply with the least amount of force necessary, in that order, as long as you are ethically and legally allowed to do so.
Breaking: Atlanta Police have 1 protester in custody after a shooting during a protest at Ponce & Monroe. Witnesses say a man upset by protesters blocking an intersection grabbed a weapon out of his car. One protester was then arrested for shooting at that man, police say. pic.twitter.com/qtEWpgHuwL
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) June 20, 2020
This idea was proven to me several years ago when my officers were forced to physically fight a suspect who entered into a crime scene after being ordered to stay clear while the scene was being processed.
The subject ignored all orders and cussed the officers out, forcing the officers to stop the suspect before he damaged any evidence. Officers were forced to physically fight the suspect and were able to take him into custody.
When I asked the suspect why he did not listen and why he fought with the officers, he told me plainly because the last officer he dealt with let him go when he did it, so he didn’t think he had to listen.
Officers failing to do their job, regardless if they are in fear of legal repercussions or media backlash, are simply going to allow some of these “peaceful protestors” to get what they ultimately want, a lawless society.
One in which police refuse to use force when needed, refuse to enforce the law.
Gun violence isn’t just occurring during the Atlanta protests. Law Enforcement Today recently reported on a shooting within Seattle’s autonomous zone taken over by terrorists. Here’s that report again in case you missed it.
Early Saturday morning, at least two people were shot and one was killed inside Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) area.
Now police say they are investigating despite it being in a “no-cop” zone of the city.
Videos hit the internet showing volunteer medics racing to help the victims. This, after Seattle Police Department radio dispatchers got multiple reports of three to six gunshots.
Police investigating shooting at 10th Avenue and East Pine. Will update with additional information when available.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) June 20, 2020
It happened around 2:20 a.m., and the people involved were seen fleeing the scene north from 10th Avenue and East Pine street.
This is also in the city’s Capitol Hill autonomous protest zone, also called CHAZ.
On June 8th, Seattle Police abandoned the closest East Precinct building. The move came after days of confrontations with protesters.
Details are scarce at this point about the shooting.
We do know that officers arrived to the scene on foot and were prepared with riot gear – or “anti-protest gear”, as Newsweek referred to it.
According to East Precinct police radio chatter, a second victim had a gunshot wound to the arm and chest and officers on scene were collecting shell casings and evidence.
Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported Saturday that Seattle Fire had been called to the scene to treat the victim, but that person had already been transported by volunteers to Harborview.
Local videographers from Converge Media first reported that one of the individuals who was shot had been driven by “non-ambulance locals” to the Harborview protest camp. That camp is staffed by medical volunteers.
According to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, the man was dead when he arrived at the volunteer medical camp – although medical experts haven’t publicly verified this.
In the footage, several people on the street said one of the victims was dead in front of the Rancho Bravo restaurant at 10th and Pine Street.
Earlier this week, a suspected arsonist was detained near the occupied area.
What’s more disturbing was the stash of weapons that were located near the scene of the alleged arson and vandalism – and also that police did not arrest the suspect initially.
According to police, 21-year-old Richard Hanks allegedly broke into Car Tender and attempted to start a fire within the business on June 15th. Keep in mind, this was a mere two blocks from the CHAZ/CHOP occupied area.
Kids in their twenties are making poor choices and hurting their immediate future success —“Richard Hanks, 21, is a repeat offender accused of breaking into Car Tender, a business less than two blocks outside CHOP in Seattle.”
— #NeverAgain Shutdown the Economy! (@JanCookLive) June 18, 2020
John and Mason McDermott happen to be the owners of the business, and personally responded when notified of Hanks allegedly breaking into the business. The father and son business owners also called 911 to inform police of the initial break-in.
Yet, police didn’t respond, according to Mason:
“Multiple times, we called them… They made it seem like they were going to come. We’ve been bombarded by news station [on June 16th], basically saying, ‘Hey, the police department’s saying they showed up last night.’ Absolutely not. They did not.”
The McDermotts were able to stop Hanks from causing further damage, as the duo had allegedly witnessed Hanks attempting to set a desk on fire.
Mason claimed that they called police somewhere between 16 to 18 times while detaining the suspect, but no one responded.
Then, somewhere between 100 and 200 CHAZ/CHOP inhabitants gathered outside of the Car Tender demanding the release of Hanks. According to a police report related to the incident, this gathering of people had threatened to burn down the business if Hanks wasn’t released to them.
Summer of Love#chaz #chop #CHOPseattle pic.twitter.com/8wBhRlM45R
— Kafka (@kafka_code) June 16, 2020
Mason described this group of “peaceful” demonstrators:
“They were shouting at us from outside the gate of my dad’s shop, saying that they were going to kill us and to let him go and, you know, obscenities… basically, they said, ‘let him go or we’re gonna kill you guys.
You need to let him go.’ And we were just holding him so the police could get there, you know, so this guy could be accountable for trying to burn our family business to the ground and stealing.”
The group had breached the fencing around the business and began to make their way into the business’ yard. At that point, the McDermotts released Hanks to the mob.
That’s when things got allegedly stranger.
According to the police report of the incident, the mob had actually detained Hanks and began forcibly searching through his backpack and held him against his will.
Apparently, the crowd had even returned some items that were stolen from the McDermotts – and then the crowd allegedly delivered their own form of justice to Hanks.
The police report said:
“Eventually a member of the crowd assaulted the suspect, repeatedly punching him in the face.”
It’s almost as though CHAZ/CHOP’s version of “policing” engaged in what some would call police brutality.
This is what CHOP/CHAZ looks like. They need to shut this down asap. Start by shutting off the power and water. When they can’t charge their cell phones they will leave. #CHOP #CHAZ #riots2020 pic.twitter.com/bt7SS6YDVx
— Dominichi (@TheNeech2) June 14, 2020
Can anyone see the irony of enacting violent mob justice against suspected criminals while engaged in a protest against police brutality, as the entire protests that have erupted typically point to that as being the impetus of the demonstrations.
Hanks was reportedly able to escape the beating from the mob.
While Hanks wasn’t immediately taken into custody by police after the alleged break-in and arson attempt at Car Tender, he did get arrested later by a deputy from the King County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s deputy witnessed Hanks engaged in a vehicular burglary later on June 15th in White Center, and placed him into custody.
After the scenario that played out at Car Tender, security firm Iconic Global offered to donate time and personnel to the McDermotts to help guard their business. Some of their personnel dispatched made a unique discovery nearby the scene of the alleged arson attempt.
Hey people of #CHAZ! We made a tourism video for anyone who might be curious about experiencing the joys of hypocrisy and anarchy.
So come on down to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone! Where anarchy meets family. #CHOP pic.twitter.com/gvHKN14ChK
— MRCTV (@mrctv) June 17, 2020
Iconic Global employees were said to have located an AK-47, five loaded magazines, a magazine for a Glock, and also some “explosive hardware”. All of which were reportedly stashed in some bushes nearby Car Tender.
As for Hanks, he’s currently facing charges of burglary in the second degree, theft of a motor vehicle, and malicious mischief in the first degree and remains in custody at this time.
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