What the Memphis Incident Means for Greensboro

It was absolutely striking. We heard about the police incident in Memphis, and about the fact that the black “victim” was attacked by five police officers. Nearly everyone presumed this was a racial incident; but it turned out that all the police officers were black.

And the videos demonstrate the black police officers repeatedly pummeling the fellow who died mercilessly, in a manner that far exceeded any of the highly politicized incidents we had seen in the past, including but not limited to the George Floyd incident that occurred nearly three years ago.

Some in the media/left complex are doing mental gymnastics to argue that the incident was still rooted in racism. But their credibility was shot long ago.

In any event, what lessons can we take from this revelation?

1. The racial narrative against white police officers is a sham. Yes, all of us are capable of error, and of exceeding our authority and rightful limits. But the patience of police officers is severely tested by repeatedly having to deal with characters such as these that resist arrest and rebel physically against authority. The repeated strain of anticipating and dealing with these situations doubtless causes a few to err. And there are doubtless some bad apples. But black police officers are vulnerable, just like white officers. That demonstrates these situations are not racial in the vast majority of cases.
2. The BLM/ Antifa response and narrative are therefore fraudulent.
3. This was an egregious case, and it would be difficult to defend what the officers did. But many of these cases are much more marginal; and it is a huge mistake to undermine the police in these situations because it ultimately hamstrings law enforcement and undercuts the maintenance of public safety and civic order.
4. Issues within the black community remain major precipitating factors. The tendency among some to resist arrest and/or react violently against police when being approached makes each of these situations volatile. This is a learned behavior rooted in deep-seated attitudes; and it needs to be unlearned among the entire group. We need to study whether there is a propensity to violence. The fact that upwards of 70% within this community are raised without a father is a set-up for these situations occurring over and over again. And that is precisely what we have seen.
5. The city of Greensboro ought to take note of the preceding points. The case of Marcus Smith several years ago– during which he was “hog-tied” (a method of prone restraint)— was used to undermine our local police. Smith was handled much more gently than the black victim in Memphis. In fact, there is no comparison. But Smith was in a state of delirium, with drugs in his system (similar to George Floyd). The result is that we now have a situation in Greensboro in which the police are emasculated, and fearful and reticent about doing their jobs. Proactive policing is a thing of the past. And crime conditions in minority neighborhoods continue to be unacceptably high. Of course, we have far too many homicides.
6. The city of Greensboro’s leadership needs to look at what happened in Memphis, think about it and learn. They need to apply it to our local situation, understand the over-reaction that has taken place here, and fix it.