2020: The year that criminals became the heroes and all police became the bad guys

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The following editorial is written by a retired police officer and current staff writer for Law Enforcement Today

(Article by Patrick Henry republished from LawEnforcementToday.com)

USA- Same song, different verse. We’ve seen this act before with Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Just as the media ran with the “hands up, don’t shoot” fantasy of the Brown shooting by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, they’re taking the same approach with the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Only when the facts came out showing the truth of what happened to Brown did the media finally give up the mantra. That matters not. Brown’s name is still raised when activists and protesters talk about so-called “systemic police racism.”

An opinion piece in Suburban Chicagoland lays out why in 2020, police are the bad guys and criminals are held up as heroes. In the case of Blake, the media ran with the story that Blake had been shot seven times in the back without context or the fact that Blake was wanted for a serious crime, in this case sexual assault.

They also didn’t report that Blake was allegedly armed with a knife, with officers in video repeatedly telling Blake to “drop the knife.”

If you listen to the media, Blake was a boy scout, a loving father and hard worker. He was another “innocent black man” shot by the police. Most of the media has not reported why the police were looking for Blake in the first place.

Let’s go back to the George Floyd case. Floyd, as with Blake is treated as an innocent black man who was murdered by police officers. The media has ignored the fact that Floyd had a long criminal history. He was also being placed under arrest at the time of the incident.

Understand that in no way justifies what ended up happening in Minneapolis. While one can dispute what Floyd’s ultimate cause of death was, and there are certainly questions about that, even the most ardent police supporter does not agree with the tactics of former officer Derek Chauvin.

Yet all people have seen is the over 8-minute video of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. That plays into the narrative that the Minneapolis police killed Floyd because he was black.

However, when body camera video was released, after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison held it while cities across the U.S. burned, it showed that the Minneapolis police treated Floyd with utmost respect.

No “N” words, no assault. Courtesy and respect. Officers offered to open the windows for him in the back of the patrol car. Before Chauvin got within an inch of Floyd’s neck, he was complaining for minutes that he couldn’t breathe. Clearly he was under the influence of something.

Floyd’s autopsy found him to be under an apparent lethal dose of Fentanyl, a fact which has still been largely ignored by the media, and definitely ignored by Hollywood leftists, sports “stars” and Democrats.

For Blake, he was not a good dude. He was accused in a criminal complaint of going into a woman’s home while she was sleeping with her young child next to her and sexually assaulting her. This also was not the first time this happened, according to the victim.

She said that Blake had assaulted her both sexually and physically for years. In this case, he probed her vagina with his fingers, sniffed them and then accused her of being with “other men.” He then stole her car and took off.

For this man, the NBA, MLB, and NHL canceled games. Football players wept. For a rapist. For this, the New Orleans Saints put his name on their helmets.

After Blake assaulted her, the victim left the home and contacted police, who then submitted a warrant for his arrest charging him with sexual assault, trespassing, and domestic abuse.

On August 23, Blake returned to the victim’s home. She told police that Blake was out of control and was carrying a weapon. When officers arrived, they identified him and attempted to restrain him. Blake however knew he was facing serious charges. Sources say that Blake went on a rampage and was flashing the knife around. Video taken of the incident shows Blake being uncooperative and acting out.

Kenosha police attempted to Tase him, but it was not effective. Blake pushed past police and made it to the vehicle, opening the door and leaning in. Given Blake’s mindset, acting out and knowing he was likely to be going away for a time, a reasonable police officer would have believed that Blake was attempting to get a gun. As officers are trained to do, Blake was shot until the threat was stopped.