More black people will be shot soon by police: Political scientist

As police brutality in the United States spirals out of control, more people can be expected to be shot by police during the summertime, says an American political scientist and radio host.

“The situation now is spiraling out of control, and unfortunately, I believe we’re going to see a lot more of this over the summer, as temperature rises, things get hot both literally and figuratively. And, unfortunately, I think, poor people are going to wind up getting shot,” said Dr. Wilmer Leon.

Leon made the comments on Thursday in reaction to a fresh incident of racial profiling by police, this time in the state of Colorado, where two African-American brothers were stopped by police and detained in a violent encounter that was caught on video.

“It does appear again that a police department is engaged in racial profiling” as Ryan Brown and his brother Benjamin Brown “were removed from the vehicle, placed in handcuffs, and all that resulted from the traffic stop was a citation for a cracked windshield. That could have been issued without the brothers being removed from the vehicle,” Dr. Leon said.

“It is becoming incredibly problematic with these charges of resisting arrest and interfering with the duties of a police officer. I think the laws now are going to have to be really scrutinized and possibly changed to better define what that means,” he continued

“For example, City Council member Mary Jay in Washington, DC, is looking to do that very thing in the District of Colombia, because even if you just pinch your body up as your being handcuffed by a police officer, the mere pinching of your body can result in your being cited for resisting arrest or interfering with the duties of a police officer.”

The incident, involving the Brown brothers, comes as police departments across the United States are under increased scrutiny following a series of deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white officers.

“One of the things that is very apparent throughout this video is that Benjamin clearly says [to the cop], ‘you haven’t identified yourself’… And the other thing he says is, ‘Why are you doing this?’... And that is beyond what the law requires.” Dr. Leon noted.

The political scientist said it is “just a fundamental courtesy” for police officers to properly identify themselves and cite the reasons before they move to arrest someone.

“Unfortunately, too many police officers are viewing the people, that they’re supposed to protect and serve, as enemy combatants,” concluded Dr. Leon.

HDS/HRJ

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