Chicago protesters were Wrong, Black man Shot and Killed WAS Armed
Protesters in Chicago accused police of lying and once again taking the life of an innocent unarmed black man. After releasing body cam footage the evidence became clear that Harith Augusts was armed and in the video appears to reach for his waist prompting officers to fire. Even with the evidence activists are doubling down calling for the resignation of the Superintendent. While the black man killed is a tragedy the protesters were wrong to claim he was unarmed. Support the show (http://timcast.com/donate)
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Recently, we saw protests erupt in Chicago after police killed a black man that they said appeared to have a gun.
Activists were insistent that this man was unarmed, and once again, we have a story about a lying police force that killed an innocent, unarmed black man.
Some people said it was just a holster, it wasn't really a gun.
Others said he was just trying to show his ID to the police.
But, the police released the body cam footage, and in it we can see that he did have a concealed weapon, and at one point, it does look like he's reaching for his weapon.
Despite this, activists are doubling down, saying, there's no audio in the video, so we don't really know what happened.
It seems like many of these big protests surround individuals who are in questionable circumstances, or were actually committing crimes.
So, just exactly what is it that activists are saying?
Why are they doubling down?
And will this lead to more protests?
But before we get started, let me give a quick shoutout to today's sponsor, Newsvoice.
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First, let's look at what happened with the start of the protests.
From Al Jazeera, protests erupt in Chicago after black men fatally shot by police.
Harith Augustus, known as Snoop the Barber, was killed on Saturday, prompting clashes between police and protesters.
Protesters in Chicago are demanding answers after the fatal shooting of a black man by police prompted violent confrontations in the Illinois city.
The whole damn system is guilty as hell, dozens chanted on Saturday just hours after police shot and killed 37-year-old Harith Augustus in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago.
The city's police patrol chief Fred Waller told reporters late on Saturday that Augustus was shot after police officers on foot tried to question him because the bulge around his waistband suggested he was armed.
Augustus became combative and eventually broke free from the officers, Waller said.
They thought he appeared to be reaching for his weapon, which he did have a weapon on him, and the officers tragically shot him.
Waller told reporters, adding that police recovered a semi-automatic weapon.
Protests erupted after the shooting.
We can see police hitting people with batons, protesters moving through the streets, as reported by CNN.
unidentified
Assa reported that police rushed protesters who had been throwing bottles.
as it says he was also pushed to the ground by police.
Take your phone and get out now. This is private property.
Get out.
Chicago police confirmed that at least four people were arrested and several
officers were injured by rocks and bottles.
Police also say their squad cars were damaged.
The protest started shortly after police shot and killed a man on the city's south side.
Protesters want accountability now.
So whoever shot this man was dead wrong.
He was unarmed.
And they shot an unarmed black man again.
Shot that man five times because he had a holster and there wasn't even a gun in the holster.
Ray, what was your reaction when you saw that?
Run for cover.
Before I get one of the bullets, because they ain't got no name on them.
Now, naturally, activists are saying that the police were being brutal, that they were beating people.
One reporter said that his phone was knocked out of his hands and he was pushed to the ground, but acknowledged people were throwing rocks and bottles at police.
Now, I'm not here to say that one side is more justified than the other, but it is clear that the activists were at least in the wrong as it pertains to the story, because it turns out this man actually was armed.
Following the protests, police released the body cam footage showing exactly what happened.
The video starts by showing several officers approaching a man.
He appears to reach for his wallet, and then it looks like he is opening his wallet and actually showing something when a female officer tries to grab him.
The man immediately resists, spins around, and then you can see, right here, he does have a gun.
He runs for it and begins gripping his right side where we just saw the gun.
And that's when officers draw their weapons and apparently shot and killed this man.
The narrative being pushed by the protesters was incorrect.
This man was armed.
He did have his hand on his hip, and officers had only seconds to react.
Now as to why the officers were stopping and questioning him is an entirely different debate.
The facts here are that the man was armed, was carrying a concealed weapon, and the police
tried to question and detain him, he ran, put his hand on his hip, and was shot and
killed because police felt like he was going to pull his gun on them.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Johnson said at a Sunday afternoon press conference
that Augustus had a firearm owner's identification card, a FOID card, but no concealed carry
permit.
People on East 71 thought otherwise when they spoke to a reporter earlier in the day.
The response from the left and the right has been fairly obvious for those that are following
The people more aligned with the left are doubling down, saying that the police shouldn't be killing people anyway, why were they even stopping him, and saying that the police footage is actually kind of sketchy.
Others on the right are saying, what do you expect to happen when someone is armed and the police try to stop you?
David Harris Jr.
said, A man in Chicago yesterday resisting arrest, reaching for his concealed gun, gets shot and is killed by police.
I don't care what color he is.
If he'd have put his hands up, he'd still be alive today.
But since he's black, there's riots in the streets.
Are you kidding me?
Alex V. Hernandez says, Graphic video warning.
Harith Augustus holds wallet open with apparent FOID card to officers surrounding him as he shows card,
police try to grab him while keeping hands on their pistols.
Police shoot and kill him seconds later.
Body cam vids and presser, Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson held around its release,
didn't really address violence his officers were filmed inflicting on both residents protesting
and journalists who were documenting CPD's use of said violence.
And in response to a tweet about the story, Black Lives Matter Milwaukee said,
we're not trying to hide anything, Why did they approach him in such an aggressive manner?
Another person said, Without sound, we know nothing.
It is my understanding they were already firing on him, which is why he reached for his gun.
So did they see a gun and use it as cause?
Why were that many cops engaged to begin with?
Yes, my sentiment's exactly, why did they approach him in such an aggressive manner?
I don't get it.
Well, maybe the cops were racist, maybe they weren't.
But if we go on just the facts, we can say that this man had a bulge around his waist, police thought he might be armed and wanted to question him, he resisted, and then when his shirt flew up, they saw the gun, he reached for his hip, they shot and killed him.
It's acknowledged that the man had a FOID card, which means he had a right to have a gun, but not to conceal it, in which case, he was probably going to be arrested for concealing his firearm.
Now, some people on the left are saying the police didn't address the issues of violence in a satisfactory manner.
But as acknowledged by even the reporter who says he was pushed by cops, people were throwing rocks and bottles at police.
So, naturally, you're likely to see an escalation in tactics from the police if the protesters are engaging in similar behavior.
From ABC7, activists gathered at Chicago Police Headquarters Monday morning after police released body camera video of a deadly police shooting over the weekend.
Some activists want to see Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson resign.
There are so many times we hear stories that result in rioting and protests, and it seems like the individual was in questionable circumstances.
The most notable is Michael Brown.
The right is insistent that he charged the police, but the left is insistent that he had his hands up, and that's why people chanted, hands up, don't shoot.
But there are instances where black men are shot and killed, and we don't see the same response from people on the right or the left.
I did an interview with an activist in Chicago where we talked about gun issues in Chicago.
She said that even as a young child, she had a gun because it made her feel powerful.
Chicago has a serious problem with guns, and I don't know what anyone expects the solution to be.
People in many of these neighborhoods don't trust police, so police know that when they go in, they're going to have a hard time of it and are on edge.
Many of these people do have guns.
They trade illegal guns.
They go to Indiana and buy guns and bring them back, and there's a lot of gang violence.
Chicago is called Chirac for a reason.
More gun deaths than many other cities in this country.
So when you have individuals who are illegally carrying firearms and police who are concerned about it, what do you think the solution should be?
Should police just not go into these neighborhoods?
Well, that would be unreasonable.
We need police in neighborhoods to deal with crime.
But if people aren't going to talk to them anyway, what good are they accomplishing?
Without the police, though, gang crime would probably be a lot worse, or maybe you're of the persuasion it would actually be a lot better, like there would be less crime, but I'm not sure that's a good argument because I can't imagine that would be the case.
And then we end up with stories like these.
Just about a year ago, I was out net crawling in Chicago where I covered many murders.
And I wonder why we don't see the same protests for these murders that we see for when the police do it.
In this instance, the man was armed.
He wasn't legally allowed to be carrying a concealed weapon or to be concealing his weapon, and the police shot and killed him because he resisted, and was armed, and was apparently reaching for his gun.
I wonder why we don't see the same protests over gang violence.
While there are protests against gang violence, there are activists fighting against gang violence.
It seems like when the police are involved, it's much higher profile, and many more people come out.
Suffice it to say, in this instance, the activists were wrong.
This man was armed, and I don't know what you expect the police to do in this situation.
Should they run away, and let the man draw his weapon, and just leave?
Maybe that is an argument, because this guy doesn't seem like he's going to just start shooting random people, should the police engage with someone and actually create a dangerous situation by drawing their weapons and firing as well.
In New York, somebody had a gun, the police shot several innocent people trying to apprehend them.
So maybe there is an argument for de-escalation.
But let me know what you think in the comments below, we'll keep the conversation going.
You can follow me on Twitter at TimCast, stick around, new videos every day at 4pm, I'll have a video up on my second channel around 6, and then probably a couple more.
