An experienced white female police officer, Kim Potter, was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter when she was convicted of accidentally shooting Daunte Wright, a Black man who was resisting arrest. When the verdict was read, Potter was immediately incarcerated even though she had posted a bond and was not a flight risk. She had made a mistake that resulted in a death. She mistook her pistol for a Taser. A jury that was deadlocked just before Christmas Day was pushed by an intolerant judge to reach a verdict. They did and, in my opinion, it was wrong. While the jury may have had more information than the public was allowed to see, the many videos that were made available to the public showed an accident had occurred, not manslaughter.
A judicial system that allows those convicted of multiple DUIs to go free had no problem slapping the now convicted police officer in irons. Her exemplary career made no difference to the judge and prosecution. Her Christian faith was ridiculed by the mainstream media. Race baiters capitalized on a non-racial incident and the activists chanted outside the courthouse. The jury members were under pressure.
A Black male officer, Lt. Michael Byrd intentionally shot and killed an unarmed, female protestor, Ashli Babbitt inside the National Capitol on January 6, 2021. It was no accident; it was reckless and unnecessary. His history of recklessness was well documented. Shouldn’t he at least be charged with manslaughter?
Male, female, Black, white, believer, non-believer? Those are descriptive terms and not relevant. Accidental and intentional, those are very relevant terms. It is clear to any observer that something is wrong here. The concept of Equal Justice under the Law is under siege.
Why would anyone, especially females, enter law enforcement now? But we need them to.
Consider the story of Nicole Battaglia. She, along with two other police officers in Alexandria, Virginia, responded to a shooter at a Republican congressional baseball team’s practice in 2017. Battaglia drew the attention of the shooter as soon as she pulled up to the chaotic gun battle. Two Capitol police officers had already been shot and were attempting to position themselves to bring the gunman down. By distracting the shooter, Battaglia allowed two other officers who arrived on scene to surround the gunman and quickly de-escalated the situation, saving many lives. Would Battaglia have become a police officer after seeing the Potter verdict?
According to Dr. Dena Weiss, an associate professor at America Military University, “There are many challenges females face when choosing a law enforcement career. One of the biggest challenges is learning to cope with disturbing, violent acts that are carried out on the most vulnerable victims, such as children, animals, the elderly, the disabled, and our veterans. Another issue that females face is convincing those around her she holds a position of authority. Women officers must not only prove to their co-workers that they can do the job, but also demand the respect of those they investigate or arrest.”
Equal Justice under the Law is one of the most precious principles of the United States of America. It is clear that doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Just because the judge in the Potter case praised the jurors as “heroes of the judicial system” doesn’t make it so. The judge and jury should be ashamed. My opinion, of course.