An eye for an eye? Jage Paroline and Brian Keith Brown

Okay.  Something key here needs to be cleared up.

I have gotten a few comments from people who have read the blog and come to the conclusion that I wanted the Seattle Police to shoot Brian Keith Brown on sight.  They point to the breaking news post on Brown’s surrender, in which I said Breaking: James Paroline’s killer Brian Keith Brown caught (alive)!, and also at the end of this post when I said:

“Another person is dead, and another, will likely be on his way to prison for killing him, unless of course he is justifiably shot by the police first.”

In the conversation I’m having with my Black friends, and my white friends, the perspective is different; not a judgement, just an observation.

My White friends have simply been saying, “turn himself in”.  My Black friends have been saying, “how is he going to turn himself in without getting shot first?”

Yes, obviously if you don’t go around killing strangers, you don’t run the risk of being hunted by the police.  But you don’t have to be Black and a criminal to get killed by the police.  Mostly you just have to be Black and male. 

I work in criminal justice and civil rights so I understand the psychological struggle behind the trigger finger.

And all one had to do was pay attention to what was happening in the details and the reporting of this story to see how it could have gone.

First of all they charged the man, so from jump start he’s not a suspect, he’s the accused.  Big difference in a lot of ways.

Secondly, in the warrant they listed Brown as armed and dangerous.  One’s body is a weapon.  They weren’t talking about an AK-47, they were talking about his fists.  That means every single move he makes is being looked upon as a possible threat to one’s life.

Thirdly, everyone in the region is keeping an eye out for you.  People are putting preasure on your family.  Your seven year old son knows the cops are looking for daddy.  Your mother is giving interviews from California via cell phone.  You have no where to go.

Fourth:    The driver’s license photo is one thing.  At best, he looks like a punk.

Fifth:  This is the photo of a mean-looking criminal.  This, with a few others, was released by police the night his family contacted Chris H. and the NAACP.  Those jail photos were released for a reason; to remind the greater community that they were not looking for a man who made a simple mistake.  No, they were looking for a man who already had a violent history who had killed someone with one punch; armed and dangerous.

So, having watched all of this, I shared those questions.  Are we going to hear that he was caught, that he surrendered, or that he was shot to death?  Hell, I even suggested he strip down to his birthday suit and lay in the street and call 911 on his own; people thought that was a joke or a smart comment.  It wasn’t.

I never, ever wanted police to shoot him.  How would that separate me from the White Power websites that suggested all the White people in the Beach get a rope and “lynch the nigger”?

While some asked for genuine clarification, others just jumped right to “oh sure, of course it’s okay for YOU to want the cops to shoot him.” 

Why would I want that?  Because I’m Black?  That makes no sense.  Even if he had killed my child, and I can honestly say this, even if he had killed my child I would want his ass to rot in prison for the rest of his life.  Death is too easy.  You deserve to suffer for the rest of your life.  That’s the vengeful part of me in a nutshell; think about this every single day for the rest of your life.

Shoot him?  Spill his blood in the street like James Paroline’s blood was spilled?  No.

I would never suggest such a thing.

Some people felt like Brown “hid” behind the NAACP and the Church.

No.  I couldn’t disagree more.  The reason it took him so long to turn himself in is because he was scared for his life.

Now, I know that people want to act like Brian Brown is pure animal; no feeling, no remorse.  We don’t know that.  I assume he has feeling.  I assume he was pretrified, in hiding, because he knew the Seattle police were looking for his ass, and by any means necessary, they were going to get him.

No, that surrender had to be handled carefully.  When I heard that he had given himself up in a church, the strategist in me was impressed; that was smart.  That was very smart…that was damn brilliant!  You call the NAACP, and they take you to a church and then call the police.  Brilliant.  Could not have been done better.  That is why I am a member.

No fuss. No chasing, no shooting, no more death.  Just handcuffed and taken to jail to await his legal fate. 

That is how it should be, and that is what I personally wanted all along.