US Marshals in Tennessee shot and killed an armed black man. What do you think the response from the community was? A) Nothing, people just went about their business. B) Admiration from residents for officers keeping them safe from a dangerous criminal. C) Riot. If you picked “C” you are either a genius, recognize the predictability of the situation, or read the headline. Yes, they rioted and injured 36 police officers because an armed black was shot to death while trying to kill officers.
The Tennesseean reports that US Marshals were trying to arrest 20-year-old scumbag Brandon Webber in Memphis on Wednesday for several outstanding warrants. When officers got to his residence, Weber jumped in his car and used it to ram the Marshals’ vehicles.
Weber then got out of his car holding a gun and pointed it at the Marshals. He was quickly perforated and laid down to take a permanent nap in the weeds.
Soon after the shooting, black residents began to form and throw things at the Marshals. The Memphis police quickly showed up and a full blown riot broke out.
“Multiple police cars were vandalized. A concrete wall outside a business was torn down. The windows were broken out at fire station 31,” said Memphis mayor Jim Strickland.
The rioters threw bricks and rocks at the officers, injuring 36. Several members of the press were also injured. 6 of the injuries were severe enough to require hospitalization. There were also reports of gunshots, but apparently nobody was hit. I mean other than the loser who started this whole thing.
“Let me be clear—the aggression shown towards our officers and deputies tonight was unwarranted,” said Mayor Strickland.
And while there were an astounding number of injuries, police only arrested 3 people, including one for inciting the riot.
The cops used tear gas on the rioters, but that did nothing to bring the situation under control. This however did the trick:
Rain started to fall around 10 p.m., which dispersed some of the crowd.
Maybe black people don’t like swimming because they hate getting wet. Nothing about this night did anything to dispel racial stereotypes.
If all of this seems concerning, don’t worry the NAACP is on it:
We are closely monitoring the reports of riots in the North Memphis, TN community of #Frayser following a law-enforcement involved shooting.
— NAACP (@NAACP) June 13, 2019
Thank goodness for that. Hopefully somebody shoots Al Sharpton an e-mail so he can get down to Memphis and hustle up some justice.
Though the shooting is under investigation, it was a justified use of force all the way around. Weber tried to killed law enforcement officers with his car and then pointed a gun at them. There was no other realistic way to deal with this than to shoot his punk ass. There were no non-lethal options officers could have deployed given the situation. This asshole is the only person responsible for his death.
Which brings us back to the rioters. What the hell do they think the cops should have done? Weber wasn’t killed because he’s black, he died because he’s a dumbf*ck. If he was white, Asian, or Hispanic, the same thing would have happened to him. Maybe the NAACP should send out a memo to black people informing them that pulling a gun on cops is bad idea with real-world consequences.
