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I cannot even believe it.

I don't even know what to say at this point, but I am so angry. And where is all the outrage from pro-gun people, huh? They should be furious over this. Oh wait, I get it. Concealed and/or open carry is only for white men. When a black man has a gun, it's justification for shooting him. This country is sick.

@mrsjazz:

That this continues to happen over and over and over again and we do NOTHING to stop it is outrageous.

@MrsSCB: yes, this. White men need guns to protect them from "the government" (and by extension, government agents like say, the police), while black men who are licensed to carry just need to better immediately comply with police commands in order to avoid being shot and evidence of carrying is evidence of "guilt".

So sick of hearing "all lives matter" immediately too. Of course they do, but "all lives" are not the lives being taken.

@yoursilverlining: Exactly. And ugh to "all lives matter." That would get someone de-friended asap for me

@yoursilverlining: EXACTLY. Thank you.

Omg. That second video. How?? How do we live in a world like this???

Horrific. I am so sad for the state of our country. It's hard not to be just depressed and angry all the time. And to feel so powerless.

I am horrified. My dad is a concealed carrier and I've been in the car with him one time when he was pulled over for speeding. He has ALWAYS said that the first thing you should say is that you have a weapon with you because it will come up when they run your license and registration. He has never had to lose his life over being completely honest about the situation and neither should this poor man.

This just makes me so angry.

I am so sad and angry at the way the world is right now. Im very very sad but I also so so angry. I dont know how to deal with these emotions but I just cant even understand sometimes the thought process it takes others to justify and defend such outrageous and horrific blatant acts of hate.

@lawbee11: Same here. I read the article about it and saw that her 4 year old daughter is in the car and I just can't watch it...

@lamariniere: I actually had the same thought (because I've been watching Person of Interest where they are always shooting people in the knees). I don't know what training police officers do though - perhaps they are trained to respond with lethal force to eliminate any possibility of the threat?

Makes me sick to my stomach. What is this world we live in. Racism, bigotry, it's just pure evil.

@lamariniere: my limited, second hand understanding is that police officers are trained to shoot to kill because their guns should only be used in response to a potentially lethal threat. If the threat is not potentially lethal, you should be using another means to diffuse the situation. It makes sense to me - shooting to maim an armed individual would expose an officer (and the public) to more danger I would think. What if the shot didn't disarm the suspect completely and then there is a fire fight of some sort.

@lamariniere: Police are not supposed to use deadly force unless faced with deadly force. So, they can't use a gun (deadly force) to shoot someone's knees.

@Adira: Police in different parts of the country go through different training. I do believe that the training received in places such as the south is not nearly as good as the training received by officers in places like Southern California.

All of these incidents are so very sad. My husband is a police officer. I am worried for him every day and I only just want him to come home each day. Its such a stressful job, especially knowing that everything he does will be scrutinized. We pay a lot into a legal defense fund because we know the odds of him being sued for actions taken during the scope of his employment are high. He was very well trained at one of the last remaining stress academies in the county. He continuously goes to additional training and just this week was in a class focused on racial profiling. But unfortunately not every officer receives that kind of training. And even with that level of training, if someone doesn't comply with his commands, and he believes that person has a gun, then I will forever stand behind my husband and whatever action that he needs to take to keep the public safe and, most importantly to me, to come home to me and our baby girl at the end of his shift. The last thing he wants to do is injure anyone. The paper work that is involved with any use of force, injury or not, is overwhelming and motive enough to just sit in a car in the parking lot of a donut store all day and do nothing to patrol out in the public. (Not saying that anyone I know does that!)

So heartbreaking.

So sad.
Obv there's plenty of good police officers but it seems like a lot of departments do a crappy job of weeding out the bad ones or appropriately firing officers that instigate and show unnecessary aggression and inflammation of situations. And I think that makes it a scary situation as a citizen, I get nervous every time I see an armed officer (or armed anyone for that matter). I'm a small white woman, can't imagine the fear as a black man.

Appalling and horrific. This has to change, but how?? Can't help but feel hopeless and defeated.

@agold: I pray for your husband's safety - I know that officers get killed all the time doing routine traffic stops, entering domestic violence calls, etc. I can't imagine the stress (and why it is easier to just do nothing than be scrutinized for everything you do!) I agree with you, their training should be incredibly stressful - they should be trained to deal with the worst possible scenario and hope that they never encounter it!

But to shoot a man sitting in his car with his child in the back seat? Ugh.... It's just tragic. Why didn't he just ask him to step out of the car?