Commentary: Meeting Force With Force?

Who knew Rodney King would utter some of the most sensible words in the history of race relations.

"People, I just want to say, can we all get along? Can we get along?" said King, the Los Angeles man beaten by four police officers in 1991 after an eight-mile, high-speed car chase. King was black. The four police officers were white. King, who had been drinking alcohol, was concerned a DWI charge would violate his parole on an earlier robbery conviction.

A videotape of the beating sparked protests of police brutality, but the real trouble came in 1992 when a jury cleared three officers of excessive force and failed to reach a verdict involving the supervising officer. The results were the Los Angeles riots that left more than 50 people dead, nearly 2,400 injured and nearly $1 billion in damage to property.

It was in the midst of the riots King offered his question, reacting to the immediate violence but casting a wider query about people and their capacity for letting their differences erode their bonds of common humanity.

In 2014, many of us have pondered variations of King's question, not because he asked it but because it appears to remain as relevant as ever.

Racial tensions are high in some communities across the nation. Last week's shooting death of a black teenager, Antonio Martin, in Berkeley, Mo., just two miles from now-infamous Ferguson, demonstrates the powder-keg nature of race relations. In that instance, convenience store video shows the teen stepping away from an interviewing officer who was investigating a theft. He draws a gun and points it at the officer. From what I saw of the video, I'm surprised the officer isn't in a morgue. But somehow, he was able to draw his handgun and fire three shots.

The video and all other indications are that the young man made a terrible decision, that the officer responded to deadly force with deadly force. And yet, crowds gathered in protests, some screaming at police. More officers arrived. One officer was treated after he was hit in the head with a brick or rock. Protests continued even after the details were revealed.

Do facts mean nothing now? I respect anyone who wants to gather with others to reflect on the tragedy of losing a young man, but when that young man pulls a gun on a police officer -- when anyone of any race does that -- what makes a law enforcement officer's response with deadly force worthy of protest?

Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal told CNN the shooting was different from the earlier Ferguson, Mo., shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer.

"While tensions are high, we need to be respectful of what the facts are, and then our actions need to follow those facts," Chappelle-Nadal said. "While we're waiting for the facts, we need to have some calm so we know that's going on. Not every case is the same."

Not every case is the same. That's a great thought for everyone to keep in mind. Not every black person is treated fairly by police. Not every white officer who uses deadly force is driven by racial prejudice. Not every young man out at night is up to no good, but there are some who are.

There are legitimate concerns about race and law enforcement. Where they arise, they need to be talked through in an atmosphere that has some hope of building trust through solutions. Making a martyr out of person committing a criminal act that forces an officer to react with deadly force is supporting lawlessness and does little to achieve the worthy goal of fair treatment.

Our communities need deliberative processes -- such as grand juries -- for calmly determining what happened and what didn't happen in these tragic episodes. Those processes aren't perfect, but they're far better than the mob mentality happening on the streets. Those processes have been maligned not because they were wrong, but because they didn't reach the preconceived conclusions driven by emotion rather than fact.

What is the answer to King's question of whether we all can get along? Human nature suggests we cannot.

And that's why we've got to keep trying.

GREG HARTON IS OPINION PAGE EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.

Commentary on 12/29/2014

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