Still from the bodycam video of police attempting to open Dexter Reed’s car door.

Apparently, there have not been enough incidents of police shooting and killing unarmed black men, so the media figured it was time to make one up.

On March 21, Chicago police officers stopped the car driven by Dexter Reed because Reed was not wearing his seat belt. Police approached the vehicle and ordered Reed to roll down the window. Reed initially complied then, for some unexplainable reason, rolled his window back up. The police ordered that Reed, once again, roll down his window, then attempted to open the driver’s side car door. When they found it locked, they ordered Reed to unlock the door. Reed did not comply. Rather, Reed decided to pull his gun out and start shooting at the police. One police officer was shot in the arm. The police responded with a fuselage of gunfire toward Reed. Reed was killed, though he managed to empty his gun of all bullets before he died.

Here’s a sampling of headlines related to the tragedy:

“Seatbelt violation ends with Black man dead on Chicago street after cops fired nearly 100 bullets” USA Today.

“Police fired 96 shots in 41 seconds killing Black man during traffic stop” The Washington Post.

“Deadly Chicago traffic stop where police fired 96 shots raises serious questions about use of force” AP News.

All of these headlines focus on the police officers’ use of force, emphasizing how many bullets the police fired. None of the headlines give any hint that Reed refused to comply with officers’ orders, or that he shot at the police first, wounding an officer, before any of the police shot at him.

The Chicago Office of Police Accountability (COPA) has raised concerns over the use of force by the police, and whether the use of such force – that is, 96 bullets in 41 seconds – was justified in this case. “‘Based on the totality of the available evidence, COPA has grave concerns about the officers’ ability to assess what is a necessary, reasonable, and proportional use of deadly force,’ COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten wrote in an April 1 letter obtained through a records request.”

I would ask Ms. Kersten exactly what level of force she and others who serve on COPA expect the police to use when they are being shot at by someone. Should they shout, “Please stop! You’re going to hurt me!”? Should they run away? Should they try to find cover until the shooting stops, even when there’s nothing around to take cover behind? Should they apologize for agitating the shooter, who was so obviously provoked by the demands of the police to roll down his window or open his door? Surely, Dexter Reed’s shooting was justified. After all, he was startled by the police, frightened so that he felt his only option was to pick up his gun and starting firing at the five police officers who surrounded his car. I mean, what could go wrong firing at the police, who are trained marksmen and who outnumber you five to one?

Likely Reed shot at the police in hopes of getting away so he would not be arrested for being in the possession of a gun. Reed was facing gun charges and had recently been arrested for shoplifting. Perhaps the police identified him for a traffic stop because he was black, or because they were suspicious of criminal activity. That’s a problem. Traffic stops disproportionately target minorities, though it’s not clear if that’s because cops are racist or because minorities disproportionately commit traffic violations. The former is assumed by the media and many politicians. The latter is rarely, if ever, reported by the media or mentioned by those who advocate for stricter regulations on police activity. One wonders if they think police should give a pass to minorities who commit traffic violations. It’s likely the only way to balance out the stats, which is the greatest concern here, right?

The officers have been placed on a 30-day administrative leave pending the results of an investigation by COPA and the Cook County state’s attorney. Golly, I wonder which way the COPA investigation will go? Also, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx (she of Jusse Smollett ignominy) says she’s looking into the possibility of charges against the four officers who shot at and killed Reed.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, of course, has had is say on the matter: “As mayor and as a father raising a family including two Black boys on the west side of Chicago, I’m personally devastated to see yet another young Black man lose his life during an interaction with the police.” That’s fine, Mr. Mayor. Are you equally devastated by the black men, women, and children who live in virtual war zones dominated by cartels and gangs, and who often lose their lives in the regular barrage of gunfire that terrorizes their neighborhoods? Are you equally devastated by the number of young blacks, boys and girls, growing up without a father in their home, leading to higher incidents of violence, gang involvement, and dropping out of school?

Unarmed black men and women being killed by the police is a problem. It’s not anywhere close to the problem activists, politicians, and the press make it out to be but, of course, one such killing is a problem. This is an election year, and Biden is polling poorly because of rising crime levels in cities across the country. If the media, politicians, and activists can manage to create out of Dexter Reed another George Floyd, then maybe enough distraction can be caused that will allow people to think that Biden and his cohorts have a handle on things. In any case, disregarding some wider conspiracy, the killing of an unarmed black man by the police is good copy for those desiring to make profit off of tragedy, or who have the goal to keep the country divided by exalting black criminals and degrading the police.

The police need more resources, not fewer, in order to adequately train those in their numbers, so that tragedies like Dexter Reed’s killing can be avoided. Of course, as I see it, the only way this tragedy could have been avoided would have been for Reed to comply with the orders of the police and not shoot at them. Yeah, I think Reed would be alive today had he not decided to shoot at the police.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.