Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Stuck in the Middle: Wow, I'm having to rethink my idea that we can trust the police with a little racial profiling. As more information leaks out about the Brazilian man who was killed in Britain as a suspected terrorist, it's becoming apparent that the police really fucked up on this one.

Despite earlier accounts, the victim didn't vault over any turnstiles. He was only wearing a denim jacket, not a heavy coat. And he only ran to catch a train, as anybody who has ever ridden the subway has done before, not to evade the police.

Still, when the police caught him, they held him down and shot him seven times. They didn't try to yank him out of the train for questioning. They just opened fire.

Again, I only argued that police should spend more time questioning tan young men than pasty old ladies. There's nothing wrong with searching a few bags before someone gets on a subway or plane. But we have to trust the police that they won't become overzealous -- otherwise I may be the next one you see running from the police.