Thursday, August 26, 2021

Unequal Treatment

COTTonLINE revealed 49 days ago the presumed name of the Capitol policeman - Michael Byrd - who on Jan. 6 shot Ashli Babbitt. Here is a link to a Daily Mail (U.K.) story that the name will finally be revealed by the shooter in a TV interview.

Babbitt's offense was similar to that of George Floyd in that both were doing something unlawful, something they shouldn't do. Neither engaged in life-threatening behavior that justified lethal force by the police. 

Floyd was black, his white assailant is now convicted of felony wrongful death and headed to prison. Babbitt was white, her black shooter has been exonerated by his agency without trial and goes on with his life. 

Did these two victims receive equal treatment by the legal system? They did not. Were the two officers who used excessive force treated equally? Not even close.

Afterthought: Imagine Ashli were black and officer Byrd white, would Byrd's outcome have been different? Ya think?