I’m going to make this entry brief, because I’m going to stray into politics for a moment. The Jamar Clark ruling came down today and I was able to listen to about 15 minutes of the release, where they announced that no officers would be facing charges in his fatal shooting. As I listened to the attorney explain, in explicit detail, what they have determined happened that evening, it made me sad for Minneapolis.

Both sides say that no one has the facts right, and I have no idea where the truth really lies. What the attorney described as happening in that 60 second encounter was troubling. In particular the fact that the only way the officers felt they could deal with the situation was with a bullet at point blank range to the suspect’s head. I’m not a cop, and have no idea how I would deal with the same pressures they are put under. I don’t fully understand the tactics that they are supposed to use, or if the officers on that night followed procedures properly. From all accounts, Jamar was no angel. He needed to be arrested and dealt with. But I do know that no one deserves to have a police officer put a gun to their head and pull the trigger.

We need to find a better way to deal with these situations, because if we continue on the path that we’re on, things are only going to get worse and worse for our communities.