Jesse Jackson was in town today to stir up racial unrest. Oh sure, he was supposedly in town to provide– what did Sam call it? healing, but make no mistake, there was no healing here.

At the jump he called the shooting of 25 year old Aaron Campbell an “execution.”
He talked of different standards police have for whites and blacks in Portland, how the judicial system needs fairness and how this isn’t “merely an issue of black and white, but one of wrong and right.”
This, of course, is his way of saying the shooting of Aaron Campbell was a racist act and how police need to be more “sensitive” to the needs of minorities. Jackson expressed surprise that there’s no black man at the “command post of the police department.” I don’t know what he meant by that, but wonder: would a black man receive different training than a white man? Does being black confer more insight into the psyche of a man whose brother had died that morning? Very helpful.
The cops were doing what they were asked when they came to subdue a suicidal man who wanted the someone to kill him.
The Skanner this afternoon has called for the African American community NOT to call the cops.

The fact is, we at The Skanner News simply have to warn our readers away from calling the police when they are in a crisis situation. We cannot have faith that innocents won’t get caught in the firing line when trigger-finger officers arrive in force. We need to start solving our own problems.
There is a sense in the community of desperation at this situation never seems to change because there are no consequences to the officers who do the shooting.

And editor Lisa Loving took great umbrage at the use of, as she put it, an “attack dog” at the scene to subdue Mr. Campbell. So, you can’t use beanbags (which the police did), you can’t use a canine unit, and you can’t shoot someone if they reach for–a gun? Apparently.

Each and every city leader should be aware of the special brand of fear – and repulsion – inspired by the use of police dogs against unarmed African Americans in this country. The tools Bull Connor used to beat down Civil Rights marchers, the weapons used by enslavers against those who would have escaped from bondage, police dogs have no place on the scene of a “welfare check” on a suicidally-despondent Black man.
We are watching with interest how the tragic death of Aaron Campbell is soon to play out on the national stage. But in the meantime – if you are in crisis in Portland, think twice before you bring in law enforcement.

Would now be an insensitive time to bring up dog fighting?