Terrorism as defined by Webster's II New Riverside dictionary. "The polictical use of violence or intimidation.--ter'ror.ist.noun - ter'ror.is'tic,adj.
Terrorize-"To fill with great fear:terrify 2.To control and dominate by intimidation or violence". The un-necessary use of violence in this particular case was plain and simple an act of terrorism.Our society has made the concsious decision to treat mental illness as a something that the community should be responsible for not the government. Many of the homeless people wandering the streets today suffer from mild to acute mental illness they self-medicate with drugs and alcohol to alleviate the pain and confusion. The witnesses' to the tragic event state that the man posed no direct threat to anyone . However it seems to me that the trained police officers should have been able to subdue this man without lethal force , but they made a decision to set an example. If you don't respond to our commands we will kill you. When people break the law they should arrested , every possible attempt should be made to arrest and detain them. There is a history of police misconduct in this city and across America, a long history. But we don't have to look back that far, we can go to Cincinnati, Ohio last summer or New York city when Amadu Diallo was shot 41 times, or even as close as south Minneapolis when another foriegn mentally ill man was killed unjustly. I'm sure that mentally ill people walk around all kinds of communities creating distrubances and interrupting what might otherwise be a rountine day for many officers. Those people are arrested, or better yet returned home to families or transported to the hospital. Yet in Minneapolis these very same unfortunate people are murdered in the street, particularily People of Color. Let me say this , there is no justification for this action. Every member of this community should be outraged and should be speaking against a police force that is killing our citizens. "Let's Root Out Terrorism whenever it exists" George W. Bush, President of the United States andrea jenkins Bryant -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 9:56 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] police bashing Much has been written about whether or not the police acted prudently in their lethal response to a mentally ill person waving a weapon. Let's not forget that being mentally ill does not reduce the threat to the people around the individual wielding the weapon, rather, it increases the threat not only to the public but to their own family members as well. (recall the other case in the news where a mother killed all of her children) The situation that unfolded in this latest incident is tragic. The real question, though, is why this gentleman, who apparently sought treatment in January after hearing voices in his head, was not treated for his mental condition. Dave Piehl Central _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
