Black Mayor Defends White Police Officer Who Shot Teen Near Ferguson

Berkeley, Mo. Mayor Theodore Hoskins speaks on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, about the police shooting of an armed teen in his city.
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Berkeley, Missouri Mayor Theodore Hoskins, who is black, in a press conference Wednesday defended a white police officer who fatally shot an armed teenager.

The officer, who has not been identified, fatally shot the teen Tuesday night at a gas station after the teen allegedly pulled a gun and pointed it the officer. Hoskins said he did not believe the shooting was racially motivated.

“This is not a policeman in the city of Berkeley, half-cocked, going out — and as we say, black lives matter. This was not the case,” Hoskins said. “You couldn’t even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York.”

“Our goal is to project the truth to the residents,” he added. “Because the first thing occurred last night was — and when I got there we’re all saying the same thing: ‘Here’s a white policeman killing a black young man. So when does it stop?’ And I can assure you that did not happen last night.”

Hoskins said he reviewed surveillance video of the shooting, which showed that the teen did in fact pull a gun on the officer.

“We had a policeman responding to a call, protecting the residents of the city of Berkeley,” he said.

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  1. I might be wrong and will not hesitate to retract if this is not the case, but I believe the mayor.
    I feel sad that a young kid died tonight but I don’t think there was malice on the part of the police officer. I also don’t believe one can compare this to the other highly charged cases before this.

    I hope the city can heal from this tragic incident.

  2. That’s pretty much the same feeling I get as well. The mayor’s statements seem very genuine, like a guy who very much understands that police killing unarmed black folks is a very real problem. Every cop that shoots a black person isn’t necessarily a racist nor are they all using excessive force. We live in Gun-Murica where every other person is armed to the teeth whether or not they’re equipped to even think about owning a gun, and situations like this one are one of the endless consequences of our idiotic gun culture.

  3. Don’t take your guns to town son
    Leave your guns at home Bill
    Don’t take your guns to town

  4. Avatar for chammy chammy says:

    Wel said Plucky but each case should be judged on the facts and not lopsided on the side of police. I believe that is all that most black folks want - fairness, justice and not to be presumed the guilty one just because of the color of their skin,

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