Video recently surfaced online of an incident between a Louisville Police Officer named Nathan Blanford and an African American male named Deng Manyoun.  This incident occurred Saturday June 13th 2015.  Officer Blanford appears to try to talk to Manyoun. Manyoun appears to get agitated, at which time he walks away.  He proceeds to grab a flag pole, Blanford draws his pistol and takes aim.  Manyoun strikes the officer and breaks the flag pole.   Officer Blanford fires two shots.  Manyoun later dies in the hospital.
Quick Points
Officer Gave Reasonable Time
You can see in the above video that the officer pointed the gun at the suspect before shooting.  It wasn’t until after the suspect broke the flag pole off the officer that the officer fired his gun.
Suspect Could of Been Drunk
It is very possible that the suspect was drunk.  You can see him stumbling in the video and he does appear to be acting very irrational.
Officer Didn't want to shoot
You can also see that the officer backed away at first and did not fire until after he was struck with the flag pole.
No Case for Excessive Force or Racial Desecrimination
A Police Officer is allowed to use deadly force when he feels threatened, the case can definitely be made that he felt threatened. Race didn’t appear to be a factor, as the cop backed away at first giving the suspect another chance.
Do Racial Relations play a part in this video?
With the way the media incites racial debates in this country, one might wonder if this was on Deng’s mind during this incident.  I think this is a perfectly legitimate question.  Is it possible that Deng may of been thinking this was just another white cop discriminating against him? You can see in the video his initial reaction is that of disgust.
Why ask this?  One thing that we do know is that Alcohol can made a bad situation worse. Imagine if Deng was thinking this was a case of discrimination, and that angered him, if he was drunk that could significantly amplify the anger.  This could indeed turn into aggression, Alcohol affects us all differently, and it can definitely make anyone upset and cause them to make irrational decisions.
No Matter Your Race or belief
Picture by puritēs under CC License
Regardless of your race, beliefs, emotions, or other influences, if a Police officer holds a gun up to you and tells you to freeze, do it.  If you believe the cop is wrong in how he or she is treating you, there are always cell phones or security cameras somewhere. Chances are the incident you’re involved with is going to be caught on camera somewhere, somehow.   This does you no good though if you’re not alive to talk about it after, as even if it’s determined the officer is at fault, a conviction does not bring back your life.  Life is precious, always consider this before reacting in such a situation.
