Stop me if you've heard this story before:

[mothra1orbit]

1. Was the cop white?

Too many white cops imo are scared shitless of black men and would rather shoot them--in the gut, no less, an injury that's usually fatal--than try to understand what's going on. I don't know what we can do about this, but I think it might be helpful to assign beat cops to black neighborhoods with the assignment of meeting and befriending the families--even the young black men!--who live there. That kind of fear usually comes from unfamiliarity.