Senator Bernie Sanders has something to say:

[KeepItReal]

The violence that killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castile has become an all too common occurrence for people of color and IT. MUST. STOP. Today African-Americans are almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police. We need real criminal justice reform so that people can walk down the street without worrying about whether they'll get harassed or shot. As South Carolina Rep. Wendell Gilliard proclaimed: "Enough is enough of our police officers targeting people of color." #PhilandoCastille #AltonSterling

He also posted: "Your constitutional rights don’t depend on your race, gender, religion, sexuality or income. I can’t believe we still need to say that."

Thank you Sen. Sanders.

[Gamecock Lefty]

1. I just hope . . .

. . . we're not getting numb by all this. I mean, this crap is happening seemingly everywhere now. What the freaking hell is going on???

Is "I Feared for My Life" the new 'Get Out of Jail Free' card???

[KeepItReal]

4. I can't be numb. This is my life as a Black man in America.

Who was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[yurbud]

7. I'm sorry you have to put up with this. I wonder what can be done beyond indicting, trying, and

prison for the cops that do this.

There must be some way to do better screening of cops for racist and violent tendencies, and making sure a cop fired for such things from one department doesn't get a police job elsewhere.

[Fast Walker 52]

9. What do you think we can do against this horrible system?

It's so depressing and seems hopeless.

[KeepItReal]

11. FBI/DOJ investigation of each and every Police involved shooting. For a start.

Localities are too conflicted to provide unbiased and fair investigation and prosecutions (if warranted).

[StrictlyRockers]

13. I sure do hope for a fair investigation that results in full accountability for killing innocent men

All too often it seems that the system protects those in authority who screw up, no matter how bad the crime.

I remember history. I remember Malcolm X calling for defending themselves by any means necessary. That's a long history of this. Four hundred years?

[Chan790]

16. There were more than 965 police-involved shootings in 2016.

1.) That's too damned many. Even if 900+ of them were easily justifiable shootings based on observable circumstances, that's too many to be acceptable. There is a problem there, of many causes, that needs to be addressed to reduce the number of incidents that result in the use of force. (I'd really like LEO input on that, as well...I hold to the belief that most LEOs are good people and the few bad apples cause virtually all the problems and make the job harder for the majority.)

2.) That's a lot of investigations to put on the FBI and I feel they might be better initially-investigated at the statewide (not local!) level with Federal agencies reserving the right to assert jurisdiction.

[MisterFred]

10. Just today I was on light rail.

A white woman a few seats away from me was describing being harassed by the cops for not leaving a park quickly enough after watching fireworks. Apparently she and her friends were waiting for traffic to die down and the cop was very rude in getting them to leave.

A few seats away a black man was listening to her describe her irritation at the cop to her seatmates. I didn't talk to him, but in my opinion his reaction seemed to be "mmm, so they're rude to you too" and "you got off easy and don't even know it".

[Iggo]

5. That ain't new.

[arcane1]

6. Sadly, it's been happening here since Jamestown was founded

[herding cats]

14. It's been happening everywhere for a very long time.

Some people just enjoyed pretending it wasn't taking place near them. Now, with social media and cellphones, they can't just keep pretending it's not taking place near them, too.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, KeepItReal.

[KeepItReal]

3. You're welcome.

I wish these OPs were not necessary.

[Buddyblazon]

8. This shit isn't new...

Everybody just has video cameras in their pockets now.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

12. ^

Thank goodness. The only way for citizens to begin seeing the reality.

Crappy reality

[RoccoR5955]

15. Clinton has to say something about this as well. n/t

[ZombieHorde]

17. The US has had official police forces for over 170 years.

They've been doing this the whole time. The only way to fix it is to scrap it and start from scratch using a new paradigm. You don't reform cancer, you cut it out and throw it away.

[bjobotts]

18. Take their guns away. Tazers only since they are too quick to want to shoot

Threat assessment is so poor that having a gun as your first tool is unjustified. Bring back the peace officers.

[tblue37]

19. K&R. nt