ATL Accuses Waco Police of Brutality

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Summary: Above the Law’s Elie Mystal Attacks the Waco Police for Indiscriminately Shooting into the Crowd at the Biker Massacre.

Elie Mystal opened a can of worms on Above the Law Friday afternoon. “What the Hell Kind of Headline Is This?” the lawyer-turned-writer asked, referencing this CBS News story about the biker shooting in Waco: “Police Bullets Hit Bikers in Deadly Waco Melee.”

  

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“Oh, is that all that happened?” Mystal quips. “That doesn’t sound so bad. Hell, we don’t even know how those bullets got there.”

Mystal suggests the headline should have been, “Cops Shot Bikers in Waco.” Or better yet, “Science Confirms: Cops Shot Bikers After Indiscriminately Firing Bullets into the Waco Melee.”

Right. Because the events in Waco are obviously just another symptom of the police brutality plaguing our nation. And those poor, downtrodden bikers in Waco? They have, like, so much in common with the protestors in Ferguson. In fact, maybe we should all start tweeting #BikerLivesMatter.

Never mind that the Bandidos and Cossacks were already shooting each other by the time the police arrived. Never mind that security videos show the gang members opening fire inside the restaurant, causing patrons, staff, and other bikers to flee. And those 151 firearms recovered from the scene? I’m sure the Bandidos and Cossacks dropped them like hot potatoes when the police arrived two minutes into the shooting.

“Jesus Christ, Elie. How bent are you when it comes to cops that you defend the fucking Bandidos and Cossacks?” one reader commented. “Let’s do the f***ing math here,” the reader continued. “44 shell casings were recovered from Waco. 12 were from police guns. That’s 27%, just barely over a quarter in the middle of a gang firefight.”

As the insightful reader points out, “People were ALREADY in danger and bullets were already flying” by the time the police jumped into the fray. “The suppressive fire, a total of 4 bullets per cop [who fired], was an appropriate response in the exigent circumstances of the situation.”

Unmoved by the reader’s comments, Mystal responded, “I don’t know that they had to shoot anybody. And I don’t reflexively trust [the police’s] judgment.”

Personally I’m inclined to trust the judgment of anyone who risks their life and runs into gunfire to save innocent people. (Or at least I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt and wait until all of the evidence is in). I’m less inclined to trust the judgment of someone whose own anger and bias don’t allow him to make a distinction between (1) excessive police force and (2) police action rooted in self-defense or the defense of others.

See http://abcnews.go.com/US/inside-twin-peaks-breaking-happened-waco-biker-brawl/story?id=31204067 for more information.

Also see http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/05/texas_cops_shot_bikers_during.html.

 

Photo credits:

Mimesis Law (upper)

ThereAreNoSunglasses (lower)