The murder of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth in Texas, sent shock waves around that community and around the police community at large due to the senseless nature of the crime. Goforth was merely filling his cruiser up with gas when Shannon Miles (allegedly) came up behind Goforth, shot in the head and then proceeded to continue shooting him when Goforth was on the ground.
Sheriff Ron Hickman has been pretty bold in stating he believes the motive was in part based on all of the police bashing that has been going on as of late, particularly in the #BlackLivesMatter movement:
“This rhetoric has gotten out of control,” said Goforth’s boss, Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ron Hickman. “We’ve heard ‘Black lives matter,’ ‘All lives matter.’ Well, cops’ lives matter, too. So why don’t we just drop the qualifier, and just say ‘Lives matter,’ and take that to the bank?”
Critics were quick to point out that no such connection could be determined:
“There’s no evidence that there’s a connection between this rhetoric, or this sort of national discourse … and what happened,” CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill said. “It’s an awful tragedy, but I don’t think it’s connected.”
That said, the numbers tell a disturbing story:
In 2014, 15 officers were shot and killed in ambush attacks, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund said in December. That’s triple the number of officers who were killed in ambush shootings in 2013, the group said.
The media of course, has downplayed any connection between some of the more violent rhetoric coming from the radical wing of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, but they took no such precautions in 2011 when Jared Loughner opened fire at constituents meeting for Representative Gabby Giffords. It didn’t take long for the media to turn their eyes on Saran Palin and “hateful rhetoric” in general, Here are some examples:
Shot Congresswoman Was In Sarah Palin’s CrosshairsSarah Palin’s Crosshairs Ad Is Focus Of Gabrielle Giffords DebateSarah Palin now in ‘cross hairs’: Gabrielle Giffords’ husband blames rhetoric for Arizona shootingDid Sarah Palin’s Target Map Play Role in Giffords Shooting?
A simple Google search will bring up dozens of examples. Of course, after the investigation was completed, the public learned the shooting had nothing to do with politics and instead was carried out by a very disturbed individual who had a host of mental issues. Sarah Palin nor “hateful rhetoric” played any part.
The frustrating aspect of how the media covers this entirely focuses on two areas:
Meanwhile, hundreds of people showed up at a vigil for Deputy Goforth at the gas station where he was murdered:
Hundreds of people showed up at a Texas gas station Saturday to pay tribute to a sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down from behind after filling up his patrol car the night before.Many who attended the vigil for Harris County sheriff’s deputy Darren H. Goforth said they were there to support the police, and some said they were frustrated with the “black lives matter” movement and what they said was an increased hostility against all police.Those who knew Goforth described him as “just a really nice guy.””It’s not fair,” said Mikayla De Los Santos, whose father was friends with Goforth, through tears.”When we were younger and we used to be home alone, he would always drive by and check to make sure we were OK,” said Simone Langland, who has been friends with De Los Santos since childhood. “It’s just so sad, and it’s not fair he couldn’t even defend himself,” she said.
In addition to that, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered Texas flags to to be flown at half-staff to honor Deputy Goforth.
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