It is said that Haith Augustus was 37 years old. At the age, he should of known better to do what he did if he wanted to stay alive. First of all, he was being confrontational with the police officers; that’s strike one. By now, Black people should know that going back and forth with police officers will only bring more police officers. Most cops are already are on edge when dealing with Black people; especially Black men. Acting anything but cooperative will only make the situation worse.
Secondly he ran away, which is strike two. You would think that Augustus would be aware of the consequences of fleeing from police with all the documented cases of police shooting people who have ran away from them. In 2015, Walter Scott was gunned down by a South Carolina police officer after a traffic stop. Scott was unarmed when he was fatally shot by a total of eight bullets. That brings me to my last point of Augustus having a firearm. Even if Augustus had a license to carry a firearm, there is a certain behavior that needs to be exhibited when communicating with the police; even more so if you a gun.
Was the killing of justified? Maybe, maybe not; but someone could definitely rationalize the actions of that police officer. I understand, that the police officer had to shoot or run the risk of being shot. It wasn’t appropriate for Augustus to act in that manner. It wasn’t appropriate behavior of a Black man that should be conscious of the consequence of ill behavior with the police. It wasn’t appropriate for a father of a child to not consider what he does affects that child. It wasn’t appropriate for our community to overreact without knowing all the facts. It definitely wasn’t appropriate, professional or right for me as a journalist to write an article accusing that officer of murder without knowing all the facts. I apologize, not for me questioning the shooting, but making a judgment based on emotions.
I hope everyone, including myself gets the point. Regardless of the situation, we as Black people have to act appropriate and judge logically, not emotionally to our situations. Fair or not, the absence of doing so may cost or life. It is sad the Haith “Snoop” Augustus had to lose his life for me to address it.