I couldn't read all the responses... I'm sure someone said it, but this was obviously tragic.
That said, would it have happened if it were a white guy?? We may never know, and we shouldn't assume either way.
So, while obviously being a tragedy, it may have zero to do with race.
MG
No, it would not have because there wouldn't have been an automatic assumption that he was a dangerous guy. Heck, maybe 1.5 to two years ago, a suburban St Paul police officer pulled over a white guy for a minor traffic violation, and he (the officer) was gunned down and killed. The white guy was a bad guy, a real bad guy. But, the officer didn't feel threatened (obviously) because he approached him like it was a traffic stop. The opposite situation, but I think it speaks VOLUMES about the mindset of the average cop in this state. We have never had a case of a cop shooting a white guy during a traffic stop, at least to my memory (going back quite a few years as I am in my 50's), and lots and lots and lots of white guys carry guns in this state. Lots. So, how is it that this black man is dead? What was different?