Would the Toronto Police Officer Shot Man If He Was Black?

By: Jarrod Horton

Staff Writer

Footage has surfaced of a Toronto police officer who refused to shoot a man begging to get shot. The man who had just drove his van into multiple pedestrians got apprehended by a police officer who refuse to shoot the suspect despite the man being a obvious threat. 25 year old Alek Minassian who was in the van told the officer “I have a gun in my pocket,” and “shoot me in the head.” However the police officer did not shoot. Instead the police officer convinced Minassian to lie on the ground and surrender.

I wonder if the same outcome would have occurred if that was a Black man? Although Toronto police doesn’t have the same history of killing Black people as police officers in America; the perception of Black people around the world is the same. The fact that an unarmed Black person can be suspected of committing a crime and get killed and  another person can commit a crime and alert the officer he has a gun and survive is alarming. It shows that police officers can show restraint if they want to. It also shows that police have no desire to show restraint when dealing with Black people.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/23/us/toronto-van-collision-standoff/index.html

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