Case #1: David Kassick was shot twice in the back by Hummelstown, Pennyslvania, police officer Lisa Mearkle on Feb. 2 as he lay face down on the ground. The encounter began as a traffic stop, but Kassick fled, disregarded commands to stop, and Mearkle tased him 4 times before she went for her gun because she thought he was reaching into his waistband for a weapon. Kassick was unarmed. Mearkle has been suspended without pay and charged with criminal homicide. The shooting was recorded by a video camera on her stun gun, but her lawyers are fighting to keep that video from being made public. Click here for story.
Case #2: Freddie Gray died today, one week after he was stopped by Baltimore police, tried to run, was apprehended and put in a police van for transport to a stationhouse, and was taken by ambulance from there to a hospital. Gray’s family says his voicebox was crushed and three neck bones were broken. A video of his arrest doesn’t show force being used. The incident is being investigated. Click here for story. Sounds to me like he (a) tried to hang himself or (b) was subjected to some kind of neck hold (c) while in police custody.
Photos: (1) Kassick, white guy killed by white female cop; (2) Gray, black guy killed by white male cops. Is this a pattern? Or do America’s cops randomly kill everyone? Both victims ran from the police. Probably because they were scared. Looks like they had reason to be.