Shootings: Beware rushing to judgment

I hate racism. It is especially egregious when wielded by those in authority, like the police and elected officials. Past abuses have rightly sensitized African American communities to expect discriminatory treatment.

But now we have come to a place where anytime a black man is shot by a white cop it is automatically assumed to be racially motivated. Protests, sometime violent and destructive, ensue before the facts are known, as in Ferguson, where it was clearly proven that racism had nothing to do with it.

This dangerous rush to judgment has resulted in minority communities being less safe because police are now less likely to respond to a scene that will expose them to potentially life or career-altering repercussions. Police are being murdered, as in the case of the five officers in Dallas, as a byproduct of such mindless hypersensitivity.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Shootings: Beware rushing to judgment."