On June 7, online video gamer Jericho Tucker published via YouTube a confrontation between police officers and Sixth Street party-goers in downtown Austin. (WARNING: A great deal of foul language is audible in the video below.)
According to Tucker and other onlookers, the police first arrived and tackled a person for underage drinking. An intrigued crowd formed and got involved shortly thereafter. The situation reached the point of officers entering the scene on horses and using pepper spray on those involved. The video went viral shortly after it was published.
Online, the clip has been discussed at large and has gotten over 350,000 views. Many of the highest-rated comments included statements such as, “What the f*** is wrong with police in the US.”, “F*** the police!”, and “Gotta love police brutality.”
Leaving a comment on his own video, Tucker wrote the following:
Apologizing for the language in advance. I’m just used to living in my LA bubble and reality was rough. The dude who was detained probably was in the wrong, but the response was absurd.
In an interview with the American-Statesman, Tucker said the reason behind his posting was to “stir discussion” and to contribute to the ongoing national conversation about the roles and conducts of officers in communities. In an effort to remain somewhat neutral, Tucker added, “There are two sides to every story.”
With similar events happening across America in places like McKinney and Ferguson, the mainstream media has made it a point to associate the words “brutal”, “misconduct”, and “disgusting” with “police officers.”
A notable trend is taking place, as described by Breitbart News writer John Hayward: “Early impressions take hard work to correct, and the people on the wrong side of a Narrative rarely have the numbers or media energy to get the job done, especially when many of the people they need to convince have absolutely zero interest in hearing what they have to say.”
The Austin Police Department (APD) said in a statement they are “conducting a review to determine if the officers’ conduct is compliant with our policy.” Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin, took the statement a step further and said that ensuring citizen safety is an expectation of law enforcement, but “we also expect them to be accountable.”
Regardless of the verdict APD reaches once they conclude their investigation, one thing remains clear: respect for our nation’s law enforcement continues on the sharp trajectory of decline.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.