If I were a cop today, I wouldn't arrest anyone who is not my ethnicity. If they resisted arrest, I would spend the next few years defending myself from the state and a racially divisive Justice Department.
The protesters are claiming both Michael Brown's and Eric Garner's deaths were racially motivated, so why would any cop want to arrest anyone? After all, the cops have a choice. They could just walk away and let the criminal acts continue. Why shouldn't local law enforcement emulate federal law enforcement?
And why shouldn't criminals resist arrest? Someone will film it and it will be on TV as "police brutality," especially if the officer is of a different ethnicity.
These protests only cause good cops who are trying to do their jobs to think twice. It is quite possible that Mr. Brown and Mr. Garner did not deserve to die, but let's not forget that they were still disobeying the law.
The protests will now cause innocent people injury or death because cops are just not going to show up. Just look at the innocent shopkeepers of Ferguson. Few of the criminals there were arrested — and they were criminals, not protesters.
We could put only black cops in black neighborhoods, white cops in white neighborhoods and Hispanic cops in Hispanic neighborhoods. That would certainly prevent "racially motivated" arrests, but is it really what we want?
These protests have had more negative effects than positive. Don't bother calling 911. The line will be busy.
Steven Pinson, Baltimore