Could it be that the tragic killing of two policemen in New York City in addition to the shooting of a Baltimore police officer last week could have been prevented had the evidence on which the grand jury decisions were made been better publicized ("Justice department officials condemns killings of officers as 'heinous,'" Dec. 22)?
Long overdue is for the media to shed their bias and step up to their obligation and report with comparable coverage the other side of this story. In the case of the Michael Brown shooting, the grand jury, after exhaustive investigation and testimony, reached its decision based on the following factual information:
Michael Brown, under the influence of marijuana, had just robbed and strong armed the proprietor of a convenience store.
Multiple black witnesses testified to a struggle as Mr. Brown punched Officer Darren Wilson through the window of his patrol car and struggled with him for his gun.
Shots fired in the car were consistent with the gun-powder residue on Mr. Brown's thumb. Moreover, forensic and ballistic evidence back the fact that Mr. Brown grabbed Officer Wilson's gun, forcing him to fire it into Mr. Brown's thumb.
Witnesses also testified that Mr. Brown later ran toward Officer Wilson in "full charge," not with his hands up but with them tucked in his waistband. Officer Wilson had no way of knowing that Mr. Brown, who had not been frisked, was not armed.
Most shocking was the evidence to emerge from the grand jury proceedings was the large number of black witnesses who, according to the prosecutor, acknowledged "making up" all or parts of their testimony.
Once you assault a police officer, everything that happens after that is on you. It was in fear for his life that Officer Wilson, for the first time using his service revolver, shot the raging, 6-foot-4-inch, 289-pound man who had just rushed him.
The lesson drawn from the grand jury decision in the shooting of Michael Brown is that if young blacks don't want to be shot by a police officer of any color, then don't rob a convenience store, resist arrest and don't wrestle that officer for his gun. Last year, 76 police officers were killed in the line of duty. This statistic includes shootings in Chicago where "communities of color" see blacks killing blacks at an appalling rate that fails to spark equal media concern or coverage.
The problem lies much deeper, the breakdown of the black family where over 70 percent of babies are born out of wedlock. This is where the media should have the courage to cover.
Benedict Frederick, Jr., Pasadena