What Happens When Police Confront Belligerant People Who Aren't Black

[Brett Fitz]

Arizona investigators have released dashcam footage of a recent brawl between Christian street performers and the police that left one person dead.

The encounter, which took place in the parking lot of a Walmart last month, involved Cottonwood police asking the Gaver family about an alleged assault of a Walmart employee. There were four cops and roughly eight members of the family present.

Needless to say, things escalated, and a fight broke out. One of the officers was hit by a bullet and another was put in a headlock. David Gaver was shot in the stomach and 21-year-old Enoch Gaver was killed.

According to the police chief, Enoch Gaver had taken an officer’s gun and shot him, and another officer tried to hit him with a baton, but when that didn’t stop him, he just shot Gaver with his gun.

White guy actually SHOOTS cop. Other cop's first response? Use baton.

If those "Christians" had been black, they'd all be dead, the incident having lasted 20 seconds.

[ErikJ]

1. Its BelligerEnt

WOW, Weirdest video ever. Was the whole family tripping?

[Brett Fitz]

8. IT'S Belligerent

Thank and you're welcome for the correction.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

2. I wasnt gonna watch this but i did...

Yes, they would all be dead if black...white people for the most part realize they can do this as there is little history of police killing white people in recent years unless the circumstances are extreme

If a family of black Americans were on tape doing this to police there would be a national outrage at that family and all black people', every single black person in America would be FORCED to apologize


Oh yes, all of them would be absolutely dead, every single one of them

[zebonaut]

3. What the hell kind of clusterfuck was that?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. What, were those idiots playing some kind of "knockout game" or something? ;)

[suzanner]

5. recd because these churchy people are possessed

... and not by anything remotely rational. Having seen a similar kind of irrational creepiness bubbling up in the churchy, holier-than-thou (tea party) people in my life, I start to wonder what this is about.

[rainmaker21]

6. This will shock you.

15 cops and over 80 punches and kicks administered to a prone suspect that had his hands behind his back and was in the prone position. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d46_1428632483#comment_page=3

[Quantess]

7. USA Today's clip after it first happened:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/24/walmart-brawl-idaho-family-members/70366110/

[Carolina]

9. I have no doubt

about how different the outcome would have been if the "perps" had been black, but I am confused by one thing. What they doing that warranted police response to begin with. The dash cam shows a squad car speeding to the area of the parking lot where these people had gathered, but all hell did not appear to break loose until the police arrived and exited their vehicles.

[Downtown Hound]

10. From what I read before the family had been camped out in the Wal Mart parking lot for several days

One of the family members had gone into the Wal Mart restroom and essentially locked the door and refused to come out for a long time. When confronted by an employee the family member then assaulted the employee, and the police were called. It's one of the reasons why you see Wal Mart employees helping the police during the brawl.

[Carolina]

11. Thanks

I should have done my own background reading/researching beyond simply viewing the video. It just seems lately that whenever police come on the scene, they escalate matters and provoke violence to then justify their lethal violence. There is a real discrepancy in how people are treated (black versus white for sure), but I have come to fear police. With new stories appearing almost daily, they appear to be out of control, using that blue line and their authority to bully and kill.

[Downtown Hound]

12. I completely agree with you

I don't trust police at all, and I haven't for quite some time. But in this video, they're pretty much in the clear. But yeah, I seriously doubt they would have been so restrained if the family in this video hadn't been white.