OPINION:
On Jan. 6, 2021, a Black U.S. Capitol Police officer shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, a female demonstrator. Babbitt was unarmed. She was not disobeying a direct order from the officer, nor was she resisting arrest. She was not a wanted felon. She was, however, White.
On April 14, Justice Department officials announced there was “[I]nsufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution” of the officer who shot Babbitt. Neither the Justice Department nor Capitol police will provide the name of the officer.
If Babbitt had been Black, does anyone believe Justice Department officials would have refused to bring charges of any kind against the officer? Does anyone believe the Justice Department would have refused to submit the matter to a grand jury for determination as to whether to hand up an indictment? Furthermore, does anyone doubt that such refusals would have been lead stories for every mainstream media outlet for weeks or months to come? Or that such refusals would have led to nationwide “nonviolent” demonstrations, involving looting, arson, bottle throwing, shootings, etc.?
Our justice system, the cornerstone of our democracy, is being completely subverted and no one seems to notice — or, even worse, care.
JERRY A. SCHATZ
Germantown, Tenn.
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