Another unarmed teenage black kid killed by police. Move on, nothing to see here. Looking at the images of police in full military anti terrorist gear was disturbing. It evoked memories of the young Emerson college girl killed near Fenway Park in 2004 while celebrating the Red Sox world series win. Shot by a moron cop wielding a bean bag rifle. The bean bag went into her eye through to the brain. Why were cops there carrying those weapons to disperse dopey college kids acting sophomoric?  Who was the bright bulb that ordered that type of military response to such a non threatening celebratory situation?  Now there is probably some training that would help the police do a better job. But it’s happening far too often in too many places in this country. I think we should concentrate on the top brass to instill and expect
more reasonable responses from subordinates and the cops on the line. BTW, in 2007 when the Sox won again I told my daughter who was a Northeastern student to stay away from Fenway. Of course she didn’t listen, but she did call me to tell me that the cops did show up to disperse the same type of goofy college kids. She said the cops were frightening and she promised to and did leave the area to the relative safety of her dorm.
Just one more thought. I was in the North End when Italy won the 2006 World Cup. What a blast! People celebrating in the streets, singing and pounding drums on Hanover street. Great unforgettable fun. Then suddenly we heart this loud roar. At the beginning of Hanover was a phalanx of black armored motorcycles in a V shape revving their engines. I’ve been around, but it was menacing. Then they started moving forward……slowly. They kept coming forward towards the crowd of happy Italians singing and dancing on the street. Inexorably coming towards us to break up the celebration. Why?  I guess the official reason was to open the street to traffic. But I wonder if this was a practiced response to a more serious situation that never occurred. So the brass thought let’s take out our military toys and play with them. An unnecessary and dangerous game. And a real damper on a party.