To say this video is alarming or chilling is a profound understatement. At 1:30am a family was awakened by police pounding on their front door. The police were told by the homeowner they did not have permission to enter, the police did not have a search warrant. The police would not state the reason they were there. I will leave the rest to the published media reports – but you must watch the video.

When Sargent Magee was asked by a family friend why this happened he responded “we did this because they made a scene filming us.”  (link)

From Huffington Post – A chilling video that shows police officers storming a home in Georgia and threatening to stun-gun, beat, and even “cane” the residents is gaining attention for its stark portrayal of what its creators say is police brutality.
According to Natania Griffin, several DeKalb County police officers came to arrest her on July 26 at 1:30 a.m., over a $1,000 civil fine that was 15 days late. She described the ensuing raid on her home as “sheer terror.”

A 19-minute cell phone video taken by Griffin’s 23-year-old son, Donovan Hall, during the chaos first shows police officers banging on the family’s front door, while screaming the address of a different house.
“I was immediately confused as to why the police would be at my house,” Hall said in an interview Thursday with HuffPost Crime. “The knocks became more and more aggressive.”
Hall said he feared for the safety of his mother, his 5-year-old sister and his 20-year-old brother, Roger Devon Reuben, all of whom were inside the house. He called 911 to ask why the officers were there, before reluctantly opening the front door.
In the video, a tearful Griffin can be heard saying: “If I’m dead in the morning, you’ll know why.”
The video shows eight officers and a sergeant immediately arrest Griffin before swarming the two brothers. Though it can’t be clearly seen in the video, Hall alleges that officers threw both men to the ground before beating them. (read more)

From Opposing Views – Hall posted his video to YouTube where it received almost 200,000 views. The video ended up on the front page of Reddit.
The family hopes to hire a lawyer and press charge against the DeKalb Police Department, but they lack the funds to do so. They are hoping that the video will spread awareness of the incident and someone will agree to represent them without charge.
“Although it happened to my family, it’s a microcosm of the world,” Griffin said. “What about the other countless families who feel powerless against this kind of tyranny? Who is championing their cause? This is a problem.” (full article)

Obviously there are larger issues within this video beyond what we can absorb in one viewing or discussion.    However, in addition to the absolute abuse of power evidenced within this example, I will not limit myself or others to the larger, obvious, and yet uncomfortable discussion – these are grave issues: 

ISSUE #1 – The race of the people in their home, who became the victims,  should not be a matter of the interest for how they were treated;   But it is.  Why?
Because the language used, in conjunction with the aggressive violent entry suggests the officers assumed a larger air of confidence they could get away with this because the family was black.
ISSUE #2 – The race of the police officers, they were black, should not be a matter of the interest for how they treated the family;   But it is.   Why?
Because the behavior shows what propensity is inherent when you give a lawful badge to such a mindset -familiar with street justice- who does not understand or wish to comprehend the lawful limits that come with the attachment of the profession.   These are officers with the same mindset as common street thugs given police uniforms and using the badges as shields for the same behavior that would be easily considered illegal without the uniform.
ISSUE #3 –   Just like the Gulfport School Bus beating from last week….. Where is Al Sharpton? where is Jesse Jackson? Where is the outrage?
This family was terrorized.   No one should have to go through that,  NO-ONE,  regardless of any race, creed, belief or socio-economic status.   Get that?  Nobody.   E.V.E.R.   It is the behavior that is wrong.  P.E.R.I.O.D.
I want these police officers held to account.   PERIOD.
However, if the police who just busted into this families home were WHITE, and if the police that said “we are gonna cane yo’ asses” were WHITE, and if the police who beat the other family members, handcuffed them, hit them on the head with guns, and did an illegal search of the home were WHITE, the BGI in all its forms would be MARCHING ON DeKalb County GEORGIA.  Right Now.
Yet, in the view of the BGI members outlined above….. Because the police were black,  the value of the event is less.

….the value of the event is less… 

The suffering by the black family who were victimized is diminished and marginalized because the Black Advocacy Groups will not recognize their suffering – ONLY BECAUSE THE SUFFERING WERE AT THE HANDS OF OTHER BLACKS.

This is where my outrage against the BGI comes from.

Regardless of what race the victim or perpetrators are, we should all be righteously furious at the BEHAVIOR.
All of us – Together – United – in the key and common principle of respect and freedom from such conduct.
But unless the victim is black and the victimizer is white, I cannot get the Sharpton’s, Jackson’s or Jealous’s of the world to even give a sh!t.
Yet they would call me racist.
Think about it.