Following the release of disturbing dash-cam footage from 2014 showing a Chicago police officer killing a black teenager, activists took to the streets to continue raising awareness for the dire national issue of police brutality. In light of these events and the continued presence of unsettling instances of brutality across the nation, Richard Fowler decided to generously bring some reason and intellect to Fox News on Tuesday. The conversation, with The Kelly File host Megyn Kelly, went about as well as one would imagine, meaning of course it deteriorated into an argument about whether or not it's "appropriate" to look cops directly in the eyes.
"This cop hasn’t done anything wrong," Kelly tells Fowler, apparently taking issue with the fact that the protester is seen staring at a police officer. Former NYPDCommissioner Bernard Kerik, also a Kelly File guest, bafflingly described the action of staring as a method of "instigating." When both were promptly called out on the ridiculousness of those assessments, Kelly simply reworded the sentiment and presented it again: "It’s not a question of what his constitutional rights are. It’s a question of what’s appropriate."
As shockingly captured on recently released dashcam footage, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was fatally shot 16 times in October of 2014 by Officer Jason Van Dyke. The officer, who reportedly "attempted to reload after emptying his entire 15-round magazine" on the victim, was charged with first-degree murder earlier this week.
In the United States alone, the number of people killed by police recently surpassed 1,000 for 2015:
