In Winnfield, Louisiana, Police officer Scott Nugent tasered a handcuffed Baron “Scooter” Pikes (pictured) 9 times, after arresting him on cocaine charges. Pikes eventually died as a result of the shocks. The Parrish coroner ruled Pike’s death a homicide noting that Pikes was hit with so many volts of electricity that he might have been dead before the last two jolts. While Scott Nugent has not been charged, he has been fired from the police force. The coroner additionally stated that Officer Nugent violated every department policy about the use of tasers. Nugent’s attorney said that his client was simply attempting to contain an individual who outweighed him by 100 pounds. Because officer Nugent is white and Pikes was Black, many feel that this is another instance of racially influenced police brutality. Winnfield, LA happens to be a few miles northwest of Jena, LA, the site of a recent racially charged court case. It doesn’t really matter where it is, as incidents like this are happening everywhere. Blacks are frequently assaulted and killed by police officers (and sometimes your next door neighbor). I am not saying that criminals should go unpunished, but there are far far too many cases of unjust force on the part of arresting officers. It all has to stop.
Stuff like this just magnifies the distaste I have for our so called ‘justice’. When we decide to put the responsibility of our protection into the hands of individuals who have a bias and prejudice, this is what happens. We as a nation need to reconsider what we called justice and fairplay, in lew of the fact that an increasing number of injustices are striking the same type of people and thats not fair…… Like the “Joker Ferry Experiment”, I think that was quite eloquent in characterizing the hearts and minds of Americans. Makes me wonder how far is our country away from becoming a terrorists nation….