Walsh: There’s Nothing ‘Conservative’ About Defending Police When They Murder Innocent People

Daniel Shaver, reported for showing off his pellet gun in his hotel room, was noticeably intoxicated when the cops arrived in force with AR-15s and body armor. Shaver tried desperately to comply as the aggressive, power-tripping officers shouted a list of contradictory and pointless commands. Rather than detain Shaver as he lay submissively on the ground, they decided instead to play a sadistic game of Simon Says, threatening multiple times to kill him if he “makes a mistake.” They forced him at various points to lie down, kneel, put his hands up, put his hands out, cross his legs, and crawl. He was shot dead while crawling on the floor like a dog — by an officer with the words “You’re f*cked” scrawled on his rifle — because he “reached” for something. But, as my friend Buck Sexton points out, he was only reaching for his dignity, attempting to pull up his pants so that he didn’t have to crawl around naked in front of them. For that, he lost his life.

It is easily the worst police shooting ever caught on film, yet there have been no protests. Daniel’s name has not been a top trending topic on social media. It has gotten very light coverage by the news networks. There has been more of a public outcry over a kid getting bullied at the lunch table than an American citizen being gunned down by police for no apparent reason. I wonder why.

I’ve already speculated that the relative mainstream media silence, and the lack of the sorts of marches and riots that have accompanied other police shootings, has a lot to do with Daniel Shaver’s white skin. But that only explains why one side of the political spectrum might be hesitant to rally around this story. There has also been a notable silence from conservatives (though not all), and it hasn’t gotten any more attention from right-leaning networks than it’s received from left-leaning ones. How can this be explained, especially from people who are allegedly skeptical of government and sensitive to its abuses?

I think some of the angry emails I received may shed light on this mystery. I haven’t seen many prominent conservatives defend the cops in this case (most of them have just stayed silent on the issue), but I have read a great many defenses from my conservative readers.