Flagler College professor weighs in on police shootings

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — There’s no ignoring it: After two men were killed in police shootings, people nationwide are upset and looking for answers.

“I think it’s a volatile time,” University of North Florida student Robert Preston said.

For some, what happened to Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte and Terence Crutcher in Tulsa is the tip of the iceberg. Both men were shot by police; police said Scott was armed, while his family said he was holding a book. Crutcher was not armed.

In a helicopter video, officers are seen trailing Crutcher to his stalled SUV with guns drawn and his hands in the air. He was unarmed, yet he was shot and killed.

Before Officer Betty Shelby pulled the trigger, an officer in the chopper is heard saying, “He looks like a big, bad dude.” Dr. Michael Butler, professor of history at Flagler College, believes that has to be addressed.

“Absolutely there’s a stereotype of black men in America, and that’s part of the historical continuity,” he explained.

Dr. Butler said from a historical perspective, the preconceived notions go back to slavery and Reconstruction.

“It’s during Reconstruction that this idea of whites needing to use extra-legal force to keep blacks in their 'so-called place,'" said Butler.

We asked Preston if he thinks there’s a race problem in America. His reply? “I do.”

From the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to 2016, Dr. Butler said a lot of the same issues remain. He hopes we can learn from the lessons of old when it comes to race, policing and beyond.

“Only when law enforcement and people of power try to understand why there is a distrust can they then take the next step of asking themselves, ‘How do we change it?'"

If you’d like to join the discussion, Dr. Butler is having a reading and presentation on his book “Beyond Integration” on Thursday, September 29. It starts at 7 p.m. at Flagler College in St. Augustine.

Cox Media Group