Dom Giordano Column: Prepare For Philly Protests
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As I predicted on Wednesday's show, Black Lives Matter has started a major campaign after the shooting death of a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Protesters have shut down the Schuylkill Expressway, and I maintain that they continue similar actions throughout the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia.
First, based upon the video I've seen so far I don't think the shooting was justified.
I gave a lot of support to police in gray areas and I realize that subduing a large man is much more difficult than we see on TV shows. However, even though the man shot in Baton Rouge has a criminal record and was according to many news accounts was carrying a gun, I see no evidence of his ability to use the weapon to shoot police.
This shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge reminds me of the incident involving police and Eric Garner on Staten Island. Garner died over in a fight with police over his selling of loose cigarettes.
The response in both cases appears to be excessive to me. However, in both cases the correct response is to let local authorities process the evidence and then determine what to do.
It is not to have federal authorities take over the investigation.
The worst part of this matter is that groups like Black Lives Matter are using it to further the narrative that police are just hunting down and killing unarmed black men. This is factually false and a very dangerous meme.
The bottom line is that this shooting will add more fuel to the protesters coming to Philadelphia. Expect that there will be shutdowns of center city streets and attempts to shut down highways. Expect that police will allow these illegal actions.
Expect that I'll be bringing you on the scene the debate.