We at TFTP hear it all the time from the apologists. "There's always at least one bad apple in every bunch," they tell us. But when the system fails, which is supposed to weed out the bad apples, the entire police department is corrupted. Such is the case in the shooting
death of an unarmed 26-year-old, Daniel Fuller, according to Fuller's family and Detective Brandon Potts own service record.
On July 5th, multiple members of the community called 911 to report a man who was going from trailer to trailer, attempting to break into homes. When police officers arrived, Fuller ran, eventually found hiding in grass near the train tracks. Police say Fuller did not immediately surrender and was resisting arrest when Potts was forced to shoot and kill the young man. He was unarmed and his family says he was trying to surrender when the detective pistol-whipped him and shot him in the back of the head.
As TFTP has consistently reported, officers who wish to teach a suspect a lesson will in unison begin yelling "stop resisting". After doing so, the officers will often times beat a suspect, attempt to break bones or joints, and rough them up, all done under the guise that the perpetrator is "resisting arrest".
Because the officers are yelling "stop resisting", bystanders also conclude a suspect is resisting and therefore somehow deserves the beat down they're receiving. But it's a carefully orchestrated psychological tactic designed to escalate the use of force, seemingly allowing the officer(s) to take out their own frustrations and anger onto suspects.
Comment: In response to the news from Nike, The Fraternal Order of Police made a very strong statement against the decision: