That was just a ****ty situation for all involved. Both sides showed restraint until the situation was escalated and ultimately, it doesn't look good for either party.
It was a simple roadside stop. Those should never get to the point it just did and its a breakdown by all involved, including the current culture (police culture, too) we are in.
Malik McDowell being told he was going to be shot by a white police officer, who at any time, could have justified shooting him with lethal intent...yeah, I am not sure many of you in the same situation wouldn't have tried to fight for your life. I'll agree in part with @
Tetragrammaton Cane that one of the main issues is that an officer is the "boss" or has the mentality of one in that situation. How difficult was it to simply have a conversation with the man. It starts as a very confrontational situation and an officer expects people to remain cool and compliant with the constant worry or an officer escalating the situation. If you're Malik McDowell...a 6-foot-6 black man...why wouldn't you walk in the store? You know the store has cameras. Many other cops wouldn't have had their body cam or dash cam on - conveniently - in a situation like that.
idk guys...just a ****ty situation for both guys that likely could have been handled by both, in a different manner.
Roadside stops...should be as simple as...here is your citation, if you have an issue, see you in court. No signature needed. Hand it to the guy and be gone. Would wager that curbs a lot of roadside police issues.