Rioting and racism continue in North Carolina after the killing of a black man by police. Another black man is killed in OK feeding the argument that black people are being targeted by police around the country. If you listen to people like the MSM or Colin Kaepernick, you'd think blacks are being murdered by police on a daily basis. You'd also think that the rioting and racism being shown by blacks is justified. Let's take a look at a few facts before we jump to conclusions.

Before we get to the facts, lets make it very clear that when an officer unjustly shoots a person or uses unjustified force, that officer should be disciplined up to and including being charged with a crime if the situation warrants it. If it is shown that the officer considered a victim's race when using that unjustified force, then there should be a sentencing enhancement.

That said, according to Department of Justice statistics, there are about 15,400 police and sheriff departments in the U.S. These are local law enforcement agencies. Some of those departments are very small, while some are very large. But let's say the average is a very conservative 50 officers per department, that means there are 770,000 local law enforcement officers in this country. Given that number, if police are targeting citizens of any race or group, deliberately targeting and killing people, how many people do you think have been killed by police this year? Ten thousand? Five thousand? A hundred thousand? Would you believe 790?

Think about that; 790 people have been killed by police officers in this country so far in 2016. Last year the total was 990 (again the highest claimed number). That either means that 770,000 police are really bad shots or they aren't really targeting any group or citizens in general. To put that into comparison, 3,331 people have been killed in violent acts so far this year in Chicago alone. Chicago isn't even in the top 20 cities when it comes to the number of people killed by police so far this year. These people are being killed by other citizens and the majority are minorities being shot in gang or crime related incidents.

Of the 790 people killed by police this year, 661 victims were confirmed by independent investigators to have been armed at the time of their death. 122 were not armed and 7 were disputed and could not be independently confirmed or cleared.

You also probably think that African-Americans are being killed at a higher rate than any other group. You'd be wrong but then again you are probably listening to CNN, reading the N.Y. Times or getting your information from the guy at the end of the bar. Native Americans are actually being killed at a rate of 4.997 per 1 million people. Blacks are just behind at 4.805, while the rate of Hispanics being killed by cops is 2.258 per 1 million of population. Whites are next, 1.654 & Asians/Pacific Islanders are .7. 91 police officers have been killed in the line of duty this year, for a rate of 1.572 per million.

In the shooting of Terrence Crutcher in Tulsa on Friday night., by Thursday morning the officer had been charged with manslaughter in the first degree for her actions. There appears to be no doubt that Crutcher was not armed, however he was not following instructions being given to him by the officers. He also had a long history of crime and had recently been released from jail after serving a sentence that included having been charged with resisting arrest; a crime he had been charged with before at least 3 times. He was known to officers and thus they were on high alert when they encountered him. Now, that doesn't mean the officer was justified in using deadly force and she will have to face a jury for her actions. That's the way it should happen.

Police are human and are fallible; in this case it appears the officer involved had a checkered history and many of you would probably think she should not have been hired and put in a position of authority. But given the low pay, the current perception of police officers by the public and other pressures, many departments find themselves having to lower their standards just to put bodies on the streets. That's not to say all police officers are not people of high integrity but the lower end of the spectrum has been lowered a lot.

To the North Carolina situation; why isn't anyone calling out the family of Keith Lamont Scott for their inflammatory, racist comments? Scott was shot by a black officer yet the family of Scott is calling for the death of white people, call all whites "devils", and calling for boycotts of white businesses. A white man was chased by a mob of blacks into a parking garage and beaten badly even though he had no connection with the situation. He was targeted simply because of the color of his skin, as was apparently the CNN reporter who was attacked while broadcasting from the scene. All of that is racist isn't it? Aren't we all supposed to be judged equally? If a white person called all blacks devils and called for attacks on blacks, he would be lambasted by the media and society in general; as he should be, but when blacks do it, liberals make excuses for them.

Rioting doesn't help the cause either. When mobs riot, destroy property, and attack innocent people, it takes away from the real problem, when there is a real problem. It also tends to move people off of the fence in the wrong direction. Those who want to listen and learn about the situation and what really happened can become galvanized against the mob because of their actions. Let's not forget the chief of police is a black man; weren't we told by Black Lives Matter and other 'civic' groups that if there were more minorities in positions of authority that things like this wouldn't happen? Guess they were wrong.

We need to call out the race baiters, the fomenters of violence and hatred on both sides of the aisle. We need to focus our energy on letting the rule of law prevail, as it appears to be doing to a large extent in Oklahoma. We don't need the mob rule or the rule of man. That is how we move forward as a society, learning to trust each other and the system to work when real problems arise. The rest of this stuff is all chaff and doesn't do anything but continue to build hatred and misunderstanding.