Death By Firing Squad: Milton Hall, Experiencing Homelessness and Mental Health Challenges, Felled with 30+ Police Bullets

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In the very graphic first video below, CNN's Soledad O'Brien decribes a shooting that took place in Saginaw, Michigan back in July of this year, and watching it, I could not help but arrive at the same conclusion that Ms. Jewel Hall, mother of the murdered man Milton Hall, came to; that man was deliberately assassinated by a firing squad of police, acting once again under the color of authority. 

I arrive at this conclusion primarily because of the conspicuous absence of one particular law enforcement tool that receives ubiquitous use, on everyone from children to little old ladies - the Taser. If ever there was a time to use the Taser, it would have been in this circumstance and yet, what we see here is a line of police firing, as CNN counted, at least "30" shots from their service weapons. 

Interesting that the local media reporting the story chose to use a booking photo of Mr. Hall in a not so subtle attempt to sway us into believing that he was nothing but a criminal anyway, and therefore, we should move on, nothing to see here, really. 

Frankly, if it wasn't for the public outrage, I doubt we'd have even heard about this; the shooting took place back in July and the only reason we know about it now is because CNN decided to run it as a national story. 

Killings by police under the color of authority like this are not uncommon anymore and point to a larger problem with America's police forces. We the People have allowed those charged with "protecting and serving" to become aggressive and "proactive" instead by militarizing them, providing them with incredible weaponry, and then training them military-style without the concurrent training, and perhaps more importantly the screening, of psychological challenges. 

I do not doubt that Mr. Hall suffered from a severe and persistent mental health challenge.  Clearly he was angry and agitated, but police have an assortment of non-lethal tools and weapons at their disposal for situations exactly like this one.  The truth is, the real mental illness here manifested itself in the mob mentality response. 

When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness. When people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity. Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone.

Mr. Hall may have been guilty of being upset and acting in a "threatening" manner, but clearly, the punishment, meted out extra-judicially by a group of agitated police who used force far beyond that which they were facing, is the real crime here.



WNEM TV 5

6 officers on leave following shooting of homeless man

Posted: Jul 03, 2012 10:13 AM CDT Updated: Jul 31, 2012 10:23 AM CDT
By Brandon Allendorfer, Internet Managing Editor - email

 

Milton Hall

 

Sunday's Shooting SceneSAGINAW COUNTY, MI (WNEM/AP) - WNEM TV5 has learned that six members of the Saginaw Police Department have been placed on paid administrative leave following a fatal shooting at a shopping center parking lot.
Officers responded Sunday to a report of a man with a knife at Riverview Plaza shopping center on Saginaw's west side.
Police say 49-year-old Milton Hall was shot multiple times and pronounced dead after being taken to an area hospital. Police say Hall, who was homeless, made aggressive movements toward officers.
Police say they had no choice but to shoot him. No other injuries were reported.
READ: Eyewitnesses recount deadly officer-involved shootingIn all, five police officers and one sergeant are on the paid administrative leave. The shooting is being investigated by Michigan State Police.
Prosecutors were expected to review the case afterward.
An autopsy on Hall is scheduled for Tuesday.