Whatever happened in Hoover when Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr. was killed on Thanksgiving night was obviously a tragedy.
Whether the police officer killed him in cold-blood or was entirely justified, it doesn’t change the fact that this event was entirely preventable, nor does it change the fact that it will happen again.
But our reaction to events like this is completely controllable. Unfortunately, our social media-obsessed culture incentivizes outlandish, offensive and ridiculous behavior. Compounding that problem is the fact that our mainstream media outlets act more like stenographers looking for an absurd quote and less like responsible members of our community looking to explain what has happened.
Because of these undeniable facts, individuals of low-character like activist Carlos Chaverst Jr. find themselves in the positions of leadership when they are not equipped for the role. And because he is not mature enough for this moment in time, people like Chaverst do nothing to move this conversation forward as they chase headlines and notoriety.
Last night, Chaverst and a group of protesters intended on entering a movie theater across the road from the Riverchase Galleria to continue to protest, even though he lied during a brief radio interview on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show” Monday and said they were going to see a movie. Police officers were on hand and the theater let it be known that they wanted no part of the protest and would not be selling any more tickets that evening.
Because the media craves these confrontations, multiple stories about Chaverst and his fellow protesters made the rounds. In these stories, Chaverst makes multiple absurd statements with no merit.
In a comment directed toward the black cops on the scene, he said, “You are aiding and abetting in a terrorist act.”
After calling cops “terrorists” and “klansmen,” he made it clear that his group was willing to take this one-sided fight to the homes of officers.
Chaverst said Sunday, “We’re going to come [to] every single place we need to until the terrorist on this police department is identified.”
They will go to schools and officers’ houses, where their families are located?
This is a threat of legitimate actual terrorism and it shows that Carlos Chaverst is only interested in one thing: attention.
Now, it has been announced that the video of the shooting will not be released until ALEA is done with their investigation, while a private autopsy claims Bradford was shot in the back three times.
Chaverst has taken to social media to threaten to put police officers’ names online (some of which took place in a since removed video), say “F**k peace, we want justice for EJ. They murdered him” and threaten to release the name and address of the officer involved in the shooting.
These are not the actions of a man seeking justice.
There may very well be real issues here, but the idea that these cops entered that scene looking to gun down a young black man is absurd and anyone who spreads these falsehoods should be picked apart by journalists instead of amplified.
Listen:
@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN
