Is Breonna Taylor a BLM issue?

George Floyd. Elijah McClain. Philando Castile. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Freddie Gray. Breonna Taylor?

First, let me say, I support the BLM movement, 100 percent. Without a doubt, black people, primarily males, are killed by police because they are black.

I'm not saying that any cop goes into a situation intent on killing a black man, but that their implicit biases, inadequate training, and systemic racism contribute to proportionally more unarmed black males being killed by police.

But that's not what happened with Taylor. She was accidentally killed by police returning fire after her boyfriend started shooting at them. It wasn't because she was black.

Sadly, this happens way more often than it should, people accidentally shot by police, and it highlights a huge problem with police today.

To some people's surprise, the cops who killed Taylor have not been charged in her death and only one of those involved was recently convicted of an unrelated charge. This also isn't unusual.

There's a great article by the AP that highlights the problem here. It details several cases of accidental shootings by police, due mostly to poor training.

What stands out is that in almost every case, the officer is never charged and ends up returning to work. How is that even possible?

I understand police work is not easy. In fact, I spent the first part of my work life in law enforcement. So I get it. I understand the pressure in life or death situations and the grave consequences of drawing your weapon.

It takes a lot of training, continued training that most cops do not get, to do the job right.

In Taylor's case, officers made a chain of mistakes in the investigation and subsequent raid that led to Taylor's accidental shooting.

From the incomplete investigation on Taylor's apartment to the no-knock warrant that became a knock warrant, that was likely executed as a "lightly knocking" warrant. A chain of mistakes due likely to poor training and overzealous policing.

That's not even touching on our country's gun problem that led Taylor's boyfriend to be legally carrying a gun in the first place (and where are the conservatives defending him in this case?).

I think it's important to recognize this larger systemic problem. It's not just about people targeted by police because of their race, but the bigger problem of police training, mindsets, and function.

I'll post more on those problems later, like the militarization of police, symbology, etc.