Liberal media outlets are trying to turn a man who shot at police into another Black Lives Matter martyr.

Dexter Reed was pulled over in Chicago for not wearing a seat belt. He refused to follow the instructions of the officers and then decided it would be a great idea to open fire on them. The officers returned fire, killing Reed.

This would normally not be a national story, even with it happening in Chicago. But Reed also happened to be black, which caused the brains of liberal “journalists” and activists to shut off. Therefore, he must be the victim of racism, according to them, even though he attempted to murder police officers to get out of a basic traffic ticket.

The Associated Press immediately painted the story as one of “concerns” about the officers firing 96 shots in the exchange that Reed initiated. The Washington Post took what should have been a local crime story and blew it up into a national story, relying on a London-based reporter who tied the shooting to George Floyd. CNN’s Omar Jimenez said that “some say” the shooting happened because Reed tried to murder police officers, but “some believe” that police started this because they had the gall to pull over a black driver in the first place.

Nothing changes the reality, though, that Dexter Reed opened fire on police officers. The American Civil Liberties Union can complain that officers didn’t “de-escalate” an attempt to kill them all it wants, but the reality is that Reed escalated a ticket into a shooting. He is not a victim. Black drivers don’t get to ignore the rules of the road just because Omar Jimenez or Reed’s uncle think they shouldn’t be pulled over.

The fainting couch routine over the officers firing 96 shots is also absurd. Those shots came from multiple officers who, again, were trying to avoid being murdered. Reed opened fire at them while he was still sitting in his car, meaning it was harder for officers to know when the threat was neutralized than if Reed was standing outside because he couldn’t collapse to the floor. All of this took place over a span of about 41 seconds.

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So, how long are police officers allowed to defend themselves from an active shooter without being able to verify if he has been neutralized according to the Associated Press or CNN? Should they only fire for 20 seconds and then wait to see if a criminal such as Reed starts firing on them again? Should it be 10 seconds? Or is this all just a convenient talking point to cling to to try and find another example of “racist” policing where none exists?

Everyone knows the answer. Just as with Michael Brown and other examples, Dexter Reed was not killed by a “racist” police system. He was killed in the process of trying to kill police officers. That may not matter to liberal media outlets and the ACLU, who just want a black police violence victim regardless of the facts, but it matters to everyone else who knows not to take those outlets or organizations seriously.