Profiling of young black men puts them in danger from the start

I disagree with the grand jury’s inaction on Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson as I understand the facts in the death of Michael Brown, but I am committed to the notion that the judicial system must be respected and responded to with civility and restraint, even when there is vehement disagreement.

Therefore, I deplore and decry the rioting, looting, violence, burning, anarchy and acts of disrespect, rebellion and violence exhibited toward police and civil authorities in Ferguson and elsewhere.

I am absolutely convinced that Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin would both be alive if the men who killed them had not profiled them.

Officer Wilson acknowledged that he assessed Brown’s demeanor as “demonic” when he encountered him.

There was nothing inherently “demonic” about Brown, nor was there anything “suspicious” about Trayvon Martin when he was shot.

Neither Wilson nor George Zimmerman would have pulled the trigger as quickly — or in Wilson’s case, 12 times with Brown being more than 100 feet away when the last and fatal shot was fired — if they had encountered Justin Bieber, Johnny Manziel or the Jonas Brothers, even in the exact same locations and conditions that they encountered and killed Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin.

Richard Land, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, genuinely apologized for his 2012 remarks after Trayvon Martin’s death that a black man is “statistically more likely to do you harm than a white man.” I believe that his apology was sincere.

Yet I believe that he honestly revealed a mindset that many whites have when they encounter blacks, particularly where there is no previous positive relationship.

Land implied that it was permissible to profile blacks based on crime statistics.

Wow! That mindset explains why Zimmerman killed Martin and why Wilson killed Brown.

That mindset explains why there is an inherent caution, fear and distrust when minority males and females encounter police officers.

Blacks are viewed as guilty until proven innocent. And in the case of Wilson and Zimmerman, they began to hold court on the streets and render the death penalty.

Furthermore, why was Officer Wilson not required to write an initial police report? What a huge advantage he had to wait until he had knowledge of all the other testimonies and then go before the jury with his story.

Why was Wilson not required to follow policy and make a report of the Brown shooting or be fired for failing to do so?

It is that kind of behavior that led to distrust between blacks and the police departments of America.

William Dwight McKissic Sr. is senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington.

This story was originally published November 27, 2014 at 12:00 AM.