"Obama's Son Alert": Black Male Killed by Police Officer in East Austin

An example of unity among the Black people of East Austin

In 2009, a white homeowner in East Austin had a brick thrown into her home by people hoping to keep the community "strong." And Black:

Police are investigating a brick with an offensive message thrown into the window of an East Austin home.

The brick, thrown through a 4-year-old boy’s bedroom window, read “Keep Eastside Black. Keep Eastside Strong.”

The homeowner, Barbara Frische, who is white, said she has lived in the home for 10 years.
“It’s the first time anything like this has ever happened to me,” she said.

Frische was featured in a Statesman Watch article published in May in which she lobbied for action to be taken on a charred house that posed a safety hazard.

She has not received negative feedback from area residents about the article, she said, and does not believe this morning’s incident is connected to it.

Police have not classified this incident as a hate crime, said Austin Police Sgt. Richard Stresing, because hate crimes target an individual specifically because of an identifying characteristic, like race. Police say the incident has been classified as criminal mischief and deadly conduct.

Silly rabbit, Hate crime laws do not protect white people. But with Black America gripped in Trayvon Martin and Hoodie Hysteria, one would hope that Black people everywhere would cooperate with the police so as not to become another martyr for the cause of Organized Blackness.

Whoops.

In East Austin, that strong community of Black people, the opposite occurred:

An Austin police officer fatally shot a man Thursday night after authorities said a traffic stop quickly escalated.

Assistant Police Chief David Carter said the incident — which brought an outpouring of concern from nearby residents and others — started shortly after 6:30 p.m. in East Austin near 51st Street when an officer on patrol stopped a car for reasons that officials did not immediately describe.

The car's driver, described as a black man who was about 30 years old, drove off, pulled over a short distance away and began to flee on foot. The officer, who was not immediately identified, chased the man and caught up to him as he tried to jump a fence, Carter said.

The man, whose identity also has not been released, broke free of the officer and fled again, authorities said.

Carter said the officer reached the man a second time along Overbrook Drive, near Manor Road and 51st Street, and that "there was a physical altercation that went on for some time."

He said the officer attempted during the chase to use his Taser stun gun to subdue the man but that "it was not effective."

Carter said that at one point, the officer and the man struggled for control of the officer's gun and that the officer then fired what investigators say was one to three shots.

Officers performed CPR on the man, but he died at the scene a short time later, officials said.

The officer was being treated for a hand injury, possible broken bones and a neck injury, said Carter, who is the department's chief of staff. Investigators have patrol car video of the traffic stop and audio of the chase, Carter said.

The shooting brought immediate questions and concerns from some in the community, who expressed anger Thursday night over the death of another minority at the hands of police.

"Something has got to change," said Audrey Steiner, who lives in the area. "I am furious."

Residents poured out of their homes and passers-by pulled over to try to find out what had happened. Some wiped away tears, and at least one openly sobbed as others hugged her.

Shortly after 8 p.m., a crowd of more than 100 people had gathered near the scene and rocks were thrown in the direction of at least one police car, which sustained a broken window. Some officers donned riot gear.

The tense situation seemed to be defused when one bystander collapsed and officials rushed in to tend to her.

"This is an incredibly unfortunate incident," City Council Member Sheryl Cole said Thursday night. "At this time, we simply must be patient and learn the facts."
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said: "Anytime there's a loss of life, it's a very tragic situation. We're concerned because these things keep happening."

Uh-oh. We have a incident of Driving While Black (DWB) that quickly escalated into a Point Break style foot race through the "strong" (very Black) East Austin ghetto, and then - to make matters worse - it ends with a cop shooting a Black suspect.

After all, he looks like Obama's son.

Automatically, Black people nationwide side with the Black suspect in the morgue. Fitting, East Austin has historically been the home of Black people in the capital city of Texas. Just like any predominately Black area of a city in America, it has historically lagged behind when economically development happens in the non-Black areas. Now, gentrification threatens this "strong Black" community:

Today the pressure of gentrification is bearing down on the old community like never before. Will the future East Austin remain a true home to non-whites, thrown against the pressure of rising property values and development? 

East Austin has been a neglected corner of the Austin community for many years. While much of the city has grown with power and profitability, the pace of progress in East Austin has offered a striking contrast. But now, decades after its creation, the ebbing tide has become a near avalanche, and gentrification has become more than a contentious word in Webster’s dictionary. 

The geographical nearness to downtown, the simple economics of still-affordable property and a retreating social stigma about East Austin have led to urban gentrification. Economics are starting to reduce to ability of indigenous families to maintain their stand in Central East Austin. White families and businesses are becoming downright popular. 

Disingenuous White Liberals (DWLs) will whine and moan when a blighted, predominately Black area (with high crime rates and virtually no business activity, courtesy of the Visible Black Hand of Economics) becomes the playground of Urban Pioneers. For the moral superiority of constantly having a lowly Black hand to try and uplift is threatened. Austin, Texas is becoming a Stuff White People Like (SWPL) city, and the Black residents of the "strong" East Austin area will soon be priced out.

APD officer shoots, kills suspect: kxan.com