I am sorry, Mr. Keith Porter, Jr

“When human rights for some become debatable, we’ve lost as a civil society.” Dr. BLR

 

In the ever-changing news cycle, if you blink, you will most definitely miss important information. Well, that is, unless you can get the omnipotent leader of the free world off the goddamn television. Over the past five days, most news media around the world have focused on the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Rightfully so. A few GoFundMe pages have been set up for her family, and they have allegedly raised more than $1 million. Rightfully so. 

There has been so much said about how wonderful Renee Nicole Good was to her family and community. The pictures posted on social media show the extent of the media attention and the concern people have. Now, if I were to ask you who Keith Porter, Jr. was, would you be able to tell me? Probably not. 

On New Year’s Eve, Keith Porter Jr., a resident of the Northridge section of Los Angeles, California, was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent. The details of what happened aren’t clear, but the ICE agent has alleged that Mr. Porter fired an AR-15-type weapon at him. The ICE agent, who lived in the area, confronted Mr. Porter and then shot and killed him, claiming it was an act of self-defense. While we know that Mr. Porter is Black, I am unsure of the ICE agent’s race, even though it doesn’t make a difference. We also don’t know whether Mr. Porter was a licensed gun owner, but merely holding a weapon isn’t a reason to kill someone. Again, I don’t know the specifics of this situation.

Since we don’t know much, I will ask a few simple questions as a retired state trooper who was a detective for seventeen and a half years. If the “off-duty” ICE agent heard gunshots, why didn’t he call the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)? This wasn’t an immigration issue. Again, this was Los Angeles, and I am quite sure this was a common occurrence. If so, did this “off-duty” ICE agent respond to every shots-fired incident in his community? Another important question, given that he was off-duty, is: “How did he identify himself?” Was it just a verbal, “Drop the weapon, I am an off-duty ICE agent?” Was it loud and clear enough that Mr. Porter understood who he was and who he worked for? Did he have a piece of clothing, like an ICE bulletproof vest or ICE t-shirt, that clearly identified him as an ICE agent? Did he have a badge dangling around his neck, which Mr. Porter could have reasonably assumed meant he was at least a police officer? If Mr. Porter didn’t see or hear any of the above, could he have reasonably assumed that the person holding or pointing a weapon at him could have been a robber, a gang member, or someone who wanted to cause him harm, which gave Mr. Porter the “right” to protect himself and point his weapon at his perceived threatening armed person? If all of the above is not true and the ICE agent did have proper identification, it does not mean Mr. Porter needed to be killed, but we don’t know otherwise because the media hasn’t reported anything about this case, which makes it so disturbing, or does it?

There is no secret about who owns the media or who is the President of the United States. That said, it is no surprise we don’t know much about this investigation. ICE is a federal agency under the federal government’s auspices and the personal quasi-Gestapo/slave patrol of President Trump, who’s already gone on record trying to protect ICE agent Ross for shooting Renee Nicole Good. 

Based on the news accounts I’ve read, the LAPD has stated that Mr. Porter fired three shots at the ICE agent. We need to see the video footage to confirm this allegation, if any exists. I suspect that if it’s an apartment complex, there should be something. Allegedly, witnesses at the scene said the ICE agent didn’t properly identify himself. If so, the LAPD is relying solely on the ICE agent’s account. That is not a full investigation, and the LAPD’s statement should never, and I mean never, be released to the media until a full investigation has been conducted. It is not fair to Mr. Porter. Oh, but he’s Black! Never mind. They don’t care.

Mr. Porter’s killing deserves coverage in the news media, but unfortunately, we as a society haven’t matured beyond our old racist ways. Mr. Porter, 43, affectionately known as “Pooter,” was the father of two daughters. He was a member of Black Lives Matter of Los Angeles. There is no doubt that race had everything to do with this case not receiving top billing on New Year’s Eve, given the havoc ICE has wreaked on Black and Brown communities. It was New Year’s Eve, and many people shoot weapons in the air. Yes, it’s not right, but a little common sense should have factored into the “off-duty” ICE agent's decision to stand by. Or better yet, “Mind your fucking business!” This is what the LAPD gets paid to do. I am quite sure that ICE wouldn’t want local or state police agencies to trample on their turf.                                                   

While I pride myself on staying on top of controversial police matters, I undoubtedly missed this one. I’m glad social media brought it to my attention. Yet the bigger issue is that we cannot trust the national media to report fairly and accurately. I believe it’s by design, given the path we are on right now. 

Mr. Porter didn’t deserve to be killed in such a manner. Maybe he should’ve thought twice about his actions, but that’s neither here nor there at this juncture. What needs to happen is for the LAPD to identify the ICE agent involved in Mr. Porter’s killing and to conduct a fair and impartial investigation for the community and Mr. Porter’s family. His name was Mr. Keith “Pooter” Porter, Jr.