The Feds always step in and rebuild, our great Washington minds at work.

Philadelphia itself has a population of about 1.6 million. Of those, 644,000 are African-Americans. (The large metropolitan area has about 6 million people, the 8th largest in the U.S.) The news sources I’ve just looked at are saying maybe a thousand people looting and another thousand protesting, but of course those numbers could vary and may grow. That is to say, it looks like it is a very tiny percentage of the population that is rioting and looting or marching. I lived within two hours of Philadelphia for 34 years, and while I avoided going there as much as possible, I was there two or three dozen times. A huge percentage of the African-American population are hard workers with nice houses spreading over many miles. There are also appalling slums with run-down housing and what seem to be run-down people. Those areas scare me. The same goes for many cities. Don’t assume that everyone is looting.

Here is a proposal I’ve come up with. The U.S. government should offer “reparations” of $1,000 a month per person for 25 years only available to descendants of slaves from Africa and only if they live in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, or Louisiana. Those states, the Deep South, were responsible for the great majority of Africans brought here, and they are close to being majorities in these states today. If this were done, millions who are barely getting by would move south. Those African-Americans remaining in the north would be prospering and law-abiding, living the American Dream. In the Deep South, African-Americans would soon become the majority everywhere. By voting, they could assure that nearly every legislator, judge, or office holder of any sort would be African-American. They would be responsible for their own fate. Nearly all police officers would be African-American, too. They could make their own laws and have their own justice system that they consider fair. Many European-Americans might choose to leave, but this would leave housing and jobs available for those moving to the area. Some would consider the money enough to live on, if they are in a family setting, without working. For others, the extra money would be enough on top of a salary to live well. The cost to the taxpayers nationwide might be offset by savings In the costs for police, prisons, welfare, schools, etc. The infrastructure in the Deep South or airports, roads, factories, farms, hospitals, etc. would help this work.

When you put on a police uniform you can then judge how dangerous a person with a knife is. A good many people with mental disorders are so violent that one or two officers cannot control them especially when they are armed. Don't make the lame excuse he has bipolar. If family didn't want police action then they should have taken the chance and disarmed him themselves. Don't think so.

You need to put yourself in the cops place and I bet your reaction to the butter knife would be the same to keep yourself from getting hurt. It’s easy to judge from the sidelines

Even a box cutter. Don’t you think?

Between the legs maybe?

You can die just as easily when shot in the leg.

Knives don't kill people, people kill people. He just hadn't been taught respect. Black or white if you are threatening a police officer with a knife you stand a chance of being shot.

Stealing and destroying solves nothing.

The media says that these are Peaceful Protestors. This might seem harsh, but it needs to be done. In other nations the military is dispatched and those who break the law, whether it be violence, looting or arson these criminals are rounded up, by force if need be and taken off the streets. But alas, the mayors and governors in some states not only encourage these behaviors, they support these criminals and the consequences are next to nothing. Until this chaos is dealt with, it will continue. Antifa and BLM use this excuse of the killing of a black man, even though he was wielding a knife and coming towards the police which got him shot., so they can steal and destroy cities throughout our country.

Are you suggesting that when a police officer is met with a situation where they have a weapon pulled on them, they need to stop and ask if the person has any mental issues?
And a kitchen knife can kill...

I have a kitchen knife that is 12 inches long and could gut you in in less than a second. The same amount of time it takes to close the distance from 10 to 15 feet. I know you will say they should have had tasers. Don’t blame the officers for that, blame the mayor and those responsible for funding the police department. I have one question for you. If it had been you holding that gun and a man was coming at you with a knife that could easily kill you would you have pulled the trigger or surrendered to him?

It is not self defence if the other does not have a gun. There are many options beside murder to stand your ground, sadly the union police have make it impossible to put them in jail even if they shoot a innocent person.

The family had called for an ambulance. He was in mental crisis. The police knew this. They knew he was not capable of processing their orders. He was walking in circles until they arrived. Defunding mental health and turning it over to communities where the money went to support everything else is a major contributor here. Should we shoot all with mental defects. Autistic? Schizophrenic? Diabetic? When an ambulance is requested why bring 20 bullets.

That is not true

All the rioters should be shot (with rubber bullets), or hit with a high pressure water cannon with indelible dye, so that the offenders can be recognized and taken into custody even days after the event. There needs to be serious consequences for the rioters. Violence needs to be quelled by what the liberals call "excessive force".