From: Mitchell Day [Email him]

Brenda Walker quotes the Washington Post as saying

"Several far-right blogs featured sensational headlines that blamed the officer’s ethnicity for the deadly use of force."[After Minneapolis officer in police shooting is named, Somali community braces for backlash, Washington Post, July 18, 2017]

Just like the MSM blames white officers' ethnicity when they shoot black suspects. Of course they also include all white people in their blaming under the concept of collective guilt. So it's a two-way street. If all whites are guilty to whatever degree in the killing of Michael Brown then all Somalis (as well as all blacks) are guilty in the killing of Justine Damond. Right?

See previous letters from Mitchell Day.

James Fulford writes: I assume that one of the far-right blogs was us, starting with me, specifically—I wrote Somali Cop Shoots Australian Woman In Minneapolis, saying

This seems to be the kind of reckless incompetence you would expect, if you put a Somali in police uniform and give him a gun. We know that Minnesota has Somalis because of refugee resettlement, but why does it have Somali police officers?

This is a perfect example of the AP Stylebook approach to reporting on race. As I've been reporting for years, the AP Stylebook says that

Race: Identification by race is pertinent:

In biographical and announcement stories, particularly when they involve a feat or appointment that has not routinely been associated with members of a particular race. "first black" to do something good is relevant. The thousandth black to commit an [I. E. theto do something good is relevant. The thousandth black to commit an armed robbery is not.]

What that means is that they were allowed to do all kinds of stories about the wonderfulness of hiring a Somali cop for diversity and community relations purposes, but as soon as he shoots someone, his race becomes irrelevant and unmentionable.