KANSAS CITY – In yet another example of police violence against young black males, K.C. Police Officer Rodney Winthrop shot and killed 28 year old African American Jimmy Sinclair on Sunday afternoon. Winthrop immediately claimed to bystanders on the scene that the dead man, a 3 year veteran of the same police force, had been armed and dangerous.
“There was nothing I could do,” said Winthrop. “He was walking down the middle of the street, in broad daylight, with a gun plainly visible inside a police regulation holster. He clearly had intention to harm others.”
“He was also coming right at me with his hand outstretched and the palm open, an obvious attacking pose,” Winthrop added.
Winthrop’s actions have provoked a huge outcry from the African American community, but police captain Charles Vanderhoff was quick to deny that race played any role in the shooting.
“This is a question of law and order. The simple fact is that Officer Winthrop’s claims were correct. We are certain that Mr. Sinclair was openly carrying a fully loaded 9 mm Glock on his person. Our investigators were able to identify the weapon so quickly because that is the same weapon issued to police officers in this city.”
A number of commentators have also publicly praised Winthrop’s actions.
“If a young black man doesn’t want to be stopped by the police, maybe they shouldn’t be walking around in all blue colours like they’re in the Crips,” said Fox News panelist Ann Coulter, likely in reference to the colour of Sinclair’s dress police uniform.
Coulter and other Winthrop defenders have refused to believe claims from Sinclair’s family that he was required to wear his dress blues that day, because he was acting as a community outreach officer at the funeral of Sammy Barnes, an unarmed black teen shot to death by the police the week before.
At press time, both Winthrop and Sinclair’s family have been the recipients of online donations. Sinclair’s family have received over $10,000.00, while Winthrop’s “Hero Cop Defense Fund” has received $1.2 million.
