NEW BOOK ON POLICE KILLINGS

from the NYT,
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/books/review/nobody-marc-lamont-hill.html

Review of  Nobody:  Casualties of the War on the Vulnerable, From Ferguson to Flint and Beyond, by Marc Lamont Hill.

“Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, From Ferguson to Flint and Beyond” is among the latest in the genre, a nonfiction treatise from the ­African-American studies professor and political commentator Marc Lamont Hill. “Nobody” nevertheless differs from its peers by going deeper into civic history: It examines the interlocking mechanisms that systematically disadvantage “those marked as poor, black, brown, immigrant, queer, or trans” — those, in Hill’s words, who are Nobodies. His choice to refer to these people as “nobody” is both accurate and brutal; as Todd Brewster writes in the foreword, over the length of the book the word becomes as familiar as the list that recites “like a rosary: Michael Brown, Jordan Davis, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin. With each death — from the vigilante George Zimmerman’s killing of Martin  . . ."

 

I like this authors approach.  He's goes beyond black v. white.  However, I disagree with the inclusion of George Zimmerman to the list.  Zimmerman was a private citizen who was not exercising power in the name of the state.

The others, all cops, were.  This is a crucial difference in many respects.  Acting in the name of the state is damaging to governmental and police legitimacy--crucial issues in a polarized society.  The usual meaning of the term "vigilante" is someone acting unlawfully.  Too  many commentators forget to mention that Zimmerman was acquitted of all crimes by a jury. which contained black members.  The presumption of guilt in face  of an acquittal is also bigotry. 
CORRECTION 10/23/16:  There were no black jurors in the Zimmerman trial.