Recently a man in St. Paul, Minnesota named Joseph Javonte Washington was tasered, attacked by a police dog, and shot (but not killed) by a police officer in an attempt to avoid being apprehended.
Washington (an African-American) was unarmed and naked at the time of the shooting, which brought criticism from St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, who took “swift, decisive, and serious action” against the police officer, whose name is Anthony Dean.
This would seem like another unjust shooting of a black man by a police officer (at least in the eyes of liberals), but the fact that Washington was naked reveals the crime that he committed.
Washington had sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend and even live-streamed it on social media. He then forced her into her car, and after they were both in the vehicle demanded that she drive. He also threatened to stab her if she crashed the car and would punch her whenever she slowed down. Eventually, Washington grabbed the steering wheel, thus resulting in a crash. Washington then fled while his ex-girlfriend flagged down a motorist.
Police later found Washington hiding in a dumpster, in which he was tasered when he tried to climb out.
It is unclear if the shooting and the use of the police dog was justified, considering that Washington was naked and unarmed at the time (he may or may not have disposed of the knife prior to emerging from the dumpster). But one thing is clear, and that is Washington committed a horrific crime when he raped his ex-girlfriend and live-streamed it on social media. And who knows what he had in mind when him and his ex-girlfriend reached the intended destination?
This incident might qualify as a double-edged incident, considering the crime committed by Washington and whether or not Officer Dean was justified in shooting Washington.
As horrible as Washington’s crime was, it is nothing compared to the case of Arturo Macarro Gutierrez, a St. Paul man who was convicted back in January of raping his girlfriend’s four-year-old twin daughters and giving them gonorrhea.
When I read about Gutierrez and told some of my co-workers about it, the consensus was that there is a special place in Hell for people like him.
So if people of St. Paul decide they want to defund the police in their city, perhaps they should be reminded of the horrific crimes committed by Washington and Gutierrez.
