The state likes to protect its monopoly on violence so they periodically take it upon themselves to seek out challengers and initiate violence against them. That appears to be the motive of Minneapolis police officers in Zachary King’s case:
Zachary King says he was walking to his car when police noticed his gun in his waist band. He claims he told police he had a permit to carry, but they still attacked him.
King suffered a concussion after five officers beat him on Father’s Day night. King says video of the assault was taken by a bystander. He says it all started when police noticed a bulge near his waist band.
“I have my conceal and carry, and it’s my gun. And soon as I said that he grabbed me by my neck, slammed me against the wall, snatched my gun out the holster, started waving it in the air saying ‘gun, gun, gun,’” said King.
[…]
King says officers eventually went for his back pocket and his wallet to get his weapons permit.
“And he goes like this to show them that I have my card and they stopped beating me,” said King.
With that said King’s past is brought up in the story as he has had previous run ins with the police:
King’s attorney, Mike Patton, says his client was arrested, jailed and not charged for recording police back in April that allegedly showed abuse of power.
Recording the police isn’t a crime in Minnesota so this is entirely irrelevant as far as King’s character is concerned.
He was also acquitted of manslaughter in 2008 after his pit bull mauled to death his 7-year-old son.
This is the more damning thing against King’s character but I believe it to be irrelevant to his current situation. King was acquitted of charges so this wasn’t a crime and we also don’t have any information to go on regarding the case. Did King’s son abuse the dog? Was King even around when it happened? Either way this isn’t relevant to his current predicament although it’s going to be used against him in all likelihood.
Speaking of pasts, let’s touch on the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD). MPD isn’t known for being, shall we say, upstanding. This is the same department that established a Gang Task Force that was allowed to run wild, steal private property, and extort money from individual. The main difference between King’s past and MPD’s past is the fact MPD was actually found guilty of misdeeds.
Overall, this could be an interesting case to watch.