Should NY police protest stop until after slain officers funerals?

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked for the protest that have resulted from the non indictment of a police officer in the death of Eric Garner to cease temporarily until two slain police officers are buried.

"We are in a very difficult moment. Our focus has to be on these families," de Blasio said Monday at police headquarters. "I think it's a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in all due time."

Protesters have not heeded his call and continue to protest. Do you think that they should stop the protest until after the officers are laid to rest? Do you think that it's necessary not to stop and to keep pushing while this is a hot button issue or risk losing momentum?

Mike Colter Cast as Luke Cage

[SOURCE] Mike Colter has been cast in the role of Luke Cage on the upcoming Netflix series “Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones.”

“Mike embodies the strength, edge and depth of Luke Cage,” said “Jessica Jones” Executive Producer and Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg. “We’re excited to have him bring this iconic Marvel character to life.”

“Fans have longed to see Luke Cage brought, and in Mike we’ve found the perfect actor,” said Jeph Loeb, executive producer and Marvel’s head of television. “Viewers will get to meet Luke Cage in ‘Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones,’ and experience why he is such an important super hero in the Marvel mythos.”

Colter, who currently stars on “Halo: Nightfall,” has also appeared on “The Good Wife” and “American Horror Story: Coven.” “Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones” is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.

African Americans don't need to be told to hate or mistrust the police.

I'm convinced that conservatives and cops think black people as a whole are incapable of thinking for ourselves. First we had to be told by Obama, Holder, and Sharpton to get mad when no no cop was indicted in the Garner or Brown cases. I mean of course we wouldn't have gotten mad. Why would we? I mean Garner could have been our brother, father, grandson, or nephew. No way we internalize that, we of course would have went on our merry little ways if not told to be angry.

But now I have just found out from conservative media and the police that I and several million other blacks have never had an issue with or mistrusted the police until Obama, Holder, and Sharpton told us we had an issue with them. I just found out that all those prior negative experiences (although I like most black men have no record and have never committed a crime) I have had with police didn't make me bitter or distrustful of them it was that "evil" triumvirate of Obama, Holder, and Sharpton that made me feel that way.

Former NY mayor Guiliani who has done more to hurt minority and police relations by always taking the cops side than any member of the "evil" triumvirate said on Fox News Sunday ( where else) that "We've had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police, I don't care how you want to describe it -- that's what those protests are all about."

Guiliani would be right if only police abuse and brutality had not been prevalent in the minority community long before President Obama was in office and Holder was appointed Attorney General. Generations of black and brown people have grown up in the United States and have had to deal with negative interactions with the police. That's just a fact and all police and conservatives bitching and moaning about it won't change that fact.

Guiliani and his ilk have made a false equivalency between protesting the death of Eric Garner and wanting better treatment from the police with being anti-cop. I'm sorry that comparison is simply bullshit. To believe that the comparison you would have to believe that the only way to do police work in minority communities is to violate people's civil and human rights.

If cops want the protest to stop then they should stop whining about being called out for their behavior and make changes to that behavior. What will help heal the rift is police acknowledging they have been occupying communities of color and not policing them. What will bring change is treating minority communities the same way you treat others. What will is actually reaching out and getting to know the community you police and finding out who is trouble and who is a young man on his way from school.

Until that happens the mistrust and in some cases hate will linger. No one will have to tell anyone what to think because we know firsthand.

George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.com

Al Sharpton statement on shooting deaths of two NYPD officers.

Al Sharpton made the following statement on behalf of the family of Eric Garner after the tragic deaths of two NYPD officers at the hands of a lone gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley. The Garner family clearly condemns the loss of life of the two officers, Rafael Ramos, and Wenjian Liu.

“I have spoken to the Garner family and we are outraged by the early reports of the police killed in Brooklyn today, Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases,” Sharpton said.

“We have stressed at every rally and march that anyone engaged in any violence is an enemy to the pursuit of justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown,” he continued. “We have been criticized at National Action Network for not allowing rhetoric or chanting of violence and would abruptly denounce it at all of our gatherings. The Garner family and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, in fact we have stressed that most police are not bad.”

Muhammad Ali has mild pneumonia

Boxing great Muhammad Ali was hospitalized with a mild case of pneumonia that was caught early and should result in a short hospital stay, an Ali spokesman said Saturday night.