Fox Anchor: “The Most Important Message” Of Laquan McDonald's Death Is To Obey Police

Lars Larson: Black Lives Matter Is “Not Only Selective, It's Bigoted” Because It “Only Focuses On The Shootings Of Black Citizens By Police”

From the November 25 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom:

Video file

MARTHA MACCALLUM: Obviously at the outset, this is a tragic loss of a 17-year-old boy. It is also a devastating situation, no doubt, for the policeman. And we don't know all of the facts of this case. We have learned this lesson in a very tough way, really, over the course of what we have seen played out in Ferguson and other places, and we have learned that you have to wait and you have to know all of the circumstances before you can really figure this out. 

[...]

LARS LARSON: I've got to tell you, Martha, this is so wrong. Because first of all, this man was not unarmed, he had a knife, and the majority of those people shot by police -- by the statistics available -- are armed. Further, I don't understand what the protests were about last night. The community is angry, I understand that. They wanted the family compensated, that happened six months ago, they want the officer charged, that happened yesterday. And you knew almost from the get-go that this was a bad shooting because the officer continued to shoot after the man was already down and no longer a threat. So, what was the protest last night looking for? The city officials from Chicago, Rahm Emanuel and others, have promised to make changes. They may not happen, but the fact is they've promise to make the changes. So what was the point of a protest like this? 

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MACCALLUM: One thing that needs to also be discussed -- where are the protesters for the children who are caught in the crossfire in Chicago? For the 400 some people who have been killed  in that city over the course of this year. The murder rate is up by 14 percent. And I understand it is a different situation when you are dealing with a police officer, obviously, but there is a problem going on in the city of Chicago, Lars, and it appears that the outrage is somewhat selective. 

LARSON: Well, it's not only selective, it's bigoted. The very fact that Black Lives Matter only focuses on the shootings of black citizens by police. In the majority of cases people who are shot by the police are shot for good reason because they are a threat. 

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MACCALLUM: And the reports are that this young man was on PCP, he had a knife, and he was resisting going to the police officers. And there's another message for young people right here -- when the police want to talk to you, you need to put down whatever is in your hands and you need to go over and talk to them. Emily, isn't that the most important message to save people's lives, like this young man, who obviously needed help for a number of reasons? 

EMILY SUSSMAN: Yes, look, he absolutely did. And there are speculations, and we see on the video that he may have had a knife, but I also think that we need to remember that carrying a knife is not illegal, and if his past experience has not been that police have been respectful and cooperative, look, it goes both ways.

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MACCALLUM: How many situations where someone turns around and says, OK, I have got a gripe with you, police officer, but I'm going to go with you, and then we're going to hash this out. This young man should not have been walking away from police who were asking him to come over and talk to them because it ended in absolute tragic circumstances for him and for his family.