I agree, the use, or lack there of, of slurs is playing semantics on my part, particularly with the knowledge of the "gorillas in the mist" comment one of the cops used on a prior call out. Not that such a beating requires any justification.

And yeah, maybe guys like Sharpton & Jackson are right, in that instance, to advocate and draw attention to the ridiculousness of the sentences meted out to the cops and the Korean shopkeeper, but, the documentary I watched kind of implied that the whole riot situation would've been averted, or at least not as bad, were it not for their interventions.

A lot of people were justifiably upset, but they lit the spark for the opportunists who used the whole situation as an excuse to loot and stuff.