As a grand jury weighs charges against a white police officer who fatally shot a young black man in Ferguson, Missouri, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says authorities need to re-evaluate how officers defend themselves.
"We have to re-examine what defense means, what a fair amount of force is . . . All of that must be re-examined," civil-rights activist Dr. Alveda King said on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
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"I have many friends who are law enforcement officers, many men, women of various ethnicities.
"So, I do believe that there's a responsibility of a law enforcement officer to defend him- or herself. I certainly do. But we have to make sure that that is what happened."
Ferguson has been on edge as it awaits news on whether a grand jury will indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed Michael Brown, 18, last August.
The racially tinged incident triggered nightly rioting and looting in the predominantly African-American St. Louis suburb, and some officials fear more violence if an indictment isn't returned.
Last week, The New York Times reported that Wilson told investigators he was pinned in his police vehicle and feared for his life as he struggled over his gun with Brown during an altercation.
During the struggle, the weapon fired twice in the car. The first bullet hit Brown in the arm; the second missed. Forensics showed Brown's blood on the gun, as well as on the interior door panel and on Wilson's uniform, The Times reported.
King also weighed in on the Ebola crisis, saying that calls for banning flights to and from countries afflicted with the virus in west Africa are not racist, as some liberal pundits suggest.
She agrees that a flight ban is necessary.
"It would not be racist, it would be wise to temporarily, not permanently . . . just wisely to assess what's going on. That would be helpful," King said.
She added that America's borders should also be more closely monitored and possibly closed to immigrants for the time being.
"As one who's been to the borders recently, the borders should be supervised, managed, and closed until America is strong again," King said.
"We're not strong enough to help others who are coming."
King recalled how Coretta Scott King, the late widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told her that America must heal itself first before taking on worldly issues.
"During her lifetime, she felt as though we need to take care of the domestic issues first — make sure we're well educated, having jobs, and good healthcare, and places to live, and then once we're able to do that," King said.
"Then we can reach out and help others. But until we're strong ourselves, how much help can we offer?"
King, who is spearheading "Restore the Dream 2014" — an effort to get African-Americans to support Republicans and the conservative agenda — told host Steve Malzberg that the campaign is growing.
"We have gotten morally misled . . . The current administration definitely is a part of that moral bankruptcy, but we can turn that trend around," she said.
"[I] support good, genuine healthcare, housing, school loans for our kids. Our unemployment rate in the African-American community is off the chart. It's not fair, and so, we need answers.
"We've not gotten them in the last seven, going on eight years. The answers are there."