Javario Eagle
Chattanooga has a choice. It can be the exception, or it can be the rule.
A black man was shot to death in an altercation with police Saturday, and now a video related to the incident has been posted to Facebook and YouTube.
What happens now is up to Chattanoogans. They can let law enforcement investigations into the incident take place, as they should, to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. Or they can attempt to sway opinion with violence and irrational behavior in ways seen all too often in the last year and a half in Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and New York City, just to name a few spots.
In this case, irrational statements are already being made by people who were not at the scene, where Chattanooga police said Javario Eagle was "exhibiting unusual behavior," making "unusual statements" and eventually exited his apartment with a handgun, a knife and his 4-year-old daughter in tow.
Once the youngster was coaxed away from her father and into safety, the 24-year-old Emma Wheeler Homes resident made aggressive moves toward an officer and was shot dead.
Officers are trained to use deadly force in such incidents, not to shoot to wound, but the investigation will determine if their actions were warranted.
In the meantime - and a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office report is not expected for several weeks - people shouldn't jump to conclusions they have no right to make. The video itself apparently provides little insight into the actual moment of the shooting, so no matter how many times it is viewed or shared, it can't offer evidence that is not there.
The tenor and tone of Chattanoogans following the July 16 terrorist attack on military service centers by a lone gunman has been praised across the country. We shouldn't turn around and allow any irrational action following a shooting that is still under investigation to erase that reputation.