Michael Levin

Michael Levin argues in the following viewpoint that labeling every police-minority altercation as racist is unfair. He asserts that police have more encounters with black suspects because blacks commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes. Police use deadly force only when they are threatened by a suspect, he contends. Levin is a contributing editor for the Center for Libertarian Studies.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Levin’s view, why was Johnny Gammage shot by police?
2. What percentage of drivers who are stopped by New Jersey state troopers are black, according to Levin?
3. According to the author, how many more robberies, murders, and rapes do blacks commit compared to whites"

The script is always the same. A black does something bad—by driving recklessly, robbing a candy store, assaulting someone or in some...