In an effort to keep this story more visible I'm sharing some of the most recent updates from the June 1st incident, here are some updates on Deyanna Davis, the woman who struck the officers that night. If you want to read my thoughts on some things that night you can find them here.

• Deyanna Davis remains held on $200k bail, now also charged with attempted murder

• Ruling puts Deyanna Davis a step closer to release

I encourage thoughtful discussion on all of this. For my part, I want to say I mostly appreciated the Buffalo News reporting of it. I like how they structured it by clearly delineating the two narratives:

Did Deyanna Davis intend to hurt or kill police officers when she drove through a line of Buffalo cops and state troopers in riot gear on the night of June 1, running a trooper over and hitting another trooper and police officer?

Or was the 31-year-old Buffalo mother of four wounded by gunfire, in a state of panic and blinded by tear gas when she hit the officers on Bailey Avenue?

I like how they also brought a little more context to the situation - the reason for the police formation. My impression by the article is it happened close to the police station (I am not familiar of the exact location from the videos I've seen). They also described some of the typical trouble that were happening at the height of the protests - rocks being thrown at the police, nearby garbage cans being lit on fire, and stores getting looted. They also mentioned that "a protester" was the inciting incident. They also bring up that Deyanna Davis and the passenger were both shot in the car - however, there seems to be questioning on who shot her, and there seems to be evidence that the shot happened before she hit the police.

What I don't like about the article is that I think there needs to be more detail on what was happening in the moment and the events leading up to that moment. For example, telling me rocks were being thrown, garbage cans being lit on fire, and stores were being looted in the way that the Buffalo News says it...

Earlier on June 1, a nonviolent march from downtown Buffalo ended in front of the police station. But other people drawn to the protest stayed after the formal demonstratio. As it grew dark, people threw rocks and other objects at the police who surrounded the station. Nearby, trash cans were set on fire and several stores were looted. Buffalo police and State Police in riot gear fired pepper balls and tear gas. By about 9:30 p.m., about 50 to 60 police formed a line all the way across Bailey.

... it can make me think:

• Rocks were being thrown at the officers while nearby burning and looting happened right in front of the line of the police at this current moment leading up to the event of Deyanna Davis hitting them. Or...

• Some rocks were thrown, some garbage cans were set on fire, and some stores in the vicinity were looted over the course of that night which led to a tense situation before Deyanna Davis hit the police.

Whether you choose to view this through the lens of Option 1 or Option 2 you are seeing this situation in very different lights with very different meanings. Option 1 is a much more dangerous situation than the second option. The reality is businesses in Buffalo did suffer during these protests and they matter. However, this incident requires a closer understanding of which businesses were looted, where, and what role were the police playing in trying to protect them in relation to this incident.

As I have already articulated my concern is that the police were exacerbating a situation that required de-escalation. But if we're talking about a significant level of chaos here a more "offensive-style" of response might have been warranted. But I think the burden of proof should be on the police to prove that the tackling of Myles Carter was worth the destabilization of the protests in front of them. But if they are trying to move forward, Myles Carter is orchestrating looting, and they have the proof of it to make the arrest that they did - then maybe it was worth the escalation - maybe - and that is only if all of that is true.

My concern is that Myles Carter wasn't orchestrating any of the violence, that their arrest of Carter was potentially baseless, and in that moment things did not warrant such a response by police. If the chaos was unnecessarily started (versus necessarily for the safety of the situation at hand) by the tackle of Myles Carter then do not the police play a role in the injury of their own brothers? I wasn't there that night but it seemed safe enough for WIVB to interview Myles Carter (unusually the Buffalo News decided to not name him despite being so interconnected to the incident, the Buffalo News even reported on him separately, they could've linked him in an effort to keep people fully informed. This is 2020 and the most professional publication in this city people!). If this is an incident that police could learn from on what not to do then it should be recognized as such. While I wasn't there that night if the level of chaos surrounding the moments leading up to the tackle were in a critical condition for and reason there might be a basis for the police to act as they had... But with the current evidence that is out there (the WIVB interview, the video from the window) it does not indicate that escalation was warranted at that time, in my opinion. De-escalation is frequently the safer option for everyone, even if it doesn't look like the toughest, and we should have high standards on when police should become more offensive (rather than defensive).

While the prosecutor is painting a story of how Davis could have just "stopped," if the aggressive actions of the police incited one vehicle to flee and another to accelerate potentially because she was shot... where is the role and responsibility of the government in this situation? If the police were standing their ground and Davis accelerated right at them with no aggressive action by police this would be completely different story - but the police became very aggressive towards American citizens at the exact specific moments leading up to Davis hitting them. The reasons behind why that needed to happen need to be very well understood and documented like the professionals they need to be in order to explain their actions in those moments. They are the representatives of Buffalo in addition to law enforcement officers. The burden of proof is always on those representing the government, in this case police.

I want to finish that I'm glad that Deyanna Davis seems like she will be receiving the medical attention she'll be needing for her pregnancy and that Trooper Ronald L. Ensminger has recently been released from Erie County Medical Center. I don't think either wanted to be in that situation that night and I'm glad nobody had to die.