On August 28 at approximately 8:30 pm, Deputy Darren Goforth, a 47-year old white man and 10 year veteran with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, was assassinated in an unprovoked attack as he was fueling his patrol car at a Chevron station in Northwest Houston. He was on duty and dressed in uniform. The suspect in his murder, Shannon J. Miles, is a 30-year old black man with a criminal history.
At this point, authorities have no motive for Goforth’s execution-style murder other than the fact that he was a police officer. What appears to be a targeted assassination of police officer has Miles facing capital murder charges. It also makes the chants loudly said by #BlackLivesMatter anarchist protesters at the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday all the more disturbing.
As these anarchists were marching, they were chanting, “Pigs in a blanket. Fry ’em like bacon.” This was hours after Deputy Goforth was assassinated in an act of barbarism. The man charged with his murder, Miles, is suspected of approaching Goforth from behind as he was fueling his patrol car and shooting him. After Goforth fell to the ground, the suspect stood over him and continued firing rounds into his body.
This isn’t the first time #BlackLivesMatter anarchists have called for the death of police officers. On December 13, 2014, the group marched through the streets of New York loudly chanting “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!”
One week later, NYPD Officers Wenjian Lu and Rafael Ramos were killed while sitting in their patrol car. Police determined that they were targeted for assassination by Ismaaiyl Brimsley, a black man, simply because they were police officers.
On August 12, just over two weeks before the assassination of Deputy Goforth by the suspect Miles, the New Black Panthers staged a protest outside the Waller County Jail where Sandra Bland died. Though it has been determined that she took her own life, the radical black group blames the police. Heavily armed, they chanted, “Oink. Oink. Bang. Bang.”
Breitbart Texas reports on a another chant by the group in a “back and forth marching cadence style song.”
The revolution is on, said the chant leader. Off the pigs, the group chanted back. The chant continues, Time to pick up the gun… Off the pigs. No more pigs in my community… Off the pigs. No more brothers in jail… Off the pigs. No more sisters in jail… Off the pigs. The pigs are gonna get scared… Off the pigs. The pigs are gonna get dead… Off the pigs.
Harris County Sheriff’s deputies provided backup to the Waller County Sheriff’s department in dealing with the incident.
Just over two weeks later, Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth, who was white, was assassinated while in full uniform and fueling his patrol car.
To date, Barack Obama has not commented on the targeted assassination of Deputy Goforth.
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said that eyewitnesses that have identified Miles as the shooter, saying he ran up behind the deputy and shot him in the head. Police also recovered a weapon from Miles’s home. A ballistics test matches it with the gun used to kill Goforth.
A gofund me account has been set up to help the family of Deputy Goforth, who leaves behind a wife and two children, ages five and 12.