Link Between Shannon Miles, Black Lives Matter, And Sandra Bland Remains Elusive

Shannon Miles, the man accused of the execution-style murder of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth, was declared mentally incompetent in 2012. According to the Associated Press, Miles was arrested in late 2012, and charged with assault with a deadly weapon following a fight at a homeless shelter. According to reports, the fight was over a remote control. In October 2012, Miles was found mentally incompetent and transferred to North Texas State Hospital.

By February 2013, Shannon Miles was deemed competent to stand trial, but the charge was dropped because the victim could not be located.

The new revelation about Shannon Miles’ mental health issues stands in stark contrast to the narrative which linked his actions to the Black Live Matter movement.

On Friday, August 28, Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth was shot at point-blank range while he pumped gas. According to the New York Daily News, Goforth was shot 15 times. Shannon Miles was arrested on Saturday, August 29 and charged with Goforth’s murder.

Sheriff Ron Hickman called the attack “clearly unprovoked” and seemed to link Shannon Miles to the Black Lives Matter movement, which called for sweeping police reform following several highly publicized deaths of African-American men and women during an arrest or while in police custody.

“We’ve heard Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter. Well, cops’ lives matter, too.”

Yet, as reported by Vox, there has been no link found between Shannon Miles and the Black Lives Matter movement. In fact, when asked if the murder of Deputy Goforth was motivated by was connected to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the increased tensions between police officers and civilians, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said, “I have no idea whether it does or not.”

That hasn’t stopped some outlets from connecting Shannon Miles and the murder of Deputy Goforth to the Black Lives Matter movement. FOX News personality Elizabeth Hasselbeck wondered why Black Lives Matter wasn’t considered a hate group, while veteran pundit Bill O’Reilly deemed Black Lives Matter a hate group.

The rhetorical connection between Miles and the Black Lives Matter movement flared again after protesters at a Minnesota protest chanted, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon,” during a march on the Minnesota State Fair organized by Black Lives Matter Minnesota.

Reports have even linked Shannon Miles to Sandra Bland, a woman whose apparent suicide ignited a series of protests after several questions were raised about her arrest and death while in police custody. According to the Associated Press, Miles and Bland both attended Prairie View A&M University, though they did not attend at the same time, and there is no indication that the two knew each other.

Deputy Darren Goforth’s funeral is scheduled for Friday.

[Image via Facebook / Harris County Sheriff’s office]