Rand Paul: Not all police are bad

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday urged Americans not to distrust law enforcement after a videotape emerged this week of a police shooting of an unarmed black man in North Charleston, S.C.

The 2016 GOP presidential candidate argued that most police officers defend the law honorably. A few rotten apples, he said, do not represent the whole orchard.

{mosads}“This shouldn’t paint with a broad brush that all police are bad,” Paul told host Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”

“When we look at police across the country, 98 or 99 percent of them are doing a great job,” the lawmaker added during a satellite broadcast from North Charleston.

Paul called Saturday’s shooting of Walter Scott, 50, a “terrible tragedy.” White police officer Michael Slager, 33, is accused of shooting Scott five times in the back following a confrontation over a broken brake light.

The White House hopeful additionally expressed interest in exploring fairness and race in crime statistics. Paul said cases like Scott’s may hint at a broader problem of discrimination in law enforcement nationwide.

“It’s never really been added up,” Paul said of the racial component present in police shootings. “We can compile data to see how big it is or if it is an odd circumstance.”

Paul added that economics might play a bigger role than race in determining unfairness in U.S. prisons. Unjust sentencing, he argued, stemmed as much from expensive court costs as it does skin color.

“I would say that I’m concerned that poor people in our society may not be getting the same representation as rich people,” Paul said.

“Poverty is the common denominator,” he added.