Judaism is “color blind”. The issue of race in the case you mention — the victim being an African-American youth — would not be an issue. In other words, Judaism is based on a set of fundamental beliefs of Monotheism and morality, and a person’s color plays absolutely no role. For example, the yeshiva where I teach has seen students from nearly every country and of virtually every color and cultural background in the world.
Unfortunately, we live in a quite “imperfect” world, where some people carry biases based on race and religion and other factors, despite the tremendous progress we have seen in recent decades towards viewing all people according to their actions – their “inside” — and not according to the color of their skin. Racial bias is antithesis to Judaism. Many verses (36!) in the Torah teach to treat a convert of any color with great respect. There is even an additional mitzvah to love him (Deut. 10:19), besides the well-known mitzvah to “love one’s neighbor as himself” (Lev. 19:18).
Of course I cannot comment on any specifics of the event in Missouri which is under investigation. The authorities in control – police, elected politicians and the community leadership — all have a mitzvah to maintain a safe, moral and just society. The Torah states, “"You shall appoint judges and police officers in all your gates which God is giving you" (Deut. 16:18).” This mitzvah to establish a court system to pursue justice and provide a safe environment for the community is in fact one of the seven universal Noahide laws.
Non-violent demonstrations are a legitimate act of protest against what a people see as unjust behavior by the ruling authority. But they must remain non-violent. A number of years ago I recall a large demonstration by Sabbath observers against a new road that brought traffic through the heart of a Torah-observant neighborhood. It posed a danger to children who were accustomed to playing in the streets on the Sabbath, as well as breaking the long-accepted Sabbath status quo. When I asked my rabbi if it was permitted to join the protest demonstration, he told me it was not permitted since there were rabble-rousers who came from other neighborhoods to throw stones at the police and the cars, and my being seen in the company of these troublemakers was a desecration of the name of God.
May we not have more events such as the recent tragedy in Missouri and I sincerely hope we will see true justice done in Missouri and elsewhere.
