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Nov. 29, 2006 Sean Bell, father of a three-year old and three month old child, was about to do the honorable thing: Marry his longtime companion. The night before the wedding, Sean was killed in a fusillade of fifty gunshots by undercover New York City police officers. Two other passengers were struck by police gunfire, including Joseph Guzman, who is in critical condition after being struck 11 times. A third passenger, Trent Benefield, was hit 3 times. One of the men was alleged to have “made a reference to a gun,” and Bell’s struck one of the officers and an SUV containing several officers. Five officers were involved in the killing, including one who emptied two clips and fired 31 shots. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “It is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired but that's up to the investigation to find out what really happened." The Mayor promised a thorough investigation. On Sunday, a group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, gave NYPD Chief Raymond W. Kelly a vote of no confidence, and blamed him for organizing what amounted to a posse. There were also accusations that the officers involved in this undercover unit are allowed to consume alcoholic beverages on the job. Much like in the Abner Louima, Ousmane Zongo and Amadou Diallo cases, the NYPD committed this atrocity against unarmed black men. The former was sodomized with a broomstick, while Zongo was struck four times during a police raid--twice in the back. Diallo was shot more than 41 times. Before an investigation could even be launched in the latter case, then New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was at a press conference detailing Diallo’s arrest record, as if that somehow justified the killing. Charles L. Williams, author of the upcoming book, “Revelations from an Unseen Pit: Black Voices of New York City Law Enforcement,” writes about unrealistic scenarios in police training films. One such scene features a black female reaching into her purse, and when the police trainee fired on her, it was later revealed that she was taking out her make-up. The shooter responded that it looked as if she were assembling an automatic weapon. In another scene, a black youth drops a wrench to the ground and instead attacks a police officer with a pick-style afro comb. Williams argues that such imagery conditions officers to develop a “shoot first” mentality. More than three decades ago, Kenneth B. Clark wrote, “The training of recruits in the (New York) Police Academy must now be modified to reflect the need to deal with this serious problem. Specific courses and programs geared to an understanding of racial and cultural differences and a respect for individuals of different backgrounds must be planned and instituted in the present curriculum of the Police Academy.” New York isn’t the only place where the cold-blooded execution of black men is sport. In Miami, thirteen police officers were charged with planting guns in four police killings, three of which involved blacks. Don’t forget the 1980 slaying of black motorist Arthur McDuffie, which resulted in a police acquittal and triggered in days of rioting that led to 18 deaths. In New Orleans a black man an unprovoked beating of a black man was caught on tape. Since 1995, 15 black males in Cincinnati, Ohio have died in police custody. 13 were shot. Three were unarmed. According to reports, one was 19-year-old Timothy Thomas. “His big crime was that he failed to appear in court on misdemeanor charges. The officer who gunned him down claimed that he feared for his life and opened fire on Thomas when he tried to flee.” In fact, “Cincinnati police officers shot to death more suspects since 1995 than police did in seven similar-sized cities…second only to Minneapolis in the total number of suspects shot.” (Hulsey) Three Cincinnati officers have since been indicted in shootings. Then there is the case of 19-year-old Tyisha Miller in Riverside, California. Miller was killed by four white police officers on December 28,1998. The officers hit her twelve times, including four times in the head, as her relatives looked on. Miss Miller was lying in her car with the seat fully reclined, waiting on relatives to come and change a flat tire. When her relatives arrived, they could not wake her and called 911, thinking she was in the throes of a seizure. Police arrived and also were unable to wake her, and by this time, Miss Miller was frothing at the mouth. According to reports the police banged on the car, shook it and shined lights into the vehicle, but the young woman was unresponsive. Finally an officer took his baton and broke the window. Miss Miller rose, picked up her pager and stared at the officer. There was a handgun on her lap. The police ordered her cousins away from the vehicle and shouted for Tyisha to get out of the car. The officers claimed she fired one round. Other witnesses say that Tyisha never rose. Riverside County District Attorney Grover Trask sought to have criminal charges dropped against the officers--Daniel Hotard, Wayne Stewart, Michael Alagna and Paul Bugar. The FBI is still investigating. In Pittsburgh, Pa., the death of 43-year-old Charles Dixon, 26-year-old Bernard Rogers and 12-year old Michael Ellerbe inspired a 150-person community march and an FBI investigation. Ellerbe was shot in the back by Housing Authority police. In the Dixon case, a preliminary ruling determined that the officers did nothing wrong. While the majority of police killings involve white males, blacks are killed in disproportionate numbers. In 1998 the U.S. Department of justice reported that there are 4.8 blacks killed per 1 million population, while the rate of white killings was 1.2 per million. The DOJ also reported that “from 1976 to 1998 police nationwide killed 8,578 suspects--56 percent white and 42 percent black.” While I understand the concept of officers needing to protect themselves, some of these shootings are nothing more than cold-blooded murders. Sources: “Police Fire On Men Leaving Strip Club,” Contra Costa Times, November 25, 2006, p. A12 “13 officers charged. Planting guns. Police killings of 3 unarmed blacks,” USA Today, September 2, 2001 Ron Walters, “What About the Quality of Justice from Blacks?” The Louisiana Weekly, January 9, 2006 Michael A. Fuoco, “March in Mt. Oliver protests police-linked killings of 3 blacks,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 21, 2003. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, “The Feds Won't Do Much About Cincinnati Cop Killings,” AlterNet.com, April 17, 2001 Lynn Hulsey, “Cincinnati Tops List of Police Killings of Blacks,” The Dayton Dailey News, April 28, 2001 ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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