The local branch of the NAACP has, in my opinion, misspoken with demands concerning the South Whitehall Police Department. Their demand letter was published even before District Attorney Jim Martin released his determination on the recent Dorney Park shooting. The letter demanded that the police department fire the officer and hire minority officers . It further demanded that Martin recuse himself from the case.
As it turns out Martin did determine that the shooting was unjustified, and charged the officer with manslaughter. Besides knowing that I would not have wanted to be in the officer's shoes that fateful afternoon on Hamilton Blvd, at this point I'll leave judgement to a jury.
Even as a blogger who is not afraid of being politically incorrect, I realize that this blog post will rub many people the wrong way. I appreciate that the local NAACP fights against local prejudice, but in this instance I find them acting as the bully. The outcome of the confrontation was indeed tragic, but the police were reacting to pleas for help from motorists being terrorized by someone apparently out of control. I see no local police pattern that mistreats minorities.
Maybe the NAACP is inappropriate. Maybe it is the NAACP that should resign. It is clearly obvious that the NAACP was champing at that bit entirely too hard. How righteous and noble.
ReplyDeleteEveryone else is a Racist, but not the NAACP, not possible!
That's funny. I'm a board member and...wait for it...I'm white!
DeleteI totally agree with you MM. The NAACP is a racist and bias entity that sees white on black crime as institutional racism perpetrated by the white man to subjugate the black man. Reading about this demand letter I noticed their Vice-President, former mayoral candidate Tony Phillips, undertook an investigation without any of the pertinent facts at his disposal. This very limited investigation, a one-sided opinion paper, composed by a retired police officer who had no experience what-so-ever as a criminal investigator and had preconceived motives in his very short-sided attempt to color this incident as a racially filled event.
ReplyDeleteThis incident could have been avoided with compliance by the victim, by acting rationally [on both sides] and by clear thinking. The victim showed none of these aspects and a rookie police officer, under-trained, physically short and inexperienced led to these events.
3 shots in the face.
DeleteFunny how many of these clowns keep adding racist to everything........
DeleteI still want to see the patrol manual for the South Whitehall PD. Was this really "voluntary' manslaughter? Or was it a green cop following the usual policy of protecting the public and him/herself by emptying the revolver and aiming at center mass. I admit to not knowing for sure, but it would be helpful before the racist cop-haters take over our county.
ReplyDelete@12:25
ReplyDeleteIt’s unlikely the sidearm involved was a revolver.
The more serious charge increases the odds for a not guilty verdict.
A lot of people rendered judgement on this way too soon. The situation became a Rorschach test for pre-existing views on police officers and minorities - facts be damned.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the lesson here is, before protesting or counter-protesting, wait for the facts to be reviewed by people who review them for a living. And give the justice system a chance to work as it should. The people who protested may think their protest led to the DA's decision, which is really unfortunate.
The facts are the cop had other tools. He CHOSE the gun an shot a man in the face 3 times!! Then the chest 2 more
DeleteWhat do you need to know?
I hope you know this was approved by National.
ReplyDeleteTo allow people to say and act like NAACP is a racist, terrorist group is just wrong.
Come to a meeting Michael. Your racism makes no sense.
3 times in the face!! Really?? You justify that with what?? White fear?? Amazing, we are around the same age ye t I fear no one!
I'm sick of all of you justifying sesimetic racism.
Where are all of you comments about the white guy that threw Molotov cocktails at the police!! He walked away without a scrape in handcuffs.
I don't care if this cop was only on the force X amount of days!!
If you are SCARED maybe COP is not the job for you.
Valerie Chambers, I don't own Fire The Incompetants comments any more than I own yours. I didn't say that the NAACP is racist, and frankly I'm tired of your accusations.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that fear of police was completely unwarranted. My whole life, police were the good guys, the people I could turn to if ever there was a problem. How could anyone see them otherwise, I wondered?
ReplyDeleteThen I heard from some friends of color who recounted that they have experienced, witnessed, or heard about incidents that led them to fear police. I had a really hard time believing it, given my own experience. I've never feared police, and I've never personally witnessed inappropriate behavior by police, so I guess I concluded it must not exist.
One person of color told me that if he is ever stopped by police he puts his hands on the steering wheel so there is no misunderstanding. If asked to produce documents, he first announces where he will reach to get them. Then he moves very slowly to do so. He's afraid that the officer might be jumpy, might fear black people, might see a gun that isn't there, and shoot him. Police shootings like this are rare, but they have happened. Some are even on video. If I were a person of color and I saw a video of a mistaken shooting, you can bet I'd be afraid, even if the odds are extremely high that it will never happen to me.
My takeaway is that different people have different experiences and it helps to have an open mind to the possibility that someone else's experience might be different from mine. I'm glad I had some conversations about this with people of color and I'm grateful for their willingness to speak honestly about a painful subject.
Many police departments, especially in urban communities, are concerned about good relations with everyone. Unfortunately all it takes is one rough "bad apple" cop to poison the well. I've heard of departments where those bad apples are viewed with disdain by the overwhelming majority of officers who joined the force to serve and protect, and who recognize that good relations make policing safer for everyone.
To those who are commenting and trying to distract from the original post, that the NAACP acted like a bully, I would offer the following:
ReplyDelete1) What happened in other shootings, with other police departments, in other situations, is irrelevant to this case.
2) What part of the body the shots landed on is irrelevant. After deciding to shoot, a cop will shoot until the threat (as he sees it) is stopped. The issue in the shooting is whether the DECISION to shoot was correct.
3) The case will ultimately end up in the hands of a jury, who WILL have all the facts and decide whether the officer is guilty. We should all withhold judgment until then.
4) No racial motivation by the officer has been discovered in this shooting, and the DA clearly pointed that out in his press conference.
5) The NAACP was wrong to ask DA Martin to step down, and they acted like a bully in putting out their demands prior to the DA's press conference. The NAACP loses the little credibility they have by such actions.
Bob @ 8:19 am said:
ReplyDelete"One person of color told me that if he is ever stopped by police he puts his hands on the steering wheel so there is no misunderstanding. If asked to produce documents, he first announces where he will reach to get them. Then he moves very slowly to do so."
I do the same thing and I'm white. Acting in that manner is helping the officer, something we should all do.
For every "rare" video you can find of a mistaken shooting at a traffic stop, I could show you many more where the police ended up on the wrong end of the shooting.
I never thought about a traffic stop from a police officer's perspective until I went through a citizens police academy a few years ago. Cops don't know what's going to emerge from a traffic stop, and anything you can do to help the situation along in a positive manner is good to do.
In addition to the steps you noted above, I'd also recommend rolling down all your car windows when initially stopped, so the officer can get a good look inside the car as he approaches. Do this before he even gets out of his car. First impressions count. If it's raining or extremely cold or extremely hot outside, you can ask the officer if you can put the windows back up.
Also, again before the officer approaches, instruct all passengers to keep their hands visible and not to make any sudden movements. Tell them to follow any instructions from the officer without arguing. Once the officer arrives at the car, don't argue with your passengers and let the officer take control of the stop.
All this makes it easier on the officer.
If the officer writes you a ticket, makes you (or a passenger) get out of the car, gives you a field sobriety test, etc., don't argue. It's not the time or place for it, and it's not going to help things go your way.
Again, that's not a racial thing. It's an acknowledgment that they have a difficult job and you're willing to help them. And at the end of the day, hopefully everyone gets home safe.