Tag Archives: Freddie Gray

Elijah Cummings — A Brief Tribute

Posted on by under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary, Tributes

“Our Congress & our country has lost a champion for justice, a fighter for good, an honorable and zealous leader.” – Democratic U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Congressman Elijah Cummings, who was a fierce advocate for civil rights and for Maryland for more than three decades. Congressman Cummings leaves behind an incredible legacy of fighting for Baltimore City and working to improve people’s lives. He was a passionate and dedicated public servant whose countless contributions made our state and our country better.” – Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland

“There was no stronger advocate and no better friend than Elijah Cummings. I am heartbroken for his wonderful family and staff—please pray for them. I will miss him dearly.” – Republican Representative, Member of the House Freedom Caucus, Mark Meadows

These are but a few of the comments that could be heard today following the announcement that U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings has died.  People on both sides of the political chasm were deeply saddened to hear of his death.  Let me tell you just a little bit about this man …

Born on 18 January 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, his parents were sharecroppers.  But Elijah rose above his beginnings, graduating from law school at the University of Maryland School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1976.  He practiced law for 19 years until 1996 when he successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, where he has served tirelessly ever since. Elijah-4Elijah came of age in the Civil Rights era, and got his first taste of racial hatred when he was eleven years old.  He and his friends were getting too big for the small, shallow public pool where they had been spending the summer of 1962 …

“As a matter of fact, it was so small, we had to wait turns to get in.”

But there was another pool, and someone they knew as “Miss Mitchell” told them they could swim there.  It was Riverside Park Pool, an Olympic-size pool that was theoretically open to all, but the reality was somewhat different.  So, Elijah and his friends headed over to the pool, and for a few days enjoyed swimming there.  Until … hordes of arrogant white people, numbering nearly 1,000, showed up carrying signs that read “Keep Our Pool Germ Free”, “Go Back Where You Came From”, and “White People Have Rights Too”.

The mob surrounded the pool, held back by a line of police with K-9 dogs, while the kids tried to splash and play. Then, over the police officers’ heads, the mob threw rocks and bottles. One of them hit Cummings in the face, cutting his eyebrow and leaving a scar he carried all his life.  Perhaps it was this that led Cummings to a lifetime of fighting for justice.

While Cummings has long been an advocate for Civil Rights, and has fought for justice since his early days, he first came onto my radar in the wake of the murder of Freddie Gray in Cumming’s district in Baltimore.  He gave an impassioned speech at Gray’s funeral in April 2015, promising “we will not rest until we address this and see that justice is done.”

In early May of that year, charges were filed against the six officers who were involved in the murder of Freddie Gray, and riots erupted in the city.  Elijah Cummings defused the situation, placing himself between the crowd and the police, and urging protestors to go home, to be peaceful.  (Not a single one of the officers involved in Gray’s death was convicted)Elijah-3Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to Cummings this morning …

“It’s a tribute to his native Baltimore that one of its own brought such character, tact, and resolve into the halls of power every day. And true to the giants of progress he followed into public service, Chairman Cummings stood tallest and most resolute when our country needed him the most. May his example inspire more Americans to pick up the baton and carry it forward in a manner worthy of his service.”

Elijah-2.jpgElijah Cummings was one of the good guys.  There are too few of them left, and he will be sorely missed.Elijah-1

Eight Years Ago Today …

Posted on by under Personal

WP Anniversary

This morning, I found the above amidst my comments ‘n likes.  My jaw dropped.  Eight years?  I’ve been writing this blog for eight years, since 2010?  Who knew?  Of course, in the beginning it was only used as another venue for my book reviews, as I was hoping at the time to work my way into being a paid reviewer.  What could be better than getting paid for doing what you love to do anyway, right?  But, things happened, times changed, and I somehow … I’m still scratching my head here … gave up doing book reviews, stopped working on my Ph.D., and became a political blogger!  In truth, as I went back through my archives, I wrote only one post in 2010, and did not write another until 2012, when I wrote four, three of which were book reviews, including one of my favourites, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.

The anniversary notice and the subsequent realization that it had been eight years already gave me some food for pondering about this blog, my blogging family, and what it all means to me.

Today, I have over 2,100 followers, but I well remember the day somewhere around 2013-2014 when I did a fist-pump because I had progressed to 30 followers!!!  I thought I was in the big leagues with my 30 followers.  Until I ran into Jason of HarsH ReaLiTy, aka aopinionatedman.  Jason had 56,000 followers and counting.  He and I have since parted ways, for he didn’t much care for my political views, but he helped me a lot in those early days, explaining the ins-and-outs of blogging, giving me pointers, and re-blogging some of my work, for which I remain eternally grateful.  I still don’t know how he does it, for he answers every comment, writes several posts each day, works a full-time job as a computer guru, and has a wife and two small children!  I struggle to write two posts a day and answer most comments, usually at 3:00 a.m.!  I hope I never get to 56,000, or I shall have to hire a staff.

The name?  This blog started as jilldennison blog.  Creative, huh?  My friend Herb — both of us speak fluent Spanish — suggested I rename it Filosofa’s Word, ‘Filosofa’ being Spanish for ‘philosopher’, and ‘word’ being English for … well, ‘word’! I liked it and so, that is what I named it!

In April 2015, my blog took a turn that was to change its face entirely and it turned into a socio-political blog with the shooting of Freddie Gray in Baltimore.  I remember that I couldn’t stop the tears, and I wrote about it as a catharsis, I needed to speak about it.  Since then I have written only three book reviews.  There goes my dream of becoming a paid reviewer, huh?  And then, of course, in June 2015 came the tsunami that would turn this into a political blog – Donald J. Trump announced his intention to run for president.  And nothing would ever be the same.  Other events in June 2015 also played a role:  The Supreme Court upheld subsidies for ACA (Obamacare) and most important of all, they ruled on Obergefell v Hodges, making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.  Also in June 2015, a young man named Dylan Roof walked into an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, and started shooting, killing nine people, and we came to realize that the face of our nation was changing.

And so, this blog changed its direction and is what I consider socio-political commentary, though obviously under the regime of Trump, it is more political than socio!  A few times, I fleetingly thought of giving it up, but in the back of my mind, I knew better.  It was just a debate me, myself and I needed to have to get my head back on straight, for sometimes the topics I write about take a very dark turn and send me down the rabbit hole.  So, what does this blog mean to me?

This blog takes up at least half, usually more, of my waking hours, and I would spend even more time on it if there weren’t such petty things as laundry, cooking and household chores to be done!  What I do … well, I’m pretty sure I’m not convincing any republicans that Donald Trump is a bloomin’ fool, and as my friend Hugh sometimes reminds me, I am mostly spitting in the wind, or preaching to the choir.  But, it gives me an outlet to share my thoughts, occasionally vent my angst.  But the best thing to come from writing this blog?  YOU!!!  Yes you … if you are reading this post, then you are a friend, a member of my blogging family, and you are a very real part of my life.  When I started this blog eight years ago, I never dreamed that I would meet such a wonderful and diverse bunch of people and that you guys would become friends.  Yes, friends, just as much as any that I see on a semi-regular basis.  Sometimes I tell you guys things that I don’t even tell my own family!  (No, they rarely read my blog, and then only if I threaten to withhold supper!)  

The future?  Who knows? Obviously, the best laid plans, etc., etc.  I suspect the U.S. political scene will continue to keep me busy for a few years yet, but time will tell.  A relatively new reader, Ellen, has suggested that I add an archive section to my blog, which I think is an excellent idea, and I plan to do so within the next couple of weeks.  Another reader, rawgod, has asked me twice now to feature myself in a ‘good people’ post, for he thinks I am a good people.  I don’t necessarily agree with him, but I love him for thinking so, and he is rather insistent, so who knows?

I love you guys and want to tell you all how very much it means when I see that you liked a post or left a comment.  And … well … 🥂 … here’s to another eight years together!  Thanks to you all for sticking with me and for being such great friends!

A few links to the aforementioned posts:

 

A Case of “Mistaken” Identity

Posted on by under Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I would like to introduce you to this man, Demetrius Smith of Baltimore, Maryland.

demetrius smithLast month, Demetrius Smith had the opportunity to face a judge and have his 2010 murder conviction thrown out by Judge Barry Williams.  Smith spent five years in prison for a murder that he did not commit, and has spent nearly five more years trying to have the conviction removed from his record. Why?  Because he is black.

On March 24th, 2008, a man named Robert Long, who was a cooperating witness in a police investigation, was shot twice in the head, execution-style.  Two witnesses, a man and a female prostitute, claimed to have seen the murder and identified Smith as the murderer.  Smith was promptly arrested, but at his bail hearing, Judge Nathan Braverman released Smith on $350,000 bond, saying the evidence against him was ‘skeletal’. “It was probably the thinnest case I’d ever seen,” now-retired Judge Braverman said earlier this year.

The detective, Charles Bealefeld, who had focused on Smith in the killing of Robert Long, soon went after Smith again, this time arresting him for allegedly shooting a man in the leg during a late-night robbery. His evidence?  “Word on the street” was enough to send Smith back to jail. Smith lived near the victim and knew his parents … that was all Detective Bealefeld needed to know, apparently. To justify the arrest, Bealefeld found another prostitute on the street who would identify Smith from a photo array.  Interestingly, Bealefeld, along with two other Baltimore officers, left the department the following year amid accusations of racial bias.

(Remember, if you will, that Baltimore is also where in April 2015, another black man, Freddie Gray, was beaten to death in an arrest over possession of a switchblade knife.  None of the officers involved were convicted of his murder.)

Smith’s trial would not take place until January, 2010, during which time Smith remained in jail, continuing to claim he was innocent in both cases. In each case, the prosecution relied almost exclusively on eyewitness testimony — and in each case a key witness was a prostitute.  According to The Innocence Project …

“Eyewitness misidentification is the greatest contributing factor to wrongful convictions proven by DNA testing, playing a role in more than 70% of convictions overturned through DNA testing nationwide.”

The male witness in the first shooting elaborated on his testimony, saying that he knew Smith to be a drug king in the neighborhood and that Smith had shot Long to send a message to any who might try to undercut him.  Only problem was that the witness was a paid informant who himself had been arrested for an unrelated crime, and was set free in exchange for his testimony. And there was video camera evidence that the witness was not where he said he was at the time of the shooting. This, however, was not brought up during the trial and the information was not made available to Smith’s attorney.

The prosecutor, Rich Gibson, relied almost entirely on the eyewitness testimony of the man and the two prostitutes. A jury found Smith guilty and sentenced him to life in prison plus 18 years.

A year later, Gibson came to Mr. Smith with a deal known as an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to say for the record that he’s innocent of the crime but believes the state has enough evidence to convict him. The deal Gibson offered Smith was 10 years in exchange for a plea of guilty.  Smith was hesitant, knowing he was innocent and believing that at some point his innocence would be proven and he would be exonerated.  But, ten years beats life, and eventually Smith signed the agreement. Smith asked that a clause be added, an ‘escape hatch’, stating that if evidence were produced proving his innocence before the ten years, he would be released from prison.  Both prosecutor Gibson and Judge Barry Williams agreed, and the deal was done.

Just a few months later, the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland had turned up Long’s real killer and informed Baltimore prosecutors that they had the wrong man. There is a long and interesting story about Long’s murder, but in the interest of time and space, suffice it to say that Long was killed because he was working with police, and it was the police who had put him in jeopardy by failing to use precautions to protect his identity.  So, Smith is not guilty and all is well, right?  Not quite.

Police had been advised of death threats to Long in the days leading up to his shooting, but they failed to act and they also failed to provide that information to Mr. Smith’s defense attorney – a clear violation of Smith’s constitutional rights. It was also discovered that the prostitute who testified had been six miles away at the time of the shooting.  She later said that she had been bullied, coerced and threatened into her testimony by Bealefeld who kept pointing to Smith’s picture and saying, “that’s him, isn’t it?”.

Rod Rosenstein, the top federal prosecutor in Maryland at the time and now U.S. deputy attorney general, announced that the federal case had “resulted in the exoneration of an innocent man and the conviction of the real killer.” But still, Smith remained in prison because, the city of Baltimore was not willing to admit they made a mistake.  The state had dropped the charges in August 2012, yet Smith sat in prison.

Smith was finally released in 2013, but the conviction remained on his record, making it impossible for him to get a job, lease an apartment, or return to a normal life.  With the help of new lawyers, he went back to court to try to have the conviction removed from his record, but his old nemesis, prosecutor Gibson objected.

Again, skipping through the lengthy detail, Smith’s motion was at that time denied based on Gibson’s unexplained objection.

Last month, January 2018, Smith once again faced both Gibson and Judge Williams, and this time, finally, after nearly ten years, he was successful.  Gibson, who is running for state’s attorney in another county, once again argued against removing the conviction, which he said wasn’t in the best interest of the community.  This time, the judge caught Gibson in a blatant lie and called him to task.  Judge Williams gave Smith a chance to tell Gibson his feelings …

“I sat in prison for five years. He [Gibson] couldn’t even look me in the face. Tell me ‘I’m sorry.’”

A happy ending for Smith?  Well, it depends on one’s perspective, for yes, he is now a free and clear man, but … he lost ten years of his life for no reason except … he is black.

Smith’s case is not an isolated one.  A study released in March 2017 by the National Registry of Exonerations found that black people convicted of murder or sexual assault are significantly more likely than their white counterparts to be later found innocent of the crimes, and also had to wait disproportionately longer for their names to be cleared than innocent whites.

The year is 2018.  Slavery ended in 1865, more than 150 years ago.  The Civil Righgs movement peaked in the 1960s, more than 50 years ago.  And yet even today, African-Americans, Hispanics and other minorities are discriminated against by the criminal justice system and by society as a whole. This is not something we can be proud of as a nation, and I have no confidence that the situation will improve any time soon.

A Matter of Time …

Posted on by under Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

This one jumped right onto my radar tonight and the blip was loud and insistent.  The headlines …

N.J. Police Chief Said Black People Are ‘Lke ISIS’ And He’d Like To Be ‘On The Firing Squad,’ Feds Say – Matt Zapotosky, The Washington Post, 01 November 2017

Ex-Police Chief Accused of Hate Crime, Excessive Force – The Associated Press, 01 November 2017

Frank Nucera, age 60, had been on the Bordentown, New Jersey police department since 1983.  According to other officers, he has always had problems with African-Americans, but those problems came to a head in January when the FBI began investigating charges of racism against then-Chief Nucera.  Nucera resigned in January, likely under duress, with an annual pension of $105,992.76

nucera

Frank Nucera

The incident that triggered the FBI investigation was Nucera’s physical abuse of an 18 year-old African-American suspect who was already in police custody, in handcuffs, and being escorted on either side by an officer, posing no threat whatsoever. Nucera came up behind the young man and slammed his head into a steel doorjamb.  An officer then began recording the incident as Nucera hurled a series of racial epithets.

Yesterday, Nucera was arrested and charged with civil rights violations and hate crimes.  According to acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick, “Chief Nucera harbored an intense, senseless, irrational and bigoted view toward African-Americans.”

BordentownNucera had a history of making racial slurs and derogatory comments about blacks, and used dogs as intimidation tools at local high school basketball games.  A year ago, one of his officers became concerned enough that he secretly began recording his comments. In one of the recordings Nucera said of African Americans that he was “tired of them. it’s getting to the point where I could shoot one.” And this …

“These n****rs are like ISIS, they have no value. They should line them all up and mow ’em down. I’d like to be on the firing squad, I could do it. I used to think about if I could shoot someone or not, I could do it, I’m tired of it.”

Now I have to ask the question … this man has been with the police force for 34 years … thirty-four years!  How has this behaviour not been noticed and dealt with long before? Surely he did not only in the last year develop racist tendencies?  Surely others have noticed his behaviour and rhetoric before now?  Surely there have been other incidences of abuse in the past 34 years? How did this man stay on the force and in his position as chief for this long?  And … perhaps the more important question … how many more are out there as city police chiefs, county sheriffs or other arms of law enforcement who are just like Nucera?  Think Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona.

I would bet that Nucera has always harbored hatred and resentment against blacks, but did he keep it hidden, under wraps, knowing that it would be trouble if he were found out?  And then last year, with the new wave of white supremacy, the new ideology among some that it is okay to be racist, did he finally let his guard down?  Or has this been going on all along and the people have covered for him?  I cannot find any answers, but am chilled to think of this man having had murder in his heart, and yet been given the keys to the highest position of law enforcement in his town … for thirty-four years!

In response to a spate of police killing unarmed black men such as Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and others in recent years, the Obama administration ordered reforms and training improvements at police departments.  But now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review of all such agreements, saying it was necessary to ensure that these pacts do not work against the Trump administration’s goals of promoting officer safety and morale while fighting violent crime. He also rolled back a different Obama-era effort to investigate police departments and work with them out of court to fix their failings.

How close did Bordentown, New Jersey come to being the next Ferguson, Missouri?  How many cities across the nation have officers on the force with an intense hatred of black people?  How do they go unnoticed, unreported?  And another big question … will Jeff Sessions, well known for his own racism, roll back the safeguards that were just being put in place to combat this very thing?  How long before we have our next Freddie Gray?  Only a matter of time, folks … a matter of time.

Is Racial Parity Possible Under Jeff Sessions?

Posted on by under Political commentary, Social commentary
AG Sessions has some explaining to do. This will either take a long time or a very short time.

Jeff Sessions

Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned that the agreement negotiated under the Obama administration to overhaul the troubled Baltimore police force may result in “a less safe city.” Sessions said in a statement Friday that the Baltimore agreement shows “clear departures from many proven principles of good policing that we fear will result in more crime.”  The “proven principles” to which he refers are racism, including profiling and police brutality against African-Americans.

freddie-gray

Freddie Gray

The subject of Sessions’ remarks is the agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and the City of Baltimore, Maryland, partly as a response to the murder of Freddie Gray in 2015.  The agreement calls for sweeping police reforms aimed at restoring community trust in city cops, and ensuring that they conduct everyday police work within the bounds of the Constitution. It orders more officer supervision and training on de-escalation tactics and interactions with youths, those with mental illnesses and protesters, and creates a special citizen task force to find ways to enhance civilian oversight of the department, among other changes. The agreement has the support of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, as well as Police Commissioner Kevin Davis.

In contradiction to Sessions’ statement, Mayor Pugh said, “I believe that it makes Baltimore safer. I think by building and training our police officers in ways to de-escalate violence, to work with our communities, to have cultural diversity training and have the right kind of tools they need to know what they can do in certain areas of our community … I think it’s improved policing.”

The Justice Department initially opened their investigation a full year before Freddie Gray’s death, after the Baltimore Sun revealed that the city had paid out millions in more than 100 civil suits alleging police misconduct and brutality. Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General in February, despite verified allegations of past incidents of blatant racism.  One of his first moves was to begin to walk back its commitment to federal oversight of police departments with discriminatory patterns or practices. Last week, Sessions ordered a review of all consent decrees between police departments and the Justice Department.

In response, US District Judge James Bredar said on Friday that the time for reviewing the agreement had passed. “The case is no longer in a phase where any party is unilaterally entitled to reconsider the terms of the settlement; the parties are bound to each other by their prior agreement. The time for negotiating the agreement is over. The only question now is whether the Court needs more time to consider the proposed decree. It does not.” And with that, he approved the police reform agreement and entered it as an order of the court.

As Attorney General of Alabama, Sessions had a history of overturning, or causing to be overturned, efforts to enhance racial inclusion.  For example, in 1994 he convinced a federal circuit court to reject a prior ruling that would have remedied minority voter dilution by requiring additional judgeships and establishing a commission charged with selecting diverse candidates for new vacancies.  Since then, there have been no African-American judges on either the Alabama Supreme Court or the states two lower appellate courts. This continued under President Obama, with Sessions opposing Obama’s picks for the five vacant district judgeships in Alabama, as well as the open seat on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

At every turn, when met with efforts to increase diverse representation or reverse the vast racial disparities in the criminal justice system, Jeff Sessions has stood in opposition. He has disparaged groups working to reform the death penalty, publicly supported “chain gangs” for prisoners in Alabama, and worked against bipartisan efforts to reform federal sentencing, including severe mandatory minimums that fall hardest on black and Latino offenders.

I applaud Judge James Bredar’s decision to stand by and affirm the agreement between the Justice Department and the City of Baltimore, but Baltimore is not the only city with similar agreements.  Other cities include: Cleveland (Ohio), Miami (Florida), Newark (New Jersey), and Ferguson (Missouri), where another African-American, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by police in 2014. Will there be other judges willing to stand up to Sessions and his Department of ‘Justice’ in the future?

Jeff Sessions has no concern for the civil rights of our citizens, and by selecting him to occupy the position of Attorney General of the United States, Donald Trump has shown us that he, too, is unconcerned about the state of race relations in our cities.  This is a sad state of affairs that has the potential to undo much of the progress of the last 50 years. Contrary to what Trump and Sessions both apparently believe, justice and crime are not determined by the colour of a person’s skin.

Jeff Sessions – The First Fateful Three Weeks – Part I

Posted on by under Political commentary, Social commentary

king-2On Wednesday, February 8th, a group of men were sitting around in the Oval Office.  They included Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Mike Pence, and a few others.  The men were waiting for word that Jeff Sessions had been confirmed by the senate to be the next Attorney General of the United States.  When the call finally came, the men ‘high-fived’ and whooped in ecstasy, one of them yelling, “Yeehaw!  We got ‘em again!”  By “’em”, he meant ‘them’, and by them, he meant me … he meant you … he meant We The People.  And yes, they got us again.  Another highly inappropriate, bigoted man was once again put in charge of an important function of our government, right under our noses, and we were powerless to stop it.

Did the above scenario actually take place?  I have no idea, but I can picture it in my mind, and if that exact scenario did not happen, I am fairly certain that something close to it did.  I could dwell here on why a group of supposedly intelligent Republican congressmen and women chose to bow to Trump’s wishes rather than to consider the best interest of the nation, of their own constituents, but it is a tale best left for another day, as there is more pressing business at hand today.

This post is Part I of II on the latest controversies and issues surrounding Mr. Sessions 3-week tenure in office and the reasons there are already calls for him to step down.  I hope to have Part II ready later this evening, otherwise tomorrow morning.

Sessions has been in office for less than a month, yet already he has breached protocol in such a way that it is now clear he may not be capable of performing the duties of his job in a fair manner.  I begin with a situation that may have been largely overlooked in the shadow of bigger news, which I will come to in Part II.

gray

Freddie Gray

On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr., a 25-year-old Black American man, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade under Baltimore law. While being transported in a police van, Gray fell into a coma and was taken to a trauma center where he died a week later from injuries to his spinal cord. On April 21, 2015, pending an investigation of the incident, six Baltimore police officers were suspended with pay. Due to a number of factors, not a single one of the six police officers were found guilty and charges were ultimately dropped on all six.

It was found, on investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under Attorney General Loretta Lynch, that the Baltimore Police Department has engaged in years of racially discriminatory policing that targeted black residents, illegally detaining and searching people and using excessive force. The federal investigators found that officers are poorly trained and that the department has fostered a culture in which complaints against police are often ignored. Most of the unconstitutional stops occurred in predominantly poor black neighborhoods, the report says, and some people were stopped simply because police perceived them as disrespectful.

As a result, on January 12th, 2017, the DOJ entered into a court-enforceable agreement with the City of Baltimore to resolve the discriminatory practices that are in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws, as well as the U.S. Constitution. The decree’s requirements focus on building community trust, creating a culture of community and problem-oriented policing, prohibiting unlawful stops and arrests, preventing discriminatory policing and excessive force, ensuring public and officer safety, enhancing officer accountability and making needed technological upgrades. Under the agreement, the parties will jointly recommend an independent monitor to the court to assess whether the requirements of the agreement are being implemented.  Or, at least that was the plan.

On Tuesday, newly-minted Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the federal government would back away from monitoring troubled police departments.  There are currently some 20 police departments being monitored across the nation, including Baltimore, Chicago, Maricopa County (Arizona) and others.  In his speech, Session said, in part, “We need, so far as we can, in my view, help police departments get better, not diminish their effectiveness, And I’m afraid we’ve done some of that. So we’re going to try to pull back on this, and I don’t think it’s wrong or mean or insensitive to civil rights or human rights.”

black-man-beatenThe purpose of the monitoring, as I stated above, was to “help police departments get better”, through a combination of training, technology, and community trust.  The monitoring is intended to enhance both the safety of the public and police officers.  What is most disturbing about Sessions’ move is the message it sends to all law enforcement:  It is now okay to profile, to target African-Americans and other minorities, to use excessive force, and the federal government will not interfere with what you do. There can be no doubt, given his past track record (see previous post) that AG Sessions is a racist, has little or no respect for African-Americans, and will not likely work toward enforcing laws that protect minorities.

“One of the big things out there that’s, I think, causing trouble and where you see the greatest increase in violence and murders in cities is somehow, some way, we undermine the respect for our police and made, oftentimes, their job more difficult,” said Sessions.  I would argue that, while the vast majority of us do respect the police, respect must be earned, and in cases like Baltimore and Chicago, where officers have acted out of prejudice or bias, they themselves are the cause of any loss of respect among the community.

We teach our children that the police are your friends, that if you are ever in trouble, find a policeman and he will help you.  But, if you are an African-American, a Hispanic, or a person of Middle-Eastern descent, you think twice before telling your children this.  You ask yourself if it is true, or if you are guiding your children into the hands of those who would sooner do them harm.  The potential end result of Sessions’ decision to ‘back off’ monitoring troubled police departments is that we end up with a nation-wide police state where we are all … white, black, young, old, male, female … afraid to walk down the sidewalk.  Think about it.

Stay tuned for Part II – Did Sessions lie under oath, what is his Russian connection, and should he recuse himself?

Black Lives Matter – But In Baltimore, Not So Much

Posted on by under Social commentary

“The Justice Department announced today that it found reasonable cause to believe that the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution as well as federal anti-discrimination laws.” – United States Department of Justice

Sixteen months after the death of Freddie Gray, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a  163-page report outlining the various and multiple abuses found within the Baltimore Police Department.  The report finds “systemic deficiencies” at virtually every level that, through the years, has resulted in police disproportionately targeting black residents and violating their constitutional rights and federal anti-discrimination laws.. African-American residents were subject to thousands of unconstitutional stops and searches, some involving excessive use of force, and those who spoke up faced retaliation.

A few of the more blatant incidents found were:

  • Between 2010 – 2014, roughly 44% of 111,500 police stops occurred in two small, predominantly African-American neighborhoods that account for only about 11% of the city’s population.
  • Police publicly strip-searched a woman after a traffic stop for a missing headlight.
  • A sergeant instructed a cop to stop a group of young African-American men on a street corner, question them, and order them to disperse. The officer protested that he had no valid reason for the stop. The sergeant replied, “Then make something up.”

“Public trust is critical to effective policing and public safety,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “Our investigation found that Baltimore is a city where the bonds of trust have been broken, and that the Baltimore Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful and unconstitutional conduct, ranging from the use of excessive force to unjustified stops, seizures and arrests.”

“The department also identified serious concerns about other BPD practices, including an inadequate response to reports of sexual assault, which may result, at least in part, from underlying gender bias.  Another significant concern identified by the department was transport practices that place detainees at significant risk of harm.”

This is all very well and fine, but a report only identifies the problems.  In order to have value, it must be used to drive changes that will reduce or eliminate the problems.  So, what is next for the City of Baltimore?  “Federal and city officials said Wednesday that they have reached the outlines of what will become a court-enforced agreement on how to remedy the widespread problems in the Police Department. The final negotiations are expected to be completed by Nov. 1.” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake anticipates a total cost for planning and implementing the necessary changes between $5 million and $10 million.  Few details are available at this time, but the DOJ framework recommends a number of areas that must be addressed, including:

  • Policies, training, data collection and analysis to allow for the assessment of officer activity and to ensure that officers’ actions conform to legal and constitutional requirements;
  • Technology and infrastructure to ensure capability to effectively monitor officer activity;
  • Officer support to ensure that officers are equipped to perform their jobs effectively and constitutionally; and
  • Community policing strategies to guide all aspects of BPD’s operations and help rebuild the relationship between BPD and the various communities it serves.

Last month, Judge Barry G. Williams acquitted Officer Caesar R. Goodson, one of six Baltimore Police Department officers charged in the murder of Freddie Gray.  It was the 2nd acquittal by Judge Williams in the case, another having ended in a mistrial. Shortly thereafter, charges were dropped against the remaining officers, ensuring that Freddie Gray would receive no justice, that his death would go unpunished.  I like to think that as a part of the future planned changes, Judge Williams’ rulings will also be subject to review.

While there can be no justice for Freddie Gray, his death was the catalyst that may bring changes benefiting future generations of African-Americans in the city of Baltimore.  I wonder, if the DOJ were to perform this type of intense investigation into other cities, what they would find?  That is not likely to happen, as such an investigation is time-consuming and costly, and the Department of Justice, like every other, has limited resources.  However, one can hope that this will serve as a warning and a wake-up call to other cities to do their own investigation and better monitor and manage their law enforcement agencies, so that we do not have another Freddie Gray, or Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, or Michael Brown.  One can hope.

No Justice For Freddie Gray Today

Posted on by under Social commentary

Today, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby issued the following statement:

“After much thought and prayer, it has become clear that without being able to work with an independent investigatory agency from the very start, without having a say in the election of whether cases proceed in front of a judge or jury, without communal oversight of police in this community, without substantive reforms to the current criminal justice system, we could try this case 100 times just like it and we would still end up with the same result.”

Police arrested Gray the morning of April 12, 2015, after he fled from officers on bike patrol. Officers shackled Gray’s wrists and legs and loaded him into a police transport van without seat-belting him. At some point during the ride to jail, Gray fell and suffered a severe neck injury. We do not know precisely what happened to cause Mr. Gray’s injuries in that van, nor is it likely that we will ever know.  He died in the hospital a week later.  The State Medical Examiner deemed Mr. Gray’s death a homicide.  But apparently, according to Judge Barry Williams, it was a homicide that did not warrant justice.  Apparently, Judge Williams did not believe that Freddie Gray’s life mattered.

Although six officers involved in the arrest and transport of Mr. Gray were charged in connection with his homicide, not a single one was convicted.  In fact, only four trials took place, one ending in a hung jury, three others ending in acquittals, and the remaining charges being dropped when it became obvious that prosecutors were wasting their time, that there would be no justice for Mr. Gray.

Ms. Mosby claims that there were abnormalities in the investigation of Gray’s death, saying there were individual officers who were witnesses and also were part of the investigation. She said lead detectives were “uncooperative” and that search warrants were not executed. Mosby also said officers created videos to “disprove the state’s case.”  Whether those allegations are true or not, I cannot say, but I do know that it is rare for police actually to be convicted when accused of causing wrongful death or other forms of police brutality.

Police officers are rarely charged, and if they are charged, they are convicted at a lower rate than people in the general populace, according to a study by the Cato Institute.  In fact, police officers are only half as likely to be convicted and punished as the general populace.  Why is this?

  • Juries and trial court judges are seemingly reluctant to convict in criminal court an officer whose crimes rose out of an on-duty incident that occurred as part of their job.
  • Juries tend to side with officers who argue self-defense, as they see the police as protectors.
  • There is no national reporting requirement for such accusations; in fact, many places have laws to purposefully keep the details of misconduct investigations out of the public eye.
  • Most of the time, prosecutors don’t press charges against police, even when there is evidence of wrongdoing, as to do so is to put the prosecutor’s career on the line.

However, the biggest reason  police officers are so rarely convicted is what is known as the “blue wall of silence.”  This is the unwritten rule that exists among police officers not to report on a colleague’s errors, misconducts, or crimes. If questioned about an incident of misconduct involving another officer (e.g. during an official inquiry), while following the code, the officer being questioned would claim ignorance of another officer’s wrongdoing. Police officers protect each other.  They rarely testify against another officer.  Officers who do not follow the code are sometimes threatened and ostracized by fellow police officers. This, I believe, is the biggest single barrier to bringing justice to corrupt police officers, bar none. This “blue wall of silence” is the reason we will never know who killed Freddie Gray.

Please do not misunderstand me.  I have the greatest respect for law enforcement as a whole, and I believe that the majority of police officers are out there putting their lives on the line every day, trying to do the right thing with but one goal in mind:  to protect the citizens.  I have often written about the dangers and immorality of judging an entire group of people based on the actions of a few, and it is not my intent to make such judgments here.  But, as with any other group, there are members of every police community who are corrupt, who are bigoted, who are more concerned with their illusions of power than with protection of the community.  And just as with any other group, it is those few most remembered for their actions … actions which colour our opinion of the entire group.

Given the statistics, and given the many recent cases like Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and others who have died at the hands of police without any accountability by police, is it any wonder that relations between law enforcement and the community are strained?  What is the solution?  I cannot say. There are laws prohibiting officers from withholding information, or giving false testimony, but just as with any other law, if not enforced, then they have little or no value.

We all decry such events as the recent killings of police in Baton Rouge and Dallas, killings that come as a result of frustration with the law enforcement community.  Frustration and fear.  Fear that we, or one of our children, may someday be the victims of the same treatment that Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, or Philando Castile received.  We have come to fear the very people we should be able to trust the most. The solution, the only possible solution, is to hold law enforcement to a high standard of accountability.  Until we do that, our society will continue along its current path.  Think about it.

It Is Not A Crime To Be Black!!!

Posted on by under Rants, Social commentary

The City of Baltimore, Maryland, must have enjoyed the riots of 2015 and hope to have a 2016 re-enactment.  For the third time in 7 months, one of the guards charged in the murder of Freddie Gray last year failed to be convicted.  Caesar Goodson was the sole officer who was actually charged with murder in the Freddie Gray killing, and today he was acquitted.  He was acquitted of second-degree depraved-heart murder. He was acquitted of second-degree assault. He was acquitted of misconduct in office.  He was acquitted of reckless endangerment.  And he was acquitted of three counts of manslaughter.  He left the courtroom amidst much back-patting and many congratulatory handshakes.  And the good citizens of Baltimore wept.

To briefly recap the case: On 12 April 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr. was apprehended and arrested by Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers, accused of carrying an illegal switchblade.  Gray, shackled and manacled, was placed into a police van for transport to the police station, but was not secured by either seat belt or shoulder harness.  During the ride, Gray fell into a coma and was ultimately transported to a trauma center, where he died one week later.  The coroner’s office ruled Gray’s death a homicide, citing that he had received fatal injuries during transport.  Eye witness accounts said that the arresting officers had used ‘unnecessary force’ during the arrest, but the officers categorically denied this claim.  On April 24, 2015, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said, “We know our police employees failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times.”  There are more unanswered questions than there are answers, even after three criminal trials, because the ‘blue wall of silence’ once again protects its own.

It was later determined that Freddie Gray was actually arrested simply for making eye contact with the officers before the presence of the knife was even noticed.  Thus the initial arrest was unlawful.  Two bystanders captured Gray’s arrest with video recordings showing Gray, screaming in pain, being dragged to a police van by officers, and then stepping up into the van.

On 1 May 2015, prosecutors stated they had probable cause to charge six BPD officers:

  • Officer William G. Porter – involuntary manslaughter; second degree assault; misconduct in office. A grand jury indicted Porter on all charges and added an indictment of reckless endangerment.  On December 16, 2015, a mistrial was declared on all charges.  Officer Porter’s retrial date is scheduled for September 6, 2016.
  • Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. – charged with second-degree depraved heart murder; involuntary manslaughter; second-degree assault; manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence); manslaughter by vehicle (criminal negligence); and misconduct in office. Found not guilty on all charges on June 23, 2016
  • Officer Garrett E. Miller – charged with two counts of second degree assault; two counts of misconduct in office; and false imprisonment. False imprisonment charges were dropped, but reckless endangerment charges were added.  Trial date is set for July 27, 2016
  • Officer Edward M. Nero – charged with two counts of second degree assault; misconduct in office and false imprisonment. Judge Barry Williams found Officer Nero not guilty of all charges on May 23, 2016.
  • Brian W. Rice – charged with involuntary manslaughter; two counts of second degree assault; manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence); two counts of misconduct in office; and false imprisonment.
  • Alicia D. White – accused of not calling for medical assistance when she encountered Gray, “despite the fact she was advised that he needed a medic”. Charged with involuntary manslaughter; second degree assault; and misconduct.  Trial date is set for October 13, 2016.
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William G. Porter

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Caesar R. Goodson

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Garrett E. Miller

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Edward M. Nero

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Brian W. Rice

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Alicia D. White

 

In his ruling today, Judge Williams said video and photos prosecutors presented did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Goodson ran a stop sign or recklessly made a wide turn, as the state contended. Multiple witnesses for the prosecution couldn’t specifically define ‘rough ride’. And only when pressed in closing arguments did prosecutors say a rough ride could be inferred because Gray got hurt while unbuckled in the back of the van. Testimony showed that Gray told police at multiple stops that he wanted to go to the hospital. But according to the judge, there was no evidence until the van arrived at the final stop, that Goodson realized Gray — with a bloodied face and unresponsive — was in medical distress.  And yet … and yet, nobody was at fault here, nobody should pay for the death of a young man whose only real crime was being African-American.

Fraternal Order of Police president Gene Ryan said the group is pleased with today’s ruling and optimistic the remaining officers will also be acquitted. He called on prosecutors to drop the remaining charges.  I see the handwriting on the wall.  I hope the prosecutor’s office follows through on each and every one of these cases, however it looks less and less likely that any will actually pay for the murder of young Freddie Gray.  If any one of these men is guilty, then all six are guilty for their crime of maintaining the ‘blue wall of silence’.  But obviously in the eyes of the courts in the City of Baltimore, none can be charged as guilty, none will be charged as guilty, and apparently Freddie Gray just suddenly died, all on his own, with no help from these fine, upstanding officers of the law.

When the citizens of Baltimore rise up and protest this travesty of justice, whether it is tonight, tomorrow, or six months from now, let there not be a single voice that says “they should not be violent, they should accept and go on, they should … “, for the City of Baltimore, through its system of ‘justice’, has made clear its position, and now the citizens will make clear theirs.  I do not advocate violence, I am of the same mind as Dr. Martin Luther King, but the time has come to stand up and say, “It is not a crime to be black!!!”  Let there somehow, someday, somewhere, be justice for Mr. Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr.

Thoughts on Baltimore …

Posted on by under Social commentary

I tried to avoid it … I really did try … but alas, I find that I must weigh in on the situation in Baltimore, if only to silence those who believe that it is a simple black-and-white issue with simple good vs. bad components and an equally simple solution. The few facts that are known are as follows:

• On April 19th, Freddie Gray, an African-American male, age 25, was walking on a Baltimore street when a police officer made eye contact, which prompted Mr. Gray to run, though he was not wanted for any crime at that time.
• The officer gave chase and arrested Mr. Gray who did not resist arrest.
• Mr. Gray’s leg was apparently injured, though it is not known how this happened.
• Mr. Gray was put in a police van for transport to the police station.
• On arrival at the police station, Mr. Gray had mysteriously acquired three fractured vertebrae and a crushed voice box. The police van had made at least two stops between the site of the arrest and the police station, but it is unknown (or unreported) what transpired during those stops.
• Freddie Gray died later that day of severe spinal cord injuries.
• The six police officers involved have been placed on suspension with pay.

More than a week later, still no information regarding the events during that fateful van ride have been forthcoming and no real action has been taken against the officers (sorry, but suspension with pay does not, in my book, qualify as a punitive action but seems more like a paid vacation … a reward, in fact). Understandably, the community wants answers to the question “what happened and why?”. Both the mayor of Baltimore and the Department of Justice are “investigating”, but no real information has been forthcoming. The frustration of yet another African-American victim of police brutality coupled with a lack of credible information has led to frustration among Baltimore’s citizens, which ultimately has led to protests, a few of which have become very violent and resulted in property damage and injuries to police officers. Those are the facts. Now for my take …

Let me be very clear at the onset that I DO NOT CONDONE RIOTING AND VIOLENCE. Based on past experience, I’m sure that some will still conclude that I am siding with the rioters. So be it. That said, while I do not condone the violent response, I understand it. John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Imagine that you are dining with a group of friends, everyone is talking and having a good time, when you suddenly inhale a piece of food and can neither breathe nor speak. You wave your arms, trying to get somebody to notice your dilemma, but nobody seems to notice. Eventually, as you are turning blue, you are probably going to smack the nearest person or throw a plate against a wall in order to be noticed, yes? The citizens of Baltimore are choking on this and need someone to notice, to provide answers, to show that it is, indeed, being taken very seriously, but they are being ignored. So, they are lashing out. This case in and of itself is horrific, but in light of the current spate of cases involving police brutality and use of unnecessary force against African-Americans, it makes for one of the most volatile environments imaginable. Even so, most of the protests in Baltimore over the past week have been peaceful in nature. Rioting, looting and violence are not the order of the day except in a very few areas. Just as with other recent crises that led to outbreaks of violence (Hurricane Katrina, Ferguson, Mo., etc.) those who are guilty of this type of violence are most often undereducated, unsupervised youths using the situation and associated protest movements as an excuse. Still, there needs to be some serious discussion between the citizens, city leaders and the law enforcement community, else the problems will ultimately lead to more serious and lasting discord. This situation is not going to just go away and the scars cannot begin to heal until a few things happen:
1. A full investigation is performed, the questions answered and made available to the citizens
2. Harsh punishment is applied against any and all officers involved in the brutality
3. An apology is issued to the family of Freddie Gray and to the community
4. A realistic plan is put forth and implemented to ensure that this can never happen again in Baltimore

There is yet one other aspect that needs to be addressed on a national level, and that is the role of the media. The media really should step up and take at least partial responsibility for the escalation of violence, not only in Baltimore but also in Ferguson, Mo., as well as numerous other hot spots in the nation over the past decade. As noted above, many more people were involved in peaceful protests in Baltimore than in violent ones. Did you know that? Probably not, since the media choose to highlight only the most violent situations. A little personal story here … when I was a teenager, I happened to be in a city that was hit by a hurricane. Damage was minimal for the most part, with only a very few homes or businesses destroyed, however electricity and telephone service were interrupted for several days (this was before the day of cell phones or the internet) . My grandmother, who lived in Chicago, was nearly worried into an early grave until telephone service was restored and she learned that we were all well and fine. The media, as it turned out, had found the 5 or 6 buildings that had been destroyed and reported continuously that there was “mass destruction and devastation”. It was a bald-faced lie, but I guess that reporting that 99% of the area that received only minimal damage wouldn’t have gotten nearly as many viewers, thus larger ratings, thus more advertising dollars flowing into the coffers. The same is the case in Baltimore today … the press is not interested in the people who are engaged in peaceful protest. You are familiar with the expression “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”? Just as in so many other situations, such as terrorism, to name just one, the result of the slanted media coverage is that is serves as an enticement to those who are seeking their “15 minutes of fame”.

So then, is there a solution to not only this case, but preventing similar situations in the future? I do not think there is a single panacea, but a multi-faceted set of changes in how city officials, law enforcement and the press operate, and equally important, in the response of citizens of the nation, not just of a single city. Two comments I have heard repeatedly that I find particularly galling and obnoxious are: “he deserved what he got … he shouldn’t have been running from the law”, and “Obama needs to talk to his people and calm them down”. Seriously??? So, running from the law is punishable by death now? No trial, no jury, no judge, just … death. I believe it was Cicero who first coined the phrase “let the punishment be equal with the offence”, or as paraphrased by W.S. Gilbert, “let the punishment fit the crime”. And President Obama needs to speak to “his” people? This sounds like a remark that might have been made in Alabama or Mississippi in 1950! Try “we need to help our people”. We are all in this together, people! Communication, open and honest, will be of more value than anything else I can think of. We are hovering dangerously close to a return to the racism and vigilantism that defined the 1950’s and 1960’s in this nation and I think we must all be willing to do our part to prevent that. Too many hateful and hurtful remarks have been bandied about on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites with no intelligent thought behind them. Too many falsehoods and half-truths are being reported both on mainstream and social media, and those who have neither the inclination nor intelligence to dig deeper believe only what they see or hear at any given moment, adding to the unrest and potentially adding fuel to the fire. If there is a solution it will require intelligence coupled with a more compassionate and tolerant culture than we seem to have now.

While I welcome comments and would very much like to hear the opinions of others on this issue, please note that I will not tolerate any comment that is racist in nature.