Newspapers / Black Ink (Black Student … / March 25, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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Black Ink March 25,1991 Poio* pholM by A^. Vklw tff Qaorg^ HoMar. CourlMy KTLA. Lot AnjiHi INEMCTEO; Los Angetos pottce omc*rt. from top. Sgt Stacey C. Koon. Theodore J. Brtseno. Timothy E. Wind and Laurence PovveM. on right Hsailngs are being haM kxtay In Um Angsin and on Capitol H« to try to duamtne the parvathwwss ol po«oe brutaWy. "Unequal Justice" African-Americans and Police Brutality By Debbie Baker Assistant Editor "An illegal attack, an unjust at tack and an immoral attack can be made against you by anyone. Just because a person has on a uniform does not give him the right to come and shoot upyourneighborhood." —Malcolm X— Law enforcement officers in this country do not provide equal protection for all citizens. Minori ties characteristically have been the victims of harassment and police brutality by the very people hired to protect them. African- Americans in general should not call the local police or shaifrs department because they most likely will not be treated fairly. Studies indicate that African- Americans are more likely than whites to be harassed, brutalized or arresied without just cause by the police. One of the most publi cized cases of brutality occurred March 3, when Rodney King was stopped and severely beaten by four police officers in Los Ange les. The videotaped beating stirred the consciousness of AmerKans citizens as it was broadcast across the country. The Rodney King case clearly indicates that the mistreat ment of Afrkan-Americans by law enforcement officers is a case of unequal justice that is condoned in this society. The mistreatment of blacks by police officers can be put into an historical context In the Deep South, a jail cell could mean death to a black person during certain time periods in this country. The Ku Klux Klan was not the only group of terrorists blacks had to deal with, because southern sher iffs’ departments were notorious for their mistreatment of black people. Director of Public Safety Tlieodophilus “Bull” Connor in Birmingham, Ala., and Sheriff James G. Clark in Selma, Ala, were two examples of officials who specialized in training offi cers to violate the civil rights of black people. During the Civil Rights Movement, many blacks were harassed, beaten and brutal ized for their participation in non violent protest Some blacks were arrested, taken to jail and never seen again. James Forman, execu tive secretary of the Student Non violent Coordinating Committee (SNCQ, discusses several cases of police brutality in his autobiography The Making of Black Revolutionaries. Forman talks about the case of Robert Williams, head of the Union County, N.C. branch of the N AACP, who was run off the road by state troopers and constantly harassed by the police department in Monroe, the county seat Wil liams was very active during the movement in Monroe, which is the home of Sen. Jesse Helms. Also, Bessie Turner was brutally beaten by two police officers with a leather strap for no apparent reason in Clarksdale, Miss. Al though the police told her to keep quiet, she released her story in a sworn affidavit to SNCC. Charles Sherrod, a SNCC field secretary in Albany, Ga., was beaten severely by a sheriff and his deputies while he was in jail. Johnnie Morris, a native of Larry, Ga., reminisced about the time two policemen broke down his door and arrested him without any charge. The two officers put him in chains, kicked him in the eye, stomped him in the stomach and then beat him some more with an iron blackjack. In stances of police brutality espe cially during the Civil Rights Movement were very common. One tactic of civil rights organiza tions was to fill the jails; but it was very dangerous for black people to be left in the hands of southern police deparlments.when they were arrested. Local citizens in towns in the Deep South could not depend upon the police to protect them because they were just as violent as the Klan. Police mis conduct and brutality is not a new occurrence; blacks have always had to wwry about whether law enforcement officials would vio late their civil rights. Statistics compiled over the past two decades support the no tion that blacks are the victims of police harassment and brutality. From 1973 to 1983,2,000 minor ity citizens were killed by police in the U.S. The U.S. Justice Depart ment estimates that 45 percent of the 6,000 women and children killed by the police from 1969 to 1979 were black people. About 50 percent of the civilians killed by police from 1970-76 were Afri can-American. Over the past 30 years, African-Americans have been nine times more likely than whites to be killed by police offi cers. Figures such as these may explain why only 53 percent of blacks said they were satisfied with police protection, as compared to 1990, Mary Mitchell was shot to death by a police officer after he answered a call to calm a domestic dispute in the Bronx. The officer was charged with manslaughter because he said he feared for his life. In January 1990, a Black Muslim was killed by police in Los Angeles after clashes between the Nation of Islam and the sherifT s department. In addition to those cases, 500 members of New Y ork’s JointTerrcHistTask Force searched the home of Wanda Wareham in 1984. She nor her husband was ever charged with any crime. The use of 500 officers does seem like excessive force. In 1979,EulaLove was killed in Los Angeles by two officers who came to her house to check on an unpaid utility bill. Also in 1979, fourpolicemen from the Miami police department beat Arthur McDuffie to death afto' they stopped him for a minor traf fic violation. In 1985, Michael Stewart was beaten to death by 11 officers from the New York City Transit Police Force. Eleanor Bumpurs, a 66-year-old woman, was killed in 1984 by a New York City police officer who claimed he was trying to protect himself. African-Americans have no rights that white officers feel they should respect The Los Angeles Police De partment has a history of police violence and brutality towards minorities. The L.A.P.D. is sup posed to be tough because of the Reflections 71 percent of whites. Statistics show that Americans have good reasons for not trusting the police. Some of the incidents of police brutality that have occurred over the past several years show un equal justice does still exist in America. White police officers are using excessive force to deal with situations involving African- Americans. In Washington, N.C., a black man was killed by two white police officers this month. The Rev. David Moore, a local minister, said that more black police officers were needed to protect black people. On Jan. 24 Tony Farrell, a WRAL-TV engi neer, was shot by a white police officer who thought he was a rob ber. On March 20, a court awarded ablack man an undisclosed amount of money after he was pinned to a car by four white deputies in Ft Lauderdale, Fla. In November high incidence of gang violence in that city. But some residents feel the crackdown on gang violence has become a war against minority communities. In the July 16,1990 issue of Time, Sylvester Monroe wrote an article titled “Complaints About a Crackdown,” which dealt with the violence by the L.AP.D. Patricia Erickson of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in the article, “When it comes to probable cause, youth, especially minority youth, are guilty until proven innocent” And she appears to be correct The Los Angeles Times investigated police brutal ity in the city and reported that 151 excessive force cases had been filed against the sheriffs depart- mentin 1989. In addition, the paper found that $8.5 million had been paid by the sheriffs department to settle brutality cases. And when the ACLU and the Legal Defense
Black Ink (Black Student Movement, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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March 25, 1991, edition 1
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