Tell that to the Jeener Sicks!
Posted on 11/18/2007 1:57:38 AM PST by nin_kasi
The crying came later.
First, Mel Reeves, of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP, talked about racial hatred.
''He lies here because he was black and he was not seen as a human being,'' Reeves told mourners preparing to bury 19-year-old Gracia ''BG'' Beaugris, who was killed near his North Miami home on Oct. 25 by a Miami-Dade police officer.
Then, Jack Lieberman, a lawyer and community activist, stepped to the pulpit, demanding that the police be punished.
''If we are to see justice in this case, Officer [Christopher] Villano must be prosecuted,'' he said comparing the officer's conduct to that of the dreaded Tonton Macoutes under former dictator Francois Duvalier in Haiti, the country Beaugris left just seven years ago.
In all, more than 400 people turned out at the New Birth Baptist Church on Northwest 135th Street in Opa-locka to pay final respects to Beaugris, who was laid to rest in a blue coffin surrounded by his friends, family and a Haitian-American community still agonizing and angered over the death of a teenager.
Beaugris is survived by his parents, Max Beaugris and Medilia Philibert; three brothers, Edie, Mickie and Michelet; two sisters, Maritzda and Alexandra; and a son, Elisa, who turned 1 year old earlier this month.
Beaugris was buried in Southern Memorial Park in North Miami Beach.
What happened the night of Oct. 25 remains under investigation by the Miami-Dade state attorney's office.
They are interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence to determine if Villano acted appropriately in firing his weapon.
The night of the shooting, Beaugris was in the company of his younger brother and some friends, returning home from a laundromat.
Villano, a member of Miami-Dade's Robbery Intervention Detail unit, was working as part of Operation Community Guardian, which floods high-crime zones with officers to prevent violence.
Villano stopped to speak to Beaugris and the others in an alley behind North Miami's Blessing Beauty Salon, 712 NE 128th St., according to police. He was wearing a vest imprinted with the word ''POLICE,'' according to police union officials.
Police say that Beaugris attacked Villano, biting and beating him before appearing to reach for the officer's gun. The officer fought back and fired three rounds at the teen.
Villano's attorney, Andrew Axelrad, told The Miami Herald that the shooting was justified.
''Once the pictures of the police officer are made public, there will be no question as to the justification of the shooting,'' he said.
Beaugris' family, however, said the killing was unprovoked and that Beaugris was a good citizen who was just out doing laundry.
The community outcry over Beaugris' death prompted a meeting on Nov. 8 that included Miami-Dade Police Director Robert Parker, the teen's family and local residents.
At the meeting, about 70 people, including Beaugris' family and Haitian-American community leaders, voiced their anger and disappointment with police.
Several activists questioned whether an independent investigation was needed to learn the truth of what happened the night Beaugris was killed.
Assistant State Attorney Richard Scruggs assured the crowd that night that his office would conduct ``an independent investigation based on the facts of law.''
At Saturday's funeral, a representative of the Miami-Dade Community Relations Board, which had organized the Nov. 8 community meeting, was not a welcomed visitor.
The man asked for restraint, promising justice would prevail.
But he was quickly greeted with hissing and angry muttering from the crowd of mourners.
Later, Jimmy Charles was called to the pulpit. He and Beaugris had been friends since high school, then bandmates in Haitian Boys, an R and B group for which Beaugris was a singer.
Charles was one of the last people to see Beaugris alive. Nobody had told him he was going to speak at his funeral, so he had nothing prepared.
''I miss you,'' he said. ``I miss your life, your smile, having fun together. We all miss you, man. No more pain, no more anger. . . . Rest in peace.''
Then came the crying, high and keening from the women and low and quiet from the men.
Whenever these things happen, the family rushes out to say it had to be the horrible, racist police because their perfect, angelic boy would never attack a cop. The NAACP gets involved, and sometimes they tote out Jackson and Sharpton. Obviously the police aren't all perfect, and people have been unfairly arrested due to social status or race. However, it sounds like this cop really was in fear of his life. He was being beaten, and Beaugris was going to take his gun and likely shoot him. He was defending himself.
Beaugris' family, however, said the killing was unprovoked and that Beaugris was a good citizen who was just out doing laundry.
Lots of people do their laundry in the alley behind beauty shops.
It's just common knowledge
Why do they say “teen” ? He was an adult male. If his family had cared about his well-being, they would’ve instructed him on the proper way to respond to a police officer. Had he complied, he’d still be alive.
I think folks in these areas are going to have to decide whether they prefer lawlessness or law & order. If they opt for the former, which they already seem to prefer by their words and deeds, I’m sure more than a lot of law enforcement would be more than happy to oblige. Why would you risk your life to maintain order if the residents don’t give a f*ck about you and blame you for everything that goes wrong ?
Dissapointed the writer left those question out.
Haitian behaving insanely. Is this the first or second time he’s being put into the ground?
Why was he in the US in the first place??
Tens of thousands of young black men killed every year, but the race pimps can only seem to turn up at the .1% that aren’t committed by other young black men.
The message this sends is that black life only matters when a white person takes it, and therefore black life has no inherent value.
Whenever these things happen, the family rushes out to say it had to be the horrible, racist police because their perfect, angelic boy would never attack a cop. The NAACP gets involved, and sometimes they tote out Jackson and Sharpton......
And the governor gives the family 7 million dollars.
Of course, a person might also congregate with his friends nearby to do drugs as well. Just saying there’s nothing obviously unbelievable about what the family says.
Until facts come to light that indicate the cop’s story has holes I believe the cop. And letting some "community activist" (= low-level communist agitator) mouth off at your child's funeral doesn't do the parents' case one bit of good.
Maybe the residents there would prefer that police withdraw, if they are so afraid. If police randomly go about shooting people, then maybe the residents ought to forego police protection and patrol their own neighborhood. Ha ha.
Maybe the police ought to do what they did in Cincinnati after there were riots and protests over their killing several men who were threatening them or engaged in crimes. The “community” however screamed that the cops were just racists and out there to kill black men. So for a time police in those neighborhoods stopped patrolling as frequently, and did not respond to calls about more minor crimes. Then of course people who lived their complained that they were not getting enough protection! So they wanted it both ways. The police could not win.
I don’t remember all the details but there were articles from the local media about this posted on FR at the time. It was just sickening as the double standards about crime and policing from residents and “activists” of course only created more problems.
No doubt the son will also turn into a good citizen.
Wow! I didn’t know that. Of course that comes from the taxpayers.
Tell that to the Jeener Sicks!
I’m sure the family would have been happier if they had remained in their Turd World paradise of Haiti....
I know that would have made me happier.
How about mourning all those innocent American citizens killed by illegal aliens and legal immigrants.
From the CDC
“Among black males 10 through 34 years of age, injuries from firearms are the leading cause of death.”
They don’t say who is pulling the trigger.
Response: No. I tend to think they were organizing a trip to Greece for purpose of teaching mathematics and philosophy.
My mistake....
But,BUT he was a good boy.
But,BUT he was a good boy.
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