EATTLE, July 12 — After the fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer last spring, community leaders here planned a chain of demonstrations to follow a rush-hour shutdown of the freeway through downtown.Posted on 07/12/2002 11:48:45 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
EATTLE, July 12 — After the fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer last spring, community leaders here planned a chain of demonstrations to follow a rush-hour shutdown of the freeway through downtown.
The aim of these "surprise strategic strikes," the organizers said, was to change the way the police treated African-Americans in Seattle. At the same time, city leaders were preparing new regulations for police officers, intended to determine whether race was a factor in whom they stopped and arrested.
But the protests and the regulations were abruptly put on hold by the killing three weeks ago of a white King County sheriff's deputy by a black man who had a history of run-ins with law enforcement. The deputy, Richard Herzog, was shot after he tried to restrain the man, who had been running naked in traffic. Deputy Herzog used pepper spray, but he was knocked to the ground, lost his weapon to the man and was repeatedly shot in front of nearly 50 people.
The killing has generated a backlash against efforts to make officers more sensitive to race, with officers saying they feel inhibited from fully protecting themselves because of fears of racial recriminations.
"We are sick and tired of being nitpicked about decisions we make every day," Sheriff Dave Reichert said at an emotional news conference shortly after his deputy's death. "We are sick and tired of being looked at as racists."
A question that Sheriff Reichert and other law enforcement agents raised is whether Deputy Herzog had feared using his gun out of concern that he might be criticized later.
"I wish I could ask Deputy Herzog that question," the sheriff said.
The highest-ranking black elected official here, County Executive Ron Sims, said in an interview that he believed the deputy had been inhibited from using force because of fears of racial reprisal. "There's no question race probably had an inhibiting effect," Mr. Sims said.
Even after the officer had been killed, he said, the police still showed restraint in arresting the suspect, Ronald Matthews, 44, a convicted felon with a history of violence toward officers.
"The officers did not shoot him, they did not rough him up, and that took a lot of discipline," he said.
The racial wounds stem from two fatal shootings in two years. In one, a black man, Aaron Roberts, was shot by a white officer, Craig Price, as Mr. Roberts tried to drag another officer alongside Mr. Roberts's car in May 2001.
In the second shooting, in April, a white off-duty sheriff's deputy approached a black man parked in a predominantly white neighborhood. The deputy, Mel Miller, said the man, Robert L. Thomas Sr., pulled a gun on him, prompting him to fire.
A number of black residents here said shooting would never have occurred nor would suspicion have been aroused if the person in the car had been white.
At a funeral for Mr. Thomas, black ministers demanded that Deputy Miller be fired and that police officers and sheriff's deputies be required to have racial sensitivity training. Several hundred mourners marched from the funeral to Interstate 5, the main north-south freeway, and blocked traffic in the evening rush hour.
The march's organizers said the protests would continue all summer unless the police changed their tactics. At the very least, the protesters said, the two shootings could have been avoided if the officers had used less lethal force, like pepper spray.
But the shooting of Deputy Herzog, after he had used pepper spray, brought a twist to the debate.
"What we're hearing from the public is a very high level of emotion now," Sgt. Greg Dymerksi of the sheriff's office said. "You have a police officer killed, and many people believe it is because officers are being second-guessed too much."
At a news conference last week, some black civic leaders who had criticized the police expressed support for them, and urged that people not politicize Deputy Herzog's death.
"This is not a black, red, brown or white issue," said James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. The Rev. John Hunter, pastor of the First A.M.E. Church in Seattle, said, "We are appalled by this tragedy."
The police say that in response to years of complaints they have been trying to use other ways to restrain suspects. Deputy Herzog's death shows that sometimes officers have no choice but to fire their weapons, they say.
"If he'd gotten to his gun first and used it, he would have been vilified by some people for his actions," Tom Umporowicz of the Seattle Police Officers Guild said. "There's no way you cannot think about stuff like that."
Of the tremendous show of support in the county and in the city for the police since the shooting, Mr. Umporowicz said, "When police officers become victims, suddenly everyone loves a cop."
The police said one way to reduce suspicions would be to require every patrol car to have a video camera to record all stops. The union supports that, but elected officials have been slow to buy the cameras.
Mr. Sims, the county executive, said he had been urging black residents to concentrate on race issues like disparity in school testing rather than using shootings as rallying cries.
"There are always going to be altercations between police and people that arouse these emotions," he said. "But race and class are things we can deal with through education. One problem is solvable. The other is not."
PRICELESS!!!
Bullshit. Folks like this continually make it a race issue. Extort a little money on empathy for the "victim" in one case and then dance in the blood of a cop in the other.
Had the deputy shot the "black man" in this incident, these same black "civic leaders" would have hollored "racism!" even louder.
What were the details of the (read it) "ATTEMPTED" dragging? Was there a dispute between police and the black community over what happened? Inquiring minds want to know more. Color me a deep shade of skeptical.
Imagine that! A run-in between one of their poster children and a cop,and they don't want any attention drawn to it! I wonder why? (sarcasm)
"This is not a black, red, brown or white issue," said James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.
Why is that? I thought that according to you and people like you,ANY conflict between whites and blacks was a color issue?
I know I'll get crap for this, but............
Up until the 60's (peace/love/civil rights) you didn't even THINK about shooting a cop in Texas unless you were already facing the chair. Taking a shot at a Texas cop pretty much guaranteed that you would never see the inside of a jail or courthouse, hence no "abused childhood", "retarded", or other BS defense. The courts were less crowded and the streets safer.
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| July 11, 2001 Number of fatal shootings in Seattle/King County area far below national average Jointly released by King County Sheriff Dave Reichert and King County Executive Ron Sims The Washington Post recently featured a profile highlighting the number of fatal shootings by police officers from the 51 largest local law enforcement agencies across the United States over an 11-year period. Out of the 51 agencies profiled, King County had the 49th lowest incidence of deadly force, averaging 0.06 fatal shootings per 100,000 residents; the City of Seattle ranked 37th with 0.22 fatal shootings per 100,000 residents. "Police face potentially dangerous confrontations on a regular basis. It is part of their mission to protect and serve the public," Sims said. "Our officers must make quick decisions when confronted by dangerous situations and sadly some shootings are inevitable. It hurts us all — not just those involved, but their loved ones, acquaintances and communities. I am heartened that our officers in King County and Seattle seem to be among the best in the country at avoiding officer-involved shootings." According to Sheriff Dave Reichert, the low number of officer-involved fatal shootings is a testament to the training and professionalism of Sheriff’s deputies. "We are constantly training and working with our deputies on alternatives to the use of deadly force," Reichert said. "While sometimes the only alternative is deadly force, we do everything we can to avoid it. These statistics prove that," Reichert added. To view the Washington Post profile online, please visit the Washington Post Web site. Contact: Steve Nolen (206) 296-4052; John Urquhart (206) 296-7528 » Link to: King County Sheriff's Web site Updated: July 11, 2001 |
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BS. They are only appalled that this tragedy has put the spotlight on their racist ways. They would be even happier if the naked guy had been killed so they would have another rallying cry: "It must have been a racist cop---how could a naked guy ever hurt anyone?"
I see we all picked up on the same phrase. I guess you can only "politicize" it if you are black. White people are not allowed to "politicize" anything!
No, no, no, no, no.... How many times do I have to tell you - ONLY the issues that can be twisted to the blacks advantage is a color issue. Come on, get with the program!
White cop + black perp = BAD COP! Anything which might look bad to the black community needs to be ignored.
Don't you know your Jesse Jackson Algebra?
My apologies to ALL decent, law-abiding black people. You are not included in this diatribe.
Obviously "everything" includes allowing good people to get shot in their attempt to keep the streets safe. I feel sad for these people who try their best to be good cops, only to have everything second guessed, tied to race, pushed beyond endurance.... and then sued should they survive.
Sims has been the instigator of the problem between the police and "the black community" in Seattle for the past 10 years. The problem was not huge until he made it huge for his political ambitions...
Dinner's ready -- more later.
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