Multiple national incidents of police shootings involving minorities, as well as police being targeted by gunmen, sparked a town hall meeting that drew more than 200 people to Delaware State University Tuesday evening.
A panel of state legislators, Dover officials, community and church leaders, and police officers were assembled to answer citizens’ questions.
Much of the two-hour event focused on police recruitment, training, psychological testing, community outreach, and reporting and disciplining problem officers. However, the conversation became increasingly frank as the evening wore on with several African-American attendees telling the panel they didn’t trust police and would fear for their safety if ever stopped by an officer.
State Rep. Lyndon Yearick, R-Dover South, one of the forum’s organizers, related a story told to him by one of his constituents — a frail, 74-year-old African-American man. He said the man had been walking on South State Street near Dover after visiting some nearby friends when he was stopped by a Delaware State Trooper and asked to show identification. “I cannot truly appreciate what that meant to that man from my perspective as a 51-year-old Caucasian, but that is the type of dialogue we’re looking to have … to understand and acknowledge those different perceptions. Perceptions are reality and it was very real to that man. I think there are quite a few people in this room that might have that same feeling in the sense of why was this man asked for this I-D.?”
Another panelist, Bernice Edwards of First State Community Action Agency, said there needs to be better cultural and racial understanding. “I want to know why wearing a hoodie sends a negative signal? I want to know why an African-American male driving … a nice car is going to be profiled,” she said.
Speaking from the audience, Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families Secretary Carla Benson-Green said government cannot provide all the answers. She said community members need to take more responsibility for taking back their neighborhoods from people that “do not have the fear of law” and “do not have the fear of God.”
Responding to a question on fatal police shootings, panelist and Dover Police Chief Paul Bernat said a far larger number of whites than blacks have been killed nationally in such incidents.
According to a database maintained by the Washington Post on police use of fatal force, 715 people have been shot and killed so far this year. Of that total, 330 were white, 174 were black, and 111 were Hispanic, with the remainder either unidentified or belonging to other races. More than 79 percent of the fatalities had a gun, a knife, or were using a vehicle as a weapon.
Rep. Yearick said if any real and lasting results are to be achieved, Tuesday’s town hall must be the start of an ongoing dialogue that leads to implemented changes.
So, what is missing from this news letter, and the discussion it describes, and for that matter, the general discussion nationwide about this issue? In my opinion, it is the discussion of what, if any responsibility citizens have when stopped or approached by law enforcement.
Some will say that police are to aggressive, or that the police have no right to stop you. And I would agree in certain circumstances. We do have Constitutional rights, “ to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”.
But as I have said many times, police officers are not judges, they do not have the authority, nor the responsibility to adjudicate your rights on the side of the road in the middle of the night.
I believe all citizens have the right to challenge any action of the police, but not in the middle of the situation, where emotions are high, and all involved are at a heightened state of agitation. The place for citizens to plead their case, is in the courts. I am fifty some years old, and I have never heard of, nor read of a person having been shot by a judge in a court room for pleading their case.
It is fine to call for better training of police, to investigate all officer involved shootings by third-party agencies, to work for better understanding on the part of the police of the communities they are policing.
But until the African-American community leaders also educate the members of their communities on how to go about handling being pulled over, or approached by police officers, we will see this repeated over and over.
The conversation must include educating citizens on their rights, but also on how to go about petitioning the government for a redress of grievances. This means understanding that they must first survive being arrested, in order to make it to court. The police may not have the right to arrest you, but they have the authority, which means follow their instruction, and then see them in court.
Some will say this is cowardly, to simply submit to police when they have no right to stop and arrest you. Personally I feel it takes more strength to follow the police officers commands, even when I may feel they are wrong.
These strong young men, the ones who are innocent, should have no problem proving their innocence in court. But they have to live, they prove nothing if they refuse to follow the instructions of the officers and escalate the situation.
I know this may anger some who would rather lay all the blame on police officers, but in every interaction there is more than one person involved, and we must be willing to look at all involved, and their responsibility for what takes place. If we refuse to see the truth in each unique case, if we paint all police officers with the broad brush of racism, then we will only add to the number of citizens and officers who will die in the future.
In the wake of the national crisis of officer involved shootings, often involving officers shooting black men, and the “protest” which follow, there has been a lot of talk about what needs to be done.
So, when did it become acceptable for law enforcement to ask for your ID when you are just walking down the street?
Chris, if you feel they have asked you for ID without cause , what happens if you refuse to show it to them? Now if you feel they have asked you for ID without cause, what happens if you show them and then file a complaint or even a law suit?
How is it Booker T Washington could understand that what was wrong when he wrote his book 105 years ago is what still fuels the BLM movement today.
“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs – partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.” – Booker T. Washington
Washington continues with a story that encapsulates what is wrong with so many black “leaders”. Those victimizing blacks are other blacks:
“A story told me by a coloured man in South Carolina will illustrate how people sometimes get into situations where they do not like to part with their grievances. In a certain community there was a coloured doctor of the old school, who knew little about modern ideas of medicine, but who in some way had gained the confidence of the people and had made considerable money by his own peculiar methods of treatment. In this community there was an old lady who happened to be pretty well provided with this world’s goods and who thought that she had a cancer. For twenty years she had enjoyed the luxury of having this old doctor treat her for that cancer. As the old doctor became — thanks to the cancer and to other practice — pretty well-to-do, he decided to send one of his boys to a medical college. After graduating from the medical school, the young man returned home, and his father took a vacation. During this time the old lady who was afflicted with the “cancer” called in the young man, who treated her; within a few weeks the cancer (or what was supposed to be the cancer) disappeared, and the old lady declared herself well.
When the father of the boy returned and found the patient on her feet and perfectly well, he was outraged. He called the young man before him and said: “My son, I find that you have cured that cancer case of mine. Now, son, let me tell you something. I educated you on that cancer. I put you through high school, through college, and finally through the medical school on that cancer. And now you, with your new ideas of practicing medicine, have come here and cured that cancer. Let me tell you, son, you have started all wrong. How do you expect to make a living practicing medicine in that way?” “
I’m not sure how to deal with the racial component ,but maybe there should be a comprehensive study to see how many police shootings have involved recently discharged military. There may be a connection.
I’m not saying cops shouldn’t have military experience, but the uptick in police involved shootings seems to correlate with the advent of US involvement overseas in the middle east. (could just be a coincidence)
Maybe there could be a decompression period with evaluations before combat veterans are put on the street to deal with civilians.
Then again, maybe there is a cultural shift in segments of society that makes this type of heavy handed militaristic style of policing necessary to maintain civility.
Any way you look at it, there seems to be a growing divide between police and the general population.
First, why do so many black men get out of their cars carrying a gun? With five cops standing there with guns drawn? Are they just plain stupid?
Whether the stop is justified or not, most people have enough common sense to comply with the officers commands. The probable cause, or lack thereof, can be sorted out later.
How many here on this blog would, upon being stopped by a cop, get out of the car with a gun in your hands? Hint: the answer would be zero.
Yes, there are trigger-happy cops. There are also trigger-happy criminals. See Chicago.
What I thought was noteworthy was the media and Democrats’ response to the Oklahoma and North Carolina shootings. Of the two, I felt the Oklahoma incident was the most egregious. Yet, all we heard about was North Carolina. Why? Because the Democrats and their media sycophants know that Oklahoma is solidly in the Trump column, and thus, there is no political advantage in pressing the issue there. Conversely, North Carolina is very much in play, and Hillary desperately needs a high black turnout. Hence, the focus on the North Carolina shooting.
And the above is emblematic of Socialist-Democrats’ feigned outrage for political gain- on any issue. Little or no mention of the Chicago carnage. No mention of Oklahoma. And this is because the only thing the Socialist-Democrats really care about is votes. Hillary already has Chicago and will never get Oklahoma. What she needs is North Carolina. The hypocracy is sickening, but remember, it’s not about people it’s about power.
Hillary: “We feel your pain” (if you live in a battleground state).
How many didn’t have a gun and we’re shot anyway. It amazes me how many older white people are so blinded by abuses they obviously saw the whole time they were growing up. The lack of empathy among old white conservative men is frightening
And I wonder why it’s so painful for old angry white people to self reflect?
How many didn’t have a gun and we’re shot anyway.
Not very many. Especially when compared to the 500+ black lives that didn’t matter in Chicago.
Frank,
Like there’s so much wrong here, it’s hard to know where to begin.
“… it does not mean they should fear for their lives when approached by a police officer.” – Frank
Oh really, you think Eric Garner or Philando Castille or Freddie Gray should not have feared for their lives ?!
……”until the African-American community leaders also educate the members of their communities on how to go about handling being pulled over, or approached by police officers,” – Frank
You would never say “Euro-American community leaders” had to educate members of “their” communities.
Most of the dummies get out of their cars with guns in their hands. Why don’t they just sit there with their hands on the steering wheel. like any other civilized person?
I’ll tell you something much, much more dangerous to blacks than the cops- by far. Young “men of color.” See Chicago. See Baltimore. See New Orleans. See Port-au-Prince.
No Delacrat, they should not have feared for their lives, why should they? Your logic infers that every officer gets up in the morning with the intention of shooting a black man if the opportunity arises. And please save your word games for someone else. The conversation is about police involved shootings of African-American men. Would you like to talk about the fact that more Euro-Americans are shot by police than Blacks?
Frank the black community and BLM supporters do not want to discuss the statistics concerning police shootings, the numbers do not support their claims.
Any person who is in LEGAL possession of a firearm in their vehicle, if pulled over will generally advise the officer they have a firearm and where it is located.
“Any person who is in LEGAL possession of a firearm in their vehicle, if pulled over will generally advise the officer they have a firearm and where it is located.”
That’s what Philando Castile did. It didn’t help.
Of course we have to consider the ratio of total black males in the total population and the numbers of shootings
What is it with old white uneducated men that causes such an incidence of near sociopathic lack of basic human empathy..
Of course we have to consider the ratio of total black males in the total population and the numbers of shootings.
The number of police shootings is miniscule.
Blacks, 13% of the population, commit over 50% of the murders in the US. They also commit all other violent crimes at a disproportional rate.
What is it with old white uneducated men that causes such an incidence of near sociopathic lack of basic human empathy..
How much “empathy” do black males show for their fellow man when they commit murder at a rate eight times that of white men?
The problem in the black community is cultural. Unwed, illiterate teenage drug addicts make lousy mothers. Urban father’s would rather hang around the street than raise their child. Who needs a job when you can sell drugs?
At least Planned Parenthood gets it. The founder of PP, Margaret Sanger, believed that birth control, abortion and sterilization could be used to rid society of “undesirables” who would be a burden on society. And they’ve done their work well. More black babies have been denied life than could ever be imagined in the wildest dreams of the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Millions dead. In some circles, that would be deemed genocide. To the left, it’s a “woman’s right to choose.”
“The problem in the black community is cultural. Unwed, illiterate teenage drug addicts make lousy mothers. Urban father’s would rather hang around the street than raise their child. Who needs a job when you can sell drugs”?
Is there an underlying cause of these largely false things?
It always comes down to parroted distorted stereotypes, sexual issues and control of women with you people. I would be embarrassed myself but that requires self reflection
Enough with the psychoanalysis. I doubt if you are even college educated.
Is there an underlying cause of these largely false things?
What “false things?” African Americans comprise 13% of the population, and commit over 50% of all violent crimes. Including murder.
The underlying cause? In the inner cities, a complete rejection of the American ethic.
Or maybe blame it on The Bell Curve.
Or perhaps, lay the blame where it belongs; on African Americans themselves.
Self deception and scapegoating are ugly traits
Are you college educated, mouse? Not that it matters , but your means of engagement is usually degradingly ad hominem, and you do regularly make grammatical errors, which wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t berating people for being uneducated rubes all of the time.
Mouse says, “Of course we have to consider the ratio of total black males in the total population and the numbers of shootings”.
But even if the ratio was high on the negative side, does not prove racism on the part of even an individual officer, let alone law enforcement in general.
It does not allay the question of whether the individuals shot by police have any responsibility for the shooting based upon there actions during the event. Also, there is a legitimate question, do minorities react to being stopped by police differently than do Caucasians?
I am not saying minorities may not have cause for their reactions, but that is my point, is their a change in those reactions which could help mitigate and reduce the number of shootings? Surely all would benefit if those stopped would be more cooperative, and take their case to court where it belongs.
“No Delacrat, they should not have feared for their lives, why should they?” – frank
Frank, you’re denying the obvious, if the cops were no threat to the above mentioned people, those people would still be alive.
When you’re stopped by the cops if you’re stupid enough to jump out of your car with a gun in your hand, you should expect that there might be consequences. Like getting shot.
It’s also funny how many of these ‘victims” have a three-page rap sheet.
Yes, University of MD. Environmental science. I’m careless and often make grammatical errors.
Delacrat, I am denying nothing. I said in the beginning, I am not talking about specific cases. So unless you believe every black person should fear every police officer, you are only being an alarmist.
It only adds to the problem to put forth that mind set. If all citizens would simply follow the commands of the officers and make it to court, surely the number of police involved shootings would decrease. Challenging the officers in the field and dying does nothing to change the problem.
“If all citizens would simply follow the commands of the officers…” – Frank
1) I refer you to: Fish Bites’ OCTOBER 4, 2016 AT 8:39 AM comment
2) Then there’s your dubious assumption that a citizen has a responsibility to a police state.
Delacrat, again, that was a specific case where something went wrong. It does not prove that all police are racist and just waiting to kill minorities.
As for your use of the term police state? When did you join the 3% group? We as a society have empowered law enforcement to enforce the laws we have enacted. That means we have a responsibility to respect their authority. If that authority is abused, the place to prosecute is not on the side of the road, but in a court of law.
I have acknowledged there are times when things go horribly wrong, but can we reduce that? I believe we can.
Throughout history that authority has been systematically abused to the point of federal troops being sent in
2) Then there’s your dubious assumption that a citizen has a responsibility to a police state.
A simple traffic stop is indicative of a “police state?”
I see the cops stop cars on Route 1 all the time, usually for speeding. Sane drivers simply sit and wait for the officer to come to the window. Lunatics jump out of the car with a gun in their hand.
Think about it. Why in hell would you jump out of your car with a gun in your hand?
By-the-way; will Chicago hit the 700 murder plateau this year? Black murderers are second only to Planned Parenthood in carrying out Margaret Sanger’s plan to “cleanse” society of “undesirables.” The KKK is cheering them on; “kill, kill,kill….”
Rick,
Neither Castillo nor Eric Garner “jumped out with a gun”, except in whatever fantasy world you live in.