By Mansfield Frazier
As Cleveland’s Chief of Police Michael McGrath addressed the overflow crowd in the basement of the Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church, a week after 13 police officers shot two unarmed individuals 137 times, one of the first questions from a family member was indeed one of the most incisive. When the chief spoke of getting out the “facts,” Walter Jackson, the uncle of Malissa Williams, said, “I don’t want facts; I want the truth.”
At first I didn’t grasp the difference between the two words, but then it hit me: “Facts” can change according to who’s in charge of manipulating them, but the “truth” is unwavering, unchanging. What the families, the community, and indeed the entire nation need to be told is the absolute truth, not a sanitized “official” version of the facts designed to quiet and pacify the natives.
Historically, in cases involving police misconduct (in Cleveland and around the country), arriving at the truth has sometimes been difficult. That’s why calls to get the Department of Justice to become involved have been loud and long ever since the killings first took place.
The problem with the Department of Justice is that the folks from Washington are known to drag their feet, paying no heed to the axiom “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Some lawyers believe they delay on purpose, hoping to dissuade folks around the country from calling asking for their help.
Of course people always want answers faster than it’s humanly possible to provide them. The investigation process in cases of this nature is long and protracted … but the lag time leads to all sorts of wild conspiracy theories being bantered about. One such theory currently making the rounds is that the police officers (who, if they are white, are usually conservative Republicans, which virtually all of the officers in this incident happened to be) were out for revenge for the recent drubbing Mitt Romney took at the hands of a black man.
This was a thoughtful person I’ve always considered to be sane and balanced who recently said to me, “These types of incidents are going to be on the increase around the country… as a backlash, similar to what happened during and after Reconstruction. Racist white males are now fearful of the loss of hegemony, of running things, of being in control and being the dominant force in America… and troubled, scared people always lash out violently if they have the ability to do so, and the police certainly have that capability, that’s why we’re going to see them rioting more. It’s just that today they don’t ride horses and wear sheets and hoods.” Awestruck, I simply listened.
As wild as my friend’s theory sounds, others, perhaps even more wild, will begin to make the rounds since people, like nature, abhor a vacuum … and by necessity there exists a vacuum of information surrounding this present case.
But we need to expect — and perhaps even demand — that every detail of this case be suspiciously questioned. In fact, some folks are wondering aloud why the smaller basement of the church was selected to hold the meeting, rather than the larger sanctuary … was this a calculated decision on someone’s part to keep the size of the audience down?
I know Mayor Jackson (who, by the way, did an excellent job of communicating with citizens during the forum) and the members of his administration fairly well, and I’m doubtful they would attempt to limit the size of the gathering … it’s just not their style. Nonetheless, everything remotely related to this case is going to be scrutinized to the point the truth comes out. The families of the victims, the citizens of Cleveland, and indeed the nation, deserve no less.
Perhaps the more important question in regards to what some are calling an “execution” by 13 Cleveland police officers in East Cleveland, is not why did the officers riddle the bodies of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams with a total of 47 bullets out of 137 shots fired, but why didn’t the dozens of other officers on the scene join in what can only be described as a “police riot”?
A few years ago I sat in my backyard with four senior Cleveland police officers; two were white, one was black and the other Hispanic. They’d stopped past on their lunch hour to partake of my world-class barbecue ribs.
Supercop Jim Simone had recently recorded the fifth “kill” of his career … which, as far as I can determine, meant that he’d taken more lives in the line of duty than any other cop in America — a record he seemingly is proud of.
What the four cops, who had a total of over 100 years of experience, said was as sickening as it was startling: To a man they all agreed that they had many opportunities to shoot a suspect, but they elected not to do so. The genius of Jim Simone is that he knew the rules so well that he knew when he could kill someone and his action would pass muster. In other words, he was always on the lookout for a chance to cap someone.
Now here’s the real sick part: The command staff of the Cleveland Division of Police knew of Simone’s proclivity to kill whenever he got the opportunity, but then did little to get him off the streets. No other officers wanted to work with him, but he was not forced behind a desk … he was allowed to run amok.
This is not to say that all of the officers involved in the killings in East Cleveland were looking for an opportunity to kill someone, but one or two of them might have been so inclined, and the others might have fallen victim to what’s known as “contagious fire.” This is a known phenomenon which occurs in war and paramilitary organizations such as police departments where other armed personnel begin firing simply because one of them fires first.
Which brings me back to my original question: Why didn’t the officers from other jurisdictions take part in the mini-massacre? Were they better trained, better disciplined, or perhaps they just had more respect for human life than the 13 Cleveland officers appear to be at this point.
Let’s start at the beginning: Many people are asking “why didn’t the driver just stop?” This is a legitimate question for those firmly in the middleclass … but for those of the underclass the reason could be as simple as he was afraid to stop — a fear that was proved to be all too real once he did run out of options. The truth is, many members of the underclass — be they black, white or Hispanic — have reason to fear police in America … and this fear is proven justified day-in-and-day-out all over this country.
In his own mind Timothy Russell was running from the police because he wanted to live for 25 more minutes.
Perhaps the better question is why the police didn’t stop when ordered to. We expect a suspect, who might be high or deranged, to obey an order to stop, when trained (and supposedly disciplined) officers don’t stop when so ordered.
This points toward a department out of control. When cops turn into cowboys they’re allowed to operate with impunity, disregarding rules, regulations and policy. Time and again rogue cops operate outside the bounds of proper police procedure … confident in the knowledge nothing will happen to them no matter what they do. And they have excellent reasons for such beliefs … just look back over the last decade, which was punctuated with abhorrent police misconduct that hardly, if ever, resulted in an officer being disciplined.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.
2 Responses to “MANSFIELD: A Police Riot?”
JWR
In the movie, “A Civil Action” John Travolta, the young lawyer who’d bet the ranch on an environmental case, and Robert Duval, the opposing counsel with 40 years or trial experience, were waiting in the hallway outside the courtroom for the jury to return. A tired Travolta tells Duval that what he’s really after is “the truth”. Duval’s measured and still-in-trial-mode response: “The truth is the bottom of a bottomless pit.”
MF: This is a thoughtful post. Hope that that which unfolds is also.
Mary Hills
The truth is essential if the community is to heal and move forward. I truly believe that this investigation should be done by those other than the local communities involved. I join those in calling for a FEDERAL investigation.