While a complete and thorough investigation should take place whenever there is a violent loss of life — no matter who the alleged person that caused the death happens to be — in these heightened Black Lives Matter times, swiftness is of the upmost importance. Not rushes to judgment mind you, but vital information that has an impact on how the incident is viewed should be released in a timely manner.
The case in question is the death of 19-year-old Arthur Keith, who was shot and killed by a Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Housing Authority police officer on November 13 in the King-Kennedy housing complex. Multiple witnesses have stated that the young man was shot in the back, but the county coroner’s office has yet to release any information.
The Cleveland Police Department initially took over the investigation but now the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office has wisely requested the Ohio State Attorney General’s office get involved. While it’s always better to have investigators that are outsiders (and therefore might not have the friendships and allegiances to protect that a local investigator might have), in case after case around the country far too often the taint of favoritism raises its ugly head — and for good reason: Law enforcement in America has been known to shade the truth, hide evidence, and in many cases, flat-out lie to protect one of their own.
This is the reputation policing has worked diligently over the years to earn and continues to maintain in spite of mounting criticism from a rightfully doubtful and enraged populace. And until accountability is fully restored (which raised the question, was there ever a time when cops could be trusted in this country?), the public is justifiably suspicious of any determinations, outcomes and conclusions arrived at when men in blue investigate other men in blue.
The obvious answer — although not perfect — is to have a team of investigators from the U.S. Department of Justice called in whenever there is an officer-involved shooting. And, to further insure fairness in the outcome, investigators of color have to be included — indeed, play a lead role — in determining exactly what happened and duly reporting on it.
However, in the short term, information that is not going to change no matter who leads the investigation should be released immediately, such as if the young man was shot in the front or in the back. This would go a long way to quelling an understandably outraged and suspicious public. The fact that this information has not been released leads me — as well as many others — to believe that some kind of foul play on the part of a rogue cop is being covered up.
When will law enforcement understand they work for, and are accountable to, us?
