The quick answer to my title question is-"nothing." The long answer is....everything. The gentleman pictured above is Hiram Johnson, a notable senator of California from 1917 to 1945. During his first year as senator, he was noted for making the statement: "the first casualty when war comes, is truth," pertaining to America's entry into the first World War. Who would have guessed that Senator Johnson's remarks would prove to be as prophetic today as they were almost 90 years ago. Unfortunately, I think Johnson's quote also applies to the handling of a Queens(N.Y.) police shooting that resulted in the death of a future groom on the eve of his wedding day. The groom, Sean Bell, 23, was killed on the 26th of November in a hail of bullets after leaving a bachelor party, which was being held at a Queens strip club.
Bell, along with two friends while in a vehicle, were shot at in excess of 50 times by New York City police. The circumstances before and after this tragedy is extremely murky. According to the latest reports, an altercation may have occurred in the club with the groom (including his entourage) and some Guyanese patrons. It has also been claimed that someone in Bell's party may (or may not) have made reference to possessing a gun. While this is allegedly transpiring, undercover authorities have been surveilling the club in question(Club Kalua, left) in hopes of gathering enough evidence to shut it down for drug and prostitution charges.To further add to the nebulous nature of the shooting, it has also been reported that undercover police stopped Bell's vehicle (possibly without identifying themselves, again open to speculation) and either Bell’s (the driver) alleged ramming of the police vehicle or the belief that his party was armed, caused police to open fire, killing Bell and injuring his passengers.
In addition, it has been speculated by police that there may (or may not) have been a fourth person in Bell's car that escaped and was armed. Be that as it may, when the gun residue cleared, no gun(s) were found at the scene. So what you have here is an excellent premise to sell newspapers and foment long held tensions between law enforcement and the African-American community. An unarmed groom and father of two children being killed hours before his wedding is not only tragic but also makes good copy. The usual cast of characters has arrived-Sharpton, community activists, an angry Black citizenry and police/public officials trying to make sense of exactly what occurred.We can be sure that someone screwed up.....royally. But each police brutality case is different. My deepest desire is that the African-American community in the future becomes more proactive instead of being reactive when these cases occur. This reactive contention would entail there being some self-effacement by Black folk regarding these matters. Before I go any further, let me state for the record that I am deeply saddened that another young male of color is dead. And the photo of his 3 year old daughter crying and attempting to understand that her father is gone is horrific and will haunt me for a lifetime. But as this tragedy has played out thus far, the story oftentimes circumvents the truth. Here are some truths about the police:
1) Policing is a stressful, difficult and dangerous job that no sane person wants to do.
2) Police officers (some who are also persons of color) have been killed in the line of duty leaving families (like the victim's in this case) orphaned and widowed. The key difference is that Sharpton, to my knowledge has not shown up for cases like these.
3) And of course, you do have reprehensible cases of police misconduct and corruption.
Now here are some hard truths for the African-American and Latino communities:
1) The police have to discern who has criminal intent in an atmosphere that idolizes rebel behavior thanks to commercial hip hop imagery. Gone are the days when the heroes and villains wore opposing color schemes. Now there are legions of Black and Brown youth, whose fashion sense and mannerisms mimic those comprised of the thug element. Many are not criminals but (a la 50 cent) how is one to tell the difference between a gangsta and a wanksta.
2) Not only do you have a street culture that has risen to mythic proportions but also street ethics that manifest in "stop snitchin'" policies-the ghetto version of the Italian omerta. At one time snitching meant that if two or more parties were involved in a crime and one gets caught, that person would not "rat" his cohorts out. This ghetto omerta has morphed into just not providing any information if someone gets hurt or killed. The murderer of an innocent simply gets a pass. Just ask Busta Rhymes.
3) And lastly, we have a youth culture that unfortunately fulfill the stereotypes that have been ascribed to them. In the Bell case, all three parties had numerous arrests for drug and weapon charges in the past. The media has been hampering on the amount of shots in this case. How many shots would have been appropriate? One. Ten. Fifteen? If these officers (who were mostly minorities-which diminishes the usual black/white dynamic) honestly thought that there was a legitimate threat, how many shots would make the public comfortable? Yes, these gentleman were unarmed but how would the officers have known this? Children with fake guns have been killed under similar circumstances....when the smoke clears, it's another tragic mistake. If these victims were profiled....guess what?.....they were correctly profiled. Did they deserve to get shot? No...but in this realm of street culture where signals can get crossed, tragedy is sure to lurk in the shadows. As you can see, I have a lot to say about this case and my next entry will be an addendum piece. For the latest developments pertaining to the Queens shooting (including a Stanley Crouch editorial) click on the links below:
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