R
ryker77
Guest
A cut and paste from www.thenewamerican.com
The roster of Cincinnati’s supposed "martyrs" hardly validates the contention that the city’s black population is under siege by "rogue cops":
• The list begins with Harvey Price, a 34-year-old who killed a 15-year-old with an ax and then engaged in a four-hour stand-off with police in February 1995. He was shot as he charged police officers with a knife.
• Darryll C. Price, who was killed during a struggle with police in April 1996, was found jumping on the hood of a car and yelling that he was going to "shoot someone." Price, who had been seen taking cocaine before the incident, died from a condition called "agitated delirium with restraint" — a sudden death syndrome often seen among mentally ill drug abusers — after being tackled and shackled by police, according to an autopsy.
• Daniel Williams, a convicted felon who was killed in February 1998, apparently did not fear the police: He flagged down a police cruiser driven by 23-year-old Officer Kathleen Conway, punched her in the face, fired four shots from a .357 Magnum into her legs and abdomen, and commandeered her car. Conway, although injured, shot Williams twice in the head with her service revolver.
• Jermaine Lowe, who was killed in June 1998, was a convicted felon who had violated his parole guidelines and was being sought in connection with an armed robbery. He fired first on two police officers who returned fire, killing him.
• Randy Black was shot by police in July 1998 after robbing the Cinco Credit Union. He was shot twice in the abdomen while wielding a two-by-four bristling with rusted nails.
• James King’s August 1999 shooting also followed an attempted robbery: He fired a gunshot after handing a teller a note threatening to take hostages and kill them if he didn’t get his cash. After a high-speed chase he was cornered by police. He jumped from his car with his gun in his hand — with the predictable consequences.
• Carey Tompkins, who had threatened his girlfriend with a 9mm handgun, died from a gunshot as he struggled with an officer over control of the gun.
• Alfred Pope, whose rap sheet displayed 18 felony charges and five felony convictions, was shot in March 2000 after robbing and pistol-whipping three people.
• Twelve-year-old Courtney Mathis snuck behind the wheel of a relative’s car and took it for a joy ride in September of last year. When Mathis stopped at a convenience store, Officer Kevin Crayon asked for his license and registration. Mathis put the car into reverse, prompting Crayon to grab for the keys. Mathis took off, dragging the officer along. After being dragged for 800 feet, Crayon managed to fire a shot into the youngster’s chest, mortally wounding him. Officer Crayon died when his head struck the exhaust pipe of another automobile. The families of Courtney Mathis and Officer Crayon "came together after the incident and urged forgiveness," notes the Enquirer — a commendable and heroic gesture that was ignored by the city’s radical agitators.
• Jeffrey Irons, a homeless man, was caught in the act of shoplifting. Rather than surrender, he seized a firearm and shot one officer before being shot himself in November of last year.
• Adam Wheeler, who was wanted on three felony warrants, screamed, "You want a war? You got a war" as he fired six shots at officers who had come to his apartment to investigate a drug complaint. Wheeler died and Officer Craig Gregoire was wounded in the January 2001 shootout
Clearly, these cases, unfortunate as they are, do not indicate that the Cincinnati police have been engaged in a racist rampage. But the riots that erupted after the Thomas shooting were unmistakably race-specific — "racial profiling" of innocent citizens by hate-crazed
mobs.
The available statistics do not validate the notion that blacks are being targeted by police for indiscriminate violence. A study released in March by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that of suspects killed by police, nationwide, the percentage of whites increased from 50 percent to 62 percent between 1978 and 1998, while that for blacks dropped from 49 percent to 35 percent. The rate (per million population) at which blacks were killed by police in 1998 was about four times that of whites, but the rate in 1978 was eight times that of whites. Further, the report states, "From 1980 to 1998, young black males made up about 1% of the U.S. population but 21% of felons who murdered a police officer," while "young white males were 8% of the population but 20% of the murderers of law enforcement officers." Put another way, "Young black males murdered police officers at a rate almost 6 times that of young white males (5.7 versus 1 per million population)."
The roster of Cincinnati’s supposed "martyrs" hardly validates the contention that the city’s black population is under siege by "rogue cops":
• The list begins with Harvey Price, a 34-year-old who killed a 15-year-old with an ax and then engaged in a four-hour stand-off with police in February 1995. He was shot as he charged police officers with a knife.
• Darryll C. Price, who was killed during a struggle with police in April 1996, was found jumping on the hood of a car and yelling that he was going to "shoot someone." Price, who had been seen taking cocaine before the incident, died from a condition called "agitated delirium with restraint" — a sudden death syndrome often seen among mentally ill drug abusers — after being tackled and shackled by police, according to an autopsy.
• Daniel Williams, a convicted felon who was killed in February 1998, apparently did not fear the police: He flagged down a police cruiser driven by 23-year-old Officer Kathleen Conway, punched her in the face, fired four shots from a .357 Magnum into her legs and abdomen, and commandeered her car. Conway, although injured, shot Williams twice in the head with her service revolver.
• Jermaine Lowe, who was killed in June 1998, was a convicted felon who had violated his parole guidelines and was being sought in connection with an armed robbery. He fired first on two police officers who returned fire, killing him.
• Randy Black was shot by police in July 1998 after robbing the Cinco Credit Union. He was shot twice in the abdomen while wielding a two-by-four bristling with rusted nails.
• James King’s August 1999 shooting also followed an attempted robbery: He fired a gunshot after handing a teller a note threatening to take hostages and kill them if he didn’t get his cash. After a high-speed chase he was cornered by police. He jumped from his car with his gun in his hand — with the predictable consequences.
• Carey Tompkins, who had threatened his girlfriend with a 9mm handgun, died from a gunshot as he struggled with an officer over control of the gun.
• Alfred Pope, whose rap sheet displayed 18 felony charges and five felony convictions, was shot in March 2000 after robbing and pistol-whipping three people.
• Twelve-year-old Courtney Mathis snuck behind the wheel of a relative’s car and took it for a joy ride in September of last year. When Mathis stopped at a convenience store, Officer Kevin Crayon asked for his license and registration. Mathis put the car into reverse, prompting Crayon to grab for the keys. Mathis took off, dragging the officer along. After being dragged for 800 feet, Crayon managed to fire a shot into the youngster’s chest, mortally wounding him. Officer Crayon died when his head struck the exhaust pipe of another automobile. The families of Courtney Mathis and Officer Crayon "came together after the incident and urged forgiveness," notes the Enquirer — a commendable and heroic gesture that was ignored by the city’s radical agitators.
• Jeffrey Irons, a homeless man, was caught in the act of shoplifting. Rather than surrender, he seized a firearm and shot one officer before being shot himself in November of last year.
• Adam Wheeler, who was wanted on three felony warrants, screamed, "You want a war? You got a war" as he fired six shots at officers who had come to his apartment to investigate a drug complaint. Wheeler died and Officer Craig Gregoire was wounded in the January 2001 shootout
Clearly, these cases, unfortunate as they are, do not indicate that the Cincinnati police have been engaged in a racist rampage. But the riots that erupted after the Thomas shooting were unmistakably race-specific — "racial profiling" of innocent citizens by hate-crazed
mobs.
The available statistics do not validate the notion that blacks are being targeted by police for indiscriminate violence. A study released in March by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that of suspects killed by police, nationwide, the percentage of whites increased from 50 percent to 62 percent between 1978 and 1998, while that for blacks dropped from 49 percent to 35 percent. The rate (per million population) at which blacks were killed by police in 1998 was about four times that of whites, but the rate in 1978 was eight times that of whites. Further, the report states, "From 1980 to 1998, young black males made up about 1% of the U.S. population but 21% of felons who murdered a police officer," while "young white males were 8% of the population but 20% of the murderers of law enforcement officers." Put another way, "Young black males murdered police officers at a rate almost 6 times that of young white males (5.7 versus 1 per million population)."