Hold Your Fire!

Posted on December 6, 2007

As the year 2006 came to a close, I am all but truly disgusted with the recent police involved shooting in Queens, New York. Again, we are trying to figure out how another unarmed young male, who coincidently has dark colored skinned, is the victim of excessive talk and long drawn out meetings. In my opinion, our social inaction is what played the key role in the estimated 50 bullets that officers fired in fear of their life.

This young man was not shot because he was “Driving While Black.” He was not shot because he was an America’s Most Wanted. He was shot because many of us in the Urban Sector spend too much time talking about what needs to be done instead of doing it. We are worrying about what the Church is not doing. We are worrying about what the Community Leaders are not doing. We worry about what the Educators are not doing. All this time wasted trying to assess blame. And now, our blame has turned to shame.

The disturbing issue to this incident is that no one seems to know why this shooting occurred. Sure, it is evident that there was some type of investigation going on. An undercover Op-Gone bad, and it would not have been the first one in New York City and from my research it most likely will not be the last.

Historically, New York City’s mistreatment of minorities in the urban sector by the police existed long before the 1950’s and 1960’s. The epitome of America’s mistreatment of minorities in the urban sectors of America by law enforcement took place on East Street in Harlem, New York on July 1917. That riot would leave over two hundred Black people dead and over six thousand homeless. The world renowned Black female performing artist Josephine Baker responded to the incident with these harsh words, “The very idea of America makes me shake and tremble and gives me nightmares.” She went on to live most of the rest of her life exiled in France. No longer could Blacks continue with the myth that only cops in the South hated black people. In addition to the Civil Rights issues and protests, America was faced with the failures from the “War on Poverty.” Frustrated Blacks and oppressed inner city ghettos had resorted to violence and insisted that it was the constant police brutality that had contributed to the countless number of riots. White candidates running for governmental offices used “law and order” and better armed control of the ghetto as an election ploy. Police departments ordered new and more powerful weapons to meet ghetto “trouble.” In 1968, Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago and Gomuo Spiro Agnew of Maryland issued “shoot to kill” orders to American Law Enforcement Officers.

It was this new direction in American Law Enforcement that has seem to hinder our social structure in the urban sector to reach its cultural positional. It has been this new tool added to the workmen’s belt and it’s a tool without clear instructions. “When do I shoot?” “When is too many shots-too many?” As an officer I who has been in police related shootings involving Black and Hispanic males, I can say when you only have two seconds to decide, it’s tough. And you are often left to what you know in your heart as right. And it’s that “right” that is based on your interpretation of the people you are engaging or dealing with.

The problem is when it does not add up and steps are not taken to fix the problem. Being shot to death for having been in a strip club? Since when did having a bachelor party become a Felony? This shooting of Sean Bell is a problem a big one at that, when we look at past incidents involving the treatment of Urban Males in New York. And instead of carrying out the hundreds of resolutions that are pilled up, we continue to meet. Why, because meeting is easy.

Let’s not forget while we were meeting on August 9, 1997 in New York City a group of officers sexually assaulted a Haitian Male (again young Black Male) who had been arrested at a night club for charges that could have been addressed using a Misdemeanor Summons Ticket and giving him a Promise to Appear in court. Evidence later presented showed that the officers inserted a 14 inch broken broom stick/plunger into the anus of the subject and then removed the stick and shoved it into the subject’s mouth.

The again while we meeting about how this could have occurred, on February 4, 1999, America would see Unchanged Law Enforcement and the Epitome of Racial Profiling at its finest. A group of White Cops (dressed in plain clothes) would shoot an unarmed Muslim male from Guinea, while he stood in the foyer of his apartment building getting his keys or wallet from his pocket. The four cops shot at him a horrific 41 times and the African born Muslim male was struck 19 times. What started out with a subject fitting the description ended in a positive identification of the state of “New York City’s” outlook on urban the male.

And while we were meeting and planning on how to prevent these now two major tragedies from reoccurring, On March 16, 2000, in midtown Manhattan, New York would again pick up the baton, when an other Undercover Op gone bad would result in the fatal shooting of another Black Male who was suspected of possibly having or wanting a small amount of drugs. In this incident, the twist was that the cop was Hispanic and the shooting happened in an upscale area rather than the “Inner City.” Once again the suspect was unarmed. Moreover, like the previous mentioned NYPD shooting, the suspect was again mistaken for someone else and was innocent.

Yah! Sounds like a War? And this is only a snap shot look at some of the actions and results of actions that have involved police and the public since 1996 in the Tri- State Area. The irony is that in all of the incidents that I have highlighted, ALL of the subjects killed were unarmed and no weapons were recovered at the scene. Also the similarities were that they were all Black Males or Urban Males.

The bottom line is that there is no time to meet. As it has been said before, “we are going to die in meetings,” except in these cases, people died while we were obviously in meetings accomplishing nothing. The main ingredient to improving the relationship between law enforcement and the members of the Urban Community is education and knowledge. An officer’s knowledge of the “Ethnic Colloquialism,” life styles, and body language of Black and Hispanic People, who live in the Inner City, can and will make a difference in the officer’s success when working in that urban environment and can also play a major role in effectuating this positive change in Police-Community relations.

Many law enforcement officers feel that it’s the knowledge of the streets that gives an officer that special edge. The knowledge accrued through an officer’s training and experience from working in the field. In most cases, the “Field” is referring to the job environment where the suspects live and dwell. However, street knowledge is not just developed through working (patrolling the streets) in a given neighborhood or community. An officer must set out to earn the trust and confidence of the people they serve in that area. “Actions are judged by Intentions.” The officer must intend to help the people who live in these urban neighborhoods.

And not just because of the big money (salary the officer makes), but because there is a sincere desire to help others. With this as the premise prior to the start of each work day, night, or even at the beginning of a career will lead to a role of establishing a productive relationship with the people in that urban community. I use the word productive relationship and not the over used and un-represented term, positive. It seems as if the word “positive” has been over used, especially when it is used in conjunction with causes for Blacks and Latinos.

There is a real problem going on, and we as an American Society need to fix it right a way. We have an enormous task already trying to solve the violence among our teenage youth Nationwide. How can we expect to guide them in issues of interpersonal conflict, when we ourselves have not resolved our own misconceptions and misperception about other cultures? We are of many different cultures, but we all are of but one race-The Human Race and that is the culture of harmony.

References:

- Kats, William Loren. Eyewitness: The Negro in American History A Living Documentary Of The Afro-American Contribution To U.S. History. 16th Revised Edition 1972. New York, Toronto, London: Pitman Publishing Corporation 1967, 1971.

- Kats, William Loren. Eyewitness: The Negro in American History A Living Documentary Of The Afro-American Contribution To U.S. History. 16th Revised Edition 1972. New York, Toronto, London: Pitman Publishing Corporation 1967, 1971.

Shafiq Abdussabur is an active law enforcement officer in the State of Connecticut with over 11 years of Community Base Police training and experience. He has been working with Inner City Youth since 1985. He is native of New Haven, Connecticut having grown up in various sections of the urban sectors of New Haven. He is a nationally recognized artist (BOLDMINDS Cultural Arts) and author.

In 2002, he founded CTRIBAT Institute for Social Development which services 210 young males and Females ages 9 yrs. old to 17 yrs. old. CTRIBAT offers students “life skill” workshops that focus on parent/student participation. The summer pilot called the “Leadership Retreat” focuses on fostering leadership skills in young people who reside in an Urban Environment (At-Risk Youth). The CTRIBAT 2006 Summer Pilot posted an impressive 400% reduction in firearm related violence in the neighborhood of operation. The CTRIBAT runs 12 months year. The program focuses on improving the relationship of law enforcement and the members of the urban sector.

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