I do some posting and I generally have very little to say on FB but today I just cant hold my tongue. Yesterday another young black male was gunned down in broad day light on a public street in Atlantic City. Now this may not be as much of a shock to some because of the many shootings that have transpired over this summer alone. But the true tragedy of this particular incident is that involved a law enforcement officer in a residential community. Now although the details of this extremely sensitive shooting varies in way of this young man being armed and considered dangerous by the officer involved in the shooting or by other eyewitness accounts that sad he had actually dropped his weapon before being shot multiple times. My greatest concern is that this situation had taken place approximately 1pm in the afternoon in a very active residential community in Atlantic City. By all accounts this incident involved numerous shots fired and led to the death of this young man who I knew personally and professionally. In saying all of this my biggest question is when does policing become none strategic and none caring. When I arrived on the scene which was shortly after the shooting and saw with my own eyes video that had been taken by an eyewitness literally moments after the shooting my heart rang out like this is absolutely unbelievable not even knowing who it was. As I saw this young male literally crawl to what seemed to be his last breath I was absolutely done. This horrific tragedy transpired in an area where peopled lived of different backgrounds from the working class to the just trying to make it every day type of people. And to know that something of this magnitude can happen in these United States of America is mind boggling and needs to be addressed with the utmost since of urgency. In closing I have no issues at all with the brave men and women who are trained and commissioned to patrol and protect our communities. Being one who has family and friends in law enforcement there is probably no job in the world more difficult then that of one who is in Law Enforcement. But to lethally engage in matter of this magnitude with what seemed to be no consideration of the other citizens in the immediate surrounding area to me just seems criminal. Now I understand everyone deserves the right to fare and swift justice but my only hope is that we Atlantic City do not just sit on our hands but stand as good concerned citizens in ensuring that our rights and our communities are safe as well. How would the out cry have been if this were a suburban community under the same circumstances in broad day light. Just think about it! Remember this term called back up or cover the front and you guys cover the back to ensure that if nothing else a probable bad situation could be at least contained with public safety being the first responsibility. Although I knew this young man and considered myself as a mentor to this young man and really not understanding why he would put himself in a predicament such as this. But at the end of the day based on the last pay check I gave him he was a tax paying citizen the son of a mother who truly, truly, loved him. After Bible study I will be going back to the last place where he laid to rest as a show of support this hurt community torn and traumatized by this very unfortunate tragedy. My hope America, Atlantic City is that we continue to challenge the status quo in saying we want good responsive policing not just extreme enforcement. My prayers go out to the victims family as well as the law enforcement officers involved in this very difficult situation.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 13:48:44 +0000
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