There are several thoughts to consider concerning the recent acquittal of four white New York City police officers in connection with the shooting death of an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo.

Monday, February 28, 2000

There are several thoughts to consider concerning the recent acquittal of four white New York City police officers in connection with the shooting death of an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo.

One of those questions is obvious. No matter how easy it is to critique a police shooting from the sidelines after the fact, no one will ever really know if those officers reacted in an appropriate manner – except them. Adrenaline and fear can skew how you react to a situation, especially when you think you have seen a gun. They had every right to protect themselves if they perceived danger, but one has to wonder why it took 41 shots to control one man.

The other thought is something that is especially appropriate as the nation ends its celebration of Black History Month. Racial stereotyping is still a big problem in the nation’s cities.

Those officers shot because they saw a black man in a bad neighborhood who did not react appropriately to their commands. They acted on their past experiences, sure, but there was an element of pre-judgment, too. And, there could have been some on the part of Diallo, too. Perhaps his past experiences with police have led him to believe they cannot be trusted – that is the reason he did not follow the officers’ direction immediately, if he understood them.

There will be some people who will take this tragedy as an excuse to riot. There have already been protests in the streets of New York. They will turn what is already a tragedy into a reason for more violence and assaults.

Those are the thugs who make it tough for the rest of us to figure out how to make sure incidents like this do not continue to plague our communities.

The right way to handle this tragedy is to talk about it as a community – not as blacks and whites, but as neighbors.

Perhaps by breaking down a few barriers and making sure our lines of communication are open, we can get past some of the preconceptions and anger that separate us and form a partnership to eliminate the ignorance that could destroy families.

That is the only way to make sure our children do not have to shake their heads 10 years from now because of another senseless tragedy.