Thursday, February 21, 2008
Some thoughts on the Sean Bell case
I've given the background to this tragic case many times in my blogging and it's easy enough to google. I was never into the whole bachelor party scene but that's just me. Re strip joints there are upscale ones and seedy ones, I'm not advertising for them but you do have men who go to these places not to relax and have a good time, they get some watered-down whiskey under their belts and before you know it there's a stabbing on the sidewalk. Happened once outside a place in Yonkers here and another incident in a "gentlemen's club" in Mt. Vernon once. Now the one Sean Bell and his friends went to on that fateful night was known for rampant drugs, guns and prostitution and the four officers in Queens who are about to go on trial for taking Mr. Bell's life were there because of the type of place it was. Moral of the story and as insensitive as this may sound Sean Bell was not in a good place, wrong place at the wrong time, and I'm sure the young woman whom he was going to marry that day knows this in her heart of hearts. I'm also more than a little tired of all the cop-bashing out there and personally have grown more pro-cop over the years, I most often give them the benefit of the doubt in these complicated cases. We'll see what happens but this case bothered me from Day One.
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I am with you 100% on this Z.
ReplyDeleteNow if you really read about and study this case you have the alleged scenario of Sean Bell driving his vehicle towards the police officers, you have the possibility of a 4th suspect with a gun, one undercover detective thought he heard someone say "let me get my gun" in a place rife with guns, it's the furthest thing from a clear-cut case although to hear Al Sharpton tell it it's a slam dunk. I'd hate to be a cop, you have to make split-second decisions to protect yourself and others and if you err in the slightest you get the wrath of the community down on your head, tough.
ReplyDeleteThis trial is going to happen very soon, I believe this week, and I wonder if the jury will feel pressure to convict. It was NY Post writer Andrea Peyser who said they will as being a form of justice for Amadou Diallo, the young Haitian immigrant who was unarmed but who took out his wallet in a Bronx vestibule and killed in a hail of police bullets. This case bothered me far more than the Bell case and yet those officers got off scot-free, still kind of amazes me but it just goes to show no two cases are the same even if the activists like to lump them all together.
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to be a cop, you have to make split-second decisions to protect yourself and others and if you err in the slightest you get the wrath of the community down on your head, tough.
ReplyDeleteAin't that the truth, it's a damned if you do or damned (maybe dead) if you don't. I doubt they get paid well enough for the risks they take to protect us. Our troops get lots of respect (very much deserved) why don't police officers get the same respect?
You'll often hear someone say "oh, cops are dicks or a-holes", maybe they've had a bad personal experience with one, most ones I've come across are nice though. It's good to get to know them, go to community watch meetings or something and talk with some of them, they can help you down the road.
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