| was mistaken for a gun. That very night the officers were in search of a serial rape suspect who they eventually arrested two months after Diallo's shooting. His immediate and tragic death triggered several protests and rallies in New York city and nationwide. While the trial for this incident was to take place in the Bronx, a New York appellate court ordered a change of venue to Albany due to "pretrial publicity."
On February 25, 2000, the four NYPD officers who gunned down Diallo were acquitted of all criminal charges including second-degree murder and reckless endangerment. In their defense, the officers claimed that the shooting was a "horrible yet reasonable accident, not a murder." Carroll, Mcmellon, Boss, and Murphy all claimed on the stand that the lighting around the vestibule was dim and they thought Diallo was reaching for a gun when they opened fire. Carroll and McMellon fired 16 times each; Boss fired five times, Murphy four. Diallo was struck 19 times. To their horror, the officers said, they learned "he was unarmed and had only his beeper, a wallet, and keys."
Ironically, the defense successfully claimed that Diallo was responsible for the events that led to "his accidental shooting." Lawyers for the officers argued that Diallo, for reasons unknown, failed to heed a police order to halt, making a routine police stop-and question escalate into a shooting. Carroll testified that he thought Diallo was "acting suspiciously" because he "kept looking up and down the block." At that point, the officers said they decided to approach Diallo. Moreover, they said that they feared for their lives when Diallo reached for what they apparently thought was a gun. But one must wonder what Diallo must have thought when he was surrounded by four plainclothed men with guns.
This incident has only increased distrust between the NYPD and the people they are bound to serve, particularly minorities. The case sparked so much outrage that thousands of whites and blacks united and converged on police headquarters until the officers were indicted. Nearly 800 people were arrested in March 1999 alone-including actress Susan Sarandon, former Mayor David Dinkins, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and Rev. Al Sharpton.
Some may argue that the officers acted in defense. However, they neglect to realize that these men approached Diallo in plain clothes. They fail to realize that the officers did not have to shoot at Diallo 41 times. But rather, could have either handcuffed him first or perhaps shot at him once, in a less fatal area such as a leg. And lastly, they also fail to realize that their fear does not excuse their careless procedure; for this was not the first time these officers encountered a "suspect."
Soon after the verdict, several people in New York City and across the country continued to rally and protest outside the police headquarters and other government buildings against police brutality. Although the reaction to the verdict was not as blatant at Wesleyan, some actions were taken in response to the results: There were two discussions that took place in February and March where students expressed their dissatisfaction with the NYPD and interest in planning a trip to New York city to join the protests. Surprisingly, there were only approximately six African-American men who attended these two meetings while the Diallo case directly affects them. However, the students who did attend seemed very serious about getting involved. Mike Lewis '03 stated, "I feel it is time for people to stop being comfortable with African-Americans and Latinos being denied their civil rights by the police for the mere comfort of white America because every American should feel comfortable walking down the street or into their home
without fear of being brutalized or killed by men under the guise of law enforcement." Thus, the only helpful reaction to such an incident is discomfort- such discomfort that one acts as opposed to talk by joining the fight against unjust, discriminatory, and fatal actions.
|
