http://www.ratdiary.com/2008/04/26/50-shots-of-injustice/ Homo homini rodentius est Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:20:21 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.ratdiary.com/2008/04/26/50-shots-of-injustice/#comment-5509 Aatom Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:39:25 +0000 http://www.ratdiary.com/2008/04/26/50-shots-of-injustice/#comment-5509 My reaction to this verdict was very similar. Surely, I thought, after reading a thorough and engrossing account of this fatal night in New York magazine, we will see some convictions for wrongful manslaughter here. Or at the very least a few of the obvious lesser charges, like shooting into an unarmed crowd or into the AirTrain station, would stick. But every charge dismissed? It seems inconceivable. Friends tell me that perhaps the cops were just jittery and understandably trigger-happy because they were in such a rough neighborhood. Aside from the fact that the NYPD has a responsibility to put their most qualified men on a sting operation at a seedy stripper bar in the heart of Jamaica, Queens, I personally lived just minutes away from that very location in Richmond Hill for over a year when I first moved to the city. I had a 5 block walk through the neighborhood every night at all manner of unhealthy hours and never once felt threatened or uncomfortable. If a skinny white gay boy with little city experience can handle it, I find it difficult to believe that we can't find police competent enough to navigate the tricky terrain of NYC police work. I tend to err on the side of the police on matters such as this, honestly, but this case just reeks of cronyism and makes me very sad. My reaction to this verdict was very similar. Surely, I thought, after reading a thorough and engrossing account of this fatal night in New York magazine, we will see some convictions for wrongful manslaughter here. Or at the very least a few of the obvious lesser charges, like shooting into an unarmed crowd or into the AirTrain station, would stick. But every charge dismissed? It seems inconceivable. Friends tell me that perhaps the cops were just jittery and understandably trigger-happy because they were in such a rough neighborhood. Aside from the fact that the NYPD has a responsibility to put their most qualified men on a sting operation at a seedy stripper bar in the heart of Jamaica, Queens, I personally lived just minutes away from that very location in Richmond Hill for over a year when I first moved to the city. I had a 5 block walk through the neighborhood every night at all manner of unhealthy hours and never once felt threatened or uncomfortable. If a skinny white gay boy with little city experience can handle it, I find it difficult to believe that we can’t find police competent enough to navigate the tricky terrain of NYC police work. I tend to err on the side of the police on matters such as this, honestly, but this case just reeks of cronyism and makes me very sad.

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