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by Kwasi Seitu (6/25)http://seituatlarge.wordpress.com/Wash. D.C. - Tonight I attended what was billed as a “community” meeting in NE Washington regarding the police shooting of Trey Joyner, a 25-year old black man that was gunned down in the Trinidad neighborhood of the city on June 8th by six white Park Police and possibly FBI agents. They were claiming to have been in the hood in response to a report about a “man with a gun,” but they refuse to explain why would any one in the neighborhood dial the Park Police, the FBI, or their task force about “a man with a gun”? They are sort of backing off of that claim by now saying that the young man was a “person of interest,” basically because Troy had no gun. The police and the FBI claimed that they felt “threatened,” but have refused to explain why, not only was Troy unarmed, but he was clearly outnumbered and outgunned. Police do not deny that they did stop, question, and then released Troy. The police and others simply refuse to explain why the matter is not being treated as murder most foul. This case reminds me of an episode of the :Wire,” which was a big hit for HBO, were some gung-ho power drunk cops go into the projects and rough up a few people just to show the community who is boss. Only in that situation, the community immediately struck back, and the cops got their asses kicked. It is what happened after that is so striking to this real-life drama, the police started working on the lie, the cover-up and it worked.The city councilman for that ward, Harry Thomas, Jr. actually convened this purported community meeting and from the very outset the community was “graciously” admonished to just sit there and take the bullshit that was going to be poured on it and be happy. The event was held in a church, originally scheduled to be held in the 5th District police station, but the police were not comfortable with the idea and perhaps, wisely, for good or ill intent. There were about 200 or so community people in attendance along with the family of Troy Jordan, and there was much talk about the “community respecting the graciousness” of the family, most of which came from the various police and “officials” who had come apparently to help manage “this tragedy” as Salvatore Lauro, Chief of the six white park police who gunned down Troy referred to it. In addition to Lauro, there was Captain Greene of the 5th District, Joe Chaney of the FBI, Cham Phillips for the U.S. Attorneys of on Civil Rights, none whom even tried to answer any pertinent questions.The “meeting” opened with some grandiose, yet “gracious” speeches that were intended to set the tone for the community. It put me in mind of when back in the era of chattel-slavery the massa would get the house negroes, porch monkeys, lawn jockeys, and garden variety negroes to go out and round up all the field slaves and bring them up to the big house, so he can tell them something. And I am not talking the fact that this is exactly how those “public servants” and “officials” decided that this is the best way to “manage” the situation, but you had black folk in there applauding their every disrespect of us as a community and a people. One after another the massas came up and talked around the facts, they talked about “process,” which was essentially them telling us how they plan to bullshit the matter into oblivion, counting on us to lose resolve quick, by doing everything in their crafty power making sure that we never come to a resolve. And sure enough, as soon as some of who were not fooled began to ask the pertinent questions and in the manner that they needed to be asked, the white men stood back and let the knee-grows do the putting us in check.That nonsense did not work on me, I told them first of that this matter was not simply about that one family, as did a sister a little later who had her teen-age son with her, she said that Troy could have been her son or any other black person in the community. When asked exactly why the Park Police were patrolling in the community, the audience was told by no less than Eleanor Holmes Norton who arrived about half-way through the “meeting.” Of course with arrival of yet another knee-grow high up on the plantation, all of the porch monkeys, lawn jockeys, and garden variety knee-grows skinned and clamored with excitement, more reason the applaud. Norton told the audience that the Park Police have the power to “arrest” throughout this city, but that was in response to the persistent demand that they explain why were a gang of “plain clothes” Park Police purportedly “patrolling” in our community instead of some federal park. Of course, what Norton was implying is that the park police have the authority to patrol any where in the city, which they do not. But none of those knee-grows would question such a suggestion, it came straight out of the mouth of one of DCs oldest house knee-grows in charge. Now, I did not hold my peace on any of it and went on about my business of trying to talk with who could and hope to get to the point where we understand that we must organize separate, apart, and liberated from such plantation antics.I tell you, it was disgraceful, how for the sake of being “gracious,” our people sat there just sucked into the unending injustice and insult, and a number of them got warm with me and a couple of others who stood up and spoke truth to power with the righteous indignation the damn situation deserves. Not a one of those “officials” answered a single genuine question, they did not deny that Troy was shot as many as seven times, in the back, as he walked away after being confronted by the officers, nor would they admit to it. They initially mumbled something about “the officer involved,” it took my standing up and demanding he tell the assembly just how many officers were involved that they admitted that there were six officers involved, and then they made a point not to mention that all were white. I never got the chance to ask that question before the attack of the knee-grows, who gladly threw graciousness out the window to protect massa from us ungracious nigga’s. Graciousness is something reserved for southern balls and cotillions, not when there has been what appears to be yet another racist cop killing in DC and the standard subsequent cover-up and go away.When the massa would lie with some gibberish about how they “would collect all of the information,” they were very careful not to say “evidence” and when questioned or challenged on that gibberish, the knee-grows would scowl and yell “let him finish.” Even though speaker after speaker spun the same gibberish, the knee-grows not only wanted to hear more, but applauded every slap upside our heads. Again, I was not having it, with all due respect to Troy’s family, their pain is our pain, but this is bigger than their pain, bigger than this most recent killing, it about justice. No one mentioned the fact that the Metropolitan Police Department had shot and killed another man earlier in the day while he was at a funeral…we don’t even know his name because it was reported only in a “oh, by the way” manner by the police and press. Although there was a camera man in the room, I do not believe that he was from any station, he recorded the grand speeches and some of the questions then disappeared, and there seemed a to be a newspaper reporter there, but he did not talk to any of the field hands, he was head knee-grow hunting. When I found out about the meeting I called the local “community” radio station so that they could not only let the community know, but to let people who already knew but might be thinking that it was at the police station that it was moved to a church some eight blacks away. I don’t know why I did that, as if its so-called “news” department cared, they were to busy getting ready to give the AP report on the death of Michael Jackson.Councilman Thomas is holding another one of these “community” meetings on July 7th, the location to be announced. Between now and then it would be good if the community held a few meetings of their own, but unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen with many of the people who were in that room tonight, they are just too damn “gracious.” And the fact that it was held in a church did not help, if anything, it made it worse, “Lawd” you should have seen those knee-grows just a bowing and scraping, acting like they were in church meeting with JC and his disciples. No, I don’t seem doing anything but gladly being led down that primrose path to ultimately nothing being done like in every other police shooting that has occurred in this city, without exception every police shooting in DC ha been of a black person with the exception of the occasional shooting of a Latino, no white person has ever been shot by a DC cop. And finally, here is the kicker - the FBI is leading the investigation, even though the secretive FBI-Park Police Joint “Safe Streets” Task Force is behind the killing. Oh the knee-grows ate that up, they clapped so hard many of their hands began to swell. I kid you not.This matter concerns every black person and neighborhood in this city, if not the entire country, I did not know Troy Joyner nor any of his family members, but that does not matter, I have as much a right to answers as they do. Please do not tell me to leave yet another cop killing to “the process” and in the “hands of the Lord,” why do you think we are here? Both of those are tried and true no starters, doing them has never brought anything but the next killing. This is a perfect time to conduct a People’s Investigation by convening a People’s Grand Jury, especiall since we got massa so willing to meet with us. Now, what do yall say? Come on Black DC.
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