Posts Tagged ‘Omar Edwards’

New York Times Headline for June 15 Opinion Article by Brent Staples: Even Now, There’s Risk in ‘Driving While Black’

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Regarding America’s racial landscape, I believe there are risks at all levels of social interactions, thus, I would like to add the following for consideration of could-have-been headlines (or could-have-been sub-headlines) regarding Staple’s article: Walking While Black, Bicycling While Black, Working While Black, and, of course, two that hold significance for me and all my students, Learning While Black and Teaching While Black.

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The Danger of Friendly Fire: Black Police Officers Disproportionately at Risk of Being Shot …

Friday, June 12th, 2009

… by white colleagues who mistake them for criminals. That danger was tragically underscored in New York City last month, when Omar Edwards, a young African-American officer who was chasing a suspect, was shot to death by another police officer. The New York Police Department, and police departments across the country, must do everything possible to prevent such tragedies.

The New York New York Police Department says such “friendly fire” killings are rare, and it could not provide accurate statistics on how often they happen. But a provisional list provided by the department of fatalities caused by mistaken identity offers some sense the problem. Of the five officers mistakenly killed by colleagues since the 1970s, three were black and one was Hispanic.

– New York Times Editorial, June 11

Read more here. Regarding the Times’ editorial headline, The Danger of Friendly Fire, what if the friendlies have minds poisoned? Can they really be regarded as friendlies?

For what it’s worth, my words about the shooting of Omar Edwards.

Omar Edwards, Andrew Duton, NYPD, New York City, Civil Liberties, America, Et Al

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Was race a factor in the death of  NYPD Officer Omar Edwards?

Possibly.

Was Officer Andrew Duton acting like a racist? Trash that question. Better ones are: Does he live in a racist society? Was his fatal mistake the result of his growing up and living in a racist society? What was his mindset at the moment he squeezed off several shots? Would he have shot a white man, woman or child under similar circumstances?

Who the hell is capable of answering such questions considering the epistemological challenges, regardless of the torrent of news reporting as well as commentary manipulated to look like news reporting?

No one.

Google, this date, listed 1,184 links to news stories about Omar Edwards’s slaying. Yet, every sane New Yorker, however, knows the answer to this one: When was the last time a black NYPD officer mistakenly shot a white police officer under similar circumstances?

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