What happens when police screw up?

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Ferguson police shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. St. Paul police tased and arrested Chris Lollie, a black dad who was waiting for his kids in a public space near their preschool. Beverly Hills police stopped, cuffed and arrested Charles Belk, a film producer and business executive, as he walked to his car, because he “fit the description” of a bank robber — “tall, bald head black male.” Continue Reading

We can’t shape effective community action in a vacuum

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Police have a racist predisposition to shoot black males – true or false? Do we have any evidence to know the extent to which this statement has validity? Sadly enough, we do not, contends Michael Wines, whose recent column in the New York Times noted that statistics which could support or refute the contention that police shootings unfairly target blacks “do not exist. And because of that, the current national debate over the role of race in police killings is being conducted more or less in a vacuum.” Continue Reading

OPINION | On the ground in Ferguson, MO

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The MSR sent writer Mel Reeves to Ferguson, Missouri to personally observe and report on the aftermath of unrest there following an incident of police violence that left a young Black man dead and triggered an outbreak of protests and rioting. Last week, in “Mike Brown is laid to rest,” his observations were from the funeral. This week, he describes events leading up to the funeral.Saturday, August 23 It’s hot in St. Louis and extremely humid yesterday. Last night it had to be high 80s. Continue Reading

St. Paul cops allegedly taser and arrest black male for sitting in public space

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UPDATE: Christopher Lollie, the man identified in the video claims charges against him were dropped. Read more here.A video showing the arrest of a black St. Paul man for allegedly sitting in a public space and refusing to give up his name surfaced yesterday, Aug. 26 — only weeks after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Missouri re-sparked the national debate on race and police profiling.The video, shot by the man’s cellphone, shows his interaction with officers as he attempts to pick up his children from New Horizon Academy in downtown St. Paul. Continue Reading

Urban League Chief Scott Gray: When citizens and law enforcement collide

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A national outbreak of tense and unfortunate collisions between citizens and law enforcement has formed a drumbeat calling for solutions to relieve the taut climate.Scott Gray, Minneapolis Urban League president, is driving several angles of common, innovative and successful solutions in his five-year tenure of leadership. His perspectives on recent high profile collisions locally and nationally are both keen and mutual to many, if not most, young African-American men. Mutual, in that Gray recalls fond memories of walking down the middle of the street, as many of us do in the exploration of youth.”I can’t wear a suit and tie all the time,” expressed Gray in amused resignation, noting the common enjoyment to go for a jog, or walk to the store in relaxed attire, though suspicion and fear can foment an unwarranted response from law enforcement. “Fifty years wasn’t that long ago. If you roll back the clock, we have the same feeling of apprehension and fear. Continue Reading