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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2002
News that the Clearwater/Upper Pinellas branch of the NAACP has been reinvigorated is positive, even if the chapter's new, high-profile project will be viewed by some as controversial.
The leaders of the group announced Monday that they will investigate four cases in which witnesses say Clearwater police officers brutalized a black man while placing him under arrest. All four happened in the past year.
The cases do not include that of Joseph Walden, a relative of Pinellas County Commissioner Calvin Harris, who several witnesses claim was thrown to the ground by Clearwater officers who mistakenly thought his car was a stolen vehicle.
Though NAACP officials have refused to release the names of the individuals involved in the four cases, they say that in one case, a man was strip-searched in public. They said they intend to be more responsive in the future to such reports and quicker to investigate when there are allegations of civil rights violations.
That can be a valuable role for the NAACP, which brings the power and prestige of the venerable national organization to local cases that often involve people who can't afford legal representation.
It is especially valuable if the local chapter officers possess the skill and judgment to conduct such investigations carefully and responsibly, without grandstanding and without undue influence by outsiders. It is a good first sign that this week, the president of the Clearwater NAACP went out of his way to be cautious and diplomatic in his statements. While announcing the chapter's plans to investigate the four cases, Arthonia Godwin also praised police for the "very important and difficult role" they play in the community. But Godwin was frank, too: "Our support stops at the point where the use of force is unreasonable and unjustified."
Godwin demonstrated similar skill late last year as the city of Clearwater considered the potentially thorny issue of renaming a street for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The NAACP lobbied for the change, and Godwin asked the commission to rename Drew Street, a major east-west thoroughfare with many commercial properties.
When the commission, concerned about the costs and complications of renaming Drew, instead picked Greenwood Avenue, a less commercialized but still major road, Godwin complimented the city and said he was satisfied.
For many years, the Clearwater branch of the NAACP was seldom heard from, and it would not have tackled something as difficult and controversial as investigating these police brutality claims. Now the group's officers not only want to do more, they are being assisted in their efforts by St. Petersburg NAACP president Darryl Rouson, an energetic attorney who has brought new energy and focus as well as a higher profile to that chapter.
We hope that the Clearwater chapter, in addition to taking on this new investigative role, will work to unify the minority neighborhoods of Clearwater and provide a more prominent voice articulating the needs of those residents. That has been lacking for a long time.