To Sateesh Rogers of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement: Instead of marching at BayWalk and in Midtown protesting the shooting, maybe the group should be apologizing to the good residents of St. Petersburg for the behavior of a 17-year-old, crack-toting thug who earnestly tried to run over and kill two Pinellas sheriff's deputies.
To Darryl Rouson, president of the NAACP's St. Petersburg chapter: While it's true a young black male's life has been snuffed out, it's particularly true this black male was a 17-year-old, crack-toting thug who earnestly tried to run over and kill two deputies.
To the Rev. Louis Murphy of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church: Whether or not it's true that in the minds of most of the young black males they feel as though they're stopped for driving a nice looking car, Marquell McCullough was a 17-year-old, crack-toting thug who earnestly tried to run over and kill over two deputies.
To Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch: The question your community really should have is not why any number of shots needed to be fired at a vehicle but why its representatives defend the behavior of a 17-year-old, crack-toting thug who earnestly tried to run over and kill two deputies.
It says a lot about the defenders of this criminal that they're more disturbed by the actions of two law officers having to defend themselves against him than they are about the roots of the dysfunctional behavior that brought it all about.
-- W.T. Davis, St. Pete Beach
Affirming the worth of black lives
Re: Deputies won't face prosecution.
The atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison make it very clear to the world that Arab life has no value in the eyes of white America.
In St. Petersburg, the justification of the killing of Marquell McCullough by sheriff's deputies sends out a similar message: Black life is considered worthless.
Although the articles in the St. Petersburg Times have been contradictory, one thing seems apparent: The sheriff's deputies randomly murdered another young black man who happened to be in their path.
Conveniently, the videos cameras put in the officers' cars to document just such situations weren't working. As the recent Times article stated, the sheriffs aren't even certain that McCullough was the person they were looking for.
I find it appalling that in the name of "law enforcement," any person can have the right to become an instantaneous judge, jury and executioner by firing 15 bullets into a truck driven by an unarmed 17-year-old.
The circumstances of this case are very similar to the 1996 police killing of 18-year-old TyRon Lewis, whose family's wrongful death suit coincided with the killing of McCullough.
It seems to me that the anger expressed by African community residents in St. Petersburg about the unjust killing of Marquell McCullough is more than justified, just as it was eight years ago in response to TyRon Lewis' death.
The members of the African community who took to the streets following these two murders were using the singular means available to express their profound conviction that the lives of Lewis, McCullough and all African people have worth.
The African community's demands for reparations for the families of the victims, an end to the police containment policies, and economic development across the board are ones that we from the white community must support.
Until every child has the resources, opportunities and social justice to grow up to a productive, prosperous and happy life, we will never see peace in Baghdad or St. Petersburg.
-- Penny Hess, African People's Solidarity Committee, St. Petersburg
Criminals like to blame others
When law enforcement is involved in a situation where a life is taken, the focus always shifts from the actions of the person killed to the actions of the police. People who abide by the law and act in a reasonable manner never get involved in these situations. We just read about them over and over again in the paper. The color of your skin will not get you killed, but your actions will.
Criminals decide the outcome of encounters with law enforcement. If it ends in arrest, they can have a trial and their day in court. When they flee, fight, aim cars at cops on foot, and use guns it might result in a death.
People who elect to call themselves community leaders and report "outrage" at the number of recent shootings are certainly correct. It is outrageous that criminals blame everyone else for everything they choose to do right to the very end.
-- Steve Bingham, Palm Harbor
It's not about race
Re: Deputies won't face prosecution.
It's a complete joke when some people try to blame law enforcement for the deaths of the criminals in this and other similar cases.
These were justified shootings; these so-called "upstanding" men were criminals, drug dealers, drug users and had no respect for law enforcement or law-abiding citizens of any kind.
Does anyone really believe that if these two men were white, red or yellow that the outcome would have been any different? No, they would have been shot, too. Remember the white youth in Pinellas who was shot and killed because he tried to run down a law enforcement officer of few years ago? Most don't. It seems certain parts of society see things in only one color when they feel it may benefit their cause.
The question is constantly posed: "Was there anything else that could have been done?" No, these people chose not to obey officers of the law. They chose to threaten the officers with great bodily harm or death so that they could possibly get away with no regard for the lives of these men or anyone else for that matter. If they had made the decision to stop when ordered to, they would still be alive.
I pray that those of you in law enforcement continue to do your jobs the way you do. I'm thankful you are out there every day and night.
-- Jeff Ritter, Pinellas Park
Law enforcement needs a new approach
As a native of St. Petersburg, I must say that I am appalled at the actions of our police department every time an unarmed person is shot and killed. In the years since TyRon Lewis' killing, many similar situations have arisen involving suspects who refuse to comply with police orders while in an automobile and are shot and killed. This has become a pattern: The suspect is observed committing a traffic violation or perhaps committing a drug felony, the suspect refuses to surrender or exit the car, then is shot and killed.
In the years since Lewis' killing you would think that the law enforcement officials would develop some kind of policy that would reduce the harm involved and relieve street officers of the horrible burden of shooting and killing another person as well as relieve taxpayers from the burden of paying for investigations and lawsuits. If a suspect can be observed committing a drug deal, why can't that person be observed until he gets out of his car? Does every situation need to be escalated to the point where killing someone becomes the only solution?
These are pertinent questions that need to be answered by law enforcement and by our citizens. We must all look at ourselves and ask, "What kind of city do we want to be?"
No one is trying to downplay the wrongheaded actions of people like Lewis, but at some point the pattern becomes obvious and when that happens, to not react in a humane manner speaks of the cruelty of the police and the citizens in general. A traffic violation or drug crime is not punishable by death unless one lives in St. Petersburg, where underpaid police officers are forced into becoming judge, jury and executioner. It's wrong, it's mean-spirited and it's got to stop.
-- Chris Howard, Tampa
Try education and hard work
Re: Voice full of need led him to speak up, May 22.
Marcus Franklin's article about the young Sateesh Roger's involvement with the local Uhuru Movement struck a familiar cord with me but produced a different tune. I am a black man from the Chicago area and am familiar with the train rides that cross the divide of two very different worlds of poverty and affluence. My parents instilled in us the need for education and hard work in order to achieve a better life. We were not taught to hate or blame others for our problems. By far the majority of injustice I witnessed growing up was black-on-black injustice.
I was raised in a lower-middle-class family in Gary Ind., a place famous for crime, steel mills and Michael Jackson. I have four brothers and sisters, all college graduates, all productive members of society and contributing to others in various ways.
Sateesh Rogers talks about leading young people to "fight for what we really need to fight for: our freedom." I would love to introduce him to some of my former African co-workers from Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt who came to America for the very same freedom that young Mr. Rogers and his Uhuru clan seem to despise. Sateesh and his Uhuru mentors should be outraged by black-on-black crime, black parental apathy toward their children's education, and rappers poisoning our children by glorifying the lifestyles of pimps, sluts, drug dealers and gangsters.
Rogers declares that all he is doing is telling the truth. America allows you to embrace whatever truth you desire as long as you do not break the law. Is freedom in America perfect? No. Is America or any society totally fair and unbiased? No. Before you settle in for a life of protests and finger-pointing with the Uhurus, why don't you talk to some of the millions of dark-skinned people all over the world who would love to trade places with you or one of your Uhuru buddies for a taste of America's freedom? They, like millions of others, realize that America offers the best opportunities in the world if you are willing to educate yourself, work hard and overcome some adversity.
-- Michael Sells, Brandon
Why promote a fringe element?
Perhaps the editors at the Times should look up the meaning of the word obsession. The Times seems to be on a crusade to turn the Uhurus and their leader into not only "the voice" of the black community but a driving force behind city policy. Hardly a day goes by that they aren't mentioned, and any nonevent or small demonstration they're involved in is played up as if it were major news. We're even getting fluff pieces now!
But try as the Times may to mainstream this group, the effort is doomed to failure. The Uhurus are too filled with hate for anything white or blue (the police), and too used to violence as a means of promoting their views to ever be anything but a fringe element.
-- Walter Staggs, St. Petersburg
Reverse discrimination?
I travel on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street S in St. Petersburg every day to and from work. On several occasions I have been handed leaflets by local residents regarding local issues. Recently, as I drove home, I saw a young black man passing out leaflets at MLK and 22nd Avenue S. I slowed down and asked if I could please have one, as I assumed it dealt with the recent riots. He took one look at me and said, "No, these are for black people only."
So, who's guilty of racial discrimination here?
-- Diana L. Elias, M.D., St. Petersburg
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