We’d like to note at the outset that we like and respect Matt Flagenheimer and Al Baker, although we’ve met neither. To the extent that any of our commentary or questions might be read as criticism of Mr. Flagenhgeimer or Mr. Baker, we disavow those readings. From Officer Fatally Shoots Teenager in Bronx, by Matt Flegenheimer and Al Baker, from The New York Times of February 2, 2012
A teenager was shot and killed by a police officer in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon after running into his home as officers pursued him, the authorities said. Paul J. Browne, the New York Police Department’s chief spokesman, said there was “no evidence that he was armed” when the officer, a member of a narcotics unit, shot him once in the upper left chest. It was unclear what had prompted the chase, Mr. Browne said.
The teenager, Ramarley Graham, 18, was pronounced dead at Montefiore Medical Center. During the pursuit, Mr. Graham turned onto East 229th Street and entered his family’s house, Mr. Browne said, adding that a team of officers followed him inside. The team was a plainclothes unit, though the group does wear raid jackets with police insignia on the front and back and shoulder patches on each arm. The officer had struggled with Mr. Graham near the entrance to a bathroom, Mr. Browne said, before shooting him. A small amount of marijuana was found in the toilet, Mr. Browne said.
Messrs. Flegenheimer and Baker note that “[t]he shooting of Mr. Graham was the third time in a week that a member of the Police Department had killed a suspect.” We hope to return to the larger questions of preventability in the near future, as part of a larger discussion. For the moment we merely note it, with sadness.
The following passage is a bit odd, because while it’s very detailed, it seems to avoid one critical issue: were the police identifiable, by their clothing, as police officers?
During the pursuit, Mr. Graham turned onto East 229th Street and entered his family’s house, Mr. Browne said, adding that a team of officers followed him inside. The team was a plainclothes unit, though the group does wear raid jackets with police insignia on the front and back and shoulder patches on each arm. The officer had struggled with Mr. Graham near the entrance to a bathroom, Mr. Browne said, before shooting him. A small amount of marijuana was found in the toilet, Mr. Browne said.
The “raid jackets” are generally kept handy to prevent other officers from mistakenly failing to identify a team member as a person not a police officer, and to identify officers to the public as less likely to be police impersonators. (One person can have made and wear a fake raid jacket; but the larger the number of people wearing raid jackets, the more likely members of the public are to regard them as legitimate police officers.
In other words, Mr. Browne seems to have said that the unit has raid jackets available, wears them or should wear them some of the time. Whether any or all of the service members present that day were wearing raid jackets some or all of that day – that question seems to have been asked but does not seem to have been answered.
A more disturbing question might be – as in this case – since properly credentialed and trained police officers are capable of such outcomes, are some people more scared of “real” police than “fake” police? Are there members of the public who question the moral and legal legitimacy of the police? If so, why?
Here are a few other questions:
