Cleveland Police not alone in need for training and restraint

MONDAY ROUNDUP

Cleveland Police not alone in need for training and restraint

In the wake of the preposterous “perfect chase” claim last week by Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association president Jeff Follmer, referencing the Nov. 29 police pursuit which ended in the deaths of citizens Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams by something resembling a circular firing squad, now come reports that for the second time in less than a week, Los Angeles area police searching for alleged murder suspect Christopher Jordan Dorner have opened fire on innocent civilians going about their normal business.

Moments after he was stopped, questioned and sent on his way by police, David Perdue’s SUV was run into by a police cruiser whose occupants then opened fire. The officers mistook the white and slight Perdue for the bulky black Dorner. While their bullets missed Perdue, his attorney says the crash gave his client a concussion and injured his shoulder.

"I don't want to use the word buffoonery but it really is unbridled police lawlessness," said the attorney, Robert Sheahen. "These people need training and they need restraint." [Story here; h/t to field negro.]

Gun Panel discussion in Cleveland Heights this Thursday

So maybe citizens should be armed to defend themselves from the police?

Hadiya Pendleton

Intensified discussions about guns are taking place nationwide in the wake of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and the numbing epidemic of daily killings across the country, exemplified by the recent murder of Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton just days after she returned from Washington DC trip to perform at the Inauguration.

What’s it going to take to curb gun violence in our communities? A panel discussion on this topic will take place this Thursday, Feb. 14, in Cleveland Heights. Panelists include, Cleveland Hts. Police chief Jeffrey Robertson; the city’s acting city manager, Susanna Niermann O’Neil; businessman Jim Reese of the Buckeye Firearms Association; former teachers’ union head Tom Schmida; and local media person Jeffrey Bendix.

The meeting, sponsored by the Cleveland Heights Democratic Club, is free and open to the public. The discussion will begin at roughly 7:10 after some brief club business. Location: Cleveland Heights Community Center, northwest corner of Monticello and Mayfield roads.

Any fireworks will be verbal. 
                                                                                                                                                                               

More than guns can make you nervous

Scientists now think that whether kids will panic in stressful situations [like taking the SAT] is encoded in their genes.

Several Shaker Heights high school students were featured in an article in yesterday’s New York Times exploring their reactions to major test taking. Take a read here.

Clockwise from top left: Shaker Heights High School students Elana Ross,
Linda Fan, Aryanna Jones, Sasha-Rae Grant, Patrick Reed, James McMillan

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Finally, I was saddened to learn yesterday that trumpeter Donald Byrd died last week. His career dated from the 1940s bebop era into this century. His sound was clear as a bell. While I love being on the road in summertime playing the joyous and free-spirited “Flight Time”, for me his iconic masterpiece was Christo Redentor, which upon first hearing became a part of my musical DNA. It is a unique and hauntingly beautiful piece of reverence I can summon to my mind’s ear on a moment’s notice.

Take five minutes and 22 seconds and listen. If it doesn’t do wonders for your soul, take two aspirin and call me in the morning.