Monday, October 07, 2013

Of Congress, Council, Prosecutors, Outrageous public safety officers and 137 Bullets

[Note: I was working on an entirely different piece today when I received the following email. Its contents stopped me dead in my tracks and I sought and received permission to post it here, from its author, former Plain Dealer reporter and a man I am honored to call my good friend, Dick Peery.

I will be surprised if this piece does not give you pause as well. — RTA]

Congress and Cleveland

 — 7 Oct. 2013
Congress should take a lesson from Cleveland City Council, where they opt for silence instead of endorsing the slaying of unarmed citizens.

The House of Representatives, on the other hand, applauded with a unanimous vote of thanks after a mishmash of federal police agencies riddled a dental hygienist with bullets in front of her 17-month-old daughter Thursday. No one asked why the weaponless woman was gunned down and there was no expression of concern for the long term psychological needs of her traumatized child. Just thanks for executing someone who may have been a confused tourist who fled when weapons were pointed at her toddler, or at worst, a mentally disturbed citizen in need of medical help.

After a similar bungled chase in which more than 100 Cleveland police participated last November, officers fired at least 137 shots to kill two unarmed people. One policeman even stood on the hood of their car and shot through the windshield as he reloaded and discharged 47 bullets at them.

In fairness to City Council, there were some confused questions at first, followed by a sudden and long lasting hush. None of the 13 police who were identified as shooters has been disciplined. At least 12 returned to regular duty. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor is supposedly investigating, but there is no evidence that anything has been presented to a grand jury. A call to the prosecutor's office just gets a "no comment," as if it is none of the public's business. 

The apparent indifference of City Council looked incredibly insensitive until Congress showed how callous such bodies can be.


 Here's how it looks in another part of the world:
http://iranian.com/posts/view/post/21969

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