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Bell in the Opinion Pages
April 28th, 2008

As Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the House’s Judiciary Committee, readies to walk the two-plus blocks that were Sean Bell’s last this afternoon, others continue to question why there has not been more rage and dissent among New Yorkers over the detectives’ acquittal.

Is this a different New York, some wondered on The Brian Lehrer Show this morning? Or is the verdict reasonable and just?

Over the weekend, the city’s major dailies opined on what could be the final chapter in this tragedy, which started in the dark rooms of a Jamaica strip club and ended in a courtroom flooded with reporters as three detectives were exonerated of manslaughter charges.

Both the Times and the News on Saturday refrained from blasting the verdict. The Times editorial stated, “As all New Yorkers should, we respect Justice Cooperman’s verdict, but we do not believe all questions of accountability were resolved.” They suggest that this case should give both the Bloomberg administration and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly greater fortitude to seek reforms on the handling of police misconduct.

While they didn’t condemn the verdict either, The News called for the resignations of all three detectives, who have been on paid leave.

In a starkly different tone, The Post called Friday’s decision “the right verdict,” and said it is the law that won out. “What happened to Sean Bell – and to Amadou Diallo before him – was tragic. No one fairly can deny that. But criminalizing tragic outcomes – everything else being equal – only emboldens criminals,” the Post reads.

By Courtney Gross on April 28, 2008, 2:18 pm
In category: Civil Rights, Crime & Safety | 2 Comments »

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2 Responses to “Bell in the Opinion Pages”

  1. Tony Richards Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    It is very important not to confuse a lack of mass demonstrations against the verdict thus far — and it is far too early to say that there won’t be such demonstrations — with a lack of rage.

    During the last few days, I have spoken to more than 30 residents of Highbridge, a predominantly Latino and Black neighborhood in the South Bronx, and there is plenty of outrage over the verdicts.

    Check out this blog post I wrote last night on the West Bronx Blog.

    Sincerely,

    Tony Richards
    Editor
    Highbridge Horizon

  2. Tony Richards Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    Sorry, here is the link to the West Bronx Blog entry I was referring to:

    http://westbronxnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/highbridge-reaction-to-bell-verdict.html

    Tony Richards

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