Double standard on bias: McCulloch and Holder
Compare the following two stories:
Washington Post, 2014-08-21
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. arrived in the St. Louis area Wednesday
to tour a community roiled by
the police shooting of an unarmed African American teen....
In meetings with residents,
Holder shared his own stories of being pulled over
and accosted by police while growing up in New York City —
and of being skeptical of police
even while serving as a federal prosecutor in Washington.
“I understand that mistrust.
I am the attorney general of the United States.
But I am also a black man,”
Holder said during an appearance at Florissant Valley Community College.
“I think about my time in Georgetown — a nice neighborhood of Washington —
and I am running to a picture movie at about 8 o’clock at night.
I am running with my cousin.
Police car comes driving up, flashes his lights, yells
‘where you going? Hold it!’
I say, ‘Whoa, I’m going to a movie.’ ”
...
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
New York Times Editorial, 2014-08-21
The violence on the streets of Ferguson, Mo., abated on Tuesday night,
but hundreds of peaceful protesters continue to gather each day
to demand justice in the case of Michael Brown,
the unarmed black teenager who was shot by a white police officer on Aug. 9.
Now it’s up to local and federal officials to show that
they are aggressively pursuing that demand.
They have a long way to go.
Justice is a process,
and it won’t necessarily result in the arrest of Darren Wilson,
the officer who fired the fatal shots,
as many of the demonstrators say they want.
Witness accounts differ sharply on the events leading to the shooting,
and it’s impossible to predict
whether the grand jury that began hearing evidence on Wednesday
will indict Mr. Wilson.
But those in charge have an obligation to demonstrate fairness at every step,
and that means
there cannot be even a hint of bias in the process.
For that reason,
the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, Robert McCulloch,
needs to step aside or be replaced in this case with a special prosecutor by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Mr. McCulloch’s parents worked for the St. Louis Police Department,
and his father was killed on the job in 1964 by a black suspect
while helping another officer.
Last week,
he gratuitously criticized Mr. Nixon’s decision
to put state police officers in charge of the response to the unrest.
[That indicates bias??????]
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that after a shooting in 2000,
when two detectives shot two unarmed black men in the town next to Ferguson,
Mr. McCulloch failed to bring any independent evidence to the grand jury.
He claimed that “every witness” testified that
the detectives were defending themselves,
but secret grand jury tapes showed that
several witnesses did not do so.
When the grand jury chose not to indict, he said he supported the decision.
That’s why many black elected officials —
including Charlie Dooley, the executive of St. Louis County, where Ferguson is —
have called for a special prosecutor in the Brown case,
and more than 70,000 people have signed an online petition to that effect.
The community will almost certainly reject a decision not to indict Mr. Wilson
if the grand jury is led by Mr. McCulloch,
but his office has already begun presenting evidence to the 12-person jury
(which includes three African-Americans).
Let me see if I've got this straight:
If St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch
has a family member, his father, who has been impacted by black crime
(specifically, he was killed in the line of duty by a black person),
then that means he is biased in his treatment of blacks who kill whites.
But on the other hand,
if U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been personally affected by
supposed racism of white police officers,
than YEAH! --
that's great, it means he can understand
the problems blacks encounter at the hands of the police.
Am I the only one who sees a blatant double standard here?
2014-08-21-WP-eric-h-holder-jr-in-ferguson-shares-painful-memories-of-racism
Eric H. Holder Jr., in Ferguson, shares painful memories of racismWashington Post, 2014-08-21
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. arrived in the St. Louis area Wednesday
to tour a community roiled by
the police shooting of an unarmed African American teen....
In meetings with residents,
Holder shared his own stories of being pulled over
and accosted by police while growing up in New York City —
and of being skeptical of police
even while serving as a federal prosecutor in Washington.
“I understand that mistrust.
I am the attorney general of the United States.
But I am also a black man,”
Holder said during an appearance at Florissant Valley Community College.
“I think about my time in Georgetown — a nice neighborhood of Washington —
and I am running to a picture movie at about 8 o’clock at night.
I am running with my cousin.
Police car comes driving up, flashes his lights, yells
‘where you going? Hold it!’
I say, ‘Whoa, I’m going to a movie.’ ”
...
2014-08-21-NYT-Editorial-a-fair-inquiry-for-michael-brown
A Fair Inquiry for Michael BrownBy THE EDITORIAL BOARD
New York Times Editorial, 2014-08-21
The violence on the streets of Ferguson, Mo., abated on Tuesday night,
but hundreds of peaceful protesters continue to gather each day
to demand justice in the case of Michael Brown,
the unarmed black teenager who was shot by a white police officer on Aug. 9.
Now it’s up to local and federal officials to show that
they are aggressively pursuing that demand.
They have a long way to go.
Justice is a process,
and it won’t necessarily result in the arrest of Darren Wilson,
the officer who fired the fatal shots,
as many of the demonstrators say they want.
Witness accounts differ sharply on the events leading to the shooting,
and it’s impossible to predict
whether the grand jury that began hearing evidence on Wednesday
will indict Mr. Wilson.
But those in charge have an obligation to demonstrate fairness at every step,
and that means
there cannot be even a hint of bias in the process.
For that reason,
the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, Robert McCulloch,
needs to step aside or be replaced in this case with a special prosecutor by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Mr. McCulloch’s parents worked for the St. Louis Police Department,
and his father was killed on the job in 1964 by a black suspect
while helping another officer.
Last week,
he gratuitously criticized Mr. Nixon’s decision
to put state police officers in charge of the response to the unrest.
[That indicates bias??????]
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that after a shooting in 2000,
when two detectives shot two unarmed black men in the town next to Ferguson,
Mr. McCulloch failed to bring any independent evidence to the grand jury.
He claimed that “every witness” testified that
the detectives were defending themselves,
but secret grand jury tapes showed that
several witnesses did not do so.
When the grand jury chose not to indict, he said he supported the decision.
That’s why many black elected officials —
including Charlie Dooley, the executive of St. Louis County, where Ferguson is —have called for a special prosecutor in the Brown case,
and more than 70,000 people have signed an online petition to that effect.
The community will almost certainly reject a decision not to indict Mr. Wilson
if the grand jury is led by Mr. McCulloch,
but his office has already begun presenting evidence to the 12-person jury
(which includes three African-Americans).
Let me see if I've got this straight:
If St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch
has a family member, his father, who has been impacted by black crime
(specifically, he was killed in the line of duty by a black person),
then that means he is biased in his treatment of blacks who kill whites.
But on the other hand,
if U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been personally affected by
supposed racism of white police officers,
than YEAH! --
that's great, it means he can understand
the problems blacks encounter at the hands of the police.
Am I the only one who sees a blatant double standard here?
posted by KHarbaugh at 06:00
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