Tuesday, February 29,2000
Page 4
Editor: J.J. Harder
_• _(402) 472-1768
To serve and
protect?
NYPD needs to take a close
look at recent problems
The police department of New York City has got to take a
serious look at its officers.
On Friday, the four police officers accused of murdering
African immigrant Amadou Diallo were acquitted. The fore
woman of the jury, who is black, said Diallo’s race was not a
major issue in the case.
Does something strike you as off-kilter here?
For those unfamiliar with the details, Diallo was gunned
down by four police officers who believed he looked “suspi
cious.”
It isn’t the first time NYPD has had problems related to
race. Perhaps you heard about the broomstick incident a few
un a h • years back?
rVheTl Cin African So far, the call for action
American had a ^ff^ou<iyetsomewhat
broomstick lodged ■Thf °®cer?haveb?en
0 acquitted of the charges, but
up his ass by the the Department of Justice is
looking into the matter.
NYPD, it was, ■ The New York Civil
, Liberties Union is pushing
annOUnCea proposals for police miscon
officers would du ,1°™ A1 Sharpton’s
attend ‘sensitivity National Action Network is
y looking into which compa
training.’ nies supplied the officers
with funding for their legal
counseling, so those companies can be boycotted.
Hillary Rodham Clinton has pleaded for New Yorkers not
to be divided by this issue. '
But, in the end, the officers are free, and Amadou Diallo is
dead.
While police mistakes have been high profile in the last 10
years, they are not totally indicative of a system gone wrong -
it’s merely a few bad apples spoiling the bunch.
Still, when these events come up, they must be dealt with
decisively and effectively.
NYPD has had a problem with this in the past few years.
When an African American had a broomstick lodged up
his ass by the NYPD, it was announced officers would attend
“sensitivity training.”
You can’t bru&h over these kinds of issues with “training.”
Problems like these shouldn’t be occurring.
The NYPD needs to get to the bottom of why these prob
lems are occurring and fix them before another tragedy hap
pens.
Editorial Board
Josh Funk (editor) • J.J. Harder • Cliff Hicks • Samuel
McKewon • Dane Stickney • Kimberly Sweet • Lindsay
Young
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Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the spring 2000
Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views
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three.
Obermeyer’s
VIEW
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. TWERE U/ILL0Z NO j
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Letters to the
EDITOR
Racial rift
It is disheartening to see another
rift between people caused by race.
In Lesley Owusu’s “Injustice
System,”(DN, Feb. 28) I feel several
facts were left out. I would like to
challenge tho opinion that things
would have been different if the trail
would have been in the Bronx. There
were four African Americans on the
jury along with eight whites. How
would the addition of more African
Americans have changed things? The
four African Americans who were
already on the jury found the officers
not guilty. If it would have been a
hung jury, things might have been
different.
Another fact left out was that
according to reports, two officers ini
tially confronted Diallo. These offi
cers are the ones who thought Diallo
was pulling a gun and yelled “gun.”
The yell was confirmed by an “ear”
witness, and the officers opened fire.
Just as these events happened, two
other officers arrived.
I ask, if you, as a cop, came upon
fellow officers in the above situation,
how would you react? I believe that I
would have reacted the same way
they did and would have opened
fire also. For this reason I do not
believe the latter two officers
are guilty of anything. ^p
As for the blame in the
shooting, only the testimony of *
the officers is available, and
it seems that if Diallo did not
stop when ordered, darted into a
building vestibule and then .?
reached for something behind ^ .
his back, the blame shifts more
toward Diallo. ‘
The law requires that in order ***
for someone to be found guilty, his or
her guilt has to be proven beyond a
reasonable doubt. It appears ~~
that there is very much a ¥.
doubt. If the standard for being
found guilty were just, “I think he
did it,” O.J. would have been found
guilty, but there was evidence
that pointed out several doubts,
and therefore he wasn’t found
guilty.
Why can’t people listen to the
facts to decide guilt, rather than make
a split-second, careless decision that
was reckless according to 12 people
on a jury?
Greg McFarland
UNL alumnus
A minority message
In an age of mandated diversity
programs, quota-laden hiring policies
and a culture of victimization, Dinesh
D’Souza stands firm as a voice of
reason.
The former Reagan senior policy
analyst and New York Times best
selling author will address our cam
pus tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 29) at 8 in
the Nebraska Union.
His message will come on the last
day of Black History month. His mes
sage, however, will not be one you’d
typically hear during February.
D’Souza, while acknowledging
that racism still exists, insists that it is
not minorities’ major burden. His is a
message aimed at the actions taken
by minorities, and he emphasizes per
sonal responsibility and self-reliance.
These are themes we seldom hear
from the self-proclaimed liberal lead
ers of minority communities today.
If you’re interested in hearing a
more reasonable take on racial prefer
ences and racism
than you’ve been hearing from the
emotion-driven, liberal pooh-bahs
among you, come on out tonight and
listen to what Dinesh has to say.
Jason Wigguns
UNL College Republicans
chairman
junior
accounting
Santa and Einstein
Evolutionists have a theory that is
supported by countless observations;
the only evidence creationists have is
a book. Being a creationist should be
a handicap to getting a degree in the
sciences because it means one is will
ing to ignore data that disprove one’s
theory, and that is just plain unethical.
Having a biology professor who
believes in creation would be like
having a physics professor who
believes Santa Claus drives a sleigh
pulled by flying reindeer.
Lane Phillips
senior
computer engineering