wfn.org | Protests Police Treatment of Pastor

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3508 notes).

Note 3508 by UMNS on March 24, 1997 at 16:27 Eastern (6035 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                          154(10-31-71B){3508}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            March 24, 1997

Police treatment of clergyman
protested by black Methodist caucus 

     CHICAGO -- The 30th anniversary celebration of Black
Methodists for Church Renewal, (BMCR) meeting here, March 19-22,
was marred when caucus members received word that a member was a
victim of alleged police brutality in Wilmington, Del.
     During the evening of March 18, The Rev. Lawrence Livingston,
39, pastor of Ezion-Mount Carmel United Methodist Church in
Wilmington reportedly was beaten, maced, held at gunpoint and
arrested after being stopped for an alleged traffic violation.
     He also was charged with aggravated menacing, resisting a
police officer, disregarding a stop sign and disregarding a red
light. 
     Livingston was released on his own recognizance. He was
treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.
     On the evening of the incident, Livingston, pastor of the one
of the oldest black United Methodist churches in Delaware, was
enroute to the church in his personal van to pick up some chairs
for an off-site Bible study. Two women, Tonya Lea, 23, and Regina
Lloyd, 27, their children and two of Livingston's children were
also in the van.
     Details surrounding the reasons for Livingston's being
stopped are under investigation. However, the white officer,
Curtis Crawford, a member of the police force since 1995, said in
his report, Livingston failed to come to a complete stop at a stop
sign and that he ran a red light. Curtis said he followed
Livingston to the church where he "activated his emergency
equipment." The officer claimed that he ordered Livingston into
his car four times during the stop. On the fourth time, Livingston
was placed under arrest.
     Crawford's report then states the pastor began "pushing this
officer and refused to stop fighting." The policeman then grabbed
his baton, ordered Livingston to the ground and struck him. As
Livingston grabbed the baton to avoid being hit, Crawford drew his
gun claiming to fear for his safety. 
     The report also states that Livingston's refusal to lie on
the ground, resulted in Crawford's drawing mace and spraying
Livingston. Livingston then was taken into custody, according to
the report.
     An entirely different account was told by the women and
Livingston.
     According to published reports, both Lea and Lloyd noticed a
police car following the van as Livingston drove to the church. 
     At one point, they said the van stalled and Livingston revved
the engine to get it going before the light turned green.
     Lea said as the van approached the church, the police car's
lights came on.
     She said an officer approached the car and said, "Don't get
out of the car." 
     "He had his hands on his gun," Lea said of the officer, who
then ordered Livingston to show is license and registration. "He
snatched it out of his hands and Rev. Livingston asked, 'Why the
attitude?'"
     The women said Crawford then ordered Livingston out of the
car, grabbed him by the arm, twisted it behind him and pushed him
against the trunk of a car. When Livingston asked, "Why are you
doing this to me?" the women said the officer moved to the
sidewalk and sprayed him with pepper spray and hit him with a
baton.
     "The whole time [Livingston] was going 'Lord help me' and
'Please don't hurt me,'" Lea said. The women said while Livingston
was on the ground, the officer put a gun to his head, causing his
two children to start screaming, "They're going to hurt my dad!" 
     Lloyd said at that point officers arrived and Livingston was
taken away.
     Word of the incident spread quickly, and prominent clergy in
the city, the Wilmington mayor and his aides, City Council
members, and Police Chief Samuel Pratcher gathered at the police
station to discuss the arrest. 
     As word spread, it reached the annual gathering of Black
Methodists for Church Renewal meeting in Chicago, during its
opening session March 19. The more than 370 black Methodists
attending, immediately sent a communication to the governor and
leadership in the state, to the Delaware religious community and
to "all that stand for justice and truth."
     Introduced by the Rev. Walter Kimbrough, vice-chairman of
BMCR, on March 19, the statement expressed the caucus's
displeasure "at what's going on in Wilmington, Del." He said "when
an attack is levied against one of us, it is levied at all of us."
     Kimbrough said "we will not stand for, nor tolerate, one of
God's children being abused."
     BMCR went on record declaring the alleged "act of violence"
by Wilmington, police officers "as most reprehensible."
     The statement affirms Livingston as an asset to the
community, the nation and the world. 
     BMCR called Livingston a man  who is committed to non-
violence and expresses loved to all in every respect.
     Caucus members called on those in authority to perform a
complete investigation into the Livingston case. If the attack
upon Livingston proves "unwarranted," the national caucus urged
that those involved be "terminated." The statement further claims
that "obviously, the community of Wilmington, Del., will be better
served without the presence of these officers." 
     The caucus through its national office in Dayton, Ohio, will
monitor closely the actions taken in this matter.
     A federal probe of Livingston's treatment will be monitored
by Gregory Sleet, U.S attorney for the state of Delaware; the FBI;
and the civil rights office of the Department of Justice.
                              #  #  #

     Wendy Green, editor of the Communicator, newspaper of the
Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference and The News Journal, a
Delaware newspaper, contributed to this article.

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