From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


United Methodists voice concern over Diallo verdict


From NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>
Date 28 Feb 2000 15:22:27

Feb. 28, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-21-31-71B{101}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - A group of Northeastern United Methodists representing
urban concerns and the resident bishop for New York have expressed dismay
over the acquittal of four New York City police officers in the shooting
death of Amadou Diallo.

Members of the United Methodist Northeast Jurisdiction Urban Steering
Committee were meeting in New York on Feb. 25 when they learned of the
verdict rendered by an Albany, N.Y., jury. Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea,
was unarmed when officers fired 41 shots at him on Feb. 4, 1999, at his
apartment building. The officers have said they mistook him for a crime
suspect and thought that his wallet was a gun.

Even before the verdict was rendered, the Diallo case had triggered
widespread outrage and concern about overzealous policing tactics, racial
profiling and aggressive police presence in ethnic minority neighborhoods.

"Once again, the wheels of justice have left us empty-handed and morally
outraged," the urban steering committee members said in a prepared
statement. "We are deeply disturbed and aggrieved by the verdict: by what it
says about the lack of justice and equality for people of color, the poor
and the immigrant; by the cynicism, anger and distrust which it breeds
toward the justice system; and above all by our failure as the church, which
stands open to persons of all ages, races and nationalities, and which
promises to resist evil, injustice and oppression of every kind.

"We are mindful once more that, when one member of the body suffers, all
suffer," the statement continued. "As the body of Christ, we confess and
lament our continued unwillingness and inability to hear and learn from
those whose skin color is different from our own, especially those whose
daily experience teaches that justice - both on the street and in the
courthouse - too often depends on the color of one's skin."

United Methodist Bishop Ernest Lyght, New York Area, reiterated his call to
the U.S. Justice Department to investigate civil rights violations in the
Diallo case. He had sent a letter last February to U.S. Attorney General
Janet Reno, asking that federal personnel review the case.

"We're going to be renewing our effort with the attorney general," Lyght
said. "There needs to be a thorough federal investigation at this point."

The bishop added he was "very disappointed but not necessarily surprised"
when he learned of the acquittal of the officers. He said he is particularly
disappointed that the jury's verdict "does not move us to a more positive
place" in the equal treatment of all God's children.

But Lyght said the move of the trial "to a totally different context" 150
miles away, along with what he'd been hearing of the trial's progress and
the fact that convictions are rare in such cases, had prepared him to expect
such a verdict.

He vowed that clergy and laity of the United Methodist New York Annual
Conference, together with clergy and laity of other denominations, "will
continue the effort to bring about some kind of reform in the New York City
police department and how it relates to people, especially
African-Americans."

The Rev. Ward Greer, a member of the urban steering committee and director
of the Albany United Methodist Society, left the meeting to return to Albany
after he heard the verdict. Greer told United Methodist News Service he has
had "casual conversation" with Diallo's mother and father since the trial
was moved from New York to Albany, although he said he had not spoken with
them since the verdict was announced.

Noting that Mrs. Diallo has continued to plead for calm and prayer, Greer
said that she revealed to him "frustration and pain" over the case, but not
anger. Mr. Diallo, he added, has expressed "a more profound sense of anger."
The family is resolved "to take this thing as far as they can go."

Greer said he's not sure whether moving the trial from the Bronx to Albany
or "the weakness and ineptness of the prosecution" was the chief factor in
the acquittal. "Clearly, they (the Diallo family) didn't get a fair trial,"
he said, adding, "if it had been another judge, the results may have been
different."

The Northeast Jurisdiction Urban Steering Committee called upon church
leaders and members everywhere "to join us in a vision of a holy city where
justice and peace embrace and where all find welcome and safety."

The group also challenged themselves and others "to create opportunities for
dialogue and communion across racial and ethnic lines," as well as dialogue
and understanding with police officers, "who daily face risks and stress
that we can barely comprehend."

The committee has been involved in consultations on church and community
policing in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice. The Rev.
Anthony Arrington, pastor of Simpson United Methodist Church in Charleston,
W.Va., is committee chairman. 

# # #

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://www.umc.org/umns


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home