Basic Black; 3015; Unnecessary Fire

I think the two who were involved in the shooting were the ones who were poorly trained. Officer Young, he was coming to try to help. Basic Black looks into the shooting death of Providence police officer Cornel Young, Jr. Right now, there doesn't appear to be any sense of accountability. That's up next on Basic Black. Good evening. I'm Jaren Duarte. Cornel Young, Jr., often referred to as Jai by family and friends, was a Black Providence police officer that was killed in this city last January. This tragedy has brought to the forefront some long -standing problems that the Black community has had with the police. On tonight's program, we're going to focus on a mother's loss of her son and the community's reaction to it. We'll also discuss how race could be a

factor in this case and others like it across the country. I'm proud that he had the character of his convictions to live what he believed. And I think for my own personal selfish reasons, it's so important that positive change come from this, I was always involved, like I said, in trying to make things better. Even through this horrific situation, there's an opportunity for things to be better, for things to be changed. I think from watching my life

and us being as close as we were, he learned a lot of lessons as I was learning them, too. I would be Princess of Rhode Island, and he would be the king of Providence, you know, and we would save the world, and we'd go on these adventures, and all kinds of stuff, just dreaming and entertaining ourselves, really. But as he grew, Jai took responsibility for things when he saw things wrong. Like if kids were fighting, he'd be the one that was trying to tell them, let's not fight. We can find a way to reason this out. He was just that kind of a kid. Jai was born a gifted child. He displayed his intelligence at a very young age, a little on the quiet side, but with a magnetic aura. He was easy to befriend and love. He had a way of leaving you with the lasting impression. He somehow

touched us in Jai's own special way, and he had a good sense of humor. He sent to the martial arts, never the way, you know, some kids were in terms of wanting to get out there and practice your kicks and punches on people. For him, it was a form of self -defense, but more discipline. You know, I can remember him telling someone, it's not about causing pain, it's preventing pain, you know, that kind of thing. He was someone who was an independent thinker, he thought for himself, and I think that's why he was sometimes a loner, because he didn't do lots of things that kids do. He didn't drink, he didn't smoke. He kind of was an old soul in a lot of ways, which I'm finding out from talking to friends of his. I thought that myself, but it's kind of odd being the mother thinking of your

child as being an old soul. But there was a depth to him. He thought a lot about things that many people don't think about. And I think he was kind of like me in that, because we would get in these, you know, long doc discussions, you know, deep discussions about all kinds of things. So he looked at the world as though he was responsible for a portion of it. In fact, one of the real touching things for me is I found his journal after his death, and I was really surprised to know that he kept one. In his journal it says, for evil to prosper, good only has to do nothing. What is the measure of a man? It's not how long he lives, but the quality of the life, the years that he had, not how many people he loved, but how many people loved him. Sergeant Cornel Young, Jr., you have unknowingly become a martyr. You will live on in the shadows

of great heroic men. Your name will be mentioned in the likes of those such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Sergeant Cornel Young, Jr., your death will not be forgotten. You will live on in the hearts and in the souls of all of us forever. Another friend of his had said that he had a dream, not too long before his death, about him being in an alleyway with a little girl and that someone was going to shoot the girl and he jumped in front of the girl and the bullet got him. And he was laying on the ground and he was looking straight up and he said, I knew what my life was for and that was it. Providence police are called to fight his restaurant the morning of

January 28th. There's a fight outside and one of the people involved is waving a gun. Off -duty policeman Cornel Young, Jr. tries to help his uniformed officers arrest the suspect, but the police don't recognize Young as one of their own. Here is a young, talented, dedicated officer who, for reasons that we still don't know, came to the aid of other law enforcement trying to solve a felony that was in progress. And he lost his life at the hands of two officers. You mentioned that they're non -minority. I don't know if they're non -minority or not, but it doesn't matter. Even if they're black police officers, that doesn't in a sense absolve the fact that there are far too many African -American police officers who are in uniform, who are undercover, who are off -duty, who are victims of assaults, who are victims of shootings and who ultimately lose their life in some cases. It's happened not just in Providence, Rhode Island. It's happened in New York. It's happened in the District of Columbia. It's happened in a variety of cities around America. That's the

tragedy. It's because of that. It's because that race is such an integral factor in these shootings that you so often see the victim of what we call friendly fire to be African -Americans, that the community has a right to be outraged. We don't know the facts. We don't know the causes. We don't know the motivations. We can't get in the officer's mind or officer Young's mind. But we do know that we've seen far too many instances of black men being beaten, being wounded, being killed. Part of the reason Providence's minority community pushes for independent and federal intervention is because Young's shooting is not an isolated incident and past mistakes by the police are often dismissed. In New York, two black undercover transit cops are shot by the police. A third officer is killed. In Boston, plain clothes officer Michael Cox is brutally beaten by fellow officers. In Nashville, Tennessee, a similar story, five white cops beat undercover officer

Reggie Miller. And then I feel somebody gouge my eyes and yank my head back. And I feel somebody drop down in my back with their knee. In Louisville, Kentucky, a black off -duty officer is shot three times by a white policeman. And in Washington, D .C., off -duty officer James McGee is killed by a patrolman in his own precinct. McGee was trying to stop a robbery in progress. He became one of three black officers shot by the police there. One of the other policemen died as well. When Officer Baker killed black officer McGee in Washington, D .C., he said the same thing that's arrived when Celetro said I told him to drop the gun. He wouldn't drop the gun. When transit police officer Desmond Robinson was shot, his shooter said I told him to drop the gun. He wouldn't drop the gun. Now these are just the police cases. What about all of the unarmed black people in America who were shot by police officers? And the police version is always

I told him to drop the gun. He didn't drop the gun. He pointed the gun at me. I think the two who were involved in the shooting were the ones who were poorly trained. He was coming to try to help. And don't you think that a police officer who's off -duty, who has either his badge, his gun up saying, I'm a police officer, is asking to help? That's what happened. So I think this is poor training and I think we'll be able to spell that through the facts. Basic procedure off -duty was to carry yourself in a professional manner, not to be in the company of those who may be felons and things of that nature. But if you are in a situation, heated situation like this one, Don is your responsibility to protect life and limb. And that's exactly what Cornell did. So he had his gun. He tried to protect life and limb, but his was taken. We feel, having been involved in the incident from the onset, that it was an accidental shooting with Cornell Young Jr. Tragically, sadly, was killed in the line of duty. No malicious intent on the part of

the officers. They were there doing their job. This thing went down in 45 seconds and we've said it before. It's tough, but walk in our shoes and you could better, more clearly see how it could happen. In my own experiences as a police officer, you learn a great deal, you see a lot. You don't assume that because you see someone holding a weapon, that he or she is a suspect. Other people hold weapons, playing close police officers, off -duty police officers who are taking police action. Your focus is on the weapon itself. know, especially at night situation, this was at night. You know, you pull up to a scene, boom bang, 45 seconds went down. You look at one way, you look the other way. There's a gun, you're looking at the gun. Can I describe you? I can't describe you. You know, not at that point. He is a police officer coming to help his colleagues in a very small department with only a small number of African -Americans on that department.

He's coming to help because there's a bad guy out there, and they shoot him also. Officer Young was among a few blacks in the 1997 recruiting class. Ironically, one of the patrolmen who shot him was also in that same police academy. I believe the evidence is going to show that he was a case of profiling again. When you engage in stereotypical thinking, when you see somebody with a brown skin, and they become the bad guy, even when there's one of you, it's easier to shoot them. It's easier to do what they're doing. This is a classic example. We see this case in L .A. the last year or so. The Gaines case. We ultimately settle where a white undercover officer shoots a black off -duty officer and kills him. Two LAPD officers. So this is a start in Providence. This happens all across this country. He took what he did seriously. There wasn't a fluke or anything like that. That's why my heart is sure that he followed protocol

just because it was so important to him. To not just be a cop, but to be a good cop. I think the white officers basically saw Cornel Jr. as a possible large black male with a handgun, and they judged him on being a bad guy. I know for sure, even though I wasn't there, let it be known for the record, I was not there. But because of my past experience, because of my training, I'm sure Cornel Jr. came out and identified himself in some sort of manner. And I just know that no one's going to walk into a line of fire. Cornel Jr. was a very smart, very intelligent, articulate, nice guy, well respected. So there's some issues that are not being addressed. The investigators are trying to figure ways to get these officers out. That's what they do. That's why you can't investigate yourselves. We've been saying this across the country. You've to have another agency come in to investigate you. They have an involved self -interest to save those two officers. The other officers dead now. So what are they going to do about that?

And that's what happens. when you're trying to get to save them from Diaz or anybody else, routinely around this country, the police will take witnesses, take them to the station, hold them for, you know, 8, 10 hours. Don't tell them what's happened. Try to get statements from them that they can use to justify what they've done. See it in every jurisdiction around this country. The community has a right to be concerned that how can we expect those who are, in a sense, part of the problem to also be the ones who help us give the solution. No justice, no peace, no races, police. The community has a right to call as a political issue for independent, in -depth analysis of these issues. But in the end, the black community, along with others in Providence, did not get the independence they were looking for. The Rhode Island Attorney General did not appoint a special assistant with independent investigators. The team gathering evidence into the death of young was dominated

by Providence and state police. And in April, expected, the grand jury cleared the two policemen who shot and killed one of their own. We are hoping that there be some sense of accountability. Right now, there doesn't appear to be any sense of accountability. The officers, when the event happened, they were on leave with Peg. They are allowed to come back. They were exonerated. No administrative punishment, nothing. And no one else seems to be getting any blame for this. This is a life loss. And someone or something has to be brought to the carpenter. Is it so wrong for me to just ask what happened and find out what happened? That's all I want from this. Because quite frankly, I am an educator. It is my job to encourage people like I encouraged my son to believe in

the system, to believe in education, to become a part of the world that we live in, not just stand outside and watch it, you know, from outside the door. How do I go back to my job and encourage other people to dream and to work hard and to do the right thing? And as my son was willing to do, he knew he was a black person in America. And you know, I understand that if you've never dealt with racism, it's easier to push it away and say it doesn't exist. But for all of you who are not minorities in this office, say a special prayer tonight when you go to bed, that you were lucky enough to be born white. I spoke with the assistant attorney general in charge of civil rights today. And they are in fact looking at this case in both a pattern and practice investigation and also a criminal investigation. Providence police say their officers are thoroughly trained and racial diversity is a component. But can that help determine who's a threat? Will training prevent it? I really don't think so. mean, we welcome training. I

can only say we want more training to be more diverse in all sorts of areas. But it's like combat, almost. mean, in situations like that, it is combat. But I do know that some of the training that police officers get give the impression to people who may have a minimal involvement with minorities that label them as more bad than good. One, for instance, is while I was going through college, we lived in a section 8 apartment in the middle of South Providence. And through his training, at one point they go by there and said, these are where the scumbag live. And my son said, no, this is where me and my mother lived. Now, something that simple to an officer who maybe never had contact with another minority of any minority, if all they hear is what people tell them and they assume that if they're being

trained, the trainer is giving them correct information, that would leave a seed in someone's mind that in an incident like that happened that night, when in a split second you have to make a determination of whether someone is a friend or foe. Those officers saw a foe. I don't think they came to that totally by themselves, you see. So what I'm concerned is, my son is not the only minority officer. Then or now, what happens if those issues aren't addressed? How many more young men and women will die because of these same issues that could be too easily dismissed if they lay total blame on these two officers? As the tragic police stories continue to unfold in America, what is the nation to do? Crime rates are down, but at what price? Mistakes by the police often shake the trust and confidence people of color have in those who are supposed to protect them. For the authorities, it often

becomes casualties in the battle against crime, while the community searches for justice. Justice! New York City streets are jammed with people protesting the treatment of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed black man fired upon by four undercover police officers. Those officers are later exonerated. Not for one minute do I accept the fact that Mr. Diallo had a wallet in his hand. Now a wallet in a white man's hand remains a wallet. A wallet supposedly in his black man's hand morphed into becoming a gun. I doubt very seriously he had a wallet. But that became convenient to say he had something in his hands to create a scenario to try to have self -defense to justify shooting him. You see, because look at the facts. The shot at 41 times hit 19 times. They got to try to justify that. They made a terrible mistake. They didn't leave the station house to go kill somebody, but they engaged in profiling. They stopped a man, a black man, who was going in his vestibule. He was any of us. you ask the question, are the rest of us safe? That's what people are protesting around the country. The Diallo case,

the other cases in New York, the pressures were so great that there was no alternative but to prosecute. But then sometimes you get juries acquitting in cases like that. And so the prosecutors are able to wipe their hands and say, look, we did our job, we prosecuted, it was the jury's fault. The worst problem many think is that police officers who violate the law, who violate the civil rights and engage in excessive use of force, brutality, and even death of innocent suspects. But it's said sometimes an even worse crime is the fact that there is a silent majority, not a silent minority, but a silent majority of police officers who condone and in some sense cover up tragic instances of police misconduct. The American public has been taught to love and respect the police and for good reasons, there are first line of defense against the bad guys. But policemen, because they're low paid, because many of them are poorly educated, reflect some of the worst biases of our society. They see a black man holding a hand up, they think, gun. They see a black man who

happens to be an undercover policeman, they think, bad guy. And it's very hard to persuade a jury that they were acting unreasonably in the face of an uplifted gun. Juries are likely to resolve doubts always in favor of the policeman. Police officers get the benefit of doubt because people want to believe in our police that in an ordered society, they're out there putting their lives in the line, in a perfect society, you wouldn't have racial profiling, you wouldn't have racism permeating everything, you wouldn't have this kind of brutality. Officers would do their jobs and tell the truth and they'd be the same toward everyone. But in reality, that's not the way it works. The same racism we see in other institutions permeates the justice system from top to bottom. The first sad reality is that both police officers and citizens are often motivated by fear, fear of each other. And when there's fear, you can't respond. You don't trust, you're skeptical, you're worried. And the first thing you want to do is protect your safety and your health and your life.

And that sometimes causes people to react instead of thinking. And the difference between reaction and thinking is enormous. And that's when you get death or serious bodily injury. That's the first sad reality. The second sad reality is that even with all the training, the police officers have a job to do. And there is a lot of crime. There are police officers who are injured. There are deaths that are at stake. And what do we want? We want a law enforcement unit that will protect and serve, protect everybody and serve everybody. And it starts with training. It also starts with leadership. You know, when I think about the officers and I think about their mothers, it's a horrible place to be in my position. It's an equally horrible place to be in theirs. And if those two officers were human, which we know they were, living with what happened that night has to be his own form of torture. You see?

see, I don't see things in black and white. You know, there's lots of shades of grays. And it's those shades of grays that are dangerous. And so, I want those kinds of things addressed more so than I want somebody to pay for what happened to my son. When he made that commitment, he knew that he would risk his life for any other person. And that's what he did. Did Cornell Young Jr. die because of the color of his skin? Many in Providence say yes, but many say no, too. And Lisa Young is trying to make sense of it all. Her lawsuit is making the police and the city look inward. And she's hoping that systemic changes will be made to both.

Then she believes her son's death will not have been in vain. I'm Darren Duarte. Good night. Your questions and comments are important to us. So drop us a line at Basic Black, 125 Western Avenue, Boston Mass, 02134, or visit our website at WGBH .org. Thank you.

Thank

Thank