Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
Officers Melvin Williams and Matthew Dean Moore stated that while they were patrolling the streets, they saw a man who was "stumbling and holding his upper chest area." They then said that Robair collapsed and that they drove him to the hospital, where he died. A pair of broken ribs punctured his spleen and liver, and the officers were cleared by an internal police investigation, partially substantiated by the coroner's report.
The greater problem though is that there are several residents in the area who dispute the account of the police officers. Several witnesses say they saw the officers punch and kick Robair. Also, an independent autopsy requested by the family ruled the death a homicide.
Since that time, both officers are expected to be served with indictments re-opening the investigation into Robair's death.
The story of Raymond Robair is not uncommon. There are literally thousands of cases across America where individuals are attacked by police officers, with the incidents covered up in falsified police reports. There are officers who moonlight as drug dealers, and some who simply abuse their authority.
In many cases, police brutality is overlooked because the suspect has a criminal record. Therefore, we are more likely to presume that officers are pure and innocent and that their word can always be taken above that of a convicted felon. Unfortunately, there are some officers who should themselves be convicted felons, and cases in which the police are simply the stronger and more powerful street gang.
New Orleans has been an especially strong hotbed of police corruption. "They have a reputation that was deserved: deplorable, of being massively corrupt, of having very little regard for the Constitution, widespread racial profiling and cover-ups of their own infractions," said Marjorie R. Esman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana. It's likely the case that corruption has not been and may never be completely weeded out of the department.
All the while, it must be remembered that there are thousands of good officers on the job, who risk their lives daily to do what is right. Additionally, the challenges of day-to-day police work, in which you are in the heat of battle on a regular basis, should be carefully and respectfully scrutinized by those who will never know the pressures faced by officers. Officers are asked to go to the worst parts of the city at the worst times, and decisions made during battle are sometimes inaccurately assessed by the bureaucrats sitting in cushy offices.
With all that said, the case of Raymond Robair needs to be investigated. Any officer found committing wrong-doing should be punished like the rest of us. I'd also like to know why the coroner happened to overlook a homicide that was so easily identified by someone else.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.