Audio clip
Valoria Armstrong
Alonzo O'Kelley Jr. may have been put to rest Friday, but the controversy surrounding the 15-year-old's shooting death was not, according to community activists.
"This is not going away," Mahmood Abdullah, leader of the local Muslim group Chattanooga Community Council, said Friday outside Franklin-Strickland Funeral Home on McCallie Avenue.
Mr. Abdullah and fellow activist Papa Ricks had just rallied a standing-room-only crowd gathered at the Reuben Strickland Memorial Chapel for Mr. O'Kelley's funeral. Between impassioned Scripture readings and a lively eulogy by Greater Pilgrim Rock Baptist Church Pastor Timmy L. Sykes, the two men took the floor and generated thunderous applause.
"This young brother was murdered -- shot in the back three or four times -- and the city of Chattanooga is covering it up!" Mr. Abdullah cried.
Mr. Ricks also accused local officials of corruption, encouraging the audience to raise fists in the air and shout "Black power!"
Chattanooga police still are investigating Mr. O'Kelley's death, which they say stemmed from a perceived threat to Chattanooga Housing Authority police Lt. Erik Reeves. Though some in the community say multiple shots were fired, police and coroner reports indicate that Lt. Reeves shot the youth once in the back after he said Mr. O'Kelley raised a weapon at him near the East Lake Courts housing development.
The disparity among accounts of the shooting spurred the Chattanooga-Hamilton County branch of the NAACP to announce Friday morning that it was launching its own investigation into the matter.
Though Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ricks have based their criticism of the event on a "racist government," NAACP branch President Valoria Armstrong said she just wants to ensure that local police don't try to cover up for a fellow officer.
"We're not saying that there's any racial issue here," Ms. Armstrong said, pointing out that both the officer and the youth involved were black. "We just want to ensure that there is a fair and equitable investigation, and we want to make sure the information is available for all parties who want to review it."
Ms. Armstrong said she has submitted a request for various records in the case, including police dispatch records, police and coroner's reports, departmental policy, witness statements and information from Lt. Reeves' personnel file.
She said she plans to review the information, then publicize her findings "to improve the relationship between our community and law enforcement officers -- which is the best way to create the trust needed for police to effectively solve crimes."
Police officials said they aren't treating this investigation any differently than any other shooting death.
"Our homicide division is conducting an investigation as they would with any death that occurs within the jurisdictional boundaries of Chattanooga. That's normal," said Capt. Ken Neblette, commander over criminal investigations for the Chattanooga Police Department.
Investigators realize the inherent difficulty of having police investigate other police, said Lt. Tim Carroll, head of the department's major crimes division, "but you can't take that out of the equation. It's not like you can bring in a bunch of civilians to do it."
Ultimately, Lt. Carroll said, "evidence is evidence, and you can't make it be anything but what it's going to be. It speaks for itself."
NAACP INVESTIGATION
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County branch of the NAACP has requested the following information from police:
* Dispatch records pertaining to the shooting of Alonzo O'Kelley Jr.
* All written or recorded reports
* Coroner's reports
* Reports on any tests conducted on the weapon allegedly possessed by Mr. O'Kelley
* Department policy as it relates to "routine" traffic stops
* Prior complaints, written reprimands and the personnel file for Lt. Erik Reeves and all other Chattanooga Housing Authority Police officers
* All written or recorded witness statements
* Any and all other information not specifically requested as it pertains to the shooting
Source: NAACP
Hamilton County District Attorney General Bill Cox confirmed Friday that, as an extra safeguard, he has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to review the Chattanooga Police Department investigation upon its completion.
"Anytime there's a civilian death (at the hands of police), I request an investigator to review it," Mr. Cox said. "That's been my policy since I took office."
The law enforcement is helping to perpetuate violence in America; quick to take a life and band together to fabricate the facts to protect themselves from consequences.
"It's your word, although I believe you, against the police officers word. The judge and jury are bias to the judicial system," an attorney once told me. There can be a dozen eyewitnesses and even video tape to contradict the offical report, but doesn't guarantee justice will be fair.
Killings of poor minorities in inner-cities are always justified by resulting investigations performed by their own department. Even if a gun is present, it doesn't mean it belonged to the victim or that the victim had it drawn to police. Police are suppose to make efforts to protect citizen; even from themselves. Only in the minority community is the first recourse to disarm an alleged assailant is to kill him.
I have personally witnessed and been a victim of unlawful enforcement on many occasions- subject to many stops and unlawful searches. If I question police the least little bit, I received traffic violations even when they were not warranted. Once I tried to assert my rights and the officer hand-cuffed me and left me to stand in danger on the side of a busy highway while he sat in his car. I received no cooperation from law enforcement when I tried to file a complaint. My first and only arrest happened five years ago. Officer Nicholas Allen #123 of the arrested me after, what was likely, a racially motivated stop and search of my person, record, and vehicle came up empty. I questioned him without answers and he fabricated a DUI to arrest me. I listened to advice and held my silence throughout most of the ordeal. Even after I was threatened with a year jail sentence if I didn't accept a plea, I still refused a plea and demanded a trial. At times it felt that my own attorney was working against me than for me. He even said, "you're crazy", when I said I'd rather spend a year in jail before I accept a plea. After five years in the judicial system, my charges were dismissed.
These stops and incidents are unacceptable. I worry about all the ones who are less fortunate than me. Too often, unarmed black males are being shoot by law enforcement as a result. My uncle, John Eric Henderson, was shot during a traffic stop. I believe he was a victim and his death didn't have to happen. I'm astounded that these are not isolated incidents, but everyday occurrences in our country. Conscious and unconscious race stereotypes or biases lead to people of color disproportionately being stopped and harassed by law enforcement which further perpetuates violence and racial inharmony in America. I know law enforcement put their life on line everyday to serve and protect us of harm and I respect them for their dedication, but it's know excuse for the reckless taking of life; be it an armed or unarmed man.
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