b'CURRENT EVENTSin referencing another incident where a young black lieutenant in the U.S. Army who was being stopped by police, pulled over for, complied in doing every-thingtheyasked,andstillharassedandpepper-sprayed by officers. In 2018, Rev. Anthony Grier came to Colorado to beseniorpastoratTrueSpiritBaptistChurchin Colorado Springs.Heknowstoowellaboutpoliceharassmentand continuous deaths of Blacks at the hands of police officers having lived near Chicago.IhavebeenpulledoverbeforeintheMidwest. Sometimesofficerstaketheirauthorityoverboard. They are stereotyping to meet a quota. I have had an altercation with officers who were being unnecessar-ily disrespectful.RegardingtheverdicthandeddowntoOfficer Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd, Rev. Grier states, It was good that justice was served. But my prayer is will it resonate throughout the judicial sys-tem and justice be given to all manners of crime of this nature done by law enforcement. It was good the verdict came out the way it did. And obvious it was blatant murder.In moving forward, Rev. Grier thinks more empha-sis needs to be placed on our governor, state leaders, By Sheila Smith Rights Movement. commissioners and judicial system in forcing them to What happened back in the 50s and 60s has onlydo what is right.F or the past year, we have heard his name, Georgeturned into modern day lynching by police harassingThelawsshouldntbedifferentineverystate. Floyd.Wehaveheardtheirnamesofseveraland killing Blacks and getting away with it.TodaysThe laws should be the same in every state. Push it Blacks killed for no reason by law enforcement offi- technology of having cell phones with video capabilityacross the board in every state where it is recognized cers. allows more people to video record any misconductlaw enforcement can be penalized for doing wrong, Butnowjusticehasprevailedinthedeathofby police.Police officers in many cities are requiredsays the reverend.George Floyd killed by police officer, Derek Chauvin. to wear body cameras as well. Rev. Grier admits having mixed emotions regarding Afterajurydeliberatedwithinatwo-dayperiodBishopDemmersaidheisworkingwithDenverthe killing of Daunte Wright.unanimouslydecidedthatChauvinwasguiltyofPoliceChiefPaulPazenonpolicereformandhowWhen they had him in custody, then he should second-degreeunintentionalmurder,third-degreepolice officers are trained. have not broken loose. Once they have you in cus-murder and second degree manslaughter. ThereisatrainingprogramcalledABLEandtody, he had a witness in the car to report any abuse. Thosearoundthecountrywereshockedandwhat that does is train police accountability, how toFrom what was being told, even his mom was on the outragedbackinMay2020,whenvideoshowedapproach people, how to restrain, how to disengage.phone to some extent. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin force Mr.Accountability means if you are a police officer andThat is why Rev. Grier preaches to young men to be Floyd to the ground and put his knee on the manssee inappropriate action by a fellow police officer, youvigilant in being in compliance to what law enforce-neck for more than 9 minutes. will be held accountable and both of you will be firedment officers ask them to do. George Floyd crying out those words that peoplebecause you didnt step up to do anything, explainsWe have to make it a point not to make ourselves still cringe after seeing and hearing, I cant breathe.the Bishop. subject of being attacked outside of being profiled, Then he takes his last few breaths and cries out toTheNationalABLEProjectincludesDenverandhe states as often times officers get too focused on his mother before dying. afewotherselectcities.ABLEstandsforActivethe power they have. I tell our young men to stop AsthismarksahistoricmomentforBlackBystandershipforLawEnforcementwhichfocusesbeing so flashy, stop being so loud with how we carry Americans and how we are seen and treated, whereon training for law enforcement agencies on buildingourselves.Our young boys dont understand compli-do we go from here? a culture of intervention that prevents harm and wasance. This starts at home as the parents need to tell developed by Georgetown University Laws innovativethem to pay attention and listen to what is asked of The icon Civil Rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson,Policing Program. you by people of authority. If something is not right, who knows too well the struggle from marching withPolicinghastochangeeverywhere,addsBishoprecord it and report it. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. back in the 60s was inter- Demmer.Whilechangeisslowlycomingwithlawsbeing viewedbynationalmediaandsaiditwasareliefIt has to become infectious across America. Evenpassed, Rev. Grier also wants to see where a police Chauvin was found guilty, but states, The celebra- PoliceChiefVanessaWilsoninAuroraistryingtoofficerwhohasarecordofusingexcessiveabuse tion is premature. We still have a lot of work to do.change things.Aurora has been a nightmare sinceshouldnotbeallowedtogetanotherjobinlaw This is a first down, not a touchdown. I was a teenager. Then lets talk about the greatestenforcement.Rev. Jackson cited the recent killing of the youngpresident I have ever seen in 65 years who hasntI have seen it done too many times in the Midwest. black youth, Daunte Wright, right there in Minneapoliseven been in office but three months, but this manAn officer killed a young man in a daycare inside a just 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed. has already made so many great moves. And hav- church.He was found not guilty allowed to retire and A female police officer on the job for 26 years wasing the first black woman as vice-president gives usthen moved to another county in Illinois and became trying to detain Daunte Wright and mistook her Taserhope. chief of police. This is what I mean by consistency and instead reached for her gun and shot Daunte.Besides police reform, Bishop Demmer points outand holding accountability.Another family grieves. Another trial to come. legislation has to change, the right people elected toTrue Light Baptist Church in Denver has pastor Local ministers weighed in with heavy hearts butoffices and bills passed to change the laws. that grew up in the South where the church was the werealsohappyontheoutcomeoftheverdictofColorado passing bill SB20-217 was a start. Theepicenter of the community.Derek Chauvin being found guilty. The question withbill specifies that police officers are not allowed toOurcommunitywasveryinvolvedintheCivil his sentencing to come in a few months is will he getshoot anyone in the back that they are apprehend- Rights,explainsRev.Dr.ShannonWarnerwho the maximum years in prison on each count?ing. That law passed due to a young black man shotgrew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.Bus boycott of BishopJerryDemmer,presidentoftheGreaterfour times in the back by police in Colorado SpringsMontgomery was a mirror of what had taken place Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, was happy to seetwo years ago.The bishop said he was part of thatseveral years prior. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came that justice prevailed. protest rally in Colorado Springs. over to Baton Rouge and he got the idea (of the boy-It is definitely a time of celebration.I have said We have to tell our black men to pull over to acott) from Dr. T.J. Jemison (One of the founders of thatjusticeusedtomeanJustUs.Wewerethesafe place.They also have to be cautious on how youtheSouthernChristianLeadershipConferencein only people that got pointed out and killed and neverpull over and how to approach the police.Then come1957 and later served as president of the National see justice.Today, we got justice, Bishop Demmerback to fight another day. You live, says Demmer gladly explains.We aint seen what justice looks likeContinued on Page 15in a long time. Somebody said not since Emmett Till.Remember Emmett Till, a 14-year old black child, lynchedandmurderedbackin1955becausehe allegedlywhistledorflirtedwithaWhitewoman. The womans husband and brother beat Emmett toIt was good that justice was served. But my prayer is will death, gouged out his eyes, shot him in the head and tied his body to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire. it resonate throughout the judicial system. This was an An all-white jury found the killers of Emmett not guilty,whichsparkedoutrageacrossthecountry.obvious, blatant murder.Emmetts mother had an open casket funeral for him so the world could see what was done to her son. That trial spurred the early beginnings of the Civil 8 MAY 2021 BOCNEWS.com'