[Durham INC] A response to recent police action

[Steve Schewel]

Dear INC Friends,
I wrote this recently and posted it on the WHHNA listserv, but I wanted
others in the INC to be able to read it as well.
Best,
Steve Schewel

*Steve Schewel*



*A Response Regarding Recent Police Actions*



Many people have written me expressing shock and dismay after the
demonstration and police response in downtown Durham on Thursday night,
December 19. This comes on top of other recent controversies swirling
around the police department. I have been thinking about and working
steadily on these police-related issues for weeks, and I wanted to send a
considered response to each of you who has written to me.



            I do want to thank you for caring enough to write. Hearing your
thoughts and feelings has been crucial to me as I work through the various
issues that face us.



            Everything that happened last Thursday occurred against the
background of a family’s grief. Whatever else we do, we need to remember
that. Our community grieves with this family for the loss of their son and
brother, Jesus Huerta. Their loss diminishes us all. Three weeks ago, I
knocked on the door of the apartment that I understood to be the home of
the Huerta family. I wanted to offer my condolences, to make a human
connection from the City, to ask them how I could help. I went back several
times and did not find them home, so I called their attorney to ask him to
arrange a time that I could meet with the family. I am hopeful that he will
do this soon. My son, like Jesus Huerta, was a student at Riverside High. I
coached soccer at Riverside for years, and I coached many young people like
Jesus. My heart goes out to this family.



            Now here are my thoughts on what happened on the night of
December 19:



            First, this is a scene that must never be repeated in Durham
again. We, as City government and as a community, must do all in our power
to prevent that. Protestors must be able to exercise their First Amendment
rights to speech and assembly unimpeded. The relatively few people in the
Thursday-night crowd who wanted to provoke the police must be isolated so
that any demonstration is peaceful. And we must work with our police force
so that they use the minimum required force to keep the peace and protect
public safety. The force must be proportional to the situation.



            For sure, there were people in the crowd on that night whose
stated intention it was to confront the police. Their words, which you can
find in their leaflets or all over the Internet, are filled with hatred
towards police, including one recent post saying that “violence against the
police can be justified and desirable.” These are just words, but these
words were backed up by the violence last month at the police station and
again by the rock-throwing on Thursday night. I want to be clear that these
actions contributed mightily to the confrontation on December 19.



            But I want to be equally clear that this provocation cannot be
met by the kind of massive response of the police on Thursday night. This
is not a law enforcement strategy that can succeed long-term, and it is not
the kind of response that Durham wants. The police response was well
intentioned. Instead of swinging night sticks at people, the police used
first smoke and subsequently tear gas to disperse the crowd. This meant
that no one got badly hurt, which was a real achievement. But it also meant
that innocent people were terrified and sent reeling through our streets. I
am deeply sympathetic to the police officers who reasonably fear people who
advertise openly that they want to hurt the police. However, the kind of
response Durham witnessed on Thursday night is not something that can be
repeated.



            So what should our community do? There is another vigil planned
in a month, and the folks planning that vigil have every right to do so. We
must use that month to prepare as a community and a City government to get
it right this time.



            I think we need three things: Truth, justice and reconciliation.



            First, about truth. The entire truth about the death of Jesus
Huerta must be known as quickly as humanly possible. Our police force has
been waiting on the SBI’s independent investigation, and this was
reasonable. However, the SBI is swamped with cases and grossly underfunded
by the legislature, and they can’t turn around cases as quickly as we need
them to. Whatever information is known from our police department’s own
internal investigation should be released now. I spoke about this at length
at the City Council meeting three days before the December 19
demonstration, and I continue to advocate for this.



            Second, about justice. Once we know the truth about this
tragedy, we must let the chips fall where they may. We do have some
definitive information from the SBI. That includes the fact that residue
from the gunshot that killed Jesus Huerta was found on both of his gloves
and none of that residue was on the hands of the Durham police officer. I
know only the same evidence that you read in the newspaper. As hard as it
is to believe given the fact that he was handcuffed, all the evidence that
I have heard points to the fact that Jesus Huerta shot himself. If so, this
means that there was a gun that he could reach while handcuffed in the back
seat of the police cruiser. If this gun was in his possession when he was
taken into custody, it is clear that the police officer failed to
adequately frisk him and so unwittingly contributed to this terrible
tragedy. If the police officer was at fault, he should be appropriately
disciplined. From what I can tell so far, it does not appear that the young
police officer was intentionally doing anything wrong in this situation but
he rather made a very tragic mistake. Without knowing more, it’s impossible
to say exactly what the consequences for him should be.



In this context, some of you have written me about the future of Chief Jose
Lopez. Chief Lopez works for City Manager Tom Bonfield, not for the city
council. I have total and complete confidence in Tom Bonfield to evaluate
the performance of the chief and to make the right decisions.



            Third, about reconciliation. Personally, I want to continue to
reach out to the Huerta family. If they have needs that our community can
fulfill, I want to help them with that. I hope that I will be able to meet
them very soon, either through the avenue of their attorney or otherwise.
Nothing we do can bring back their beloved child. But we can offer to help
in other ways. At the same time, our police leadership should be reaching
out to the community to listen and to reassure people that they respect the
rights of speech and assembly and will protect them, and that they will use
minimum appropriate force in the future. There is a role for peaceful
demonstrators as well, and it is a critical one. I have been in hundreds of
demonstrations in my life. I was at one last month on behalf of raising the
wages of fast food workers. I spoke at one last week on behalf of in-state
tuition for undocumented college students. This past year I was arrested
and handcuffed during a Moral Monday demonstration. My experience tells me
that peaceful demonstrators have the ability and the obligation to isolate
and actively repudiate the violent, provocative people in their midst.



            Peace-making before and during the next vigil is going to have
to be a two-way street. The police need to carefully measure their response
and minimize its impact on peaceful demonstrators, no matter how verbally
provocative. At the same time, it is incumbent upon demonstrators to reach
out as well and to isolate and repudiate anyone who advocates violence, who
throws rocks, or who seeks to instigate a confrontation with police.



            Durham is served by 515 uniformed officers, and our police
force does an excellent job under incredibly difficult circumstances. Three
weeks ago, I did a ride-along on a Saturday night with one of those young
officers. Some of the night was spent responding to crime scenes, but most
of it was spent helping people in the community—pushing a stalled car into
a parking lot, helping someone try to stop harassing phone calls,
responding to a call about a child found in the middle of the street after
dark. On one occasion the officer was in potential danger, but he handled
every situation he met with courage, wisdom and restraint.



Our police force is filled with men and women like this who are out there
keeping us safe every night. Our community regards our police officers as
friends and protectors, and they want more, not less, policing in their
neighborhoods. That is what I hear continually from our neighborhood groups
across the city. These police officers need and deserve our support.



At the same time, there are serious issues beyond the case of Jose Huerta
that need the attention of the police force, the city council and our
community. There are the cases of Derek Walker and Jose Ocampo which also
await the results of the absurdly slow SBI probe. As in the Huerta case, we
need to get all the information out as soon as we have it.



Also, local groups have come forward with statistics about traffic stops
and searches that give me grave concern. We need to make sure that there is
not a hint of racial discrimination in the work of our police department. I
am grateful to those who have compiled the statistics that have started a
painful but useful public conversation about the critical issue of
discrimination. I have been impressed by the good work of the police
department in responding so fully and carefully to these statistics, and I
thank Mayor Bell for starting us on a good process centered now at the
Human Relations Commission and soon coming to us at the city council. We’ve
got to face any charges about bias or police misconduct with an open ear
and an open heart. Let’s look for solutions, for changes in our processes
that can help us improve. Our department has already fully embarked upon
this work. I commend them, and I know we can succeed.



            Again, thank you so much for writing to me and to my
colleagues. I value your ideas and opinions tremendously. Please write
again.



            In the meantime, let us keep the Huerta family in our hearts. I
pledge that I will continue to think hard and work hard on this issue and
to advance the program of truth, justice and reconciliation that I
described above. I hope you will, too.
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