Diallo Verdict A Joke

"Murdered my man like it was OK/for the life he ended, he got suspended with no pay/but if my man would've took the cop's life, he would've got life/and never again seen the street lights, and that's trife/around my way they killed many teens/those cops better stop, or imma' stop em' by any means." - Big L, a late rapper from Harlem.

This deceased poet's words now describe the thoughts of hundreds of angry protesters, who gathered around the latest cop shooting on February 28, 2000. Only three blocks away from 1157 Wheeler Avenue in the Bronx where Armadu Diallo was killed by officers Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss in his own home's vestibule little more then a year ago. Two men were arrested that night for throwing bottles at police. It's only a matter of time that the masses strike back with the same recklessness as those four policemen, who were acquitted of all charges on February 25, 2000.

I strongly believe that the four policemen murdered Diallo with depraved indifference. McMellon, who fired 16 shots at Diallo, has had five complaints filed against him from the Civilian Complaint Review Board. The allegations included abuse of authority, excessive force and most importantly, racial insensitivity. Although none of the allegations were substained, in my opinion this should have been a factor. Another thing is that when McMellon fell and bruised his tailbone, and shots had already been fired. So why did he persist to shoot 16 bullets at Diallo when he knew he was not hit? These questions were not brought up in the trial and could have persuaded the jury's decision in favor of the prosecution.

I also believe that Diallo was shot while he was down. Prosecution
forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen testified that three of the bullet wounds suffered by Diallo prove that he was shot while falling or already down. One shot entered the front of Diallo's left shin and moved up the leg. Another went through the bottom of Diallo's right foot, hitting his right toe and traveled upwards. The third bullet went through Diallo's right shin and traveled upward and lodged behind his right knee, and would be pointing upwards if the corpse were sat down. He also said that a shot to the aorta
must have come first because of the lack of hemorrhaging or blood on Diallo's clothes. Cohen also said that gun-inflicted paralysis and broken bones may have caused Diallo to fall during the shooting, and shots to the aorta perforated his spine and spinal cord. This would have paralyzed Diallo from the waist down and caused him to fall. Despite this overwhelming evidence,the jury set the police officers free.

In my opinion, the police should not start the gunfire. Anyone who isn't willing to take a bullet to protect the well being of the people should not be a cop. They should have told Diallo, "Police! Drop the gun or we'll shoot you," or "Put your hands up and walk slowly toward us." The defense said that the wallet that Diallo had resembled a gun around the size of a wallet. With four cops holding automatic weapons and Diallo holding that one little gun, it is very unlikely that any of the policemen would get hit, let alone killed before the cops could retaliate.

The bottom line is that the cops should at least lose their jobs. They have shown that they cannot handle the responsibility of having guns. The fact that Diallo was shot while falling or already down shows that they could not control their weapons, so they should also have been guilty for at least reckless endangerment of Diallo. With cops like this on the already dangerous streets of New York City, the fine line between civilization and anarchy is thinning quickly. And with the streets getting more and more hectic, tragedies like this will happen again.