Here we go again: Another police officer is cleared of shooting and killing an African-American male. Time and time again mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers cry themselves to sleep after their loved ones are killed by a police officer.
But this time, St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson not only cleared ex-St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley of shooting and killing Anthony Lamar Smith, he made an appalling statement in his verdict: “The court observes, based on its nearly 30 years on the bench, that an urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly.”
Webster Dictionary defines “anomaly,” as “something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.”
Webster Dictionary defines “urban,” as “relating to, characteristic of, constituting a city.”
Is it an “anomaly” that thousands of African-American children in urban neighborhoods go to school each day to learn and better themselves to become productive citizens in America?
Is it an “anomaly” that hundreds of thousands of African-American men and women in urban neighborhoods go to work each day, pay their taxes, go the movies, eat at restaurants and worship at church?
Is it an “anomaly” that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was raised in an urban neighborhood and entered Morehouse College as an early-admission student at the age of 15?
Is it an “anomaly” that Oprah Winfrey was raised in an urban neighborhood and is now the first African-American billionaire?
Perhaps this 30-year veteran of the bench’s word choice is simply an anomaly. I’m not really sure. What I do know is that his verdict is not.
Johnny Little Jr.
St. Louis
