Why would a white St. Louis police officer fear for his safety when the “threat,” a 38-year-old black man, was already in the care of his two fellow officers?
That’s the question that continues to anger community leaders and police officers after a white officer shot a black off-duty officer who came to assist at a crime scene that unfolded right outside his front steps on June 21.
“Take the fact that he’s an officer out of the entire question,” said state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. who knows the black officer through his work to strengthen police and community relations.
“We have a black man with a gun who is engaged in conversation with two officers. Those officers are lax; they don’t have their guns drawn. He’s not pointing a gun. We live in Missouri, which is an open-carry state. And you fear for your life? He doesn’t even know you are there.”
On June 21 at about 10:30 p.m., the black St. Louis city police officer was relaxing with his family in his North St. Louis city home when he heard “commotion” nearby and went outside to scope it out with his department-issued weapon, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s incident statement.
At that time, three black males, two of whom were 17, had crashed a stolen car on the 5900 block of Astra. The young men fled on foot, and two officers chased and fired shots at them. One of the young men was hit in the ankle.
When the black officer came out to assist, two officers ordered him to the ground and he complied. They soon recognized the 11-year veteran on the force and told him to stand up and walk toward them, according to the statement.
But then, another officer, a 36-year-old white officer, arrived on the scene and “observed this,” the report stated.
Somehow, the officer “feared for his safety,” and he shot the black cop in the arm, according to the statement.
The police department did not release the names of any of the officers involved. However, it did state that seven officers went on administrative leave after the incident, as per department policy. The Force Investigative Unit, which focuses on officer-involved shootings, responded, and an investigation is ongoing.
Many things about this night don’t make sense, some officers who did not want to be named told The American. That night, Acting Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole – surrounded by the mayor and some top-ranking officers – told media at the scene that the off-duty officer was shot in the arm “during the exchange of gunfire” between the suspects and the officers. This statement angered black and white officers alike, according to several officers.
“They released a statement that wasn’t accurate, and it didn’t mirror the facts,” one officer said. “They knew he wasn’t injured in crossfire. And this is with one of our own. Imagine how these investigations are going when these are not our own.”
The source said that O’Toole knew that the “cover-up story” would be leaked eventually because of the internal turmoil his statement caused. At noon the next day, the department tweeted out the incident statement that revealed the fact that the white officer had shot the black officer.
O’Toole said he was “unavailable for an interview” with The St. Louis American.
Koran Addo, Mayor Lyda Krewson’s spokesman, said she had no knowledge that the white officer could have shot the black officer before she gave her statement to the media that night. She received her information about the incident solely from O’Toole, Addo said.
The black officer who was shot is both a member of the St. Louis Police Officers Association (SLPOA), a union with a majority-white membership, and the Ethical Society of Police, a police association made up of majority African-American officers. Both the Ethical Society and the SLPOA have offered to legally represent the black officer, but he has not yet chosen a lawyer.
It is believed that the shooter is being represented by SLPOA, but SLPOA lawyers did not respond to The American’s request to confirm this.
“The union has no comment on the incident other than to say: We hope that everyone awaits the completion of the investigation of this unfortunate incident before reaching any conclusions as to what occurred,” said Jeff Roorda, spokesman for SLPOA.
The shooter, the injured officer and the other officers involved have not given their statements at this time. The Ethical Society said they are going to wait until these statements are given – along with the “accident reconstruction” – to comment on the case.
Many believe the officer was “fearful” because the man was black – making him an automatic presumed or imagined threat.
“Was the shooting racially motivated?” Rufus Tate, attorney for the Ethical Society of Police, asked. “I don’t know what his motivation was. It is what I would call a teachable moment. Part of the reason it’s a teachable moment is that he lived to tell about it – which is significant from all the other national cases, where black men are shot and killed.”
Franks said that the police department must address this as a race issue. He understands that when police arrive on a crime scene, their “threat assessment is high.”
“But that’s not an excuse,” Franks said. “Your fear doesn’t work for anyone else. It doesn’t work for a regular citizen. It’s a racial issue. It’s a person who could be compassionate but just doesn’t get the community that they police. If this incident doesn’t drive change on the force, I don’t know what will.”
Franks said that the injured officer is a well-respected officer in the community.
“He’s still recovering and getting it together,” Franks said. “He’s a strong dude, a man of conviction. It’s sad to see this officer – or any officer, but him in particular because he’s someone in the community that folks really care for a lot – in this situation.”
The community, along with officers, are angry at how the department handled this situation, he said.
“I’ve talked to black and white officers who see it as a black-and-white issue,” Franks said. “We have to stop shying away from the truth. If we are going to sit and fake like this isn’t an issue, then that’s a problem.”
