This was a smack in the face to every single Black and Latino man who have been pulled over, rubbed down and searched and perceived as a criminal before an intellect. This was a smack in face to every brother who was emasculated. Yes the system has failed us. But this has not even begun to scratch the surface on which we see the judicial and political landscape in New York City. Would protesting and making nose do anything?.....NO.
Where does that leave us. the president has been set......................we have lost Diallo, Louima, and for the divisive people of color who believe in being separate and apart and distinct. Guess what? Diallo was a continental African, Louima was a West Indian and Sean Bell being of African American heritage. What they all had in common was they were Black and they were males; a nearing extinct phenotype. For the most part we have yet to hold these so called institutions and power structures in New York City accountable for their actions. We continue to prostitute our votes like a cheap harem and we wonder how this Judge is elected?
But............................ what happen to the Police officers that sodomized Louima? And the ones that did the same to Diallo?
With regards to Louima Charles Schwarz was convicted on June 27, 2000 for helping Volpe assault Louima in the bathroom and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. At the time of his conviction, there were numerous questions raised about whether he could receive a fair trial in the highly charged atmosphere. Volpe identified Thomas Wiese, not Schwarz, as the second man in a recorded interview on news show 60 Minutes, a fact not brought up in the trial. The sentence was overturned by 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a technicality. However, in 2002 he pled guilty to a perjury charge for testifying that he did not lead Louima to the bathroom, and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. His request for leniency was rejected on March 30, 2006. He was released to a halfway house in February 2007 and plans to move to the northern United States to work as a carpenter.
Three other NYPD officers, Thomas Bruder, Michael Bellomo and Thomas Wiese were indicted for their involvement in trying to cover up the assault. On March 9, 2000, Thomas Weise and Thomas Bruder along with Charles Schwarz were convicted on the charge of conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation into the assault on Louima, but their conviction was reversed by a federal appeals court in February 2002 on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Michael Bellomo was found not guilty of trying to cover up the beating of Louima and that of another Haitian immigrant by Volpe earlier that evening
In diallo’s case Charges against the protesters were later dropped. In 2001 the Justice Department announced that it would not charge the officers with having violated Diallo's civil rights.
And this leaves us to Sean Bell.
And we all know what has happened.
………………..the question is what are we going to do?