Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 August 2002 — Page 4

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9,2002

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COMMENTARY Power lies in our money, actions, not just talking

By JOHN A. ALLEN For The Recorder Conspiracy, racism and lawsuits were all items discussed at the neighborhood town hall meeting organized and conducted by Denise Hatcher. Over the weekend of Black Expo Summer Celebration, law enforcement was accused of being excessive with the powers that bestow them. Records indicate that over 1,5X citations were issued, people were herded like cattle and verbally abused. This type of indifference and treatment has been echoed for years, from slavery to present day-college-admissions. One concerned citizen at a neighborhood meeting Aug. 4 stated she would like to see all police officers undergo a sensitivity training program. You see courses and training condition people to act a certain way under the watchdog of another—typically from work hours of 9 to 5 p.m. For a person to treat another inferior or in an indifferent manner is a character flaw. In order to fix that, it’s going to take the commitment from that person. A true test of a person’s character is not what they do in public, but what they do when they are

alone. I’m personally tired of complaining and marching. Quite frankly, I would encourage all racists to start wearing their hoods, hanging their flags, posting their signs and conducting their meetings. All we have done as a society is ask them to hide. That’s one reason why we are so surprised when police act in a manner that is contradictory to their position, sport team owners make overt statements about minorities and law makers make laws that restrict or cripple the ability of some people to move forward. You cannot be surprised if you expect! We as a people need to unite to make a change. We spend collectively over $500billion a year in the economy. More specifically, the Black Expo and Circle City Classic bring more revenue to the downtown area on a yearly basis than any other organization. So why are the patrons of these events feeling like outcasts and what do we do about it? It’s a fact that there were individuals that got out of control and police were justified in regaining control. The question is were those people anymore out of control than the patrons at the Speedway track. The mayor was correct in his

statement earlier last week — where there is smoke there is fire. Something obviously went wrong. The question is what are we going to do about it? People, Indiana can’t afford to lose revenue dollars. Just recently our legislators were able to create a plan to balance the budget — we were on target to running out of money by July 2X3. If you don’t think they count on these events to help aid our financial economy you are sadly mistaken. The solution is to put up or shut up! Either we are going to boycott, file a lawsuit or we are going to continue to take it. A friend of mine questioned our ability to boycott. He said do companies really care about our 10-15 percent market share. My response was simple, if they are a forward thinking company they will. Fifteen percent on $1X is only $15, but 15 percent qn $1X million is a $15 million. The math is simple, if these companies are going to survive they’d better start paying attention to not only the way they treat us, but other minorities alike. The power structure of America will not look the same tomorrow. Our power lies in the almighty dollar and our actions — not our mouths.

A house divided

Continued from A1

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number of influential Black and white civic and business leaders, in addition to everyday people. “I saw a police officer put this young girl in handcuffs for jaywalking,” said 63-year-old Gary resident Bobby West who came to Black Expo with her grandchildren. “And I’m telling you if she would have been arrested, a fight would have broke out because I was not going to let that happen,” she said of a local 10th grader who received a $110 citation for jaywalking. After an hour of hearing the experiences of several Black Expo attendees. Mayor Bart Peterson addressed the crowd. “When there are allegations of improper behavior by any police officer or city official someone has to be accountable and I take full responsibility for this,” said Mayor Peterson, flanked by Public Safety Director Robert Turner, IPD Chief Jerry Barker and other IPD officials. “And {want to say that l am sorry.” It was not enough for the Mayor to apologize, citizens wanted to know what the Peterson administration was going to do to resolve the matter. “I know that you are a man of faith. Mayor Peterson... but repentance requires more than just being sorry... it requires a turn around and this situation requires a turn around,” said Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin, who along with Elder Lionel Rush suggested the Mayor waive all of the more than 1,5X citations that were issued during Black Expo weekend July 19-21. Although the Mayor does not have the authority to waive citations, that authority rests with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, Mayor Peterson announced several corrective action items IPD will take in the future when han-

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Acquire, analyze and act: Rep. William Crawford, D—Indianapolis, was one of about 40 people who attended the first of two town hall meetings organized to address the citizen concerns with how the Indianapolis Police Department handled security during Black Expo. (photo/S. Ramaeur) dling Expo and Coca-Cola Circle the downtown area and event orgaCity Classic events. nizers will be encouraged to parA few of those items include: ticipate on the committee.

•The appointment of a “special event coordinator” who will be responsible for the planning and supervision of all events that occur in the city. •A plan for traffic evacuation routes, in response to downtown traffic congestion, to be only utilized in public safety emergencies. All street closings will be under the direct authority of the Chief of Police, his designee and the Special Event Commander. •The Special Event Coordinator will appoint a committee to plan all future enforcement and traffic activities for public safety events in

•Development of an appropriate identification system to accommodate event patrons who are staying at downtown hotels so they are not unnecessarily delayed. “Each one of us has only the capacity that God gives us,” said Mayor Peterson on the issue of refunding government issued citations and his plan to resolve things. “I’m content to be judged on that standard.” For a more detailed list of the Mayor’s action items please log onto The Recorder's website at w'ww'. indianapolisrecorder.com Friday after 12 noon.

EXPO Continued from A1

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call the meeting. “When he heard all the stuff on the radio, he started to ask me why were all these people upset with the way the police were treating them and I just knew I had to do something,” said Hatcher who facilitated the meeting along with Shawn Thomas, Tracy Boyd and Leon Petty, Sr. “We cannot afford to be passive this time, enough is enough," said Petty. Frustrated residents at the meeting suggested everything from boycotting next year’s Summer Celebration to having police officers wear numbered fluorescent jackets that would make it easier for the public to identify officers caught acting inappropriately toward city residents, guests and visitors during Black Expo. “We have to hit them where it hurts,” said Cynthia Ransom.

“When you start hitting them in their pockets, you get their attention.” While there was no consensus on what to do, Hatcher and meeting organizers say they will compile all suggestions and concerns and present them to both Expo and city officials. During the weekend of July 1921, IPD issued 1,180 tickets, 376 parking violations and arranged for 255 vehicles to be towed. It is alleged that one IPD officer was responsible for about 8 percent of all tickets issued, something Mayor Peterson said is currently under investigation. “It is extremely important that Expo hear from all the people who were mistreated so that we have all the information we need to move forward if we should decide to resolve this matter through the courts," said Rep. Crawford.