911 is a Joke

Lose your arms and legs to them, it's compilation
I can prove it to you, watch the rotation
It all adds up to a funky situation
So get up, get get down
911 is a joke in your town
~"911 is a Joke," Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet, 1990

Since Flava Flav of Public Enemy cackled these words over a decade ago, the emergency services in New York City have only proven him correct. During the racial tensions of the 1990s, there were several instances of attacks on black Americans, especially black males. However, while many would hope that the situation has improved since then, today is yet another stunning example of the lack of progress made and the lack of accountability for institutions that perpetuate racism.

Today, Justice Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict that the three NYPD detectives who shot the unarmed, 23 year old Sean Bell on his wedding day were to be acquitted of all charges. However, instead of murder charges, the most serious charge facing Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper was the manslaughter charge facing Isnora and Oliver.

While some may think that even though it is extremely suspicious for three police officers to shoot a man 50 times and believe that this is an isolated incident, the history of race-related killings by the NYPD proves otherwise, as the Associated Press reports:

In 1999, NYPD officers killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot 19 times in the entry to his apartment building.

The four officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges. In 2003, Ousmane Zongo, 43, a native of the western African country of Burkina Faso, was killed during a police raid on a warehouse where he repaired art and musical instruments. Zongo was shot four times, twice in the back.

If progress really has been made by this country in its race relations, the NYPD should step forward to condemn these detectives and take its role seriously, instead of joking around with the lives of innocent Americans, like Sean Bell.