I didn’t attend the ‘Back the Blue’ rally, which was meant to comfort aggrieved cops angered by an unprecedented protest in front of a fellow officer’s home, on Thursday night in Northeast Philadelphia. But if a media report is to be believed, then the lectern at the union’s headquarters, where the rally occurred, only amplified a cacophony of absurdity and hyperbole.
Mr. John McNesby, the President of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5, on Thursday called the less than dozen peaceful protesters who on August 24th yelled outside 8606 Bridle Road – where Mr. Ryan Pownhall, who killed Mr. David Jones on June 8th via a bullet in the back, resides – “rabid animals.”
“He wanted to call us ‘ignorant niggers,’” said Mr. Isaac Gardner, who’s the lead organizer with the Justice for David Jones Coalition.
Mr. Gardner said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who was endorsed by the FOP during his 2015 campaign, should condemn Mr. McNesby’s comments.
My question to Mr. McNesby is: If protesters, who resort to controversial measures but never inflicted harm on anyone, are rabid animals, then what does that make Philadelphia cops who reach into the underwear of black men during a pedestrian stop? Or, better yet, what should we call white cops who shoot and kill fleeing and unarmed black men like Mr. Brandon Tate-Brown and Mr. David Jones? Is the term ‘racist murders’ a comparable counterpart to ‘rabid animals?’
Name calling, from either side, will get us nowhere. And neither does exaggerations. It only furthers the real, not perceived, racial and social divide. But those tactics have become par for the course from Mr. McNesby, who has shown no genuine interest in improving police-community relations. His aim is unambiguous: protect and defend cops, no matter how egregious their conduct. Despite his divisiveness, Mr. McNesby seemingly has to exert little effort to find support.
Two Philadelphia City Councilman were present at Thursday’s rally. Mr. Mark Squilla – who weeks ago was cornered and interrogated by Mr. Gardner and Mr. Asa Khalif, a Black Lives Matter activist – and Mr. Brian J. O’Neil, who said the protest at Mr. Pownhall’s home was “a stain on the city of Philadelphia.”
I won’t debate whether a protest left a stain on the city. But I will argue that whatever stain the City was marked with after August 24th, is unnoticeable given the blood stains which preceded it created by the Philadelphia Police Department. When taking history into account, it’s not name calling to characterize the PPD’s operations as often brutal and racist.
Yet, neither the history of the PPD nor its current events seem worthy of condemnation by those individuals who spoke at Thursday’s rally. Moreover, those who attended the ‘Back the Blue’ rally largely believe that anyone who condemns acts by PPD employees are vilifying, and advocating for the dismissal of, the entire institution of policing.
Beyond creating a false narrative, Mr. McNesby and his supporters are manufacturing an emergency. After the protest, Mr. McNesby went to court to halt the releasing of officers’ name post-shooting. And State Representative Martina White resurrected her bill which would delay the releasing of an officer’s name for thirty days after a shooting.
Oddly enough, if State Rep. White’s bill had been made law months ago, it would not have changed the current circumstances one bit. Mr. Jones was killed on June 8th. The protest occurred August 24th. Already, more than 60 days had passed before activists, who demanded that Mr. Pownhall be fired, prosecuted and jailed, decided to convene on Bridle Rd.
Nonsensical bills and blue-cladded spectacles won’t prevent protests like that which occurred last month. Only justice will. And not simply justice for Mr. Jones, but justice for all.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
Photo courtesy of the author.