Emergency meeting held regarding quote published in Observer Dispatch
By
By JOLEEN FERRIS
Story Created:
Apr 8, 2008 at 5:09 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Apr 8, 2008 at 5:17 PM EDT
A woman told an Observer Dispatch reporter that some people in Utica's inner-city neighborhoods feel that some police officers take advantage of their roles, so those inner city people do not care if a cop lives or dies. The quote was printed in an OD story taking a look back on the year since Utica Police Officer Tom Lindsey was shot and killed while on duty in Cornhill.
The Mayor and Public Safety Commissioner were there, as were the police and fire chiefs, Councilman Bill Phillips, representatives from the YWCA and NAACP and a retired black police officer hired to boost minority recruitment in the city.
The city wanted to bring in the woman who said this quote and ask her why she conveyed this sentiment. The city's minority recruiter Richard Frank went to her door seven times but to no avail. Maybe it is a good thing; Evon Ervin of the NAACP said she feared that if they brought in this woman, there might be the perception that she was being dragged into city hall and interrogated for voicing her opinion.
Most of the people at this table agreed; the woman's comments were not the real issue. The bigger question is why do young people in the city feel so negatively about police officers and what can the people at this table do to fix it?
Some at the meeting said that local media should print all sides of a story; not just the most controversial or incendiary quotes of their subjects.
Afterward, City Councilman Bill Phillips, who is viewed by many as one who has tried to bridge the racial divide as well as the divide between young people and people of authority, said the meeting went well.
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