Trinidad, Killing Us Softly

 Another killing in an area of DC, known as Trinidad, a area of four unit apartments, single family brick homes, a few corner convenient stores, schools, churches,  drugs, and families who are raising children, working and living life, the best they can as most people do in other city wards. The area of Trinidadis located in the north east part of the city, surrounded by West Virginia Avenue, Mount Olive Road, Bladensburg Avenue and Florida Avenue, and had military-style check points during the summer of 2008, after some killings including a triple homicide, where arrest was made.  On the radio and television , their were some who say they were witness to the police killing of Trey Joyner,  a 25 year old man in the 1200 block of Holbrook street shortly before 9 p.m., witness to  killings don’t happen too often, that’s just not the case in this city, of over four thousand unsolved murders, most don’t see or hear anything of the many unsolved cases, but some were literally screaming: They shot him in the back!, the victim was not given a chance, they murder him, to reporters. In this case the shooter was a police officer, as of now it may have been one or more police involved in the killing, its good when we have witness to a crime I thought, but why does it seem the witness are yelling and screaming in only cases like this. It brings to mine the South east killing of a 14 year old last year who was shot to death by a off duty policeman who saw the boy on his stolen motor bike, the 14 year old Deonte Rawlings was said to have fired at the plain clothes officer when the officer approached him, after the killing many people were out claiming there was no gun and the police did not give the young boy a warning, they just gunned him down. I can understand in some cases the mistrust of our police department who Chief Cathy L. Lanier says have been trying (if some what lacking) to improve their public image and make some head way into communities they are suppose to serve, often the police protect each other, after shootings, saying the officer was just doing his job, we have read or seen reports where police do not go against one of their own even in cases where a officer was plainly in the wrong, so what if some in the public think, if they do not snitch on their homie for doing a crime, its ok, the police don’t snitch on their own, it’s us against them attitude that reaps no value for either side and the victims family and friends suffer in the long toil of this killing madness. Time will hopefully bring the truth out in this latest killing involving police officers in Trinidad. All people should be concern when someone lose their life, especialy in the community they live in, it should not be  no more concern just because a police did the killing then if your boy, or that thug or Joe Blow did the killing, a life loss is a value to some even if it’s not of real value to you.   

What’s hard to understand, some of these people who see all and hear all when a policeman is involved in a killing, but do not see, hear or do anything when someone murders someone on their own block or area, Melvin Seal, April 26, 2008, 1200 block Morse Street, Keenan Woods, August 23, 2008, 1200 block Holbrook Terr., Jerry Phelps,  December 27, 2007, 1220 block Trinidad Avenue, Darivs Dyson, May 24, 2006, 1200 block Simms Place,  Marcus Haynes, shot July 24, 94, died of wounds December 6, 2006, 1200 block Simms Place, NE.  Ms. Crystal Washington, a mother of four was shot and killed during the morning rush hour, not far from the busy intersections of Benning Road/Maryland Avenue area of North East, as of now her case has yet to be solved, there were no witness on television telling what they saw, yes some said they heard the shots, we know more was seen, someone knows in almost all of the four thousand unsolved cases who did what to whom, but too many times murders in front of people homes or down the block from where they live go softly into the back of minds, many people get up the next morning and walk pass the blood stain ground of a loss human life, the love one of someones family and don’t give a honest though about saying what they know, heard or seen, its as if no one pulled the trigger, or had the knife, bottle, or cause harm to the person who has been murder. Too many times, usually a black mother is yelling: My son did not kill anybody!, if someone is arrested, which seldom is the case after a murder, My baby!, he’s innocent, while another young person family waits as life drains from their sons, daughter or love ones body and a family suffers a tragic loss, that will not be replace.

Wake up people, a killing is a killing weather the bullet comes from a officers gun or someone known,  who’s finger was on the trigger, wheres the outrage when mostly young black men murder other young black men in and around this city,  the block you live on, or is it just another normal work day, unless its a cop with the smoking gun. Why do we have so many so called witness when its a law official involved in a shooting and its mum when its a killing by some thug or someone in the area, are we so afraid of speaking up and out when its murder by the hand of a youngin in the hood?, should it matter, people get upset and fade back into their little corner of the city and then it happens again and again, some one is murder, no arrest, no witness, no hope, tears, funeral, he’s in a better place now, move on as the murderer enjoys his life, and people who know, knows nothing, speak nothing, and does nothing, just wait around until a police kills and lets off some of the harvest guilt but won’t show up in court unless the local preacher leads them hand in hand, when the cameras are rolling, wake me , shake me when this is over.  

Sure police officers who murder should be held responsible just as anyone else should, we know that is not often the case, but the bigger problem is police may have killed a dozen of people in this city in the past few years, while most of our thousands of unsolved cases have been at the bloody hands of our own children, from our neighborhoods and some roam knowingly to some who know of their guilt. Trinidad is just a small section of the problem where life can be blown out quicker then the candles on a toddlers  birthday cake and the birthday song continues without anyone missing a beat, Seen nothing, heard nothing, know nothing, yes, just, killing us softly.

Cherish Life,

Larry

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009, 9:44 am. Filed under home.