Countdown to 30: Day 19

I will never forget the first time I saw someone I know arrested. It was a strange day. I was in New Orleans for the summer in 2004. New Orleans was experiencing a spike in violent crime that summer. The decision was made to have state police officers join city police officers on patrol.

It was a Wednesday night, and, as usual, I was hanging out with the kids outside the Center. There was a huge crowd outside that night. I was enjoying the time with the kids. Guy and Marquis had been around but they left when they saw a police car go by. I asked why, and one of the kids informed me that the police were looking for two boys who stole a bike, and it was Guy and Marquis that stole the bike. Soon Kenny who is Marquis’ cousin and Geoffrey who is Guy’s brother came up on a bike and started working on the bike. Everything was normal for a Wednesday night and nothing seemed to be out of place.

I saw a cop car driving the wrong way up the one way street in front of the Center. I found it odd, and even remember making a statement about how odd it was. When I said it, some of the older boys started to scatter. Soon we were surrounded by four cop cars with two to three officers each and a police helicopter circling overhead. It was unreal. The cops surround Kenny and Geoffrey and started questioning them about the bike. I was in law school at the time (and even wearing my Baylor Law shirt), so Geoffrey kept looking over at me and I would shake my head yes if it was a question he should answer or no if it was one he should not answer. Obviously this frustrated the cops.

At some point I remembered that Kenny’s grandmother was inside the Center attending Bible study, and I ran inside the Center. As I heard the cops saying something to me as I ran in, I realized that maybe it was not the best decision for me to run inside like that. However, I was able to get Kenny’s grandmother outside to start handling the situation. I also remember everyone talking about calling Geoffrey’s mom so that she could come down and deal with the situation for Geoffrey.

While all of this was going on, the officers started walking around the crowd of people. One of the older guys was so high that he had the attachment for a blunt still in his mouth. The police arrested him for having drug paraphernalia. It was really odd to see someone I knew being arrested. The first feeling was a feeling of distrust for the officers. I was surprised by that feeling, but it probably came, in part, because of the apparent overreaction by the cops. It turns out that the cops were looking for the boys who had stolen a bike not far from the Center. Problem is that they had the wrong boys. Another problem is that four police cars and a helicopter seemed very excessive for bike thieves. Even worse, the whole event made the news that night.

As a result of being present at the arrest and due to the entire event, I came to distrust officers. I now understand why there is such a distrust of law enforcement in the inner city. There was something that made me feel less safe that night because of the presence of the officers. I am sure that the police department would say that the size of the crowd caused them to be concerned for their own safety, but they were looking for two boys who stole a bike. Even now, I have to remind myself that law enforcement is there for the protection of the public. I have to remind myself to trust law enforcement. It is a strange change that came over me that day, and it was a change I was not expecting or prepared for. I can understand how my friends in New Orleans do not trust the police department, even if most officers are good cops. The officers had no idea how much harm their decisions would make when they acted that night. It is possible that even without the overreaction I would have had the same distrust just because someone I knew was arrested (even though I knew he was guilty of the offense). What I do know is that I still struggle with trusting any law enforcement, and I constantly have to remind myself that police officers are there for the public’s safety.