A Two-Tiered Perspective on the Death of Nathaniel Jones
This will include two letters which provide slightly differeing perspectives on the Jones case. The first is a letter which I wrote that was posted to www.channelcincinnati.com the site run by Cincinnati's Channel 5 (the NBC affiliate). The second is a letter written to me by my brother Chris, who has lived in New York City since 1997 and works on Wall Street. He spent many years in Cincinnati working as a bartender and taxi driver and had, like myself, many opportunites to observe the Cincinnati police in action. I have slightly censored his letter as I like to keep this blog a PG-13 webpage; pardon me Chris if that misrepresents you. (-: - Uncle Dave
Uncle Dave 12-02-2003 to channelcincinnati.com
I watched the unedited video from the channelcincinnati.com website. As someone who was once employed for several years within Cincinnati's nightclub scene, I witnessed dozens of arrests like this one, to be fair, on both sides of the river.
As to the beating, I have no comment except that this kind of behavior seems to be a tradition among the Cincinnati Police. They've got Taser, and they've got pepper spray, but the bat always comes out first. The somewhat inappropriately named Police Chief Streicher pledged to help break this traditional cycle in the wake of the last riots - it didn't happen.
But I feel the more significant part of the tape is after the conflict, when Jones is on the ground. Note the poor coordination among the various officers on the scene. If the guy had a pulse, but wasn't breathing, and there was no paramedic, mouth-to-mouth rescusistation may have been needed in order to save Jones' life. Instead, the police stood around wondering where the bus was. Then they discovered they couldn't even lift the guy.
Good folks in Cincinnati, don't be fooled by rhethoric about whether Jones was responsible for his own actions or whether the police applied deadly force when it wasn't neccessary. The tape makes it apparent that you are not getting your money's worth when it comes to your police force. These officers are conducting their business based on the tenets of an internal culture rather than through established methods of training and procedure.
Instead of trying to find someone to blame in this tragic incident, ask yourself if that was you on the ground in Jones' place, without regard to the cause, if the way the officers handled the situation was acceptable. If the answer is "no" then your tax money is not being well spent.
Uncle Dave Lewis
Ypsilanti, MI
***
Christopher Lewis to Uncle Dave Lewis 12/2/2003
Let's see, there are several things wrong with this picture:
1. In all fairness, I have heard through the grapevine that Nathaniel Jones
had both PCP and cocaine in his system. Of course, there is no way that
proper toxicology reports could be concluded yet, so I cannot verify this
information.
2. If the CPD had equipped their officers with tasers, as most other PDs
across America have done, this would have been over before it began.
3. Anybody knows that you don't physically accost the police. ANY POLICE.
You and I have both run afoul of the police, with the expected results -
bruises, bumps, broken bones, and some blood loss. It was totally careless
of Nathaniel Jones to clothesline a cop.
4. Why on earth did the fire company leave the scene? Were they told to
leave by the police, or did they not wish to participate in an obvious
confrontation?
5. Why is it that the CPD does not require their officers to learn and use
CPR? The report states that it is the policy of the CPD that they are not
"first aid respondents". Here in NY (and elsewhere, I expect), it is
REQUIRED of the police to respond in a first aid capacity. Ask Dad; he was
required to know these things as well. (NOTE: Our father is David C. Lewis
who served for several years as a detective seargent with the New Orleans
Police Department.)
6. And one final issue: I really think Charlie Luken should get his facts
straight before spouting his support for the CPD on this issue. I didn't
even know that the son of a bitch was the mayor until yesterday, when one of
my co-workers showed me the report. He is not his uncle, (NOTE: Charlie Luken's uncle is legendary liberal Cincinnati city councilman Tom Luken) and he should keep
his mouth shut and his asshole puckered, until he has the straight poop.
As for the lowly CPD, I have only this to say: I always knew those
f*ckers were Neanderthals, and now they have proven that yet again. When
Cincinnati gets out of their fascisto form of government (NOTE: Cincinnati has a city manager type of government, instituted in the 1920s by Murray Seasongood. It was initially set up to help prevent the corruption rampant in city politics to that time, but it has seldom worked well since Seasongood retired) maybe they should address the serious inadequacies of their police force, before they are allowed to murder any more people under the guise of "justifiable deadly force".
Christopher Lewis
New York City, NY
Thanks Chris! Congrats again for your new baby! (no, not that stupid song...)
Mom is Back Home
Allisyn is back home as of today. U of M Medical Center did a great job taking care of her. She had a new stent added to the four already in place. They also cleared out a lot of blockage that the cardiologist at St. Joe's left behind, increasing her pump rate from the 40 % from when she left St. Joe's to 71% now. Needless to say, she feels a 100% better, and I thank Providence for that!
Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis@hotmail.com