What Is Up With This World?

“The 22-year-old man killed early Thursday in a police shootout was wounded 14 times, with 12 of the bullets hitting him in the back of his body, Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard said.” This is an excerpt from an article appearing in the The Times-Picayune on January 2, 2009. N.O.P.D. brass are claiming their officers, including several who reportedly were working undercover, fired on and killed 22 year old Adolph Grimes, III. I will withhold judgment until the FBI completes its investigation into the shooting, but I just find the entire scenario unlikely. According to the top brass, nine officers had some role in the shooting. Certainly family members’ recollection of “suspects” are not always accurate and are some times far from truthful, but this situation somehow seems different. Early reports do not turn up the kind of “run of the mill” perpetrator usually found in police accounts. As I said above, I will withhold early judgment, but I just do not believe that if the FBI handles a thorough investigation, that it will find in favor of the officers.

According to the article from The Times-Picayune, “Riley said Adolph Grimes, III sparked a ‘gunbattle’ with officers when he fired at an unmarked police vehicle that pulled up next to his car. The officers, who were involved in undercover patrols, were wearing street clothes.” Something just does not seem right here – not that it ever does where the N.O.P.D. is concerned. Frank Minyard, Orleans Parish Coroner, stated that Mr. Grimes was struck by 14 bullets – two which struck him in the front torso, with the other twelve striking him in his lower back and legs. Far be it for me to insinuate that never before in history has a young man suddenly begun firing on people for no apparent reason, but I do believe there is probably much more to this story than meets the eye. Let us hope that a proper and thorough investigation turns up the truth, no matter who is at fault here.

As I said twice before, I will withhold judgment at this time, but the ethics, honesty and candor of the N.O.P.D. leave a lot to be desired. While I believe there are a lot of good men and women employed there, I believe the department lacks a lot in the areas of overall ability, honesty and integrity. It is just a shame that the good have to suffer for the bad, but that is what happens when you do not monitor what is going on in your city, your parish, your state, and your country. The time has come for us to no longer sit idly by and allow criminals to take over – no matter who those may be. Godspeed to the investigation.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/officers_shot_man_12_times_fro.html