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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 17SOCIETYAsk Questions Later
Two New York white cops gun down a black one, and the accusations
fly
What began as a hail of gunfire near a New York City subway
continues as a war of words over police training and attitudes.
Two white transit cops sprayed 21 shots at a man in a dispute
they deemed dangerous -- only to find the man was a black
plainclothes officer, Derwin Pannell. The white officers
involved claim Pannell had his gun drawn (he was stopping a fare
beater). He says his weapon was holstered and he was startled
when his colleagues fired at him from point-blank range.
Partially paralyzed, he is suing the city for $70 million.
Central to the dispute, in addition to concerns over
training, is the question of racism -- not so much race hatred
as the revealing assumption on the part of white officers that
in a violent situation, an unidentified black man is a
dangerous criminal. It doesn't help that a similar situation
took place in Nashville in December, when two white officers
were dismissed for allegedly beating a black undercover cop; the
two are appealing their ouster.