Page 75 - www.composition1.com
P. 75
Then jumping onto the next subject as he likes to do so quickly, he starts to ask me about what's
going on in the west side of the city, what's with all the dead bodies and cop killings he's been
hearing about in his short time back. I think of Derek.
I tell him I have no idea, and then he says that we are probably past due for another riot like we had
nine years ago. I didn't live around here then, so I didn't know what he was talking about, but he
was probably right. Then he starts to talk about a cop that got shot and about how he knew one of
the cops' friends. He says that he heard that five black kids were hanging out on the stairs in front
of an apartment building talking, and then four white cops drove up and told them all to get against
the wall.
The four white cops check the five black kids for drugs and weapons and anything else that is
illegal to carry unless told otherwise. They don't have anything on them, but in an effort to prevent
crime one of the four white cops taunts one of the five black kids, and that particular black kid at
the time has had enough of all the unusual cop presence which was enforced because of a prior
killing of two young innocent bystanders, so instead of taking the bullshit he pushes one of the
cops back and is arrested.
After seeing their friend being put in handcuffs, another black kid begins to argue with one of the
cops claiming it was bullshit and that the other cop acted first, and after this black kid has said his
piece, and after he is ignored, he insults all four white cops and is then also arrested. The other
three black kids who are not in handcuffs don't say a word, but they don't need to because there is
an older black man across the street yelling and laughing at the actions of the law enforcement
officers.
The older black man begins to shout about how cops don't have anything better to do than to make
quality of life arrests which implies he is more knowledgeable about the inner workings of a police
force than he looks. One of the white cops looks at him and threatens to take him to jail if he
doesn't shut up, and now this event begins to draw a crowd. People are looking out of their
windows, stopping on the sidewalks, crowding and talking with each other about what is going on.
Now the older black man has gone back inside his home, and the crowd that had gathered has taken
his place and claim that the cops are never around when they are actually needed. A common
claim. Frustrated, one of the white cops gets out of his black and white and tells the crowd to back
up, but one of the individuals in the crowd attempts to spit at him and misses. As he is beginning to
walk towards the person who tried to spit at him, the other officers look in his direction and notice
what is going on.
At the same time that they are looking in his direction, the older black man walks out of his home
with a model of a Smith & Wesson handgun and yells something in the direction of the officers,
and then begins to shoot at them. You've walked so far and you are finally at the edge, and all it
takes is one little push.
After everyone has scattered, and after all the rounds have been fired, there are four fatalities and
two damaged police vehicles. The fatalities in question are two out of the four cops, one out of the
two kids who were arrested and the man who initiated the shooting. One of the police vehicles had