|
Pomona College |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
February 4, 2000 |
||
|
City
Commends Jacks, Hanna
By
Rebecca Cho In the largest Irvin
Landrum Jr. protest rally yet, about 200 students gathered at Claremont City
Hall last Tuesday to dispute the city’s recent naming of Officers Hany
Hanna and Kent Jacks as city employees of the year. These two officers, who
shot and killed Irvin Landrum Jr. on December 11, 1999, each received $1,000
and had their names engraved in a plaque hanging in city hall for their
conduct over the past year. According to several students present at the
rally, the city’s awards have inspired more people to actively protest
the shooting. "This rally had
the greatest number and widest variety of students," said Tobiah Gaster
’03, a speaker at Tuesday’s city hall meeting. "It shows
city hall that it’s not just people on the fringe who are protesting
this. The good thing about that is they’ll go and come back with a ton
of their friends." The protesters stood
outside and sung "We Shall Overcome," their voices clearly audible
during the moment of silence that preceded the meeting. After the city council
broke its Tuesday meeting to address issues not on the agenda, protestors and
supporters seized the opportunity to speak about the city’s recent
actions. Charlotte Krane PI
’93, a Claremont resident, began the session on a confrontational note,
saying, "I will not let a bunch of bullies and thugs undermine the
authority of the city leaders." She was cut off as protesters were
allowed through the doors and filtered into seats. She finished her statement
after a ten minute recess. She resumed by saying "I will not allow
interlopers to make policy that will affect me." Lenard Molina ’02
spoke, citing a letter he received from Mayor Karen Rosenthal in which she
expressed her hope for "mutual respect" in handling the Irvin
Landrum Jr. shooting. "I’d like to
know what kind of respect includes awarding a killer $1,000," Molina
said. "Policemen should never be pleased at the death of a life. Every day
that Hanna and Jacks carry around the $1,000 with the same guns that they
killed Irvin Landrum with, I lose more respect [for the city]." Stanley Gaines, former
Professor of Psychology, charged Claremont with racism prior to the shooting. "I’ve been
stopped numerous times by the police," said Gaines, an African American
. "I’m as middle-class as you can get, yet I’ve been stopped
over and over again. The Landrum shooting just exposes the way the city
handles itself." Gaster swore to
"never spend another dollar in the city of Claremont" while Nathan
Fisher ’03 advised the city to seek new employees. "If you think the
most valuable employee of the year is someone who guns down someone else, you
need to get new employees," Fisher said. Near the end of the session,
Deborah Burns, a resident of Claremont, defended the city. "This is too
strong of a reaction," Burns said. "I don’t agree with
everything that has gone on here, but we must work together and have faith in
our city council if we’re going to get anything done." According to Community
Information Coordinator Michael Maxfield, City Manager Glenn Southard, who
was present at the meeting, made the final decision in giving out the awards,
but Officers Hanna and Jacks received the most nominations from the Claremont
employees. "[Southard]
considered two things," Maxfield said. "One was that these two
officers received the most number of votes. Another was their exemplary
service over this past year in spite of some pretty stiff name-calling." Kavin Paulraj ‘03,
although understanding that the city wanted to show their
"solidarity" with the officers through the awards, feels the
city’s action was grossly ill-timed. "They wanted to
tell them ‘You’re doing a good job. The whole city seems to be
against you, but they’re not,’" Paulraj said. "At the
same time, the city shouldn’t give this award while the family of the
dead man is fighting for justice. It’s like pouring salt on the
wound." Gaster believes that
the city tried to send a message to protestors through the employees of the
year awards. "Basically the
city wanted to tell all the protestors that what we’re doing
won’t change anything," Gaster said. "There’s no way
they weren’t thinking about the activist community. It shows a complete
insensitivity to the family, community and all the people who are protesting
every Wednesday in front of city hall." Maxfield, however, said
the city was "absolutely not" trying to send a point to the activists.
"This was about the city and its officers," Maxfield said. Annie Rosen PI
’02, a speaker at the city council meeting, thinks this recent action
by the city was irrational. "I think the city
is very afraid," she said. "Giving the awards was kind of like what
starving animals do when they want food." Rosen read a poem dedicated to
Mayor Rosenthal, appealing to her Jewish ancestry. One portion read,
"You are hollow / Your ancestors are walking with us / but calling to
you / passover." Rosen believes that
through "pressure and patience," changes will occur. According to rally
leader Michael Flynn ’02, this is already beginning. City officials
informed students in a meeting that video surveillance cameras will soon be
required in Claremont officers’ cars, and officers are now required to
carry digital recorders and microphones. Because of the growing
protest against the city of Claremont’s dealings with the shooting and
the changes occurring as a result of the pressure on the city, Gaster
believes the city cannot ignore the voices of the activists. "They’re
trying to sweep it under the carpet and let it pass," Gaster said.
"They’re hoping people will forget about it in a year. The problem
is, it’s been a year and it’s bigger than ever." Jon Killgore PI ’00,
an African American student, spoke solemnly about his fear of remaining in
Claremont, the town where he grew up. "I don’t
feel safe, and I don’t feel comfortable," he said. "This just
isn’t where I belong anymore, and that’s clear." One African American
resident, Oliver Johnson-Chenning, said that in his experience as a real
estate agent in Claremont the City Council, police force, and residents have
been warm and supportive. Recently the city
formed a community inclusiveness committee, but according to resident Gregory
Tolliver, the city has "done a bunch of things that have created racial
tensions, and no ad hoc committee is going to fix that." |
