A group of minority residents has called on city leaders to crack down on hate crimes.
The Rev. E.J. Moss of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church urged authorities this week “to take a stand against any and all hate crimes that are perpetuated in the city of Bristol.”
Surrounded by 10 black and women from the community, former Bristol NAACP leader Monica Ervin told city councilors this week there should be a public forum so minority residents “can voice our concerns.”
Mayor Art Ward said his door is always open and he’s more than willing to talk to people who are concerned about hate crimes.
Police Chief John DiVenere said that he doesn’t know of any hate crimes occurring in the city for years.
But Ervin cited the “constant desecration” of buildings around town with offensive words as a growing and significant problem that officials need to act on.
She said that it is “disturbing” that city leaders reacted with such outrage to the vandalism of a Memorial Boulevard statue while remaining mum about “the constant vandalism” that violates the civil rights of many in the community.’
Moss said that any hate crime “is a crime against every citizen” and should be taken seriously.
He said there have been many incidents around the state in recent months.
Moss pointed to the racism complaints lodged against the police in 2006 as examples of the problems in Bristol, complaints that the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated but took no action.
Moss said the law enforcers “march to the drumbeat of a different drummer” when it comes to taking hate crimes seriously.
He said there is “a slippery slope” trend by the police and the city government toward accepting hate crimes that “inevitably leads to the continuation and perpetration” of them.
Moss said that the mayor, police chief, fire chief and others need “to do what is right and not that which is expedient” to prevent hate crimes from occurring in Bristol.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
28 comments:
Let me add a note here to would-be commenters. I won't approve comments that are racist or crude. Keep to the issue that's raised if you want your words to appear here.
I think that Our Community should Come Together and have a NO TOLERANCE Theme on crime~It affects ALL OF US and it starts with WORKING TOGETHER.
Does the list of hate crimes include afro-americans killing a euro-americans as happened a couple of weeks ago? Or is it just limited to mean words?
Given my propensity to be a flame thrower on here. Let me just say I'm not even touching this one.
Carry on...
AWS
Suggest that the minority community put some emphasis on improving their home and parental situations.
Thanks God for Monica Ervin.
Reverend Moss's problem is that he has made up his own definition of "hate crime", and then he gets all outraged when the kid who vandalizes the golf course doesn't get drawn and quartered for committing a "hate crime". Someone should tell him that crying wolf is no way to create sympathy for his issue.
I would like to have examples of the numerous hate crimes that Monica Ervin and Rev. Moss are referring to.
This is an invitation to anyone that can intelligently speak on the issue. Please give me examples of the hate crimes that have happened in the City lately.
after watching the council meeting, what can bristol do about "hate crimes" in other cities such as southington?
Please give me examples of the hate crimes that have happened in the City lately.
July 10, 2008 2:55 PM
`````````````````
The blight nazis ( City of Bristol ) tearing down the historic home on Main street wasn't exactly a friendly gesture .
How foolish. Just enforce the laws already on the books against the so-called hate criminals. Making new categories of hate crimes would really do nothing more than add a subjective "hate" component to conduct that is already criminal, such as vandalism or assault.
Sorry 7:26 ~ that house was more hysterical than historical. Ridding Bristol of a dangerous eyesore can hardly be considered a hate crime.
I'd still like to hear some examples of recent hate crimes in the city and how recent vandalism has crossed the line to Hate Crime.
Can anyone give me any examples? I don't want to decide on this until I hear some of the reasons the NAACP is bringing this to our attention.
I see the "Slum Lord" is still around calling those blight nazi's who want him to "fix up" his apartments instead of bleeding them for all the money he can get. He wouldn't get away with this with his Nazi friends
Steve,
I've asked twice now for examples and no one seems to be bringing any forward. I'm not challenging anyone - I really would like to know what incidents prompted their decision to go to the City.
A relative of Reverend Eddie Whitehead was arrested last month, and he gave the police Rev. Whitehead's address rather than his own. The Whitehead family told the police that it was wrong, but the newspaper account of the arrest gave out the Rev's address anyway. The family is upset because the police had the corrected information but didn't bother to make sure it was given to the bristol press, and they are afraid that the relative's "associates" now think he lives at the address where Rev. Whitehead lives.
In response to the comment 10:10 AM
So does that incident constitute a Hate Crime? Someone at the Police Department didn't verify that the given home address of a detained individual wasn't correct? That's it, call in the Justice Department.
Sorry but there are problems in this City, I just don't see this as one... I do believe the FBI investigated the claims of both Rev. Moss and Ms. Ervin, with no
charges or even a stern warning given to the P.D...
Ms. Ervin and to the point her Son had problems with the Police Department...So stop making a personal problem into a City problem.
Kangaman:
Did you mis-read what I typed on purpose? The point is not that the police made a mistake. Anybody can make a mistake. The point is, the police were told that the arrested individual gave a false address, and they STILL conveyed that information to the newspapers even thought they knew it was wrong, with reckless disregard for the safety of the people who live at that address.
Having the wrong address printed in the newspaper, if that's what happened, does NOT constitute a hate crime. They have no point accept to get a soundbite printed.
You wouldn't be so quick to shrug it off if drug addicts broke into your house looking for drugs, because they read in the newspaper that their dealer lived there.
Wasn't a swastica spray painted on a building at chippanee country club?
9:49 - did that happen or is this just an over reacting alarmist trying to spur a non-existant situation for their own purposes? could be using both sides for their own objectives - everyone should be aware of the fact that some of these same principals have cried wolf before - and have been biten themselves.
The Whitehead arrested used to live at that address, how are the police suppose to know that he didn't move back in there. The Whiteheads still live there, so should that be so unusual that he would move bck in with family. Don't blame the police and don't say that this is any type of hate crime.
Like I stated before, and I didn't mistakenly read your comment,
An honest mistake and it's turned into a "Hate Crime". Funny how a break in was committed in the City yet no apparent Police report filed?
Sorry but it seems to be more cries for attention.
This is frustrating. I've asked twice now for examples of the hate crimes that Rev Moss and his associates are claiming and I have yet to receive an answer.
The comments on this blog are just speculation based on a verbal complaint made to the City Council without examples or anything to back up their complaint.
If there are hate crimes going on in the city that I live in, I want to be made aware of what they are. We can't act on something if we don't know what we are acting on.
This has nothing to do with Rev. Whitehead and his family issues. This is about alleged hate crimes going on in Bristol. What are those hate crimes?
The only hate crimes in this city are the ones that Monica and the Rev. Whitehead are dreaming up to get headlines. There have been no reported hate crimes in Bristol. This is a safe city to live in.
Let's be fair. It isn't Rev. Whitehead making the accusations. It's Rev. Moss and Monica "no one is paying attention to me in public" Ervin.
My apologies to Rev. Whitehead, I should have said, Rev. Moss and Monica Ervin.
Post a Comment