Che
Smith, the rap music star also known as “Rhymefest,” got mugged this weekend.
He was, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, in the Bronzeville neighborhood on
Saturday when someone pulled out a pistol and demanded his valuables.
Sad
to say, this is not unique. There is crime in Chicago. Heck, there is crime
everywhere.
AND
AS THE Sun-Times pointed out, police at the Grand Crossing district
stationhouse weren’t all that sympathetic.
Smith
actually pulled out his cellphone and used it to shoot crude video of himself
being rejected by police. They didn’t even want to take his complaint.
Although
to be honest, I wonder how much of their reluctance to do anything was provoked
by Smith’s own action of insisting on using a cellphone to shoot video of them
in action.
Or
should I say, inaction?
LET’S
NOT FORGET there was once a time when police could claim that a crime was being
committed by anyone who dared to try to shoot video of them without their
explicit approval in advance.
There
are still people who feel that it is wrong to pull out the video cameras and
train them on police. After all, they want to think we shouldn’t be
scrutinizing every single move that a law enforcement officer makes.
Similar
to former Mayor Richard M. Daley who once talked about being “scrootened.” We
could laugh about that. Although this latest action is less humorous.
In
this particular incident, Smith used Twitter and his account to publish a few
blurbs talking about his treatment by police, while also making public his
video of them doing nothing.
WHICH
ACTUALLY HAD the effect of creating what is the unique aspect of this incident.
Chicago
Police officials felt enough shame over their refusal to do anything that they
actually issued an apology to Smith. According to the Sun-Times’ reports on
Monday, detectives began investigating the early Saturday incident.
Which
amounted to the theft of a wallet. Which police supposedly thought was
questionable that the “thief” didn’t take his cellphone as well? As in the
cellphone he used to shoot video of them doing nothing more than telling him to
turn off that phone.
Of
course, it usually works out that a bit of public shame can inspire people to
do the right thing – however reluctant they were to act initially.
BUT
I HAVE to admit that in the three decades that I have, off-and-on, followed
police activity in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, it is rare that a
public apology is issued. Usually, a mistake of sorts is followed up by a
silence in hopes that by saying nothing more, the problem goes away.
After
all, saying something else could just lead to putting one’s foot even deeper
into the doo-doo.
But
the idea that police don’t always promptly respond to reports of incidents
shouldn’t be a shock. Perhaps they were busy that night? Or maybe they just
didn’t want to be bothered? Who knows!
It
kind of reminds me of an incident I saw some 30 years ago back when I was with
the now-defunct City News Bureau and was hanging out one Saturday afternoon at
the police station at Grand and Central avenues on the Northwest Side.
A
MAN WHO, based on his demeanor and mannerisms, may have been homosexual wanted
to report the fact that he was mugged that day. Only to get such a barrage of
harassing questions that the man wound up leaving the station house without
filing a report.
He
also forgot to take his umbrella, which caused the cop to shout out after him, “Don’t
you want your fairy wand?”
I’m
sure that man, whom I never saw nor heard from again in my life, felt just as
demeaned as Smith did this weekend.
And
likely is still waiting for an apology – fat chance that it will ever come!
-30-
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