rant: In defense of Stop and Frisk part 2

The following is from The Gothamist.  I was following the Tayshana Murphy murder from time to time since it happened in September.  It was one of those senseless murders that happened during a time when there were a lot of senseless shootings.
There isn't a lot you can say regarding this murder.  It was senseless and hopefully the cops got the right guys and they spend the rest of their lives in prison.  Miss. Murphy had a bright future ahead of her and did not deserve to be shot.  This case though makes me think again about the Stop and Frisk Program people are desperately fighting to abolish.
I am probably the only Black male in favor of Stop and Frisk.  It basically gives the NYPD the green light to stop young Black and Hispanic males under a blanket excuse of suspicious activity.  Unfortunately because there are racist police officers out there this is a possibility.  But, if Stop and Frisk was legal would Tayshana Murphy still be alive?  You have to wonder.
According to a report I put out in a previous blog young Black males between the ages of 18-24 are accused of committing most of the murders in New York.  Black males between 25-33 make up the next highest figure.  Latino males are not too far behind in the statistics for the same ages.  Now of course the majority of young Blacks and Latino male don't commit murder, but there is a scary significant amount that do. Black leadership is calling for an end to the violence and having vigils and marches and the perpetrators are sitting back laughing, probably while attending one of the protests.   Add to the problem the "no snitch" policy our people have I doubt if we will ever see an end to the violence.  The only way to end the madness is through the police.  Let them stop kids under a particular age and ask questions and unfortunately if they don't have identification they have to get into the system.  Only with the threat of being stopped by the cops will all these mindless shootings end.

courtesy Gothamist.com

http://gothamist.com/2011/10/18/accused_killers_of_high_school_bask.php

Accused Killers Of H.S. Basketball Star Tayshana Murphy Plead Not Guilty

Two men accused of murdering high school basketball star Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy in her Harlem apartment building last month pleaded not guilty today in an emotionally-charged courtroom. During the proceedings, prosecutors recommended a sentence of 22 years to life for Tyshawn Brockington, 21, and Robert Cartagena, 20, who allegedly shot Murphy as she pleaded for her life on September 11th. And after hearing prosecutors recommend the sentence, an incredulous friend of the two young men shouted out in the courtroom, "What?" This prompted retorts from Murphy's loved ones, one of whom fired back, "That's right," the Daily News reports.

"Folks in the audience, a case of this nature involves high levels of emotions," Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber warned those in the gallery, according to DNAinfo. "It is important to me for both sides of this fence so to speak to remain quiet and maintain the dignity of the court." A dozen extra court officers were reportedly called in to maintain security in the courtroom, and after it was over, Murphy's family was escorted out first to avoid a confrontation with Brockington and Cartagena's supporters.

The two men were arrested in South Carolina ten days after Murphy's murder, which investigators believe had to do with an ongoing feud between residents of the Manhattanville Houses and those living in the nearby Grant Houses. Murphy's cousin says that one of Murphy's brothers, Bam-Bam, was involved in the long-running dispute with his sister's assailants. "They shot her because that was her brother," he told the Daily News. "It was no mistake. They knew." An alleged gun runner, Terique Collins, 24, is also being held on $100,000 bail; he's accused of providing the gun.

Murphy was being recruited by a number of colleges, and was determined to use her talents on the basketball court to get her mother out of the projects. "We're holding it together to let the kids know you've got to stop reacting," her former coach, Chez Williams, told DNAinfo, adding he hopes her death will end "some of the nonsense that goes on."

(Robert Cartagena, 20, and Tyshawn Brockington, 21)