at Chicago and Franklin today. After all competition is hot since it is
"payday" today. Checks came out today and customers are flush. I may be a
bit callous after chasing these criminals with VERY LITTLE police service to
help for the last couple of years, but it really does not bother me that much
that one kind of rat or snake meets another with sharper teeth. Hopefully (do
not hold your breath) the police will catch the shooter and we will be rid of
both snakes.
We had chased multiple drug dealers and whores off our property several times
from about about 5:45 to when the killing happened. Who knows the victim might
have found customers slow with the yelling at them to "MOVE - MOVE- MOVE and
ventured off to Chicago Avenue and trespassed on another's territory. Though
many of the local druggies seemed broken up by a friend being shot. You could
see a couple of the regular sex slaves comforting each other with hugs and one
crying. So maybe he was not such a bad snake after-all.
At a little before 8:00 AM my wife stopped her car an yelled at Drug Dealers
doing business from my yard. She called me at 8:02 from work. Looking out of
the window across 21st Street I noticed a group of six or seven street dealers
getting "product" from a newer White SUV. going onto my side porch, I
attempted to get the license number and description of the main Man. Noticing
this from about 40 feet away a large Black (obese) man doing business turned
and told me, "You better get your Old White Ass back in that house if you know
what is good for you!" I am not sure if it was the "Old" or the "White Ass"
that bothered me, but the implied threat and those words did make me mad. So I
said that perhaps he should show me what "was good for me". He indicated that
"he might" and turned to stroll away. Now folks I am over 70 and appear to be
White, but I am also Native and my ass is as well; in fact very Native given
that it is the stereotypical "flat ass". :-) I called the police gave
descriptions of what happened and who, but no police ever came.
I continued to drive drug dealers and whores off my property the rest of the
day while attempting outside maintenance. And called ever so often. No Police
ever came. I was told we were just too low a priority. Of course I already
knew that.
This of course continued all day and tonight my wife holding a baby once again
went out the door and told drug dealers and a prostitute to get off our
property. They moved across the street and continued to do business so she
called 911. Of course same results as usual, no police came, so I went out
and sat on the porch and seeing the fat, Black, shaved headed, threatening drug
dealer, I called 911 and explained that the Fat, Black, shave headed,
threatening, drug dealer wearing the same long white T-shirt was directly
across the street and still doing business. The several people with him seemed
to be bothered by my describing to 911 their descriptions, so they proceeded on
back down to the "Drug Shelter that Metro Council maintains at 10th and
Franklin. Mr. Fat Boy just nodded to me and kept doing business even when a
squad car drove casually down Franklin about 30 minutes later. So I called 911
again and talked rather loudly to the dispatcher. He then did a slow stroll
back down to the Drug Shelter. This time the dispatcher asked if I wanted a
squad to stop and talk to me. I said sure that way they at least scared the
customers.
When the officers came they again explained that we were such a low priority
that we could not get regular service. Nice guys who seemed just as frustrated
by the Mayor and Council's directing them so that they could not do their job.
Unfortunately we do not have to look to Washington and the Trump administration
to find less than truthful politicians and police officials. Remember how Cam
Gordon wrote me, and assured me that "Loitering With Intent" was existing law
and should be enforced? Well about 20 or 30 separate and individual police
officers from both the Third and Fourth Precinct have assured me over the last
two years that it is not. In fact assured me that they are not allowed to
enforce that ordinance.
So I button holed Inspector Johnson who is commander of the Third at a
"community meeting". And she not happy as she flatly denied that they were
not enforcing "Loitering with Intent" In fact all but intimated that I was
lying about her officers saying that. And even said officers HAD been ordered
to enforce the ordinance. Now I will give you your choice about who is in fact
lying. Was it each and every police office I had talked to over the last two
years or was it Inspector Johnson. I had specifically asked almost EVERY
officer I came in contact with and they ALL said exactly the same thing. That
includes all the ones I come in contact with due to my calling the cops a lot
as well as other officers I come in contact with on Lake Street, at the Holiday
Store in Seward at other functions. ALL the same story. EXCEPT Inspector
Johnson. Now folks maybe all those officers are simply lying OR we have some
other political figures covering their ass with bald faced lying. Does that
not sound like Washington right now, and right here in good old River City?
Is there any doubt about why we simply do not believe Police Officials or City
Politicians. They will tell us that the warm wet thing running down our backs
is warm summer rain even though there is not a cloud in the sky. AND then get
mad, dismissive and almost confrontational when you say it is not true.
The police and the 911 dispatchers still claim that drug dealing and street
prostitution in some communities is just TOO LOW a priority to come to. I
asked why it was such a low priority when I was being threatened by the same
drug dealers. The answer was that IF I was not injured we were just not a high
enough priority to get police response. I laughingly asked one officer what I
had to do, go out and let myself be injured? He said maybe. Now folks when I
was 21 or 31 or even 41 and maybe on a crazy day when 51 that might have been
fun, but I am over 70 and I should not have to scuffle with drug dealers and
their "security" people. Several younger drug dealers are quite the threat even
without showing a weapon to a 70 year old man. An actual lethal threat to ones
life. And I sure as hell should not have to be threatened with a gun, which I
have been several times over the last two or three years.
And be such a LOW Priority that I (and my community) do not get "Equal
Protection Under The Law". After paying so much taxes to support a Billion
dollar football Stadium, a multi million dollar baseball stadium, and 10
million dollars a year to support a God Awful basketball team at Target Center.
And we can not have enough police officers in Minneapolis to give poor
communities of color the same police protection and services as the "Better
Neighborhoods'?
Apparently not, those stadiums are too high a priority for the Minneapolis
politicians. We in my community are just not a high enough priority to waste
adequate policing on.
Jim Graham