March 31, 2014

JAWHARI SMITH has been released from the hospital after being shot in the face and the shoulder on March 18 by a 17-year veteran of the Austin Police Department.

Although he has not been charged with any crime, Smith's family was barred by police from being able to see him at Breckenridge Hospital, because police insisted he was in their custody. He did not have a lawyer present during his stay in intensive care.

That afternoon, Smith and his girlfriend, Rickia Hunt, were having an argument outside of a relative's apartment when the police were called. Sgt. Greg White would end up shooting at Jawhari at least three times according to police--five times, according to witnesses. Two shots hit Smith, one in the shoulder and one in the jaw.

White claims that Jawhari had a semiautomatic BB gun and that he instructed Jawhari to drop it. White says that he opened fire when Jawhari refused to drop the weapon and appeared to be raising it.

In defense of White, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters:

Police officers in Austin, Texas (Ann Harkness)

The suspect had a semi-automatic pistol in his hand. When the sergeant sees it, he sees him put it behind his back, allegedly, and then put it back forward. The suspect at one point yells it's a B.B. gun. The sergeant ordered the suspect several times to drop the weapon. The suspect did not comply. The sergeant, in fear for his life, fired several rounds.

Not surprisingly, Rickia Hunt and other witnesses have a very different story. According to Hunt, Jawhari told the officer the gun was a toy and threw it aside. She says that he was also beginning to kneel down in compliance with White's orders when the officer started shooting. The fact that Jawhari has not yet been charged with any crime would seem to add credibility to Hunt's version of events.

Jawhari's cousin, Traeshina Williams, pointed out that White didn't even try to use his Taser. She told Austin's Fox News, "The simple fact that someone can be shot in the face...We need our police force to be re-trained. What is the point of having a Taser?"

As Fox News pointed out, Traeshina Williams is also related to Sophia King, a mentally ill woman who was fatally shot by an Austin police officer in 2002. "Federal investigators found the officer did not violate the law and had to use deadly force to save the life of a housing authority employee, who was being threatened by King with a butcher knife," reported Fox.

But as Traeshina Williams pointed out, "One of the witnesses said that [Jawhari] didn't have a weapon, so when they produce this weapon, then...let us know. The same incident happened with Sophia when they claimed she had a weapon and they shot her in the back."

THIS IS the second shooting by Austin police this year, and both have been committed by veterans of the force.

In addition to the two shootings, there have been other acts of violence committed by Austin's scandal-ridden police force. In February, a video of Austin police arresting a young female jogger made headlines. The young woman was jogging near the University of Texas with headphones on when she was stopped for jaywalking and subsequently dragged and carried to a police car by four officers.

When video of the distraught woman went viral, Chief Acevedo offered the following "defense": "Whether or not he grabbed her by behind it doesn't...it's not relevant. At some point, she knows it's a cop. The cop asked her a lawful question that she is lawfully required to answer, and she didn't. That's why she went to jail."

Acevedo says the woman was only arrested for failure to identify, not resisting arrest. But he added that if he had been the arresting officer, he would have cited the woman on other charges:

At the end of the day, that officer has to stop them somehow. He didn't tackle her to the ground. You know, it's kind of interesting what passes for controversy in Austin, Texas. Thank you Lord that there's a controversy in Austin, Texas, that we actually had the audacity to touch somebody by the arm and tell them, "Oh my goodness, Austin Police, we're trying to get your attention." Whew! In other cities, cops are actually committing sexual assaults on duty, so I thank God that this is what passes for a controversy in Austin, Texas.

In effect, Acevedo seems to be suggesting that if you are a woman, be thankful if the police don't rape you. Should Black men be thankful if they aren't shot? This is the real face of the Austin Police Department.

Fifty percent of Austin's city budget goes to pay for police salaries, and Austin police can make more than $90,000 a year. Their actions seem to suggest that intimidating people with violence is in the job description--and they get compensated for a job well done.