The News-Gazette Called in for Damage Control in Police Shooting
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on October 25, 2009 - 3:46pm
The independent media movement started ten years ago to expose the mainstream media’s thin veil of objectivity. Recent editorials about the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington in the local News-Gazette reveal the newspaper’s role in protecting the police and other powerful interests in Champaign.
On Thursday, October 22, two days after a heavily attended city council meeting and the day of a planned march, the News-Gazette ran an editorial titled, “An Angry Night at City Hall.” The editors assured readers that the police were in the right the day Kiwane, an unarmed 15 year-old African American youth, was shot and killed. “Circumstances point to an accidental shooting,” the editorial confidently states. Officer Daniel Norbits, it continues, “did not intentionally discharge his service weapon during his struggle with Carrington.”
How is the News-Gazette so certain that this was an accident? Are the editors privy to information that the rest of us are not given? Is Chief Finney secretly meeting with editors of the News-Gazette? Indeed, as Chief Finney has told me in the past, “I talk to who I want to.”
The Champaign police and local authorities have urged patience. Let the Illinois State Police finish their investigation, they say. Yet the News-Gazette is already drawing conclusions, preparing the public to accept the notion that this was a justified death.
In another editorial, “Talking Past Each Other?” printed on Sunday, October 25, the News-Gazette dismissed complaints of over-policing in black neighborhoods. It addressed the mass police presence outside of the Champaign police station during the Oct. 22 march. The editors relied on second-hand information from Rev. Jerome Chambers, local head of the NAACP, who admitted he was not even at the march. Chambers claimed he talked to someone who said that during the march the police were carrying rifles. I, who was present at the march, never saw any police with rifles or heard such a rumor. Rather than investigate, the News-Gazette posed the question, “Rifles present? You decide.”
There were reports that eight to ten police were standing in front of the Champaign police station along First Street and had taped off the sidewalk with yellow tape. As Deputy Chief John Murphy told the News-Gazette, the yellow tape, “wasn’t necessarily as subtle as we would like it to have been.”
Additionally, the News-Gazette editors uncritically accepted the police explanation that more 911 calls come from black neighborhoods. “Police said minority neighborhoods,” they write, “suffer disproportionately from crime and they respond to calls for service. They perceive their effort as trying to help.”
Yet members of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request to METCAD, the police radio service, that this was not true in Champaign-Urbana. In one month of 2006, there were 339 calls from Douglass Park, and 374 calls from Garden Hills, while there were 1,124 that came from campustown along Green Street.
The local News-Gazette, which has a virtual monopoly of the newspaper market in Champaign-Urbana with a daily circulation of more than 100,000 copies, has one again proven their loyalty to the local power structure. They have rushed to handle damage control for the Champaign police in the indefensible killing of Kiwane Carrington.
Pictured, from left to right,
Pictured, from left to right, are Troy Daniels, John Murphy, and two unknown Champaign police officers at the Champaign city council Tuesday night, Oct. 20.
BD
strange comparisons
First you complain about the mainstream media's lack of objectivity, but your examples are all from editorials on the opinions page. Meanwhile the IMC's coverage is completely biased and agenda-driven while claiming to be news.
Then you compare police call rates in two residential neighborhoods to the campus business district where thousands of students get drunk every weekend. I'll just have to assume that a comparison to white residential neighborhoods wouldn't have supported your case.
News vs. bias
Our point is that there is no such thing as "news" that is unbiased and without an agenda.
We are quite explicit that our agenda is social justice, racial equity, and an end to police brutality.
It cannot be said that the NG or its editors defend such an agenda.
BD
Anonymous, Why am I not
Anonymous,
Why am I not surprised at that. Where is the NG's objectivity? The reality is NG is a conservative paper. WE all know that. Lets be real. It's also no secret that IMC seeks social justice and equity. Now that we have that established. The state police report is not out yet, Right? Right. The community is being ask to wait before drawing any conclusions. Right? Right. However, on Oct 22nd NG wrote as Mr. Dolinar stated: "Officer Daniel Norbits did not intentionally discharge his serve weapon during his struggle with Carrington." How do they know that? I also heard the struggle was with Chief Finney. Who knows the truth? Do you anonymous? What is your answer Anonymous? Or does it matter what the truth is? Why are you playing the race card Anonymous? Is that a game you're familiar with? This is not a black or white issue. It's a moral issue. Was it right to shoot an unarmed youth? You be the judge (maybe not).
Seriously Concerned.
What race card?
So it's OK for the original article to complain that "black neighborhoods" have too many police, but suggesting that crime statistics be compared to white neighborhoods is "playing the race card"? Do you even know what that expression means?
Something Like This
Now, THAT is a tired phrase. "Playing the race card" usually means something like, "I want to ignore how race operates in American society, while I continue to enjoy the benefits of white privielege."
OK.
But you didn't really answer his question. Campustown isn't really a "neighborhood". It's basically a bunch of bars. And how many more people pass through there in a given month than through Douglass Park?
By the way, how many 911 calls were there made to the ever-maligned Cherry Hills subdivision that month?
Here's an idea
How about reporting the truth? Rather than push your agenda just speak the truth about things that happen. Or would the truth be too much of an inconvenience? It sure seems to be in this case.
Buy Your News-Gazette
It's a fact that there has been a real surge in visitors here since Kiwane's death who seem to prefer News-Gazette truth to the truth that writers here see. There's an easy solution to the cognitive dissonance you're experiencing. Spend your four bits and get the News-Gazette, because the IMC is not going away.
It is interesting that the News-Gazette hasn't been publishing a deluge of letters asking it to refrain from making the judgments that it has been making before the ISP investigation is complete. Of course, it's spin has been decidely different and I suppose the leaks the N-G has been getting better suit the prejudices of those who are upset at the questions being asked and the conclusions that some have already made and recorded here.
That's the way things happen when you have more than a one-party press community. If you've been paying attention, you would have noticed that the News-Gazette has been a little sharper in recent years. Far from perfect, but when certain stories can no longer be shut down by simply not being reported, I think that's a good thing. Even if it means that certain hidebound institutions like CPD are starting to get uncomfortable.
Have you noticed that the
Have you noticed that the vast majority of the "surge" is a bunch of the kid's friends, just putting their condolences below his picture?
Or that Illinipundit has also
Or that Illinipundit has also seen a pretty big surge since the shootings, for that matter.
"Truthiness"
Well, those folks at IP figure they're getting what they pay for. I've actually seen some thoughtful comment over there, far better than some of the folks here who spend their time telling BD "Uh-uh, it's not that way!"
At least they aren't getting taken for their 50 cents, like those people who think that the N-G has some monopoly on truth. Just ain't so.
As for kids saying good-bye to their friend, do you have a problem with that? After all, the IMC is here for them, too. The N-G would be wanting cash for that, too.
Well...
"Well, those folks at IP figure they're getting what they pay for. I've actually seen some thoughtful comment over there, far better than some of the folks here who spend their time telling BD 'Uh-uh, it's not that way!'"
Nightwatch. You know that's not all that goes on here. Read the part about Danielle's little speech at the city council meeting. Read the whole Toto Kaiyewu thing again. There's a lot more than people just criticizing Brian. Even though, if he would deal a little more honestly, that wouldn't happen so much.
"As for kids saying good-bye to their friend, do you have a problem with that?"
No, of course I don't have a problem with it. Just pointing out that it's not really true that all the people who come here just do so to talk about what a swell thing it is that Kiwane Carrington got killed.
She Had a Point
I think the idea that Danielle was completely off base is completely off base itself. There is an issue there. At the very least, it should have been something that was brought before the council and explained in detail why it was necessary, like, well before some kid got killed. Unfortunately, government in Champaign often operates like a Northwest Airlines flight when the pilots are arguing or something.
One way or the other, there's a problem with either the policy or how Norbits and the Chief "implemented" the policy. People would do a lot better spending energy on figuring out which it is, rather than beating up on Danielle.
As for "Just pointing out that it's not really true that all the people who come here just do so to talk about what a swell thing it is that Kiwane Carrington got killed."
I presume you meant that sarcastically. Or something, I hope.
Most of that crap is where it should be -- hidden. But, yes, it was rather distressing how much of it there was. I suppose we all have our own opinions on whether it was actually posted by the police and their supporters -- or by trolls just pretending to be that. Disgusting either way.
No, she didn't.
She WOULD have had a point, if she had been telling the truth. If she had been telling the truth, her point would have been "It's so horrible that Chief Finney went behind the backs of the city council to change the Use Of Deadly Force policies!". But he didn't do that. The Use Of Deadly Force policies are the same as they've been for the past 47 years. They are identical to those of the state statute, which applies to all police officers in the entire state, regardless of what language is used in the policies of individual cities.
So where does that leave her point? "It's so horrible that Chief Finney went behind the backs of the city council and DIDN'T change the Use Of Deadly Force Policies!"? Does that make any sense at all"?
"At the very least, it should have been something that was brought before the council and explained in detail why it was necessary, like, well before some kid got killed."
Why? Since nothing really changed, why? Are you sure you're not just parroting the CUCPJ line here? If you can explain to me why you think it's such a grievous sin for Chief Finney to not explain to the city council why he WASN'T changing the policy, I'll be impressed.
"One way or the other, there's a problem with either the policy or how Norbits and the Chief "implemented" the policy. "
I don't think anyone's really arguing with the fact that, if Norbits turns out to have violated the law, there's a problem with how he "implemented" the policy.
"People would do a lot better spending energy on figuring out which it is, rather than beating up on Danielle."
Well, we can't, because we don't know what happened yet. We will after the investigation.
"But, yes, it was rather distressing how much of it there was."
Really? How much of it was there? Can you remember any particularly memorable celebrations of Kiwane's death?
"Most of that crap is where it should be -- hidden. "
Well. I agree that a lot of comments get deleted around here. Which makes me wonder how you know that there's been a "surge" of critical comment around here. Do you know how many comments get deleted under regular circumstances versus now? How would you know that there's any more than usual?
This also goes to your earlier point as well:
"I've actually seen some thoughtful comment over there, far better than some of the folks here who spend their time telling BD "Uh-uh, it's not that way!""
How do you know that that's the level of argumentation? Do you have some way of knowing what comments get hidden, and how thoughtful those comments tend to be? How would anyone know you're telling the truth if you say you do know?
Simple
I have an account here. When I'm logged in, if I choose, I can see all the crap that gets posted. We usually don't encourage talking about that, because it only seems to encourage the cranks. Now quit your whining about things getting "deleted" because they pretty much don't.
BTW, how do you know so much crap keeps "getting deleted" if you're not posting it?
not true
There was a whole slew of rational but dissenting comments hidden when this story first broke.
Oh, I am, nightwatch.
I'm posting stuff that gets deleted all the time. Make no mistake. 9/10 of the time, it's because Mike knows that the person I'm arguing with can't come up with a rational response. This happens a lot when I'm talking to you, incidentally.
Since you have access to all the hidden comments, then why don't you copy and paste some of the comments celebrating the death of Kiwane? That way we could all see how evil the "trolls" around here really are.
Also, since you can see all the stuff that gets hidden, you can certainly recognize countless times that the hidden comments don't have anything inflammatory or insulting in them, right? I'm assuming you're still going to choose to defend this, of course.
Hmm, Don't Appeal to Me
I'm just a user here. From what I've seen, I seriously doubt anyone is "posting stuff that gets deleted all the time." If there's stuff more toxic than what's hidden, frankly I can see why it might be gone.
I do know that discussions of editorial policy are off-topic, which is very common on internet forums. There's nothing special about that here. You might drop an email if you have a question about that. And if you want to view things, you can register and view just like anyone else. No one's stopping you.
I do agree with your supposition that we're probably testing the patience of the Web group at this point, though. Your inquiry and my responses don't have much to do with this article.
Then Why the Press Release
If nothing chnaged, then why did CPD tell WILL AM580 news last Friday that the changes were made so that CPD would be ready to be accredited? I think that people at CPD and those defending them are either very confused or Danielle did in fact have a point.
Obviously shining some sunlight on this, whether anything changed or not, is like turning on the lights in a decrepit kitchen at night. The cockroaches are scurrying to hide like in one of those old Raid commercials.
Easy.
They told them that because it's the truth. It's not a very important truth, and nobody without a vendetta against Finney would find it suspicious at all.
But here's the problem. Danielle goes to the city council meeting, and basically scares the crap out of a bunch of people. Over NOTHING. The police HAD to explain what happened after she did that.
Not that anyone was listening. You know the old saying. "A lie is halfway around the world before the truth has got its boots on."
I'm interested in knowing who you think is "scurrying" about this. And what, specifically, do you find suspicious about the police "changing" the Use Of Force policy to the Use Of Force policy that has been in place since the early sixties? I notice you don't actually make any concrete accusations here.
Ahhh the irony
There is only one truth, which is the truth of what actually happened. You don't have it and neither does the News-Gazette. The only people that know the real truth are the three people that survived the incident, and we haven't heard from them yet. The fact that you accuse the N-G of pushing an agenda based on "their truth" is very hypocritical when you are doing THE EXACT SAME THING!
It's Not Irony
It's a fact. You seem to think that the three people that survived all have the exact same version of what happened. I can assure you they don't. There isn't an EXACT SAME THING whenever more than one person is involved.
The ISP investigation can't arrive at the TRUTH. They will arrive at their truth. That will be a truth that basically sees the incident through the eyes of fellow police officers. Chief Finney will see the truth through the eyes of being Norbits' commander. Norbits will see the truth through the eyes of the guy that pulled the trigger. The other teen will see the truth through the eyes of someone who saw his friend die.
The truth is a very relative thing. No matter what the ISP investigation shows, it will be their interpretation of the set of facts that they have gathered. They could have missed or ignored pertinent facts and they will likely bring certain biases to the investigation.
BTW, Indymedia operates by recognizing that any story is unlikely to have one, settled truth. You really are coming to the wrong place if you think you're going to generate much sympathy with your insistence on the existence of a singular, determinable truth. Your point of view is fundamentally at odds with how IMC writers view the world. Indymedia works to ensure that those who hold marginalized opinions that are either ignored or suppressed have the space to tell their side of the story.
Yes it is
My point was that you have no idea what the truth is because YOU WEREN'T THERE! And yet you seem to know who is at fault for someone being killed. And you appear to be against anyone maikng assupmtions about what happened except for you, or anyone who happens to agree with you. And there always is a singular truth. It just has to be discovered.
Read It Again
Read through this thread again. I don't think I offer much in the way of a personal opinion at all on what happened. Oh, I do have my own take, I can assure you. However, here I only have stated that there are and will be multiple versions of the "truth" so you might as well relax and get prepared to be disappointed if you are expecting there to be one deifinitive version of "truth" in the end. There won't be.
As for someone being "at fault," I think that's already clear to a certain degree, regardless of what the investigation shows from this point forward. We already know these facts:
1. Kiwane was killed by Norbits's gun.
2. Kiwane was lawfully on the property and was not committing any unlawful actions when originally accosted by Chief Finney.
3. Kiwane and the other youth had no weapon on their person and appear to have not picked up any weapon in the course of whatever happened.
So Norbits, in some form or fashion, WAS responsible for the death of Kiwane. Sure, there MIGHT be some extenuating circumstance in his killing of Kiwane.
If Norbits was a civilian, he'd be cooling his jets in the county right now, instead of getting time off with pay at home, while things are sorted out by the ISP.
Now, if you want to dispute any of the facts I've laid out above, go to it. But it would be a matter of semantics, not a matter of facts. I have opinions that go beyond those facts. They are based on what I've seen, heard, and read about how CPD conducts themselves as an organization, as well as other things I've heard and read since.
Gee, the latter sounds a lot like CPD's being profiled, doesn't it? Kinda hurts doesn't it, when the shoe's on the other foot for a change? Yeah, it does, which is why I'm withholding laying out most of what I'm thinking, pending further revalations.
Will I completely trust what the ISP has to say? No, because I've also seen what they are capable of. They are not a completely disinterested organization. Frankly, I think it's time that the FBI become more involved in reviewing such investigations, not just in Illinois, but nationally, because this is a national problem.
You may think there's a singular truth, but there just isn't. I can almost guarantee that if the ISP come out with something you weren't expecting -- frankly something which I might not have been expecting from them, either -- you'll probably be thinking quite differently about this conversation.
I'll just say that I told you so.
You are right
You are right about a few things. They were lawfully on the property, he was killed by Norbits gun, and the KIDS didnt have a weapon.
Now, if you were a police officer and you responded to a call of a possible break in involving two people, doesnt matter the race, that refused to answer your questions let alone listen to you, and they began to fight with you would you do the same thing those two officers did? Mind you, you dont know what these kids have on their person nor do you know if there are any other people around waiting for you to let your guard down so they can have at you!
Those officers did what they needed to do to protect themselves. They did what any cop would do. They pulled their gun, or guns if that was the case, in hopes of getting these CHILDREN to get on the ground so they could figure out what was going on!
It is NOT the police mens' fault, nor is it the CHILDREN'S fault as they were only doing what they have been taught to do: disrespect police! From an early age children, especially children who come from homes where the parental guardian has had a run in with police, are taught that police are "the bad guys," and are never taught to respect police, but do the complete opposite and diesrepect them!
Parents need to keep their children away from guns, drugs, and teach them how to not only respect police and people of authority but to respect people who are there to help. If these KIDS would have had more respect for the law, Kiwane would probably still be alive.
Just my thoughts on the matter
Not So Sure About This Story Being Right
This sounds like one of those kind of stories that people were running around saying no one should bring up because the facts aren't known yet.
How do you know the kids started to fight with the officers? How do you know those kids were "taught...[to] disrespect police"? How do you know those kids were around guns or drugs? Just because Kiwane was black? (I don't know the race of the other kid.)
How do YOU KNOW all these things about what happened? You're making a LOT of assumptions about the boys having been completely in the wrong and in some sort or fashion, being responsible for what happened to Kiwane.
As for people considering the cops "bad guys" -- some cops earn that. Law enforcement as a whole tends to not do enough to sort out the bad apples. They close ranks. They tend to protect their own, make excuses for them, cover up things, print ads in the paper, like the one today -- BEFORE the investigation is complete, mind you, speaking of withholding judgment until the investigation is complete.
And one only needs to look at the staggering statistics on racially disparate outcomes in law enforcement and the justice system in our society, in our state, and in our community to see that something is disgracefully and without a doubt wrong with out law enforcement SYSTEM.
Sure, individuals bear some blame, but anyone who has a basic understanding about statistics, criminology, sociology, and justice cannot help but be shocked by this. You can only deny it if you're willing to conciously and shamelessly willing to deny the existence of systemic racism at the same time.
I appreciate your thoughts, but I think they're more part of the problem than they are part of the solution.
I agree
Yes, the News Gazette has assumed a lot of facts reporting this story and those assumptions have shaped community opinion in favor of the police. I do not know what basis they have for the facts they keep reporting because they don't cite sources and everyone else is told nothing and "just wait." If the News Gazette (or anyone else) were real reporters they would have gotten the 911 tapes already. The fact of an ongoing investigation is not adequate reason to withold tapes at this point. Until I hear the tapes I cannot even be sure the officers were responding to a 911 call, for all I know the 911 call may have come after shots were fired.
The City of Champaign will not change substantively until a new mayor is elected. This mayor was a policeman for 32 years and also a bar owner. He's 2 favorite things to do are to protect police and bar owners that prey sell alcohol illegally.
The Surviving Youth v. the Cops
To those who say "wait for the facts to come in" , "we haven't heard from those that were there", I have to wonder how much credibility you are going to give the friend of Kiwane against the word of two officers who are in deep shit in regards to opinion polls with much of the community. I would like to know who would you believe if the story of what happened varies between the 15 year-old and the officers?
The 15-year old is under charges of resisting arrest. He might remember, "we tried to tell officers we live here, they wouldn't listen, and all of sudden they shot Kiwane."
The officers will say, "The two little brats rushed us, stupid Kiwane grabbed Norbits' gun- not Finney's gun, though he was first in the backyard, and the gun accidentally went off."
who are you going to believe?
"Wait for the facts." Please. It comes down to those two versions. And police are counting on you won't believe the boy in the 'hood with the sagging pants and the disrespect for authority. Hence the unprecedented release of the young man's attendance records in high school. Hey white folks, mind if the media publishes your son and daughter's school attendance record on radio and tv? Please.
cover up, cover up. Hope the boy who saw stays a shut up. No wonder he was charged with residential burglary. The cops needed to isolate him for awhile. What happened to him those four days he was isolated alone at the youth detention center? Seriously, don't you at all wonder how the cops could come up with a residential burglary on a young man who, according to the Oct. 14 News-Gazette, was allowed to be there?
This case stinks already.
Never know?
Why can't we deal with what we do know? Troy Daniels doesn't deny the police bashed the door down, doesn't deny the ransacking. But no, the police are all good for so many of you.
It just doesn't suck that Rietz and the rest of law enforcement made plain the attendance record of the lone civilian witness to what Finney and Norbits did, it was planned and it had a reason: to discredit the kid's testimony. Wonder the f--- why?
Media
Another media source should present no particular problem as long as this new source doesn't have its own agenda. Don't have the same problem that you claim the other guy has. Actually, in different parts of the United States there seems to be an effort to discredit police for their actions. So, who do we believe? casino en ligne
Confused?
I don't think your stab at problem definition is helpful.
First, more media should never be a problem, period.
Second, Indymedia operates under the presumption that media always has has an agenda. That's why Indymedia rejects the false presumption of objectivity. It's simply not possible to be objective in the media. The media that claims to be "fair and balanced" are the media that are most likely to have issues with objevtivity, but this doesn't mean that others are exempt.
As for media discrediting the police, I've seen little or no evidence of that. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of evidence that some media actively push an agenda of not questioning the police, not fulfilling their duty to act in the best interest of the public by acting in oversight of the police, or simply printing police press releases as if they were news.
Now, when you live in markets like Champaign County where situations like that existed for many years and other reporters come along and actively pursue investigative stories, it might seem like "an effort to discredit police for the actions" but that's only because in comparison investigative journalism has so rarely been done, not because there's an agenda to discredit the police.
-- an imcista
I agree
You are right Henry, there seems to be a negative effort, to discredit police. And again: Why can't we deal with what we do know ?simulation
Not really convinced...
I am not convinced that the paper was not protecting the police in this matter. It is a well-known fact that freedom of speech and more so freedom of the press is under attack. I am more inclined to feel that they are writing not to protect the police but to protect themselves. Only a judge can determine whether or not the police were in the right not editors of a newspaper.
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