My wife and I used to less than six blocks from where George Floyd was killed. It's been a long time, but even in those days, the neighborhood was desperate. There's not much that I can add to the conversation about what has happened or needs to happen next—but one observation...
In our three years on Chicago Ave, there were three murders on our block. We were burglarized (while home). There was a crack dealer who liked to set up along our front fence. But we were always ambivalent about calling police, because their presence ALWAYS made things worse.
There were two police-involved deaths in our alley (one shooting, one high-speed crash). We saw police speed through Powderhorn Park in squad cars in pursuit of a kid on foot. We saw cops hit people. My wife was once slapped in the face herself. (She was asking for information.)
Here's what we never saw: a crime solved, a situation de-escalated. Those murders were never solved. The police were cleared in the shooting and crash in the alley. Our burglars were never caught. The reaction was not justice for the guilty but intimidation for all.
And here was the piece that no one ever talks about... Near the end of our time there, the FBI arrested a neighborhood "developer" (crime boss) and our city council member, who had been taking bribes. In the end, three council members wound up in federal prison.
People say, "If there's trouble with the cops, talk to your representatives." Well, I see that the same developer was accused of trying to bribe the current councilman of neighboring Ward 6 in 2017. There's been no one to trust in city govt or civic leadership for a generation.
So what do you do? In my firsthand experience, people kept their heads down and their doors locked. They tried to get through and, if they could, get out. But if you can't—if this has been your reality for 20 years, instead of a memory—I don't know how you react except in anger.
For those wanting details, here's a very brief overview from the FBI's website.
fbi.gov/history/field-…
fbi.gov/history/field-…
