Mark Anthony Barmore: Unarmed Black Man Shot in Church in the Back
Witnesses say the man was surrendering, but officials in Rockford, Ill., near Chicago dispute that version of events, saying that Mark Anthony Barmore grabbed for an officer’s gun after they cornered him in the church.
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This Aug. 25, 2009 photo shows onlookers, including Mark Anthony Barmore’s father, Anthony Stevens, second from right, watching as police investigate the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Barmore, inside the Kingdom Authority International Ministries Church in Rockford, Ill. The NAACP is renewing a call for federal standards on police use of force after what it describes as the police killing of an unarmed man inside a church as day-care children watched. (AP Photo/Rockford Register Star, Amy J. Correnti)
Both sides do agree, however, that Barmore fled when officers approached him in the church parking lot, which highlights the suspicion and fear that can poison relationships between police and minority communities across the country.
"There are no national standards for the use of force (or) training for use of force," Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Friday.
The issue "is not primarily about racism," Jealous said, citing the recent case of a 72-year-old white woman tasered by a white Texas officer during a traffic stop. "We want to make sure the standards are the most modern and appropriate ones possible."
The NAACP scheduled a rally Saturday in Rockford and a march Oct. 3. Jealous was planning to attend both; it would be his first march since taking the NAACP’s helm a year ago.
The NAACP is seeking the reintroduction of the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, first offered by John Conyers, D-Mich., in 2000. It was co-sponsored by 34 legislators but was never voted on by the full House.
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The police all over this country have always had a license to murder Black men. Law enforcement can always depend on their cronies and other empowered Whites to slap them on the wrist, or exonerate them completely when they make a “trophy-kill” of a Black male.
The police in this country have always had our permission to kill “Guilty Black and White People.” The media glorifies some of these guilty people to rile up our worst fears and emotions. Sometimes people like Rodney King get a beating that is undeserved or way too severe. Sometimes Jenarlow Wilsons get thrown under the jail for something we all could have done and the laws need to be changed. Sometimes Amadu Diallo gets shot for doing something totally stupid because he doesn’t understand the severity of the situtation he is in. Sometimes people get mop handles stuck up their behinds when in custody. WTF? Now that’s wrong, but what they all have in common is “They were guilty or under suspicion.” Those wronged get paid and we get left with the raw emotion, fear, and hatred for the police. Cooperate and graduate. If they are wrong get paid. Case dismissed! I love the sound of Da Police. That means they are working and not eating donuts.
the relationship between Black people and the police has never been a good one. At best it is adversarial and at worse it is downright predatory. The police are armed with a gun,a public perception of rightness and the support of the so called justice system when need be. Anyone that does not believe or accept that the police perjure themselves on a daily basis in legal proceedings are sticking their heads in the sand. There needs to be a wholesale psychological review given to any police officer that is involoved in any questionable or disputed arrest or involvement with any civilian. We the people give the police their authority and their ability to function efficiently is dependent on our trust and cooperation. Neither is forthcoming in the Black community when we all are potential victims instead of witnesses. Stop Snitching is as much a reaction to the reality of police misconduct as it is to the pervasive existence of criminal activity in the “hood”. Until their is accountability and responsibility things will only continue to deteriorate until their is nothing but the law of the jungle left.
I couldn’t disagree more with your statement. I’m under the belief, “Don’t start no mess there won’t be no mess.” Why are these people getting shot? Who started the mess and where is it? Damn, I’m starting to sound like Bill Cosby.
Dont start no mess and there wont be no mess. Sounds like the beginnings of one big mess. Where there is supposed to be an organized society with rules of conduct that apply to everyone equally there is instead a police state where the well heeled equals the well connected. Money talks in this society and anytime you want to find out the truth of something all you have to do is follow the money. That’s why the ownership of the prison system is now a profit making enterprise. Oh did I mention that the prison population is disproportionately Black? Wow what a coincidence. The truth will make you free but the ability to recognize the truth is more important than exposure to it
Don’t lose focus on the problem and the Mothership will permit you to make a connection. Get up on the down stroke. What are we talking about someone guilty or not? You are talking about the symptoms of a larger disease. I’m talking about the disease. Don’t be guilty and you won’t be shot. If you do get shot and wronged, you’ll get paid. Don’t start no mess there won’t be no mess. The rest of this mess is just an emotional distraction trying to make all Blacks live in fear of Da Sound of Da Police. I love the police. Let them do their jobs. We need to stop being guilty.