Ransom Notes; Ten Years Later, There Is Still Injustice

Summary

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The [Jonny Gammage] case has been forced back into our consciousness by the premier of filmmaker Billy Jackson's documentary "Enough is ENOUGH: The Death of Jonny Gammage." I went to see the documentary at The Hill House, and found it disturbing. I had heard all of it before, but to see it all compiled, all in one place, all the lies, all the frustration, and all the hopelessness, it really hit home.

That can't be a capital offense, can it? Simply disagreeing with a police officer shouldn't be a death sentence. As far as anyone can tell, Gammage was simply standing up as a man, when confronted by discrimination and persecution. That shouldn't equal death on the streets, at the hands of public employees sworn to "protect and serve." How is a Black man supposed to respond when a white police officer (any police officer actually), accosts him and treats him like a criminal? How do you respond to an officer hopped up on steroids, spoiling for a fight, angry that you're driving a late-model Jaguar?

There was Jeffrey Cooperstein, pulling his service revolver and firing at a car driven by Deron Grimmitt. Cooperstein suffered from multiple sclerosis and was taking a drug, baclofen, which can yield hallucinations. Cooperstein said the Grimmitt car was headed right for him. We only have his word for it, and, since he wasn't telling his superiors that he suffered from multiple sclerosis, and that he was taking a medicine that caused drowsiness and dizziness, we can't be sure that he was telling the truth.

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Ransom Notes; Ten Years Later, There Is Still Injustice

It seems like such a long time ago.

In 1995, my family was celebrating my daughter's third birthday on Oct. 12. We had never heard of Jonny Gammage. In fact, on that day, no one yet knew about him. At that time, he was just the entre...

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