From: mmoore@staff.tc.umn.edu ("None of ya Bizness")
Subject: In the wrong place, at the wrong time
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 05:13:47 GMT

Dear Abby,

Okay, check this out.  Last week, some gang members walked into the
Pizza Shack, a local cop hangout located in the pseudo-"hood" of
Minneapolis, and shot a cop dead in the back,
killing him.  There was no confrontation or anything.  The dudes just
came up and straight jacked him.  The police officer's name was Jerry
Haaf.  If you knew this, then good.  If you didn't, well, now you
know.

A somewhat predictable chain of events has happened since the shooting
of Officer Haaf.  But let me break down to you some of the things that
had been happening between gangs and police before the shooting.

Most of the gangs had united under United For Peace (UFP) to help stop
inter-gang violence.  Minneapolis assistant police chief David
Dobrotka has been keeping channels open between the police and the
gangs so as to come to at least an understanding between them.  Gang
members, 'specially the UFP leader Sharif Willis, praised Dobrotka for
his efforts.

All for naught of course.  Dobrotka's boss, Chief John Laux, said he
was severing all ties with UFP cos of "suspected illegal activity by
UFP members as well as UFP head Willis." Although he couldn't explain
these charges.  Secondly, people who live over North (in another
"hoody" part of Minneapolis) have been complaining about an increase
in police brutality.  Thirdly, the local rag (the Star Tribune) has
been blasting headlines about Officer Haaf every single day since his
killing.  There is, of course, much media coverage about it.  And
Jesse Jackson shot thru and met Off. Haaf's widow and called for calm.
While all this shit was happenin, everybody in the Police Federation
was doggin Dobrotka for having such a good relationship with the
gangs, etc. and almost gave him a vote of No Confidence.  Some cops
had the nerve to say "Everybody's being a crybaby about this, and not
letting us do our job and bust criminals."

Well that's fine with me, mother fucker, but who do you consider your
"criminals?"  My opinion is this.  It's really bad that Officer Haaf
had to die like that, in cold blood, but I think he was just in the
wrong place at the wrong time.  I personally don't think they were
looking for Haaf, they just saw a cop and knew it was a cop hangout
and wanted to smoke the mother fucker.  And I express my condolences
for his family, but what about the families of black people who are
gettin offed by cops every day?  We certainly don't see that too much
in the headlines.  The paper blasted about how Haaf was all that and a
bag o chips but some of my homies say they don't remember him as being
so nice, one of them said Haaf'd shake people down as they went into
the government bldg. to get their welfare chex.

So what do yall think?  Is it a big deal over something trivial or do
these people actually got a beef (the po-lice of course)?

RACIALLY TORN IN MINNEAPOLIS



-- 
Malcolm Diallo Moore, CIS-Univ. of Minn.                mmoore@staff.tc.umn.edu
				            	    moor0009@student.tc.umn.edu
	"Arresk the Presidink!"
				-- Popeye the Intelligent Hoodlum
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