New York, NY – Congressman Charles Rangel is catching flack for comments he apparently made on Saturday that suggested even President Barack Obama isn’t safe on the city streets, after a black cop was fatally shot by a fellow white officer in East Harlem.
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Rangel made the remarks during a public appearance when he was asked by reporters what advice he would give the president during his Saturday night visit to the city.
“Make certain he doesn’t run around in East Harlem unidentified,” Rangel reportedly said.
The controversial comments came as many people took to the streets protesting the shooting death of 25-year-old Omar Edwards. Mayor Bloomberg and police union head Pat Lynch on Saturday also visited with Edwards’ family at their Brooklyn home and paid their condolences.
Edwards, a two-year veteran of the police force, was killed Thursday night after Officer Andrew Dunton mistook him for an armed criminal and fired his gun six times. It wasn’t until paramedics arrived on the scene and cut through Edwards’ bloodied clothes, that they realized the dying man was actually a member of New York’s Finest.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said he immediately received calls after the incident, from black police officers within the precinct. The civil rights activist said as of late, there seems to be a pattern of black officers being mistaken for criminals. Sharpton is urging for a federal probe into the case in order to ensure an unbiased investigation.
“Can police investigate themselves fairly and impartially? It would seem very difficult at best and unlikely in fact,” said Sharpton.
Why is this a racial incident. The issue was a poorly trained officer not a white officer who deliberately shot a black colleague.
Leave it to the “good reverand” to create a racial incident out of an unfortunate tragedy
Ironic how Sharpton always has to put in his two cents until it turns out that he was dead wrong, and then suddenly we don’t hear a peep from him…Who made him a Reverend, anyway?
Rev Al is an expert on racism. He never misses an opportunity to incite an ignite racial divide.
What is not being reported here is the fact that the white police officers ran out of their car and immediately screamed “drop your weapon”, “Drop your weapon”.
The black police officer turned around for 2 seconds and yelled, “he broke into my car” and turned around and started to run away from the other white cops.
The black officer should have been smart and drop the weapon and have the gun pointed away from other officers and then identify himself as a fellow officer and then continue the chase after the real suspect.
Police officer trainings dictate that no matter ho you are chasing you drop your weapon until pther officers clear you that your one of them.
It’s a shame that this black officer refused orders and was running in a street with a gun when the guy he was chasing only broke into his car and was not a threat to anyone. It seems like this black officer was hot headed and what we learn from this is we don’t need more training. What we need is officers to follow the rules that ARE IN PLACE ALREADY so this does not happen again.
It’s a shame that someone had to die for no good reason.
I also do not think race had anything to do with this. Put yourself in a anti crime undercover unit poisition. Your driving around the neighborhood and all of a sudden see this guy unning fast with a 9 MM glock gun on a residential street.
What would your reaction be?
Where was Rev Al when 4 black men tried to blow up shuls.
Charlie I have news for you as a white man that is a lot in harlem for business it sure is not a safe place for a white guy to be in Harlem if not for the “racist” police officer you couldn’t walk 1 block without a gun fight. By the way more blacks get killed by violence that blacks perpetrate than by whites last year on Malcolm X Blvd in harlem on 1 weekend black on black violence caused 5 fatalities
rev al : you must jump for joy every time a black man dies. I mean you go nuts and bord otherwise. you are like the guys who brake glass windows because the need the repair job. I hope the mayor is smart enough to ignore you, maybe then you will see your not getting your attention, that your dieng for. go buy yourself a Tzumi.
what was jesse jackson’s quote about himself not feeling safe walking down DC streets?
Once again, its the white guys fault.
1. Why was this guy running with a drawn weapon?
2. Why didn’t he drop it?
3. The black people sholuld feel guilty for the increase in racial profiling. Its in their neighborhoods that crime is so high.