Let’s digest race, culture medicine before dismissing cure
Nothing good came from a white Fort Worth police officer’s rash, rough and race-tinged arrest of a black woman and her two teen daughters two years ago.
Until now.
The arrest of Jacqueline Craig — who paradoxically had called police for help after she felt a neighbor had wrongfully grabbed her 7-year-old son for allegedly littering in his yard — embarrassed Fort Worth and enraged people of color when video of it went viral.
We don’t presume to know what’s in officer William Martin’s heart. But a hefty swath of the community, and country, saw it as racist on its face. And we know from the video that, at the very least, he immediately raised the temperature at the scene instead of lowering it as he should have. We suspect even he would agree. It’s worth noting that his fellow emergency responders in the fire department don’t bring gasoline and matches to a fire; they seek to put it out.
Only time will tell if Martin’s 10-day suspension was sufficient, and whether this episode has helped him become the officer he should have been. But the indignities beset upon Jacqueline Craig and her daughters may already be having a transformative effect on the wider community.
The 25-member Race and Culture Task Force assembled by the city after the incident just submitted its comprehensive 85-page report to the city council with findings of racial disparities in Fort Worth — in such things as home ownership, arrest rates and health outcomes — and recommendations to eliminate them.
While some have dismissed the effort as insufficient, we have no reason to doubt this was a sincere year-and-a-half study by a carefully chosen, diverse panel of fellow citizens who took their responsibility seriously. Through dozens of town meetings and several thousand inputs, this group made sure it was accessible to all.
Its recommendations are focused on seven general areas: criminal justice, economic development, education, governance, health, housing and transportation.
It will take months to digest it all, and for city officials to respond to the recommendations.
Some of the suggestions comprise mammoth paradigm shifts, especially the proposals for an independent redistricting commission and a civilian review board to oversee complaints against police officers.
While a citizens’ review board is an intriguing idea, and perhaps advisable if done right, a word of caution: laymen are often ill-equipped to evaluate the many split-second, often life-and-death decisions officers must make. Tread carefully.
Just as it’s tricky to second-guess the actions of officers, we’re also hesitant to suggest taking political decisions out of the hands of politicians. Absent some clear showing of bias or malfeasance, it’s best to leave matters such as redistricting to those whom we’ve elected to do so.
Some also would deny the city council a hand in even appointing an independent redistricting committee — and want the police oversight board to be granted subpoena powers. Those are serious overreaches.
At their core, though, both ideas are definitely worth exploring, as are the task force’s recommendations for improved diversity, enhanced job training and transportation, accessible and affordable child care, and student learning opportunities through service work and civic engagement.
We’ve come this far — a sweeping 85-page packet of diagnostics and prescriptions. Let’s at least consider what medicine to take and give it time to work before we start grasping for over-the-counter cures.