Race Mentioned as an Issue in Mt. Vernon Cop Killing

Although Rev. Al Sharpton appeared with officer Christopher Ridley's family after the Mt. Vernon cop's death, advising people not to rush to judgment, questions about the shooting are turning in the direction of race and societal divisions. The Friday night shooting occurred when Ridley, off-duty police officer, tried to stop a fight and Westchester police shot at him.

White Plains is less than 20 miles from the South Bronx and about five miles west of Greenwich, CT. The city's downtown is booming with luxury condo construction, but also serves as a destination for homeless persons seeking social services. It was right outside of the town's social services building where Ridley witnessed a fight among homeless men; it's believed the White Plains police mistook him for an assailant holding a gun.

The New York Times focuses today on divisions between the extremely wealthy residents of White Plains and the homeless who are bused in from shelters to obtain help with substance abuse problems, job placement programs, and mental health issues. The Daily News looks at the effect that race may have had on the shooting.

One of the cops who shot Ridley four to five times has been identified as black, but Al Sharpton is now insinuating that black men are viewed by police as expendable members of society. Sharpton analogized the shooting of Officer Ridley, who died attempting to break up a brawl, with the death of Sean Bell, who was killed upon exiting a strip club during a weapons sting. Sharpton also wants federal oversight of any investigation.

The Journal News talked to a witness to the shooting, who said it was quite possible Ridley didn't hear White Plains police officers yelling for him to drop a gun he was holding when they opened fire. The facts are the case are unclear, but so far, the story seems to be that Ridley was out of uniform at the time and rose from the sidewalk where he had fallen, or was knocked to, holding a gun that was either his own or one of the two homeless men whose fight he was disrupting.

Ridley was only 23 years old and mentored youth at the church where his father was a custodian. His mother pleaded publicly for local media to cease airing video of her son lying dead on the sidewalk. Ridley's mother wants to know why her son is dead. "I'm still researching, who do I want to blame? I want to blame a lot of people. I'm always going to be looking back and say, 'Someone murdered my son.' No matter which you look at it, someone killed him."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dave Hogarty in News on January 28, 2008 12:54 PM

Comments [rss]

jaja007

Umm... it still begs to asked.... Why South Bronx? What the hell does South Bronx have to do with White Plains and/or Mount Vernon?

Dave Hogarty

Ah, I get you now. I made the distinction because the Bronx, like most of New York's boroughs, is socio-economically heterogeneous. If I had just said the Bronx, that would have included somewhat wealthy areas like Riverdale, the area around Wave Hill, or Arthur Ave. and Fordham's campus--a far cry from the much poorer areas of what people typically think of when they consider the Bronx.

The post is about the intersection of different socio-economic classes, of which race is one factor, but not a definitive one. Homeless people rubbing shoulders with the residents of new million-dollar condos--those aren't code words for black and white. If only it were simple enough to boil down this tragedy to an issue of race. There's much more happening here than simple racial politics. It's about who belongs where at what time and doing what things.

As per why would I mention the relative proximity of vastly disparate areas of wealth and class, I don't even know where to begin to explain that to you. Different people get treated wildly different based on where they are. If you're a 20-year-old white kid in a Mercedes cruising around the South Bronx at 4am, cops might suspect you're up to something. If you're a shabbily dressed minority wandering down a lane in Greenwich, be prepared to get hassled by the cops. Race, class, societal differences--it's context.

Not James Frey

Dave - meaning, why "the South Bronx" instead of the Bronx? What is the point of being that specific, or for that matter mentioning the Bronx at all? And, why is the geographic location of White Plains relative to "the South Bronx" or Greenwich CT. relevant at all?

Streamwise

The fact that there was an armed person without a visible badge or identification is completely irrelevant to Uncle Al's analysis. No justice, no peace! Maybe Tawana Brawley will show up covered in cow dung this time....

Dave Hogarty

[4] If that was supposed to be a rhetorical question, it sailed way over my head. Seriously, I have know idea what you may be getting at.

JacqueMehoff

Yes, it is about RACE. duhhhhhh.

JMH

Al Sharpton is making it about race? I'm shocked. SHOCKED.

Not James Frey

"White Plains is less than 20 miles from the South Bronx..."

What about the Bronx, Dave?

ed_Extinct

it's pretty rare that the sherrif's office hands over an investigation to another police force.

burgerdeluxe

Important error in the Gothamist summary -- the Westchester County police are the ones who did the shooting, and the White Plains police are the ones handling the investigation. The two departments are totally different. Please fix.

The shooting did take in White Plains, but on county property, so the county police would normally handle it. But because of the questions surrounding the incident, the county police have asked the city of White Plains police to handle the investigation instead.

The county police in Westchester don't have the same kind of jobs as their counterparts in Nassau or Suffolk. The county PD patrol the county parkways, parks, and offices, and provide support for the 40+ town/city departments in the county (especially with a major crime or incident), but that's it. They don't handle the general day-to-day goings on.

Of the 4 cops who shot Ridley, 1 is black, 2 are hispanic, and 1 is white. I wonder how Al will continue to spin this, or if he'll go away.