Baited and Switched
Just when I thought things couldn’t get anymore bizarre in this town I get proven incorrect. I thought after Brandon Johnson, Al Sharpton and Shamus Patton, we’d be done with silliness for a while. No such luck.
My colleagues at RTV 6 are reporting that an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer was injured after being baited into an altercation. The details are pretty simple. Sgt. Matt Grimes was giving a presentation to a church audience at Municipal Gardens when a fight broke out.
According to 6 News, Grimes intervened and was thrown to the ground. he pulled out his taser and was prepared to use it when someone stepped in and said it was just a test to see how the office would react.
The idiot responsible for this “test” was Pastor James Harrington of the Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church. Vernon says he set up the scenario to test a white officer’s reaction to a fight between two black men.
Both city and police union officials were livid, saying not only was an officer injured, but one of the young men involved in the “demonstration” could have also been hurt or worse. And to add insult to injury Harrington is denying the officer was hurt.
A park manager, who had previous knowledge of the plan, was suspended.
This is not the first time an officer has been the victim of a “bait and switch”. I’ve reported on some people instigating altercations with police in hopes that force will be used against them and they can later sue IMPD.
Harrington says he was trying to engage in a “teachable moment” and that they have to do what they can to “save the lives of their children”. No offense padre, but there were a million other ways that this could have been done to teach the kids about interacting with police, and IMPD would have been happy to cooperate. All you would have had to do was ask.
Instead an officer has been injured, possible felony battery charges could be filed, and this whole experiment has done nothing to improve police-community relations. In fact, as this story continues to get out, it will only make matters worse and make you and certain segments of the clergy population in this city even more irrelevant to the constructive dialogue that actually is taking place.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:54 am
This is another disturbing act that those involved should be held accountable either criminally or through the civil court system. Clearly this officer was harmed and those involved attempted to conduct training that they are not legally authorized to do so and they did it out of complete ignorance as though the police are trained to harm black people which is ridiculous and totally misguided. They should be embarrassed–especially a minister out of all things for a man of God knows that even Jesus went to preach to the gentiles who were uncircumsized. Shame on you!
On a side note, I welcome people to listen to this wonderful interview.
http://milwaukeestory.com/?p=65&cpage=1#comment-23
July 31st, 2010 at 11:27 am
I just can't believe this?! A reverend, two goofballs and a park ranger all come up with this skit and nobody once says “Hey guys, maybe this isn't such a good idea”? WTF. No wonder our police department has such an US vs. THEM mentality.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:53 am
I thought a definition of racism was to single out an individual based upon their culture in a hateful way in order to produce a negative act? Yet here we have a black minister, using his status as a representative of God, justifying such an act. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of racists like this “man of God” not being held accountable for their actions because of their pigment. Definitely sounds like a hate crime was perpetuated by this fool. It'll be interesting to see if there is enough courage in the political realm to hold this cretin criminally accountable for such.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:58 am
Story was filed with the Drudge Report and also on http://www.DailyPaul.com
July 31st, 2010 at 12:22 pm
No justice, no peace!
July 31st, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Now we have to wonder if Brandon Johnson was taking part in a 'demonstration,' just one in a series of staged events that has been going on longer than we could have previously imagined.
July 31st, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Wasn't Johnson trying to enlist others to help resist the officers making arrests? And then no charges were filed.
I guess in this lastest incident this will be a “no crime, no foul”… after all this was just a test right??? a show and tell skit..you know just acting out a scenario…geeeezz.
July 31st, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Now see this in the headlines if this was turned around and it was not blacks but whites who was playing this game. The Al Sharpton would be on his way back to Indy. It would be front page news all over the nation. But since it is the way it is, nothing will be made of it. Isn't about time we quit playing these stupid games of race?
July 31st, 2010 at 2:57 pm
“Saving the lives of children” would be concern for their test scores & prospects rather than setting someone else up for failure as a “teachable moment.”
Perhaps our local clergy can convert this “doing it for the children” shakedown act into a PREACHABLE MOMENT.
July 31st, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Arrests need to be made …period!
July 31st, 2010 at 4:30 pm
The racial politics of stupid. I'm trying to wrap my head around on what planet instigating an altercation with a police officer ranks as anything but complete retarded. He wanted to test the officer's reaction? Well, lets suppose the officer's reaction had been his worst fear's and somebody ended up dead? This is the most asinine, boneheaded and idiotic action. Charges should be filed against the person responsible for the stunt. Its dangerous and foolish behavior and he should pay a price so that other equally stupid people will be deterred from such behavior.
I'd also encourage people to really avoid being distracted by a faux debate about race here. It isn't about black and white and making it about that only confuses the issue. This was a stupid and dangerous stunt for which there is no good justification. Making it about race plays into the deluded thinking of the individual behind it and gets picking talking about everything but his culpability, responsibility and bad judgment in this situation.
July 31st, 2010 at 7:03 pm
I want to know just who in the city administration appointed this Harrington guy to the position of Test Administrator for IMPD. Did he take it upon himself? if so then he's a pompous ass. If he says God called him to do it then he is a blatant liar….God isn't stupid and only stupid would think up an absurd idea like this.
Next these folks will be staging a faux Bank Robbery with black kids I wonder how the FBI handles the TEST.
July 31st, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Indiana made aiding and abetting a felony a crime years ago. Conspiracy is also a felony.
That said the action that was done is a serious transgression against morals. Does this “Rev” have a higher authority that grants him authority to minister? If so, he should be defrocked, removed, fired. After all: WWJD?
July 31st, 2010 at 8:03 pm
I can understand the underlying concerns that would give rise to such a ill conceived “experiment”. But what I do not understand is why these “men of the cloth” do not have the same level of energy for getting to root causes within their own communities; causes against which counter measures might be taken to improve conditions that are clearly within their religious and racial control.
July 31st, 2010 at 9:09 pm
If these ministers spent as much time in the Word of God preparing for a sermon, instead of the time it takes to concocting schemes to test others…..you draw the conclusions. So much for the outreach program in their community to stop the violence. Too busy scheming instead of kneeling.
August 1st, 2010 at 2:13 am
Fox 59 just aired the story…it's about time the other channels did likewise.
August 1st, 2010 at 10:35 am
You won't see Channel 13 WTHR ever breaking a news story like this, their too busy creating the news, then again maybe this was their idea! humm!
August 1st, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Couldn't find it in the Star either.
August 1st, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Slowly one by one, all four TV stations have reported this on their web sites. Credit Ch. 6's Jack Rineheart for reporting it first. And you are correct — the Indianapolis Star hasn't touched it. Why?
August 1st, 2010 at 9:35 pm
And how old is this “minister”….we try to teach our students to behave and yet he is playing Don King with instigating a fight. If Brandon Johnson had stopped when told to stop, he would not have been in the mess he is in either. Our youth need to know that “stop” and “no” are complete sentences and show more respect for authority figures.
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:23 am
The Star will not run the story.However,if the Chielf and our Safety Dir. does not file legal proceedings against this Minister they should be removed.The Chief is a spineless bastard.He bows down to the CC and to Olgen Willams.
“A teaching moment” Who are the racests now, there rev.
August 2nd, 2010 at 2:15 am
Now you know why it's call the Indianapolis “Red” Star…..I'm just sayin'
August 2nd, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Wow. Matt's a good guy, didn't need this “lesson”, and definitely did not deserve to be set up by a bunch of fools.
I hope he hires a good trial lawyer and ends up owning the Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church and the good Reverend's house and cars.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:41 am
I'm surprised that the officer didn't perform a bit of sidewalk surgery on these clowns.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:48 am
amos brown @ wtlcAM is attempting to shift the blame to…
drum roll, please…
to eric gordon;s summer basketball program…
for the physical ambush of the white police officer @ gardens on 7/24/10…
& away from harrington & mount vernon church
…priceless!!!
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm
I think everyone looks at this from the wrong point of view. If you want to show a room full of youth why violence is wrong and what could happen when violence occurs this did just that. There is no baiting that truly occured. Youth have incidents like that all the time and the youth and police need to understand what the reaction is of an officer when that occurs. Instead of trying to penalize the people who orchestrated this, lets try to find a resolution to why there is not a more diplomatic way to resolve a dispute.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
No one wants to even imagine if the officers response was wrong to the dispute. Let us agree there could have been a better approach to this. Was the officer's response correct or incorrect. Also if the officer knew of the skit was his reaction going to be what it would be in an actual situation. Also the question that should be asked to the Reverend is what was the lesson he wanted to teach. Once we think and ask these questions then we can know how to handle this situation. Because the large issue that know one looks at is the incidents where individuals are perceived to be a threat and they are not and they are injured at the hand of an officer due to inappropriate dispute resolution techniques
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Excuses,Excuses,Excuses……..
This is a clear pattern with old school leadership combined with extremely low expectations.
They call this “Leadership”???
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Abdul, thank you for this report. Indianapolis has a few remaining black racists in town, many of whom are hiding in churches. We need to expose black racists in the same way that we expose white racists. The violence that they are creating in this city must stop.
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
For the same reason that the Star put coverage of the Expo shooting on pg. 14 of the paper. They have a phobia about being accused of racism, even beyond their journalistic duty to report events that involve the safety of the general public.
August 3rd, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Black racists? Many will not like this reply but here it is. Most blacks I have talk to are racists as any whites I have ever met. I once was kidding a person in high office in Indianapolis local government and ask him he should get me a job with the city. I was only kidding but you know what his reply was. He was black and very well known in this town. He lean over and whispered into my ear, so no one could hear him except me, and said that he thought I was the wrong color for that work. How much more racist can you get. But being who I am, I did not make a big deal of it. People are getting tired of hearing about race in this town. Lets fact facts. The last two shootings was a black community problem. Nothing to do with race between white or black. But some keep wanting it to be a race issue.
August 3rd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
IR: Why borrow the divisive terminology (“black community”)? There's but one community & shootings within its jurisdiction are OUR community's problem.
Uncle Rushbo just mentioned the “Baited & switched” story on his show; an exercise in stupidity, not education.
August 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
So everybody is wrong, huh? Black people should be able to do as they please and good folks like you will justify it. Is that correct? They should change the name of their church to the Mt. Vernon Lying Bastards for the Good of the Black Children”. What they are doing there has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. If someone had gotten seriously injured you would be blaming the cop you set up. You are worse than the members that go to this theme park for losers. All they have to do now is pray to their God, Obama, and get him to make this go away. Sounds like a beer summit coming and from what I read about the members of this church they evidently wouldn't have any qualms about alcohol abuse. The father of all lies is Satan so who are they really worshipping there?
August 3rd, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Cops fight crime, it doesn't need more study.
What they demonstrated is violence, not thoughtful discussion and conflict resolution.
August 4th, 2010 at 2:33 am
One standard deviation down….but, of course, that is on average. The Indianapolis area might be closer to two?