If you're not in it, you're out of it
Another article from today's paper about Perry follows...
Not sure how I feel about all of it. I mean, on one hand, the guy was a good friend of mine, and it seems very wrong and spiteful for me to just write him off after this. At the same time, now he's the subject of a federal investigation over possible misappropriation of funds from his and some other nonprofit groups in the area, which makes me extremely angry. As Anne-Marie pointed out earlier, he's not been proven guilty of that yet but the thought just enrages me. It would kind of be like if someone told me Helen was slaughtering newborns - doubly shocking because one would never have guessed it and it calls into question your entire past history with them, you know?
People seem to be gabbing nonstop about that damned Mel Gibson movie here at work and everywhere else. It's about made me sick, along with all the witnessing I overhear and/or get targeted by on a daily basis. This is probably why I wrote the song "I Don't Need Your God-Damned Savior" for the band the other day (a cute play on words, I thought, but it scared the crap out of them). Do these people realize how much they turn us away with their regurgitation of bad rhetoric?
Anyhow:
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Activist's arrest shocks group
CPR calls member's drug, gun charges 'most tragic'
By DON JACOBS
February 24, 2004
The Knoxville activist group Citizens for Police Review expressed surprise and sadness at the arrest of one of its members on drug and gun charges.
Perry Redd, a community activist who decried police brutality and supported workers' rights, faces state charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of crack cocaine.
Because he is a convicted felon, the 39-year-old Redd was forbidden from possessing a gun. A federal grand jury indicted him last week on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm in the commission of a drug offense and possession of crack cocaine.
The federal charges arose from the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative led by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Redd hosted the "Cop Watch" show on public access Channel 12. The show discussed alleged misconduct by Knoxville police and solicited community complaints against officers.
Redd also had proposed the "Camcorder Troopers" concept in which teenagers would follow Knoxville officers to emergency calls to videotape police interaction with the public. The idea had not been implemented, said Umar Tate, a member of CPR's coordinating council.
"We're very concerned about Perry," Tate said Monday. "We're concerned that because of what he's stood for, like the injustice of police brutality, he will be penalized even more. I just hope he's able to keep his head up and be treated fairly."
A statement from Bob Davis, president of CPR, noted the group was appreciative of Redd's contributions, "yet we find his current predicament most tragic. While we still support Redd's activism and commitment to promote social and economic justice in our community, CPR neither supports nor condones the violation of the law."
Redd was arrested Feb. 14 by Knoxville police, who said they found him in Walter P. Taylor Homes, an East Knoxville housing project, with a loaded 10mm semiautomatic pistol and 3.2 grams of crack cocaine.
The CPR was created in 1997 after the deaths of several people in confrontations with police. The group's next meeting is 6 p.m. March 20 at the CPR office, 2928 E. Magnolia Ave. The meeting involves planning for a Hip Hop Summit and the return of the "Cop Watch" show.
Not sure how I feel about all of it. I mean, on one hand, the guy was a good friend of mine, and it seems very wrong and spiteful for me to just write him off after this. At the same time, now he's the subject of a federal investigation over possible misappropriation of funds from his and some other nonprofit groups in the area, which makes me extremely angry. As Anne-Marie pointed out earlier, he's not been proven guilty of that yet but the thought just enrages me. It would kind of be like if someone told me Helen was slaughtering newborns - doubly shocking because one would never have guessed it and it calls into question your entire past history with them, you know?
People seem to be gabbing nonstop about that damned Mel Gibson movie here at work and everywhere else. It's about made me sick, along with all the witnessing I overhear and/or get targeted by on a daily basis. This is probably why I wrote the song "I Don't Need Your God-Damned Savior" for the band the other day (a cute play on words, I thought, but it scared the crap out of them). Do these people realize how much they turn us away with their regurgitation of bad rhetoric?
Anyhow:
---
Activist's arrest shocks group
CPR calls member's drug, gun charges 'most tragic'
By DON JACOBS
February 24, 2004
The Knoxville activist group Citizens for Police Review expressed surprise and sadness at the arrest of one of its members on drug and gun charges.
Perry Redd, a community activist who decried police brutality and supported workers' rights, faces state charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of crack cocaine.
Because he is a convicted felon, the 39-year-old Redd was forbidden from possessing a gun. A federal grand jury indicted him last week on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm in the commission of a drug offense and possession of crack cocaine.
The federal charges arose from the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative led by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Redd hosted the "Cop Watch" show on public access Channel 12. The show discussed alleged misconduct by Knoxville police and solicited community complaints against officers.
Redd also had proposed the "Camcorder Troopers" concept in which teenagers would follow Knoxville officers to emergency calls to videotape police interaction with the public. The idea had not been implemented, said Umar Tate, a member of CPR's coordinating council.
"We're very concerned about Perry," Tate said Monday. "We're concerned that because of what he's stood for, like the injustice of police brutality, he will be penalized even more. I just hope he's able to keep his head up and be treated fairly."
A statement from Bob Davis, president of CPR, noted the group was appreciative of Redd's contributions, "yet we find his current predicament most tragic. While we still support Redd's activism and commitment to promote social and economic justice in our community, CPR neither supports nor condones the violation of the law."
Redd was arrested Feb. 14 by Knoxville police, who said they found him in Walter P. Taylor Homes, an East Knoxville housing project, with a loaded 10mm semiautomatic pistol and 3.2 grams of crack cocaine.
The CPR was created in 1997 after the deaths of several people in confrontations with police. The group's next meeting is 6 p.m. March 20 at the CPR office, 2928 E. Magnolia Ave. The meeting involves planning for a Hip Hop Summit and the return of the "Cop Watch" show.