Worry, hope on Catholics' minds as Diallo trial is winding down

Mr. Diallo, 22, a West African immigrant living in the Bronx, was killed in February 1999 by four white New York City police officers who fired 41 bullets at him. The officers, who were pursuing a rape suspect, say they thought Mr. Diallo was holding a gun when they opened fire. The policemen face murder and reckless endangerment charges in a trial before state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi at the Albany County Courthouse.

The trial, originally slated for the Bronx, where the event occurred, was moved to Albany because of concerns over a fair trial being conducted in such a charged atmosphere.

Worry

"They're very concerned about the trial," he said. "They think police don't have much respect for people of color, and they think it's a foregone conclusion that these four officers are going to be acquitted. They don't have much confidence in the judicial system."

Group sessions have been held to give parishioners an opportunity to share their thoughts about the trial, and some even have participated in demonstrations outside the courthouse. "They'll talk about it whenever I meet with them," he said.

Concerns

"We have our share of problems with police in Albany, but they're not as brutal or violent as they are in New York City," he said. "You can have a person of color [on the jury] who doesn't even know the environment in New York City and isn't used to the life of immigrants."

Parishioners who discuss the trial or demonstrate outside the courthouse realize that their efforts won't affect the verdict, Father Kofi noted. "They know there's nothing they can do," he said. "Only one or two [officers] will be made scapegoats. It's not a perfect system, and it never will be."

Silent officers

"They're very quiet about the whole thing and letting the whole judicial process go through," he said. "They have a job they have to do. They're probably watching it like the rest of us in the courtroom, but they're very silent about the whole thing."

The pastor was concerned that tightened security around the courthouse would limit access to his parish, but that hasn't been the case.

"The police and the city have done an excellent job with security," he said. "People are using the sidewalks, and the church is accessible to everyone. People were worried that the thousands of [anticipated] protestors would affect our noon Mass. It hasn't at all. I've had a lot of people coming in for Masses, but I don't know if they're part of any demonstrations."

Father Lefebvre supports Judge Teresi's decision to allow cameras in the courtroom because they "stop a lot of misstatements and misunderstanding. You can turn on Court TV and watch it yourself and not worry about somebody else's slant," he said. "Whatever side you're on, somebody is not going to be happy with what the verdict is, but it's the only system we have. You have 12 people in a jury box that have to make that decision."

Staying aloof

"I've been intentionally not following it because it's very painful," she said. "As a defense attorney who thinks all of the time about how the system works and doesn't work for people of color, this is a painful process every time these trials come up.

"I tend to think a fair resolution of the case would require a conviction. I don't think society can accept the officers' fear as an excuse to explain what happened."

Perceptions

"The perception that this is a white system is not inaccurate," she said. "Clearly, people of color didn't want the case to be brought up here, because this is where the cops would be able to find a jury of their peers."

Having four African-American women as jurors, however, does help to offset that criticism. "The system on some level wanted to take to heart that perception and combat that," she said. "That was surprising because I don't hear of four people of color of any gender being selected for a jury in Albany on a regular basis."

Vigils

He has offered the use of Emmaus House for demonstrators who want to stay overnight, but he hasn't had any takers.

No matter what the jury decides, Mr. Boehrer wants people to use the trial as a springboard for discussion of race relations. "I'm hoping that, outside of the process of this trial, there will be some process for reconciliation and healing," he said. "Because of the adversarial role of a murder trial, that is going to hinder any possibility of healing. There needs to be something beyond the trial for the people who have been intimately involved in this to share how they have been affected, how their lives have been changed."

Justice

"Restorative justice calls for people who have been harmed in a situation to have an opportunity to get together and talk about how they have been harmed and affected by a particular crime," he said.

The Amadou Diallo trial goes beyond law enforcement and criminal justice; it also raises questions about the involvement of African-Americans in the Church.

"If they're not at the table making important decisions, it sets the stage for African-American culture to have less of a voice within the larger Roman Catholic Church," Mr. Boehrer said.

(02-17-00) [[In-content Ad]]