RICHMOND, Va. -- It’s been five years since Richmond police have fatally shot someone, but it may as well be 50 years.
The whole nation has changed dramatically, and any police department that seemingly makes a mistake before, during or after a fatal use-of-force case can easily see their cities boil over.
You know many in this city were thinking just that Wednesday afternoon when a 20-year-old African-American man was fatally shot by two officers who were chasing him through the section of lower midtown where the Fan and Randolph neighborhoods intersect.
“That (expletive) is just like Baltimore and all those other damn places,” yelled one woman at the scene while others shouted accusations that the officers stood over the young man, firing repeatedly and not rendering assistance once he was down.
But differences quickly surfaced, thanks in part, to witnesses who saw the Keshawn Hargrove shooting repeatedly at the officers. A weapon was recovered at the scene.
And the officer who apparently fatally shot the young man (after the running suspect just shot and injured his partner) gave the youth CPR, according to witnesses.
And the differences continued from there.
Both Mayor Dwight Jones and Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham quickly briefed us in the media about the incident – together - by the VCU Medical Center. The mayor didn’t waver in his support for the department, pointing out this was the second time in recent months than a RPD officer was shot in the line of duty.
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham in neighborhood following shooting.
And the chief went to the scene, offering a statement and answering questions there, getting yelled at by angry residents but also supported by Keshawn Hargrove’s mother, who asked for calm and patience.
A photographic moment captured by print and TV journalists showed acting Deputy Chief Steve Drew and Chief Durham hugging and comforting the mother.
“There was a family who lost a loved one,” Durham said during a press conference the next day when he laid out more facts in the case. “But again, we have to look at the actions of that individual Mr. Hargrove.”
Yes, it quickly became apparent that it was an easier case to defend than some in other cities have faced. The long, troubled history of the young victim surfaced. Our reporters found it easily, including a past that had him labeled and incarcerated as a violent felon at age 15.
KeshawnHargrove
And Chief Durham, a U.S. Marine veteran who took over the department in February, didn’t mince words about it.
Clearly, he isn’t the kind to back down or cower. And, at least in this case, he stands squarely behind his officers while asking everyone to wait for the rest of the evidence.
“This is not Ferguson,” he said during Thursday’s press conference. “This is not South Charleston. And I refuse to allow the community to make and paint a picture of our officers - that we have a bunch of rogue officers here who are out-of-control. That is not the case.”
And he steered the tragedy toward one of the bedrock issues that has crippled this city for generations – the black-on-black crime that has claimed more than 2,000 lives since the ‘80s, crime that had kept Keshawn Hargrove locked up for most of his teen years.
“The irony is,” Durham said, “when our officers yesterday had that use-of-force, people wanted answers. However, when a body drops in public housing or anywhere there's a community, they don't want answers. We can’t even get answers. That’s unfair.”
These cases are never easy. Richmond, which has a majority African-American population, has had strong black leadership for years. It is a city that has successfully convicted a police officer for manslaughter in a previous fatal use-of-force case.
But nowadays, even a use-of-force case in which the police officer involved acted properly can get out-of-control, as the nation saw in Ferguson, Missouri.
So far, it appears we have strong, smart leadership with our new chief.
