School has started in Arkansas. Unfortunately, the last days of summer vacation ended in controversy.
On August 7, four teenagers from Wynne High, two of them wearing football jerseys, were doing some door-to-door fundraising. Harmless? Of course. But try telling that to the wife of a jail administrator in Wynne.
Jerri Kelly, seeing the four teens approaching her door, reportedly dialed 911, then met the boys with a gun and ordered them to the ground. She held the boys at gunpoint until the police arrived.
The issue? Mrs. Kelly is white. The football players are African-American.
Five days later, Mrs. Kelly was arrested and charged with false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a minor, and four counts of assault. There was no mug shot immediately taken due to what was claimed to be a "medical issue". A picture was taken the next day, although that won't be in the following video:
Mrs. Kelly has been accused of racially profiling the four boys. Her husband's boss denies any preferential treatment was given, but clearly, with school having started yesterday, damage control was in order.
The players were selling discount cards for the season. No harm, no foul, except in the mind of a callous Weasel who's too afraid to tell her side of the story, knowing she was wrong. She was released on bond, but inevitably, the truth will put her behind bars where she belongs.
There is a whole lot of this story left out.
ReplyDeleteHaving had friend and family in law enforcement I must say that profiling is NOT a bad thing! It often helps keep you alive. In other cases, it can help you sniff out a perp before or shortly after a crime has been committed.
As someone who works in TV news, I'm suspicious of the motives of the reporter. They make the stories into anything they see, and without the other side of the story, it's biased.
It was mentioned the woman was medically disabled and that is frightening for a person - especially a woman. SOMETHING went down that made her pick up the gun - maybe the boys said something in jest or perhaps there were reports previously of blacks causing trouble in the neighborhood and she thought she was the next victim so she took action. It's unfair to call it racist since we can't get into her mind at that moment. My own neighbor (who is black) was a victim of a violent crime years ago and still refuses to leave her home without her husband - she doesn't even pick up the mail without him nearby. That's serious emotional damage. Who knows if this woman is the same?
I have seen so many people become victims of crime because they didn't want to be thought of as racist. It cost them their lives.
I recommend Colin Flaherty's YT channel for more.
Jerri Kelly had what was described as a medical issue, and didn't get her mug shot taken until Tuesday. They didn't have all the details, and it's not a good story with school getting started in Razorback country. The grandmother of one of the victims chose not to be photographed on camera.
ReplyDeleteWas it racist? I don't think so, but Mrs. Kelly was clearly wrong for pulling a gun on the boys in the first place. I don't think mental illness should be used as an alibi. That, too, would be too easy.