Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, in his 11th season in the league, and 6th with the Eagles after New Orleans drafted him out of Ohio State in 2009, wrote a guest editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday, asking for a "culture shift" in the police department, which entailed breaking down a plan for Mayor Jim Kenney to find the next police commissioner.
You see, in Philadelphia, they're having the same issues with police using "stop & frisk" tactics with minorities as there are in New York City. As Jenkins wrote, police have made arrests in less than 50% of murder cases, and less than 25% of non-fatal shootings, while spending more time stopping more than 3,000 drivers in the first quarter of 2019 alone, looking for the "smell" of marijuana, and a large percentage of those were African-Americans.
Philadelphia Police Union President John McNesby isn't buying. In fact, he disparaged Jenkins, claiming he's "washed up", even though the Eagles are in position for a possible wild card or division title, a game in back of Dallas in the NFC East, and likened Jenkins to a drug dealer.
Now, that's low.
Kenney has come out in support of Jenkins' proposals, demonstrating that he's at least willing to listen and work with the community. So what's McNesby's problem? Of course, he sees Jenkins' remarks, and perceives it to be, for one thing, racist in nature, and, in a broader sense, disrespectful of the police.
Look around you, Mr. McNesby. In different parts of the country, including here in the 518, the perception of the police has changed, and not for the better. When a professional athlete, especially one with the college background that Jenkins has, speaks, the people will listen. You're not helping matters by painting a false picture. That doesn't instill confidence in the police department.
That having been said, Mr. McNesby gets the Weasel ears this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment