‘The N-word Started It,’ Lawyer Says Of Fatal Shooting By Chicago Cops
On a sunny weekend in 2016, racial tensions flared when two white off-duty cops fatally shot an armed black man in Mount Greenwood.
Joshua Beal, 25, of Indianapolis, had been in a funeral procession in the predominantly white neighborhood on the Far Southwest Side. The death of Beal, who was serving as a pallbearer for his cousin, prompted African-Americans to march in the neighborhood, yelling, “CPD, KKK!”
In response, Mount Greenwood residents took to the streets to show their support for the police and their neighborhood, a stronghold of white city workers. A white off-duty firefighter who was attacked during the incident posted the message “Mount Greenwood Strong” on his Facebook page.
Now, nearly a year and a half later, three city agencies reviewing the chaotic circumstances leading to Beal’s death say they’re continuing to investigate and won’t talk about the case.
But, according to dozens of pages of detectives’ reports and photos that the Chicago Sun-Times obtained only after suing the city to get them:
• A woman taking a smoking break from her bartender’s job said she heard a white driver shout the N-word to African-Americans in the funeral procession. That prompted them to stop, and she said she saw a black man then punch the unidentified white driver.
via ‘The N-word started it,’ lawyer says of fatal shooting by cops on Far SW Side — Chicago Sun-Times
It was always my understanding that funeral processions have the right-of-way, and even upon vehicles leaving a cemetery, that respect should be shown because the people just said their last good-bye to someone they will never see again.
Posted on 04/13/2018, in Black lives matter, Cases, Joshua Beal, Uncategorized and tagged Chicago, Joseph Treacy, Josjua Beal, Mount Greenwood, Thomas Derouin. Bookmark the permalink. 21 Comments.
Xena,
I’m just going to post items from the article in order to attempt to understand some of the things that unfolded that day. It is confusing to me.
It seems as if witness perceptions of what occurred during that chaotic scene varied widely.
Ofc. Treacy pointed his gun at unarmed people as can be seen in this photo of an unarmed woman:
The caption for this photo in the article states “Off-duty Officer Joseph Treacy points his weapon at a woman during the confrontation in which he later shot Joshua Beal. This photo is a screen grab of witness’s cellphone video obtained by investigators. | Civilian Office of Police Accountability”
Does the following from the article tell what led up to Ofc. Treacy pointing his gun as seen in the above photo?
Instead of saying “I’m the f— police,” should Ofc. Treacy have shown his badge?
All in all, it seems to me that strong, heated emotions were driving the reactions of everyone.
So sad when, no doubt, the funeral had already had an effect on the emotions of those in attendance.
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Yahtzee,
Re:
The cars had stopped by the fire station because ….(bold emphasis added)
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Ahh, I see that now.
Where does this fit in chronologically? —>
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Yahtzee,
It is what started the incident.
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Thanks, Xena. I was confused because Michael Beal (in what you quoted from the article) did not mention the N word being hurled at them as his reason for stopping, but instead said he stopped because the unidentified white officer “made several attempts to hit his sister’s car.”
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Yahtzee,
They are two different people with two different reasons for stopping and getting out of their cars. Michael’s statement was in defense of charges brought against him.
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Yahtzee,
I realized that missed one of your questions.
Re:
We can only speculate on an answer, so I will need to ask a question in return? How would showing a badge suppose to deescalate when Treacy was off duty and pulled a gun on citizens? It’s not as if he got out of his car, introduced himself as a police officer without the potty-mouth and asked if he could be of assistance.
Joshua and others had just been called the most hateful racial epithet known to mankind. His response was in violence, but it was not the man using that hateful word who was there asking for police. It was the EMT who felt entitled to tell people in a funeral procession that they needed to move their vehicles and apparently, Treacy was upset because he was caught in traffic.
Two wrongs don’t make a right but do you think a badge would de-escalate the death threat of having a gun pointed at you?
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(((((APPLAUSE!)))))
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I agree with your comment, Xena.
My asking if Ofc. Treacy should have shown his badge instead of saying “I’m the f— police” was to highlight how unprofessional he had been and to point to his responsibility in the inciting of the confrontation. I do not understand why he still has a job. I have not forgotten that he is recorded in his 911 call as TWICE calling the Black occupants of the car “motherf—–s.” That lack of “professionalism” should cause him to lose his job in my opinion.
From the article you linked in your post:
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Is there any way that he can be charged for pointing his gun at the crowd? They were unarmed.
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Yahtzee,
A March 26, 2018 article in the Chicago Reader says that the investigation is still pending.
Now, I must jokingly ask if you were actually asking a question and anticipating an answer, or were you making a statement that Treacy should be charged for pointing his gun at unarmed citizens? 🙂
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I think he should be charged if it was illegal to aim the gun at the crowd. That is the reason I was asking.
Thanks for all the time you have taken in responding to my different comments, Xena.
I appreciate you and your blog so much!
I learn at lot here.
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Yahtzee,
Thanks for your kind words. I appreciate your participation. (((((Hugs)))))
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*Hugs* 🙂
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Yahtzee, are you making excuses for the killer?
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The PDF of the “Joshua Beal Wrongful Death Lawsuit” can be found at this link
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It’s time to holster the guns and solve problems.
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Phil,
Yes, and in my humble opinion, they should never have guns. The use of guns show us that when people are angry; or want to intimidate, or want to control, they let guns speak for them. Guns have become another confusing language of the tower of Babel.
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sad!
may a day come
when there are
no more bullets 🙂
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Smilecalm,
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Ryne Kinsella, the firefighter who approached the group leaving the cemetery about blocking the firehouse, has committed suicide. It was reported by http://www.beverlyreview.net/news/top_story/article_b2fb6850-6aa3-11e8-bb8f-47b2c6adcd18.html, on June 7, 2018.
He was 28 years old.
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