Councilman James Green’s behavior at the recent City Council Meeting was disgraceful, and worthy of rebuke from the other six council members. Chief Raymond was only trying to respond to the questions of the council members, and he did not deserve to be berated by Councilman Green or his colleagues. It is not his fault that black people are killing each other in Shreveport.
The irony is that Councilman Green, who is supposed to be talking about stopping violence, responded to Chief Raymond by asking the question, “what are you going to do, shoot me?” Councilman Green was wrong and out of line. Chief Raymond is doing as well as he can, given the limited resources that he has at his disposal.
The headline in the Shreveport Times read, "Murders are up 68% in Shreveport." That is an astounding number, given the fact that crime, specifically murders, had fallen precipitously in 2019. The Mayor and Chief Raymond deserve credit for being proactive in their efforts to bring down crime. The recent spike in killings is inexplicable, and has driven city leaders to prayer on the front steps of Government Plaza. This is where the city is today in its fight to stop the daily shootings that are taking place in black communities in Shreveport every day.
It is not Chief Raymond’s fault that someone shot and killed someone in Queensboro. It is not his fault or the fault of any politician when people commit random acts of violence and kill each other in Cedar Grove. The Mayor and Chief Raymond should be given credit for trying to do. He appears to be genuinely engaged in efforts to make the city safer. Overall crime is down in Shreveport, but the murder rate has exploded.
The problem for Shreveport is that there are too many guns in the hands of people who have committed prior crimes. Repeat offenders are a big problem, and there should be more operations like the one recently carried out by Chief Raymond to round up guns and the people who put them on the street.
Law enforcement can’t be everywhere, which is why citizens have to be more vigilant and more willing to help out law enforcement when it comes to repeat offenders who prey on these communities. People have to be willing to help law enforcement. Many of the perpetrators are known, but the infamous "no snitch" dynamic is deep in the black community. Repeat offenders are at the root cause of what his happening in black communities all across the country. People literally get away with murder, and are back on the streets before people know they have been gone.
Another day, another senseless killing in Shreveport. Another family devastated, and no one is doing anything about it. Councilman Green certainly is not, and his grandstanding is not going to save one life. It ends up being just another day in the hood, where families are traumatized and forever changed because of the violence and death that occurs in their communities. It is not Chief Raymond’s, nor the Mayor’s fault that black people are killing each other, and Councilman Green should be trying to help solve the problem, instead of attacking Chief Raymond, who is doing as good a job as he can. And that’s the way I see it.
smithpren@aol.com
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE December 11 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.