Accident Waiting to Happen, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

April 7, 2012 Martha Thomases 8 Comments

With the news media’s continued focus on — and the public’s continued interest in — the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, I was surprised to find out that there was a similar case in my own backyard.  It happened in liberal New York, specifically, White Plains, a commuter town in Westchester.

Kenneth Chamberlain was 68 years old, a former Marine living alone with a heart condition.  He had one of those LifeAlert pendants, in case there was a medical emergency, and it went off one night in November.

It was a false alarm.  My dad had one of those, and false alarms are not uncommon.  In this case, Chamberlain had apparently set off the alarm in his sleep.  The police came (as they are supposed to do), and this is where the stories differ.

Chamberlain told the police that he was fine, and they could go home. They insisted he open his door, and eventually took it off the hinges to get inside.  Then they tasered him, shot him with a beanbag gun, and eventually shot him twice in the chest with bullets.  The police claim he came at them with an axe.

A grand jury has been convened to look into the case.  There are audiotapes from LifeAlert, and videotapes from the stun gun.  I haven’t seen them, and the victim’s family says they show something different from what the police say they show,

From our story so far, can you guess Mr. Chamberlain’s skin color?

Speaking only for myself, I find this story even more horrific than the Trayvon Martin incident. Yes, it’s terrible that a 17 year-old boy was shot to death by a man who, at best, was a cowardly wanna-be cop with a gun, seeking gangster rappers under every hoodie.  Chamberlain’s killers were actual police officers who had allegedly been trained in proper procedure, who thought it was appropriate to go after an old man with a taser, when they knew had a heart condition, who was dressed only in his underwear and in his own home.

They were not responding to a burglary.  They had no reason to believe that there was a crime of any kind in progress.  There was no reason to meet this situation with violence of any kind.

And yet, a man is dead.

I know that police officers are human beings, subject to the same strengths and weaknesses as the rest of us.  Some are good at their jobs, some less so.  Some do the job because they are dedicated to their communities, and others like to order people around.  In this case, at best, they grossly over-reacted.

This case isn’t getting the same attention as Trayvon’s.  It should.  Mr. Chamberlain wasn’t walking around a neighborhood, armed with Skittles and iced tea.  He was in his own home.  He wasn’t even wearing a hoodie.

Maybe, when the weather turns warmer, we can take off our solidarity hoodies and march for Kenneth Chamberlain in our boxer shorts.

Media Goddess Martha Thomases looks terrible in pants wit elastic waistbands.