Posted: Monday, 01 June 2009 11:48AM
Police Shooting Sparks Many Questions
Steve Corbett Reporting
Monday, June 01, 2009
Late Thursday night, Scranton police shot and killed Brenda L. Williams.
We know that for sure.
Williams, 52, will be waked tonight and buried tomorrow.
We know that for sure.
But we don’t know more than we do know about the circumstances that caused four cops to stand amid the smell of smoke and blood after Williams fell in the aftermath of however many bullets it took to put her down.
Police have declined to provide details.
Pennsylvania State Police in Dunmore are handling the investigation and will pass along their results to Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the odds are that Jarbola will clear the officers, as the district attorney has done in Scranton police shootings in the past.
In the photograph that appeared on the obituary page in Sunday’s Scranton Times, a smiling Williams, who appears to be African-American, is shown smiling in her U.S. Air Force uniform.
A vague article in the Scranton paper mentioned that Williams was “reportedly” wielding a knife when police opened fire.
Is that true?
We really need to know. And we need to know as soon as possible.
How many bullets hit Williams?
How many police officers fired?
How many bullets did police shoot?
Were the officers white?
Were they all male?
Have any of the officers ever been involved in a police shooting in the past?
Has any ever been disciplined? How much training do the officers have?
What caused the four officers to come to Williams’ apartment?
Was Williams mentally disturbed?
Did she have a mental health counselor?
Did police know about her problems?
Did the four police officers all arrive at the same time?
Who got there first?
What happened when the first officer arrived at the scene?
Were mental health workers called?
Why didn’t police just leave the apartment and call for mental health support?
Were any of Williams’ family members called?
When was Mayor Chris Doherty alerted?
Why hasn’t Doherty issued a statement, even a superficial statement, to reassure city residents that he is taking the fatal shooting seriously?
Did police respond to what the Scranton newspaper said Police Chief David Elliot described as a “mental health check?”
What exactly is a mental health check?
If police are responsible for such checks, why is that the case?
Aren’t professional mental health workers better equipped to handle such checks?
Will the PSP report be made public?
Will family members have to hire an attorney to find out details about Williams’ death?
Will Doherty attend Williams’ funeral?
Will residents in Scranton passively accept the third fatal police shooting in less than seven years?
Will Scranton residents want to know more about the life and death of the smiling woman in the Air Force uniform?
Or will we just shrug and move on?
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Corbett
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