If you have questions about how the Daily News makes editorial decisions, this blog has the answers. Editorial page editor Matt Zencey and writers Frank Gerjevic and Rosemary Shinohara will discuss what they're working on, answer questions and ask your perspective on issues facing Alaska.
Matt Zencey
Matt Zencey joined the Daily News as an editorial writer in 1985 and was named editorial page editor in May 2007. He has won several. "Best editorial writing" awards from the Alaska Press Club and was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University. He lives on the west side of Anchorage, where he enjoys the best weather in town and easy access to the Coastal Trail. E-mail Matt at mzencey@adn.com
Frank Gerjevic
Frank Gerjevic has worked at the Daily News since 1978, where he's been sports editor, copy editor, reporter and columnist. He's been an editorial writer since 1998. He began his newspaper career with the Anchorage Times in 1975. E-mail Frank at fgerjevic@adn.com
Rosemary Shinohara
Rosemary Shinohara is an editorial writer who has lived most of her life in Alaska. She has spent most of her career as a reporter or editor at the Daily News. She covered construction of the Alaska oil pipeline, the Legislature, schools and urban affairs. She has also been an editor for NPR's All Things Considered, and has written for the Associated Press. E-mail Rosemary at rshinohara.com
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1 April 30, 2008 - 5:29pm | editorial_views
A tale of two kids; one black, one white
The following incident happened this past summer, according to a family I know to be reliable:
At 3 a.m., three kids are riding around in a truck and it slides into a ditch. All of them, including the teen driver, have been drinking. The police show up. The two passengers take off. Both are honor students.
One kid, white, lives nearby and makes it home on foot. The police don’t catch up to him. Nothing happens to him.
The cops chase down the other kid, a light-skinned black, who doesn’t live close by. They cuff him and arrest him for resisting/interfering with a police officer. The case is still open, according to court records.
Maybe he did resist; maybe he didn’t.
From what I’ve heard, it’s not clear the police issued him a lawful order to stop.
Of course, the police contend they did, and that the kid did in fact resist when they attempted to take him into custody. That’s why charges have been filed.
But was their pursuit lawful? Did he take off before they even issued an order to stay? If he ran before they said anything, did he actually hear them issue an order to stop?
If the police did order him to stay, did they have a legal basis to detain him at the scene or did he have a legal right, as a passenger to leave?
Naturally, critical facts in this case are in dispute. A jury may have to sort out what happened.
But if the case goes to trial, who do you think a jury will believe -- a young black kid who had been drinking (even if he is an honor student) or police officers?
Even if the charges are dropped, how do you think the young black honor student feels about what happened to him, when nothing at all happened to his white friend who also fled?
-- Matt Zencey, editorial page editor
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