The latest update from Kansas City Police Chief Jim Corwin on his blog, about the Waldo rapist, is a must-read, not just for finding out how many detectives are working the case but for telling would-be vigilantes that chasing any and all black men out of Waldo is a bad idea. (Yes, this needs to be said.)
Finally, there has been a lot of racial tension involved in this case. Rumors have flown around on social networking sitesCorwin'sand in e-mails regarding possible suspects. Yes, the suspect in this
case is a black male, but that does not mean every black man who
frequents the Waldo area should be treated as a suspect. People should
familiarize themselves with the information available and look for
suspicious behavior that matches the information, not just skin color.
blog comes at the right time. KSHB Channel 41 has gone all Waldo
rapist, all the time. In the last 24 hours, KSHB has filed three
stories, so now we know that Waldo might finally get a neighborhood watch, the flashlight-waving Guardian Angels have already patrolled the neighborhood and there's a $12,000 bounty on the rapist's head.
Hope everyone's listening to Corwin because this could get ugly.
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Dear Pitch: Chief Corwin is right to call for calm and to speak out against vigilantes. High profile cases like this are solved by good police work--and good police work is hindered by public panic because everyone starts turning in their neighbor and the police have no idea what are reliable tips anymore. No, panic does not solve such crimes--what it can do is cause terrible race riots--look up the Atlanta race riot of 1906 or the Tulsa race riot of 1921 on the Internet--in both cases these riots, which killed many people, were caused by public hysteria over rapes by black men of white women. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
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