Racial Tensions Overtake Paris

Although the mainstream media has been covering racial tensions in Paris, Texas (Lamar County) in the wake of the death of Brandon McClelland (and release of two men initially charged with his murder), it is a story that doesn’t seem to be getting as much attention as it should.

Yesterday, there were protests by the NAACP (along with the Black Panther Party) and, of course, the KKK and neo-Nazis showed up. Via the Star-Telegram:

State police in riot gear rushed a downtown street to break up a standoff Tuesday between hundreds of black and white protesters who exchanged screams of “Black power!” and “White power!” during a demonstration about the state’s handling of the case of a black man who was run over and dragged by a vehicle.

A skinhead carrying a Nazi flag and a shirtless white man were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct before the protesters separated peacefully, police spokesman Lt. Danny Huff said.

The conflict began with a march by a mostly black group of about 100 activists who avoided a designated “protest zone” near Paris’ courthouse and walked to the town square to chants of “Black Power!” and “No Justice, no peace!”

“We’re going to be boxed in?” said protest leader Jimmy Blackwell of the Tarrant County Local Organizing Committee. “No, we’re not your slaves!”

The reason for the protests:

The rally in Paris, about 120 miles northeast of Fort Worth, was the third courthouse protest about the death of 24-year-old Brandon McClelland, whose mangled body was found Sept. 16 on a country road.

Prosecutors initially filed murder charges against Charles Crostley and Shannon Finley, both white, who were friends of McClelland and acknowledged going on a beer run with him the night he was killed. But a special prosecutor dismissed the charges last month, citing a lack of evidence.

Given that the special prosecutor in the case, Toby Shook, isn’t exactly known to be a lightweight–having sent a number of folks to death row while serving as a Dallas County prosecutor–it is difficult to believe that Shook wouldn’t have prosecuted the two if there was a crime there. And, there has been someone else come forward, a truck driver, who has said he may be the responsible party for the incident, claiming it was an accident.

I think the real problem here is that law enforcement in Lamar County simply doesn’t know how to adequately communicate with its citizens. If they had been more upfront throughout this process, what is happening in Lamar County right now probably wouldn’t be happening.

It is a very unfortunate situation, to say the least. The victim’s family doesn’t feel like it has received justice, and that is not helped by the fact that law enforcement evidently hasn’t effectively communicated with them.

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