Help me understand this; The Harvard Professor story "was" about Race

[Danno 1,228]

Akron attack victims frustrated with police response

All John Alchier could do was sit and pray.

His call to 911 was put on hold, he said, as he sat in his wheelchair and watched a group of teens pummel his brother and friend.

Alchier, 40, had a front-row seat as the teens swarmed a family gathering on Girard Street following the June 27 fireworks show at Firestone Park. Helplessness overtook him as he prayed out loud.

Community leaders are now voicing disgust over the attack, which is an example of the city's ballooning assault rate.

In police District 6, which includes Firestone Park, reports show that aggravated assaults have more than doubled this year compared with 2008.

The increase in aggravated assaults is even more dramatic in other areas of the city.

What happened on Girard Street is also a symbol of Akron's hushed racial tension. The victims are white; their attackers are black.

The attack has ignited scores of reaction, including a call for justice for the victims by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

From his view, Alchier said there's more to the story than has been told.

''The newspapers and the news is not telling the entire story. No one is,'' Alchier said from his home in Akron.

Those who witnessed the assault or survived it say this was no isolated incident, and the beatings to Greg Alchier and his friend, Marty Marshall, extended farther than Girard Street that night. A third victim is identified in a police report. More are believed to have been treated for injuries.

''This happens every year; it just depends on which street they decide to go up,'' said Greg Alchier, 39, who has attended the neighborhood fireworks show for more than 30 years.

''There's always a bunch of kids trying to start fights with people. It happens every year, and nothing's ever done about it. It's just swept under the rug.''

Case in point, he said: Emergency room personnel at Akron General Medical Center told him that as many as 10 other people were treated for injuries that night after being attacked by a group of teens.

The Alchier family, who have lived in the Firestone Park neighborhood for about four decades, also expressed frustration over the city's reaction.

During the assault, John Alchier said, he was placed on hold when he called 911 for police. He has filed a complaint about the call with the department, which said it was investigating.

Although police say they are investigating the attack, Alchier said last week that no detective has sought his interview.

''I think it's completely appalling,'' he said.

Akron police officials released a statement Friday, saying they are continuing to investigate the attack in an effort to find those responsible.

''Citizens of Akron deserve a comprehensive investigation, but not one done for the sake of expediency and at the expense of proper procedures and justice,'' department spokesman Lt. Rick Edwards said in the statement.

Attack recalled

John Alchier's account of the night matches the recollection of his brother and Marshall, who first spoke of the attack earlier this month.

The families were outside a Girard Street home after walking from the fireworks show, a decades-old annual event that typically draws as many as 10,000 people to the neighborhood.

Greg Alchier, who lives in Michigan, was visiting his family's home. Marty Marshall, 39, his wife, Yvonne, and their two children were there as well, about 30 minutes after the last fireworks blast. All were outside when a group of teens crowded the street that leads away from Firestone Park.

The group of about 30 to 40 teens was in the road, blocking a car.

''I kind of had a bad feeling about it. I was just hoping they were going to walk by and not have a problem,'' Greg Alchier said.

Those hopes faded quickly.

One teen ran up from behind Greg Alchier, cutting through the yard, and blindsided him with a blow to the head.

There was no exchange of words leading up to the attack, witnesses said.

''I turned around and said, 'What the [expletive],'' Greg Alchier said. ''The next thing I know, one kids yells, 'Oh, you want to fight?' and then there's 15 to 20 of them running at us.''

Greg Alchier recalls someone from the group of black teens yelling: ''This is our world.''

Marshall has said he also heard a teen saying: ''This is a black world.''

As the group continued to fight Alchier, Marshall jumped in and both men found themselves attacked by a growing number of teens.

Marshall was beaten as he fell to the ground. Greg Alchier fended off teens, trying to help his friend.

''Marty's fighting a group of kids. I'm fighting a group of kids, and these kids are just running back and forth between us,'' Greg Alchier said.

John Alchier said he was frustrated that an injury barred him from helping his brother. He has been paralyzed below the waist since a motorcycle crash 11 years ago.

All he could do, he said, was pray to Jesus for the attack to stop as he was calling 911.

''[911] immediately went to hold and said all 'operators are busy,' '' Alchier said. ''I'm, like, thinking, are you kidding me? I'm watching Marty on the ground just getting completely kicked. . . . There was just a big crowd around him and a big crowd around my brother.

''I couldn't do anything and I just yelled out, 'Help us, Jesus' and when I did that, they all just kind of went away.''

Marshall suffered a concussion and spent five days in the hospital.

Greg Alchier, who was struck multiple times in the head and back, was treated for a head injury but was not hospitalized. He said he experiences head pain.

As paramedics arrived, a third injured man, a bleeding 23-year-old from Akron, came to the Girard Street house seeking treatment. He said the same group had assaulted him.

The man, identified in police reports, did not return messages left at his home.

Marshall returned to work as a construction worker last week. His hours have been reduced, his medical bills are over $17,000 and he has no medical insurance.

He has begun the process of filing a victim's compensation claim through the state. People throughout the country have contributed to a fund set up for his family.

''I try not to think about it. It's so messed up'' Marshall said of the attack. ''But I have noticed so many more nice people out there, helping us get through this.''

John Alchier said an officer told him that a group of teens was stopped immediately after the attack, but the victims and witnesses were not allowed to see the boys to identify them as the attackers.

He said he could have identified only one of the teens by his clothing, a red jerseylike shirt.

''That's the thing that bothering me: no arrests,'' John Alchier said. ''They kept continually asking us if we could identify any of them. And all they would let us give them were descriptions.

''They would not let anybody go down and ID anybody. And they said they weren't going to bring anybody here to ID them.''

Asked for a response, police would only say the case remains under investigation.

Just one description of a suspect has been released. He is a black male, 17 to 19 years old, wearing braids or dreadlocks with red and white beads. He also had braces on his teeth.

Urgency questioned

As for the race issue, Marshall and the Alchier brothers can't say whether their gathering was targeted because they are white.

They remain frustrated by the apparent lack of urgency and attention their case has received from police.

The incident was not reported by police to the media until almost two weeks had passed.

Akron police said the department's public information officer was on vacation at that time and his replacement did not issue a release.

Mayor Don Plusquellic sought the FBI's help July 10.

Agent Scott Wilson, a Cleveland-based FBI spokesman, said the agency has begun an inquiry in conjunction with Akron police to determine if the case falls under federal hate crime statutes.

Police have not classified the assaults as hate crimes. Officials said they were unaware of the chants, ''This is our world'' or ''This is a black world'' until the victims and witnesses spoke to the media.

''I don't think the police have any intent on doing anything about it. If they did, they would have done something before the media got it and forced them to call the FBI,'' John Alchier said.

''I just can't believe the inaction of police that night and subsequently from that. It's like they don't want the people of Akron to know this kind of activity goes on. They don't want everybody to be in fear.''

Councilwoman responds

Councilwoman Tina Merlitti said she's disturbed by the Girard Street attack, calling it ''horrible'' and ''scary'' for the victims. She said, however, that the assault appears to be an isolated incident involving teens who might not live in the neighborhood.

Merlitti said part of the reason she believes her ward is safe is through the efforts of residents working with police and city schools.

Two years ago, Merlitti ordered the removal of basketball hoops from Firestone Park because of growing numbers of youths fighting, playing loud music or nighttime basketball games.

Police drove with school officials after classes let out at Garfield High School to help identify troublemakers and stop fights and other crimes.

Overall, she said, crime, ''is something we all have to continue to keep on top of and address each issue as it comes up.''

Akron police said there have been 41 aggravated assaults and 108 criminal acts of intimidation in the first five months of this year in the police district that includes Firestone Park. For the same period last year, there were 18 assaults and 89 acts of intimidation, police records show.

Overall, crime is down in the district by 14 percent this year.

''The way I see it, we get waves of things, where you'll have a wave of people breaking into cars,'' Merlitti said. ''And then we usually deal with it on that neighborhood level and once we get people involved, usually it stops.

''Everything goes in cycles, and it's just something that we have to continue to work on.''

Neighborhood support

Cindy Morrow, president of the Firestone Park Citizens Council, said she and her husband moved to the neighborhood after attending a concert and seeing the attractive homes that dot the landscape.

Like Merlitti, she said the neighborhood has its challenges with teen crime, but overall, the area is safe and continues to be ''a wonderful neighborhood.''

Her group organizes the fireworks, festival and symphony concert that makes up the Independence Day celebration.

As for the Girard Street attack, she said she is most disturbed that no adult has come forward to help police determine who committed the crimes.

''The youths are ridiculous,'' she said. ''I just wonder sometimes where their parents are.''

[Heracles 417]

You will find that such 'professors' go all mum on such incidents. Unlike his arrest, such specific ongoing incidents are not racially motivated.

The double standards in this country are a joke.

Edited July 24, 2009 by haza

[G&R 0]

You will find that such 'professors' go all mum on such incidents. Unlike his arrest, such specific ongoing incidents are not racially motivated.

The double standards in this country are a joke.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Remember, now, these "kids" are themselves innocent victims of society, we need to be more understanding

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The way the article is written it would have you believe that this one assault is characteristic of all of them.

Perhaps it is, but the authors case for it is tenuous.

[justashooter 430]

The way the article is written it would have you believe that this one assault is characteristic of all of them.

Perhaps it is, but the authors case for it is tenuous.

an dat's a river in egypt.

[KarenCee 3]

You can make ANYTHING that happens (like this) about race. Doesn't necessarily mean it IS racist, but hey...this is America...the race card is played quite frequently.

[Ban Hammer 13,658]

You will find that such 'professors' go all mum on such incidents. Unlike his arrest, such specific ongoing incidents are not racially motivated.

The double standards in this country are a joke.

[nowhereman 1]

Rascism is ugly, alive & well in the USA. It also goes both ways.. white on black & black on white (and of course latinos and other ethnic groups are victims of rascism as well). In a perfect world it wouldn't exist. In a fair world incidents of rascism (regardless of who is the victim & who is the perpetrator) would be treated equally. This doesn't always happen either. To further muddy the waters there are cases where rascism is used as an excuse, when it really has nothing to do with the incident (the original OJ trial is a perfect example).

It is therefore a complex issue and each case has to to be judged on its own merits.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Ohio has been hit pretty hard by the recession - the unemployment rate there is (and has been for some time) higher than the national average (over 11% in June), and the predominant industries there are manufacturing and financial services.

Whenever you get a sharp economic decline, you nearly always get an increase in the crime rate (most predominantly in the areas that have the lowest access to jobs), and tensions get brought to the surface that weren't previously an issue.

[HAL 9000 96]

Ohio has been hit pretty hard by the recession - the unemployment rate there is (and has been for some time) higher than the national average (over 11% in June), and the predominant industries there are manufacturing and financial services.

Whenever you get a sharp economic decline, you nearly always get an increase in the crime rate (most predominantly in the areas that have the lowest access to jobs), and tensions get brought to the surface that weren't previously an issue.

I'm glad my sister moved from Cinci, OH to Billings, MT a few weeks ago.

Hasn't this 'case' also been beat to a pulp recently?

[KarenCee 3]

Ohio has been hit pretty hard by the recession - the unemployment rate there is (and has been for some time) higher than the national average (over 11% in June), and the predominant industries there are manufacturing and financial services.

Whenever you get a sharp economic decline, you nearly always get an increase in the crime rate (most predominantly in the areas that have the lowest access to jobs), and tensions get brought to the surface that weren't previously an issue.

I'm glad my sister moved from Cinci, OH to Billings, MT a few weeks ago.

Hasn't this 'case' also been beat to a pulp recently?

Somebody posted a "beating a dead horse" pic recently. Methinks that would be most appropriate right about now.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Ohio has been hit pretty hard by the recession - the unemployment rate there is (and has been for some time) higher than the national average (over 11% in June), and the predominant industries there are manufacturing and financial services.

Whenever you get a sharp economic decline, you nearly always get an increase in the crime rate (most predominantly in the areas that have the lowest access to jobs), and tensions get brought to the surface that weren't previously an issue.

I'm glad my sister moved from Cinci, OH to Billings, MT a few weeks ago.

Hasn't this 'case' also been beat to a pulp recently?

Yeah if its the same case from the other week - this is about the 3rd or 5th article posted on it.

There's nothing really new there.

[HAL 9000 96]

Ohio has been hit pretty hard by the recession - the unemployment rate there is (and has been for some time) higher than the national average (over 11% in June), and the predominant industries there are manufacturing and financial services.

Whenever you get a sharp economic decline, you nearly always get an increase in the crime rate (most predominantly in the areas that have the lowest access to jobs), and tensions get brought to the surface that weren't previously an issue.

I'm glad my sister moved from Cinci, OH to Billings, MT a few weeks ago.

Hasn't this 'case' also been beat to a pulp recently?

Somebody posted a "beating a dead horse" pic recently. Methinks that would be most appropriate right about now.

Not when the sour grapes crowd continues to show desperation at political splinters to try and ####### the rest of us.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The obvious issue here is that the professor in the other story was famous, whereas the people in this story are not.

Trying to draw comparisons between the two to suggest bias in the way the story is being treated by the police and the media is more than a little tenuous. As usual that stuff only appeals to the people who want to believe that the whole thing is some dastardly "double standard".