Betrayal in Black

by Mark M Bello

  “I saw the coverage of your trial against the church, Zack. They paid a lot more money than this, didn’t they?”

  “Yes, but that was a settlement following a very hard-fought jury trial, and the case involved some terrible people who were trying to cover up their appalling misconduct. The people they hurt became my family. I married the mother and adopted the abused boys. The Church was arrogant and nasty. They never made a fair offer. Trial was forced on us and was quite traumatic. It took a considerable toll on the boys. My oldest son collapsed in court and had to be hospitalized.

  “We had to beat them in court to get them to pay. They never apologized. The jury punished them for the crime and the cover-up. That isn’t the case here. Cedar Ridge has done the exact opposite. City officials have admitted bad behavior and have been very apologetic. They’ve worked hard to craft solutions to combat institutional racism and conducted these negotiations in a very professional manner. They’ve made an incredible offer to resolve this case short of trial.

  “My advice is to confirm present value, accept it if you think it’s fair, and begin to move on with your life. Allow the City of Cedar Ridge and your family to heal. That’s my honest opinion, but it’s your case. I’ll handle it for you, whatever you decide. If we settle, I’ll dot all of the ‘i’s and cross all of the ‘t’s before we finalize. If we try the case, I will be a passionate advocate in the courtroom. I love to try cases, kick butt, and expose bad behavior in court. Ask Barry, he’ll tell you.”

  “I will testify to that, Sarah,” Barry offers.

  “What do you think, Mr. Frazier?” Sarah is seeking an opinion from someone who has no skin in the game.

  “My opinion isn’t relevant, Sarah. It’s not my role, and you’re not my client. As a mediator, my job is to point out the positives and negatives of both sides of the dispute and bring people closer to a resolution. However, I agree with Zack’s advice. He’s worked tremendously hard for you. This is a substantial offer and one that will honor your husband’s memory.

  “If you’re careful and invest wisely, this settlement should support you and your kids for the rest of your life. But, the ultimate decision is yours and yours alone.”

  “I wish Marcus were here. He’d know what to do.”

  “I wish Marcus were here, too, Sarah,” Blake agrees.

  Sarah hesitates, in deep meditation. After a lengthy pause, she decides, “Let’s price the offer as Zack suggests and get this resolved. My children need me. It’s time to move on.”

  “Are you sure, Sarah?” Frazier probes. “No one can force you to do anything.”

  “I’m sure. I trust Zack and he trusts you.”

  “We’ll adjourn this mediation, then. Zack will call his structure guy, which I’m sure will only be a formality. The numbers will check out, and we’ll draw up a settlement agreement. I’ll retain an independent structured settlement company to put the annuity together. I’ll talk to Adler and let him know where we are. I’m sure he’s on board. Nice work, everyone.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Billy Ellington returns to Gil Dunham’s house with a warrant and a contingent of cops from Cedar Ridge and Detroit. Chief Warren Brooks leads the Cedar Ridge police contingent. The chief does not wish to preside over another cop’s suicide and funeral. Brooks and Ellington knock on the door, then back off the porch and onto the lawn.

  “Gil, this is Chief Brooks. We have a warrant to enter and search the premises and to take you down to headquarters for questioning. Come on, Gil! This is no way to honor Randy’s memory. Please, open the door and let’s do this peaceably. I have Detective Billy Ellington from Detroit PD. He’s promised to let Cedar Ridge take the lead. But you have to surrender now.”

  Gil Dunham sits on the floor of his living room with his back resting on the front of the couch and his gun in his mouth. He’s tried to pull the trigger more than once, but he keeps remembering Randy Jones’s autopsy photos. He also knows how traumatic Randy’s death has been to the entire Cedar Ridge Police Force. Every man or woman in blue is still deeply traumatized by Randy’s suicide. How can I do the same thing to them so soon after Jones?

  Slowly, Dunham removes the gun from his mouth, rises from the floor, and walks to the door. In his confused state of mind, he forgets the gun in his right hand, dangling at his side, as he opens the door.

  He sees Billy Ellington and Chief Brooks standing off to the side, holding guns. Cops are situated all over the front lawn, weapons trained.

  A bewildered Gil Dunham looks down and sees the gun in his right hand. He begins to raise his right hand in surrender.

  “Gun!” Someone on the grass yells.

  “No!” A frantic Billy Ellington shouts.

  The cops on the lawn are firing at will. Dunham is pummeled with bullets and pitches forward, out of the door’s threshold, and onto the porch. Brooks and Ellington jump forward and catch Dunham. His face registers shock and confusion. Ellington turns to the cops on the lawn, cradling Dunham in his arms.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you guys? He’s a cop, dammit. Who yelled ‘gun’?”

  No one moves. No one utters a word.

  “Fucking cowards. He wasn’t a threat. Did you see his face? He was surrendering. He was devastated and remorseful. He’s one of you. Who fired the first shot? I want that person brought up on charges.”

  Complete silence prevails on the lawn. The irony of a ‘standing on the porch while white’ shooting by cop is lost on each of them.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Zachary Blake calls Sarah Hayes and advises her that her case is officially over, settled via a structured settlement annuity that will provide lifetime benefits. All that remains is to prepare the settlement papers and create the annuity. Five minutes after thanking Zack for his hard work and tremendous result, she receives a call from Billy Ellington. Aisha’s abductor had been shot and killed by police.

  Ellington provides details of the attempt to arrest and take Dunham into custody. Sarah is surprised to learn that Dunham’s fellow cops have gunned him down under circumstances similar to those killed her husband. Is this a racial thing, a gun thing, or both?

  Sarah sits alone in her car. Her kids are home, playing with their grandmother, under the careful watch of Micah Love’s private surveillance team. Since Aisha’s abduction, Sarah has been unable to return her kids to KidCare or any other daycare center. Perhaps the death of Officer Gil Dunham will ease her fears. Maybe they can terminate full-time surveillance and security.

  For some reason, Sarah is profoundly saddened by the death of Officer Dunham. For Sarah, Dunham’s death represents the last of many tragedies that began with a routine traffic stop on the streets of Cedar Ridge.

  Driving to work, Sarah thinks about the various exhibits and tours offered by the museum. Has racial justice improved? Have we moved on from Reconstruction and Jim Crow? Been lifted by Martin and the Civil Rights Act of 1964? It seems that whenever we take two steps forward, we take a step back . . .

  Epilogue

  “Thank you for joining us for this first-ever Forum on Race in Southeastern Lower Michigan. We are coming to you live from the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

  “I’m Professor Michael Kendell. I’m pleased to welcome my distinguished guests, prominent trial lawyer Zachary Blake, Cedar Ridge Police Chief Warren Brooks, Detroit Police Detective Billy Ellington, and our special guest, Sarah Hayes, the brave widow of Marcus Hayes. You all know the case. Mrs. Hayes will have a special announcement for us later in the program.

  “Each of our guests played a prominent role in assuring that justice was done for Marcus, a black man shot and killed by a Cedar Ridge police officer during a routine traffic stop.

  “Welcome, gentlemen. Sarah Hayes will join us shortly. Welcome to our audience. I’m pleased to see a packed house this evening.”

  The event is pure Michael Kendell, who’s riding high from his involvement in the Hayes case. Wayne State has given
Kendell carte blanche to develop and run this evening’s program, including a free hand in selecting the panel.

  Kendell invited Zachary Blake to the event because of Blake’s media savvy, his political connections, his wealth and power, and because the movement needs a strong voice in the legal community. Ellington, the black cop, and Kendell, the black activist, do not exactly see eye-to-eye on the issues. Zack Blake will be a solid buffer between these two men.

  Kendell invited Chief Brooks for obvious reasons. The man has made impressive strides toward fixing the culture of institutional racism in his department and healing community wounds opened as a result of the Marcus Hayes incident. The chief’s blue-ribbon task force was given free rein to craft solutions and included people from all walks of life, all racial and ethnic backgrounds. The task force did not disappoint, coming up with fantastic proposals.

  “We’ve got a serious problem on our hands, gentlemen. Here we are, living and working in multicultural communities. Many communities in Metropolitan Detroit have more African Americans and people of color than Caucasian citizens,” Kendell lectures.

  “Yet, the problem of institutional racism, especially between white cops and black citizens, seems to be getting worse, not better. If black lives really do matter, our message does not appear to be reaching the white community.

  “I look at America’s racial and ethnic diversity. I see an asset; a source of pride and community strength. Many of my white brothers and sisters don’t see it that way. They see non-whites as a threat to their way of life. And who is the commander-in-chief in charge of pushing this narrow-minded point of view? The President of the United States is their champion.

  “These people must be educated by any and all means possible. The proliferation of racist viewpoints, whether they are conscious or unconscious, hurt our country at home and abroad.”

  “I have to agree with Michael,” offers Zachary Blake. “The problem is not going away, nor will it solve itself. We can’t look the other way and hope that it will. If we ignore that which is directly in front of us, the problems will escalate. We saw some of that in the Hayes-Cedar Ridge incident.”

  “It’s up to us, all citizens, regardless of background, to step up to the plate and address these issues,” Detective Ellington declares. “We need to share our life experiences and offer honest appraisals of the problems we face. We need to do it at kitchen tables all over the nation. In schools, we need to educate our children to celebrate diversity rather than fight or kill over it. We need to promote our core values at home and abroad. That begins with citizens and police officers respecting each other and treating each other as each of us would want to be treated.”

  “Amen to that, Detective Ellington,” Kendell agrees.

  “Billy to my friends,” Ellington bows and smiles.

  “Thanks, Billy. And I’m Michael. We are only a few years removed from our first African American President of the United States. We are more than fifty years post-Civil Rights Act and the March on Washington, more than one hundred and fifty years after Lincoln freed the slaves.

  “Yet, we are still a racially divided country. Many of our people are still victims of institutional racism. When do we stop talking about how and why we aren’t a colorblind society and start to become one? Chief Brooks?”

  “I don’t have an answer to that question, but we do need to continue discussing these issues until we have real-world solutions,” Chief Brooks remarks. “And we need to do it together. We must all address these issues and try to find solutions.”

  “My parents grew up in the south during segregation, Kendell reminisces. Back in the day, racism was legal. Can you imagine that? So, when my parents and I have conversations about those times, they are often difficult conversations. My parents moved to Detroit from Louisiana to escape some of these things only to have them occur here as well.

  “There seems to be no escaping these points of view, especially when we are faced with a POTUS who champions the cause of white supremacy everywhere. But that doesn’t mean we give up. It doesn’t mean we stop talking about the issues or advancing basic human rights and civil and criminal justice for all citizens, regardless of color.”

  “And, if we are honest, Michael, it appears President John’s election was made possible, at least in part, by the election of the first black POTUS, “ Blake suggests. “In my opinion, this was some sort of payback from an angry segment of the electorate.”

  “Don’t forget that policemen are being killed by citizens at least as often as citizens are being killed by the police. And the vast majority of police shooting victims, whether black or white, are criminals,” Chief Brooks offers.

  “No one is arguing police work is not dangerous or policemen being killed in the line of duty is less of a tragedy than citizens being killed by police in the line of duty. Policemen, however, to a far greater degree, accept the risk of harm when they choose the vocation. Innocent citizens, caught in the crossfire, do not get to weigh and accept those risks. It is not a fair comparison,” Zack opines.

  “Spoken like a true lawyer,” Ellington chuckles.

  “Amen to that,” Brooks smirks.

  The audience laughs at the exchange.

  “Still true, though,” Kendell suggests, in Zack’s defense. “Since the election of Ronald John, the frequency of these types of cop-on-black shootings has risen enormously. Many believed after the Civil Rights Act was passed, America had become what they call a post-racial society. If that were true, we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation. The Black Lives Matter movement is a direct response to news reports about young black men being killed by cops all over this country.

  “Many people believe blacks commit all the crime in America. Therefore, blacks must have it coming. The problem is this belief is false. And, when these incidents became an issue in the presidential campaign, things became very divisive. RonJohn is a catalyst for racist rhetoric and attitudes, even for calls to action.”

  “Too many police officers are getting killed in this political environment while the president lashes out at the lawlessness of certain communities of color and stirs up even more divisiveness,” Ellington opines. “People are very worried about expressing valid points of view on both sides for fear of being called a racist. I believe this is the time to have a conversation, not shy away from one. That’s why I am here.”

  “That’s also why I’m here. It took an innocent man’s death to wake up our community, an event for which the community is extremely remorseful,” offers Brooks. “However, there is almost no focus on or attention given to officer deaths or the dangers that cops face every single day. When a cop leaves home in the morning, there is a real possibility that he will not be returning home in the evening.”

  Brooks turns to and addresses Professor Kendell. “Michael, you mentioned something I’m curious about. People believe America has become a post-racial society. I have not heard that term before. What exactly do you mean by that?”

  “Thank you for that question, Chief. We must clarify our words so people will understand them. We had a black president. We have black superstar athletes and performers, black cabinet officials, attorneys, judges, Supreme Court justices, senators, members of Congress, mayors, and other dignitaries. Some of the most famous people in the world are people of color. Hell, just look at Beyoncé and Jay-Z!

  “So, the white man’s perception is that we’ve arrived, everything is equal, and we are now a post-racial society. In this society, we’re all on equal footing. If you don’t succeed, black or white, you have only yourself to blame. These post-racial advocates believe there is only personal responsibility and no societal responsibility.”

  “There is a lot of truth to that, no?” Blake suggests.

  “Sure there is, Zack,” Kendell agrees. “However, whether it is true, partially true or yet-to-be true is a meaningful conversation to have.

  “Can a black man succeed today beyond his wildest imagination? Can he
experience the so-called American dream? Sure he can! He can overcome the bigotry, societal views, and ideas standing in his way. But that doesn’t mean he, unlike his white counterpart, doesn’t have to rise above adverse societal views and bigotry. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, absolutely. It is a longer and harder climb to success,” Blake remarks.

  “You’ve got the idea. But it is worse than that.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You have a son, right?”

  “Two.”

  “Okay, two sons. How many you have is beside the point.”

  “Sorry. Please continue.”

  “Let’s assume your son and my son are young, college-educated adults. They are driving home from the same concert. Both are pulled over by separate white police officers. Now, I can’t honestly say that there have been no incidents of white-on-white cop-citizen traffic stop shootings, but I have never heard of one reported by the media.”

  “I see where you’re going . . .”

  “What are the chances your son is shot by the cop for any reason at all?”

  “Slim to none.”

  “What are the chances my son is shot, regardless of what a good person he is?”

  “Still slim, but better. In fact, statistics suggest if that concert is performed in a predominately white community, your son is far more likely to get pulled over than mine. I studied this phenomenon when doing research for the Hayes litigation. I absolutely see your point,” Blake concedes.

  “And I want to point out this has nothing to do with the clothes he is wearing or his station in life or his education. He’s just a black kid in the wrong place at the wrong time, stopped by the wrong cop for the wrong reason. He could be a lawyer, a doctor, a politician or, simply, my son. Suddenly, he’s Marcus Hayes, bleeding to death in his car, and I’m Sarah Hayes, mourning the loss of my loved one.”