Deonte Rawlings was shot in an alley, by an off-duty policeman a few miles from the White House. He was 14 years old. The man who shot him was a father, who lived nearby.
Here's the Washington Post's initial account:
WASHINGTON -- An off-duty police officer investigating a burglary at his home killed a 14-year-old boy in a shootout when he tried to confront the teen about a stolen minibike, authorities said Tuesday.
The 22-year veteran was not in uniform and was in his personal car when he drove up to the teen, who was on the bike, not far from where it had been stolen earlier Monday, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.
The officer did not have a chance to identify himself before the teen fired at him, hitting the officer's car. The officer returned fire, striking the boy in the head, the chief said.
Deonte Rawlings, 14, was taken to Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
...
The gun the officers said the boy used was not recovered because the scene was chaotic and someone might have picked it up, Lanier said.
I know kids like Deonte. I know kids who live nearby. They've grown up around dealers and addicts, around fights and shootings. These are rough neighbourhoods, and for all that the younger kids talk about wanting to be rap stars or football players or dancers, for all that their parents and guardians (mostly women) try to hold it together, most of these kids have a pretty rough future ahead of them.
According to the Courtland Milloy, of the Washington Post, James Haskel, the man who shot DeOnte Rawlings
"...is a good father," said Kenneth Reid, a property manager who lives next door to Haskel. "He takes the neighborhood kids on outings, plays with them and participates in trash pickup campaigns."
Reid's wife, Chele, added: "He bought that minibike for his daughter, who is 14, same age as the boy who was shot. His daughter is his best friend. But he loves all children, and all the children around here love him."
And I believe it. I believe it takes a lot of courage and compassion, to work and live, where Haskel did. I was with a friend at a club this weekend, and she called a cop out on describing the area where he worked a "ghetto". He pulled out his wallet, and pointed at a scrap of paper, tucked in front of his driver's license. "Do you see that?", he asked, "It's faded now.". We couldn't - it looked like a scribble. "A few months back, we were taking down a report at an apartment, and my partner was wearing a St. Christopher medal. This seven year-old girl looked up at me, and said, 'Hey Po-po, where's your angel?'". "I guess you're my angel.", he answered, and the girl went up to her room, and came back with a piece of paper with an angel drawn on it, and gave it to him. "It's dangerous out there. You need an angel", she said.
He did. A lot of people need angels, in DC. The general rule is that, once you cross the Anacostia River, you're in the black side of DC. The dangerous side of DC. "What would you think if I moved into your neighbourhood?", I asked a 12 year-old boy from the neighbourhood where I volunteer, awhile back. "For real?", he asked, a bit startled, "I'd think you was a crackhead.". That was the best explanation he had, for why a white person would chose to become a neighbour.
DeOnte was shot in the head. I still haven't found out whether he was shot in the front, or the back, of the head. Again, the Post, a few days later:
Homeowners James Haskel and Anthony Clay -- both off-duty D.C. police officers, both armed with department-issued 9mm Glocks -- went looking for the stolen minibike about 7 p.m. Sept. 17, police have said. They said they spotted DeOnte Rawlings on the bike, and Haskel confronted him. Shots were fired. Haskel said he was fired on first. When the smoke cleared, DeOnte lay dead. Clay had not drawn his weapon.
When we come to pick the kids up on a Saturday morning, for a nature outing, we see the deals going down, cars driving up, and young men coming out to do a hand-off. We see the teenage boys smoking weed at 10am, waiting for a buyer. We walk through the neighbourhood past discarded bottles of Remy Martin and tiny ziplock bags from Friday night's celebrations. The last time I went, there was a fading shrine, stacked plush dolls and plastic flowers on a bench - someone's boyfriend had been shot. I bet all the kids in the neighbourhood heard that shot, watched the aftermath from their windows.
And I know that children watched Rawling's death from their windows. It still isn't clear what happened that night. From the Post:
Police still cannot account for the gun that DeOnte allegedly fired; no weapon was found at the scene. The minibike was missing, too, but turned up Thursday in Upper Marlboro under circumstances that police declined to reveal. And authorities have yet to explain why Haskel and Clay felt compelled to act on their own, or why Clay left the scene, taking the SUV, after the shooting. He returned later without the vehicle. Police said they found it, but will not say where or how.
Many details of the case have come not from Fenty (the mayor) or Lanier (the DC police chief) but from law enforcement sources -- news of the missing minibike, Clay's behavior afterward and the fact that police were alerted to the shooting by a rooftop sensor that detects the sound of gunfire.
So, to summarize: DeOnte was shot and died. He may or may not have been carrying and/or shooting a gun at the time. The officer that shot him left the scene, and may or may not have
1-actually seen DeOnte in possession of his minibike.
2-checked whether DeOnte needed medical assistance.
3-reported the incident.
He cleary did not secure the site for evidence.
A lot of people need angels in DC. DeOnte Rawlings and his family and the man who shot him all need (or needed) angels. Because despite the best efforts of those who live there, of the parents and the teachers and the police officers and politicians who care about life and the people on the East side of the Anacostia, there's not enough being done. There are a lot of poor people, and hungry children, a lot of fathers absent or in jail, a lot of people who aren't getting adequate health-care, a lot of kids who aren't learning much in school.
I know George W. Bush likes to run and bike. If he ever felt like it, it would take him maybe 20 minutes by bike, to visit DeOnte Rawling's grave, and where he died, and where he lived. A five or six mile run. Physically, I'm sure he's up for it. But otherwise, not. I haven't found clear stats, but I'm pretty sure that Anacostia has death rates right up there with parts of Iraq. And I'm also pretty sure that the kids growing up in Anacostia and on the East side of DC, aren't much of a priority for this president.
It would be possible to turn neighbourhoods like the one that Deonte died in around. It would take a lot of work, and respect, and commitment, and focus. I'm more willing to believe in officer Haskel's good intentions, in his willingness to work towards a better world, for himself, and his family, and his neighbours, and the children in the community, then I am, in George Bush's compassionate conservatism.
There are issues and areas that are complicated, problematic, dangerous. It takes true leadership and courage and commitment to face and address them. Afghanistan is one. Katrina was another. Iraq, also. Just a few miles east of W's gated mansion is another. He's not doing much about it, either. That's the mark of a failed leader.