November 22, 2009
What's Inside:
Ticket issue heats up in Municipal Court
Jackson claims racial profiling led to citation for walking in street
Jackson claims racial profiling led to citation for walking in street
Judge John Boeh continually steered the focus of his courtroom back on the sidewalk. Once again, Marcell “Big Daddy” Jackson strayed from that path.
Mr. Jackson had his day in St. Joseph Municipal Court on Thursday for a much publicized ticket he received from a city police officer on Sept. 1 for walking in the street when a sidewalk was provided. Mr. Boeh made it clear from the outset Thursday that he only was concerned with where Mr. Jackson was walking and whether there was a sidewalk despite the publicity the incident received when the defendant accused officers of racial profiling.
Easier said than done.
The facts of the case strike a straightforward picture. The officers and Mr. Jackson agree the defendant was walking in the middle of South 20th Street in the 500 block after leaving his house at about 5 that morning. Both sides also agree a sidewalk sits on both sides of that street.
Based on that evidence, Mr. Boeh found Mr. Jackson guilty but opted to suspend the sentence. The judge said if Mr. Jackson were walking closer to the curb, he would’ve found the defendant not guilty. The judge ordered the defendant to pay $26.50 in court costs, which Mr. Jackson promptly did after his trial.
But the issue of the ticket became almost a trivial side show.
Mr. Jackson claims there had been problems in his neighborhood during the six months prior to Sept. 1. The owner of a local barbecue joint said he was heading to work with $600 to $700 on him and didn’t feel safe walking on the sidewalks. Beyond that, Mr. Jackson testified both sidewalks were in such disrepair they were dangerous to walk on, and one recently had been painted and blocked off by a neighbor.
He struggled throughout the trial to contain his anger with officers and city officers for issuing him a ticket rather than addressing what, in his mind, is a double standard and a lack of interest in solving a larger problem.
Before leaving the courtroom, he said to the judge: “I’m going to take it as far as I can take it.” Mr. Jackson then told the News-Press he planned to contact a lawyer.
“I’m going to sue somebody,” he said. “This Police Department sucks.”
He later added, “We need to have an investigation into this Police Department.”
The judge agreed, to a minor degree, with Mr. Jackson’s allegation that the department enforces a double standard — all eight citations for walking in the street that the police issued in the year prior to Sept. 15 occurred in Midtown.
“The city needs to evaluate whether they are fairly applying this in the rest of the city,” Mr. Boeh said. “If it’s a violation in Midtown, it should be a violation everywhere else.”
That was little consolation to Mr. Jackson, who accused the issuing officer, Jason Wilhoit, of lying in his testimony about where the defendant was standing during their interactions and what was said between the two.
For Mr. Wilhoit’s part, the officer said one of the two sidewalks was in good shape, he didn’t see any blockages and he didn’t decide to issue the ticket until “it became clear that Mr. Jackson and I weren’t going to see eye to eye on the ordinance.” Or more accurately, the ordinance’s application in that part of town at that time of day.
When Mr. Jackson left the courthouse Thursday, he stuck to the sidewalk while walking south down Fifth Street before briefly crossing into the road to get into his pickup truck and drive away.
R.J. Cooper can be reached
at rjcooper@npgco.com.
This story has 23 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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Why is it so hard for some to see what they have done is wrong? This guy got out of paying his ticket because he was pulling the old race card. Not EVERYTHING is about your skin color, sometimes it's just about you being a bonehead and not following laws put in place for safety reasons! Guess if I am caught breaking the law I will just have to pay my fine since I'm white. Thanks judge Boeh for giving me the heads up on how the system works for some.
Then let's start hauling the kids out in Twelve Oaks to juvenile detention. I have friends out there and it is nothing to see 3 or 4 of those little law-breakers in the streets. Some are even throwing balls back and forth.
You see the ignorance now? Just as Boeh said it, if it's good for midtown it's good for alltown.
It's either a law or it isn't. Get it? This is why people are just sick of everything right now. It might not be called special treatment but it sure as hell is selective enforcement.
Every damn ticket of this kind has been issued in midtown. Did you even read the article?
Not for nothing I agree midtown is a bad area with bad attitudes on display. You can get any number of locals to stare at you with a "mean mug" for just driving by.
HOWEVER it does not make it okay to selectively enforce the laws that were created for the entire city. That's Mr. Jacksons whole point.
If his was the only ticket in a year or so, he might not have a case. The fact of the matter is, there were a handful issued and ALL in midtown = selective enforcement.
This comment was removed by the site staff.
LibertyOrDeath October 23, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)Just like blacks exploiting the race-card issue, there are legitimate racial encounters with police.
Do I think this was one of those situations? No. Do I think there is selective enforcement? Yes.
LBC, you go to Big Daddy's joint and you'll eat the best smoked meat in town. Along with the best rice and beans and baked beans. Fagedaboudit.
Don't play into the race thing, let it die. Simple fact is there is selective enforcement in this town, any argument beyond that only clouds a cut and dry issue; selective enforcement.
ok why is it ok for groups of people to loiter at US Oil in midtown in the middle of the night but if you are caught anywhere else in town doing that you are ordered to disperse? And I guarantee they are not just exchanging phone numbers or listening to music but it is allowed every weekend. You see police officers watching from afar but not breaking up the crowd that are drinking alcohol openly and doing other illegal activities. Just drive by with the wind blowing just right, that aint cigarette smoke and those black and milds don't have tobacco in them...lol...Its just laughable that I, a normal citizen, have seen this and never parked there but the police that watch them have never seen it. Is it fear of the crowd or fear of being accused of racial discrimination? I personally am tired of the race card being played.
i have a video of the condition of the sidewalks which big daddy walks each morning. i am going to post it on u-tube. officer wilhoit is not being completely truthful in his assertion that the sidewalk on either side of the street is actually in decent repair. this is totally a case of selective enforcement. i support the department, but in this case, they are wrong and circling the wagons rather than fixing the situation.
Point here is not if a man is black or white it is that this law is not being enforced in all areas of our community.Plain and simple.I also seem to remember at the city hall meeting a few citizens that live in other areas were there to tell of people walking in the streets in the early morning hours and sidewalks being avalible to use.Now our city is going to be sued and drug through the mud further come on.This goes back to our ciy being divided as it has been for years and 2 different sets of laws based on where you live in St Joseph Mo.I as well support our police dept and officers and respect them for putting their lifes on the line everyday the go to work, but they need to make this and any laws enforced equally in all parts of the community.
I will never eat at or do business with this guy. Yes he played the race card, which is common place since Obama has been elected.
How do you know it is not enforced in other parts if the city? I mean , I know all us white folk get special treatment and never get a stupid ticket for anything. But how do you know the same cop hasn't come upon someone walking in the street in other parts of the city and informed them they would be cited if they didn't get on the sidewalk?? If they didn't argue and got on the sidewalk..they didn't get a ticket. So you don't know , do you??
An entire page of poor ole Big Daddy stating his case and containing his anger, and his response and claims and threats. And 2 sentences of what the officer said.
i can tell most of those among you who chastize this man have never had to deal with the hazzards of living in midtown. if you get a ticket thats enforced for all equally.i'am sure mr. jackson wouldn't be upset. he just does what any smart man would do in his area of town. if the shoe was on the other foot and you as a black man faced the same circumstances as mr. jackson your view would be a little different i think.
matt if you chose not to eat there thats your right although your missing the best in town. i doubt though you eat there so nothing loss.
to the city if you get $26.50 court cost for every person who walks in the street that would solve our money whoas in a heart beat. if you can convict them we get more so ticket all.
I don't really intend to comment at all about Mr. Jackson's behavior, or the so-called "double standard". However, I was watching the city council meeting on TV the other night, and comments were being made, in reference to this case, about how joggers, walkers and bicyclists riding in the streets elsewhere in town, and nothing is being done about it. While I agree with regard to the joggers and walkers, perhaps, PLEASE leave the bicyclists out of the issue. It was even stated, in that meeting, that "we've built a bike path all the way through town and the bicycles are still in the street." Basically, the gist of the complaint is that bicycles belong on the bike path or the sidewalks, and nowhere else.
Folks, according to local and state law, bicycles are considered "vehicles" and as such, have every right to be on the streets. In addition to that, for all you cyclists out there, you MUST follow the same traffic laws that any other vehicle has to observe. That said, if I CAN ride the bike path, I will, but for many of us, bicycles are transportation....not just for fun. I ride mine to work any chance I get....and there's no sidewalk or bike path to my job.
Hopefully, those who feel bikes don't belong on the street are a tiny minority.
The fact still remains, and Mr Jackson most likely would not have received a ticket, if he would have just obeyed the officers initial request and walked over to the sidewalk, but no, he had to argue and flip out the ole race card.
There is a video on you tube narrated by Chris Rock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOx6OM01M5M, how not to get arrested. This video states this better than anything I can say. Take a minute and watch this, and tell me if you agree.
If someone goes to the trouble to discover there were 8 other citations for 'jaywalking' in this part of town and not in any other part of town, why didn't they go the extra few inches and report the racial breakdown and the time of day of the other citations??? The numbers are definitely insignificant at this piddly level of inforcement, since I well imagine there are thousands of Joetowners who violate this very law more times than that on a daily basis. What about the law against spitting on the sidewalk? Or honking the car horn? Or playing loud music with the windows rolled down?
Chara.....I think you may have summarized it all with your "observation"....you have not had to deal with the hazzards of living in midtown.
Why do you suppose there are "hazzards'.
Who creates those "hazzards"
If they chose, who could eliminate those "hazzards"
Since as you observe, there are hazzards why are folks worried about where citations are written and where they are not. (Could it be that the police are doing a good job and worrying about an area that has "hazzads")
I would suggest the folks who create those "hazzards" make it much more difficult for the Police to do their job.
And, of course, their job is made more difficult by the folks who choose to "play the race card"
If the race card went away I think a lot of folks would have a different view.
Okay, Mr. Jackson says the sidewalks are in poor repair, and he was concerned about the fact he was carrying a sum of money. Here's an idea- go over to the sidewalk until the officer leaves, then go back to what you were doing. I suspect that's what most people do, which is why there were only 8 tickets in a year.
As for selective enforcement, look at how much traffic goes on Messanie versus Twelve Oaks or whereever. Also, what about the majority of this town where there are no sidewalks?
And isn't maintaining sidewalks the property owner's responsibility? Perhaps Mr. Jackson should save the money from the lawyer and talk to the people in the area about improving the sidewalks.
Comply with officer's requests like they do in the rest of the City and you won't be ticketed, just like the rest of the City. My family live in Midtown, more specifically the "weed and seed" area. SCARY area, BUT rather one thinks the laws are fair or equal, we are still supposed to follow them. Who noted what race the other citations belonged to? No one so an assumption was made. Maybe in other parts of the city, people comply when the officer tells them to do something. It is called respect...by the way. You owe it to the officers who risk their lives and if you don't like them, that is fine, but I suspect it is a lot better with them then it would be without them. Shame on Judge Boeh for suspending the sentence - the man admitted he did the crime.
I think you should all take a moment and look at yourselves while your judging everyone else. You all think midtown is such a bad area but your not looking at the other areas of town, there are normally about 8 officers on duty at a time and 75% of them are in midtown while criminals in other areas of town are getting away with crimes. Look around people it's not 1950 anymore so why are you still being racist? It doesn't matter what color you are we're all people and we all have rights. It doesn't matter what part of town you live in the same laws should be enforced everywhere. So before you talk about this man look at your life cause I'm sure it's definitley not perfect. As for the comment made about President Obama what does that have to do with anything? Your saying because our presidents black now black people can just get away with every crime? Please grow up. Obamas doing a damn good job running this country better than Bush was.
kelmarie........Oh my what a statement. Obama doing a damn good job running this country better than Bush was.....
Oh, my how wrong can you be.
This is a young man with absolutely no experience whatsoever. He was a community organizer. He had no Senate exerience....no bills...mostly no votes and too many absences.
He has been making speechs almost daily since he was elected...not being President. And, every measurable dimension of the Country has deteriorited since his election.
It has been 2 months and he hasn't spoken to the commander of our forces in the middle east....what planning did he do from the day he was elected....why the delay now.
He has spent money like he had it. Already significantly more than Bush did in 8 long years.
He's gone all over the world saying how bad America is and apologizing for all the foreign aid and disaster relief we dole out daily
And I suppose it's "OK" to spend a million bucks for his wife to take a special plane and 50+ staff so she can enjoy fish and chips in London.
He is allowing bad things to go on.....new legislation on "hate crimes"....opening doors to unrestricted gay rights ....appointed dozens of anti-american CZARs...with communist backgrounds...criminals...tax evaders..you name it.
He's now turning on "his enemies".....FOX news and everyone who listens to them....like me. The Chamber of Commerce and anyone who believes in capitalism
This is serious trouble...bad times. Grow up....we may not live long enough to.....the death committees you know.
We are in deep doo doo
Bush was only horrible........Obama is much, much, much worse than that.
Gee, lbc, after reading your 10/23, 5:23 post, I couldn't help but think just how much Obama has been able to do in only 9 short months. Even without your support, the man has done A LOT.
Lol at lbc so because obamas making speeches he's not doing anything for our country?? How wrong can YOU be Bush put America in such a mess with everything it's probably going to take Obama awhile to fix it and PERSONALY I think he's done alot in the short time he's been in office
It all comes down to respect...We should respect our officers...He wouldn't have gotten a ticket if he'd simply acknowledged he made a booboo instead of arguing with the offer...I think he seriously just needs to let it go...He already got his 15 minutes.
I am not a St. Joe native have only been in St Joe about 6-7 years now. I lived in this "Midtown/ bad part of Town" for 3 years and never realized that is what it was. I lived on Penn St about a block over from where the ticket took place. Had great neighbors. We only moved from our house because we needed a larger one. Now we live on the "Right side" of town. Off of Lover's lane. So in 3 years on the "wrong" side we had one car window broken. 4 years on the "right" side and we have had lawn mowers stolen, bikes stolen. Our neighbor moved due to everytime she went out of town someone would break into her house. Theives so brazen 3 teenage kids stole a bike from across the street off our neighbor's front porch while we sat on the porch watching them and then yelling at them chasing them with our truck they still got away.
Its not about where the ticket was written or even the race. It is a lack of respect given to the officer. Mr. Jackson was wrong and should have had to pay the ticket. Call it a life lesson. Respect the people who without even knowing you are offering to die for your on a daily basis. Say thank you for the job they do. Nine times out of ten if it is a ticket where the officer can use their discretion in issuing it they won't if you are respectful and are not endangeriing yourself or anyone else. Mr. Jackson by walking in the middle of the street was endangering not only his life but the life of anyone driving or riding in a car at that time of morning. Which if they blinked or looked away for an instant not expecting to see someone there might not have hit him but went off the road and into a pole or tree or heaven forbid a sleeping child's bedroom, worse case I think..... You see where I am going. So next time don't think the worst. He gave me a ticket because I am in the wrong part of town. He gave me a ticket because I am black.... No he gave you a ticket because you did not respect an officer enough to think he might know what he was talking about cercerning the safety of walking in the street or even the mere fact it was against the law. He was looking out for the general well being of the public whether you agree with it at the time or not you should respect it. Because after all he went to work today ready to die for you if needed.