PantherNabbed

July 29, 2004 5:56 AM

Toronto librarian accused of being wanted Panther More info [1] [2][3][4]
posted by srboisvert (21 comments total)

I wonder what the library the ex-cops who murdered Fred Hampton work at.
posted by iamck at 6:40 AM on July 29, 2004

Now I'm not taking sides, but I don't think we're getting the whole story here:

"I stopped him and asked him why he wasn't in school," the retired officer recalled yesterday afternoon in an interview, "and for some reason he decided to shoot me."

My father, his father, and his father's father were all Chicago cops. In 1969, however, they didn't have the best reputation.
posted by Eamon at 6:41 AM on July 29, 2004

I college, I worked at the library, and a few years later, the guy I worked for turned himself in as a FBI-wanted member of the Weather Underground. There's the difference between the radical left and radical right; I don't think Tim McVeigh wouldn't have been hiding out as a Librarian if he were still at large. And the right's bombs work a lot better.
posted by bendybendy at 7:13 AM on July 29, 2004

I'm sure the cops weren't all that nice, Eamon, but I can only think of one reason you get to shoot at a cop, and it involves a cop trying to actively kill you (not "gun pointed at you", but "I was sitting there and he shot me in the leg/face/chest/whatever"), and you actually not having done a crime.

If he's responsible for that crime, I hope he gets all he deserves. And maybe a bit extra.
posted by shepd at 8:23 AM on July 29, 2004

A common thread in all these radical fugitive stories is how lax bail used to be -- $10,000 cash to spring someone accused of attempted murder of a cop! I guess some things do change for the better.
posted by MattD at 8:32 AM on July 29, 2004

Anyone from Toronto happen to know which branch he worked at?

/curious TPL employee
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:12 AM on July 29, 2004

Card Cheat, I heard on the radio this morning it was the Metro Reference – though, I heard that on the Edge, which has a better reputation for playing the same Nickelback song three times in an hour, than it does with reading the news correctly.
posted by UncleDave at 10:09 AM on July 29, 2004

Card Cheat, it says in the first paragraph that he worked at the Toronto Reference Library. I thought there was only one -- Yonge just north of Bloor.
posted by dobbs at 10:11 AM on July 29, 2004

I guess there's no statute of limitations on this kind of case (maybe because it's a capital crime), but you can be sure the book would have been closed and forgotten on his case some 25 years ago if it hadn't of been a cop that he shot in the arm.

But then, according to the story, he was pretty aware of the fact he aiming his gun at an officer, and should have known that it was a monumentally stupid move.
posted by UncleDave at 10:20 AM on July 29, 2004

Oops...yep, there it is. I gotta work on my reading comprehension skills, it would seem. And yeah, there is only one Toronto Reference Library.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:14 AM on July 29, 2004

how lax bail used to be -- $10,000 cash

$10,000 used to be real money.
posted by quonsar at 11:21 AM on July 29, 2004

i suppose i shouldn't, but i have a certain amount of sympathy for this guy. i don't know that a 19 yr old boy (raised in an ugly place and time) and a 55 yr old man have much in common.
posted by t r a c y at 11:25 AM on July 29, 2004

quonsar: $10,000 used to be real money.

Things have still tightened considerably. In 1973 the average US wage was only $7,580. In 2002 it was U$33,252. I can't imagine any charged with attempted murder of a cop being released on $40,000 bail.
posted by Mitheral at 12:37 PM on July 29, 2004

i don't know that a 19 yr old boy (raised in an ugly place and time) and a 55 yr old man have much in common.

Perhaps. But if he's not held accountable for what he did at 19, the message sent is that shooting a police officer is OK as long as you avoid capture for three decades.
posted by jonmc at 12:48 PM on July 29, 2004

i didn't say he shouldn't be held accountable, but was thinking that taking revenge on him as tho it were still 1969 might be uncalled for.
posted by t r a c y at 4:19 PM on July 29, 2004

This doesn't sound like revenge: he's simply going to be tried for his crimes. In spite of the additional charges for jumping bail and evading capture for over 30 years, I bet his sentence will be lighter (and more fair) than it would have been otherwise.
posted by Eamon at 4:59 PM on July 29, 2004

punish, prosecute, try, take revenge... all the same thing. not saying we shouldn't, i just like using the most accurate word for it.
posted by t r a c y at 5:14 PM on July 29, 2004

Historical context - black panther party photo tour.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:06 PM on July 29, 2004

you can be sure the book would have been closed and forgotten on his case some 25 years ago if it hadn't of been a cop that he shot in the arm.

It was closed. The victim of the crime, retired police officer Terrence Knox, asked cold case squad to reopen the case in 2003.

In 1983, Pannellwas arrested in Canada on federal customs charges, which put his fingerprints on file. So in 2003, after reopening the case, he was tracked down through his arest in 1983.

punish, prosecute, try, take revenge... all the same thing

Try this word: Justice
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 8:23 PM on July 29, 2004

justice

Like that received by numerous other Black Panthers killed 'in self defense' at the hands of members of various police departments? (This link might put this particular thread into some perspective)

Or, do you mean like the justice meted out against members of the Chicago P.D. for the 'police riot' that occured at the DNC?

Justice often appears to be defined by those with a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.
posted by amauck at 10:00 PM on July 29, 2004

Try this word: Justice

Steve, Amauck: that's why they have trials. That's what makes it a (somewhat) effective justice system. With any luck we'll find out what happened and why, and if neccessary punishments will be meted out. Given the history of both the Panthers and the Chicago PD, the events deserve a closer look, but assuming in either direction is an anathema to how it's supposed to work.
posted by jonmc at 6:37 AM on July 30, 2004