Inglewood Leaders Strive to Prevent Post-Trial Violence

The trial of the two police officers accused in the Donovan Jackson beating case won’t start for weeks or even months. But in Inglewood, civic leaders are feverishly organizing for the day a verdict is reached.

Worried that an unpopular outcome could prompt violence in a mostly minority city that has begun to lift itself out of a years-long economic slump, members of the Inglewood Peace & Fairness Coalition are enlisting everyone from clergy to gang members in their efforts to see calm prevail.

“We work with each other--that’s the essence of Inglewood,” Mayor Roosevelt Dorn said recently of the efforts to build a peacekeeping coalition representing business, elected officials, law enforcement, youths, churches, synagogues, community organizations and neighborhood block clubs.

And, Dorn said, he wants trouble-minded “outsiders” to stay at home.

“We’ll be able to take care of ourselves, but we are worried about outsiders coming in and carrying on,” Dorn said. He and others in the peace-keeping campaign declined to mention any names.

The days of looting and burning that rocked Los Angeles after the 1992 trial of four Los Angeles police officers involved in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney G. King are never far from Inglewood leaders’ minds these days. And they are acutely aware that the national spotlight is trained on their city of nearly 113,000.

“We have an opportunity to be a role model for other communities if we can take this tragedy and show how a city can come together and make sure, no matter what the scenario is, that we can express legitimate concerns without violence, without anybody losing a home or a business or a life,” said Khalid Shah, executive director of Stop the Violence Increase the Peace Foundation, which works with youths and the families of victims of violence. As a leader in the city’s peace coalition, Shah oversees its day-to-day organizing and planning.

The peace coalition was formed days after the July 6 police altercation with the teenager and his father, whom sheriff’s deputies questioned at an Inglewood gas station about expired license tags.

Two Inglewood police officers--Jeremy J. Morse and Bijan Darvish--arrived to back up the deputies. Exactly what happened next is in dispute but, by the time it was over, Morse had thrown the handcuffed teenager onto the car and hit him.

Morse is charged with assault under the color of authority, and Darvish is charged with filing a false police report. Both are scheduled to return to court Oct. 31 for pretrial motions.

The widely broadcast videotape caused outrage reminiscent of that after the King beating. Morse is white and 16-year-old Jackson is African American. In the weeks that followed, nationally known activists, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and Dick Gregory, came to Los Angeles and joined calls for Morse’s firing and prosecution.

Three days after the gas station incident, protesters swarmed into Inglewood City Hall and occupied the mayor’s office until Dorn, an African American and an articulate, politically savvy former judge, agreed within a few minutes to meet with them.

Local activist Najee Ali, who organized the demonstration, credited Dorn with keeping the peace that day.

“Mayor Dorn understood the pulse beat of the city, and he prevented a possible riot that day by addressing our concerns. We had a mayor who was taking the case seriously, [so] we settled down and left City Hall in a calm manner,” Ali said.

Since then, Ali has been joining protesters at each of the officers’ court appearances and leading prayer vigils Thursday evenings in front of the police station. Participants include whites, blacks and members of other minorities, and Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Jews, he said.”This is not a black/white issue.”

Shah said the occupation of City Hall had galvanized Inglewood leaders to form the coalition and to set a fast pace for its organizing activities.

“I think they are on the right track with all this preparation,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who attended the coalition’s initial meeting and who has sent a representative to each session since.

“They are right to bring in not only the business and political leaders and homeowners, but also others who are going to have a response to what happens and who, while they don’t want to see the city destroyed, might get all riled up” without some advance guidance, Burke said.

There have been block-club meetings with homeowners in the city’s many middle-class and upper-middle-class neighborhoods and efforts to reach less well-off tenants in apartment complexes. There have been meetings with youths, some of them “gang-involved,” and plans for special programs in the city’s high schools.

“I love Inglewood,” Robbie Y. Broom, a 32-year resident and longtime schools volunteer, said one day as she caught the afternoon breeze in her frontyard. “The city has come a long way, and it’s getting better all the time. Nobody wants to see it hurt for any reason,” Broom said in explaining why she is working with the peacekeeping effort.

Business representatives are seeking ways to offer jobs to young people, and have pledged money to help spread the peace coalition’s message. The clergy group plans to open the city’s many churches the day of the verdict and urge residents to gather there to hear the verdict and seek guidance if they don’t like the outcome.

At a citywide meeting in August, organizers asked residents to fill out bright yellow volunteer sheets pledging to help with peacekeeping efforts. Shah has collected nearly 1,500 so far.

The peace coalition worked a booth at the city’s recent arts festival downtown, enlisting volunteers and spreading its plea for calm.

The coalition’s leaders meet weekly with various segments of the Inglewood community for brainstorming sessions and updates on progress. At one session, someone floated the idea of having youths meet with small groups of police officers to help improve communication and understanding.

Shah loved the idea. “To the extent that we may have a systemic problem and not just a couple of rogue officers, this is the type of thing that can address it. It’s proactive, and that’s key,” he said.

The group also supports calls for a civilian police review board.

To symbolize the city’s efforts for unity and peace, the coalition is planning “Hands Across Inglewood,” an ambitious effort to enlist thousands of people to ring the city Nov. 23.

Maybe they will wear ribbons or join hands; there are plans to honor the victims of violence by having their families hold their photos.

The event will be as much a warning to outside troublemakers, Shah said, as a symbol of city unity.

“We welcome anybody with a sincere attempt to help,” Shah said, “but we have a concern about anyone with a message that will divide the city and lead others to take advantage of the situation.”

Ali, who invited Sharpton and other national figures to weigh in on the Inglewood incident, said he applauds the coalition’s efforts, especially those aimed at young people.

“My big fear is that, if something does happen, it won’t be only Inglewood; it will be South-Central L.A. or Watts or any other community that has these concerns,” he said.

A cousin of Jackson said she supports peace efforts.

“Rioting doesn’t solve anything; it’s always the poorest communities that get hurt,” said teacher Talibah Shakir. “We do not want the beating of Donovan to be an excuse to go out and burn or help yourself to a free shopping spree, but we do want to see justice, and we want to see our leaders working with us for equality across the board.”