The Diallo Verdict
On Feb. 25, four NYPD officers were acquitted in the shooting of Amadou Diallo, a West African immigrant who died a year ago when he was shot 19 times after police mistook his wallet for a gun. What do you think of this controversial acquittal?
Michell Ness,
Machinist
"If Diallo was so innocent, why was he taking his wallet out of his pocket? Huh? Huh? Answer me that."
Irene Pollack,
Homemaker
"What were those cops supposed to do? Draw their guns without firing and repeat their verbal warning?"
Tina Botte,
Psychologist
"You have to understand, there's no time to reflect when you have to make a split-second decision whether to fire 41 times."
Richard Lefkowitz,
Orthodontist
"People are so misinformed about this case that they're missing the most important point: Amadou Diallo will never kill again."
Marcus Torrance,
Systems Analyst
"This is symptomatic of a much larger societal problem: the growing reliance of U.S. wallet manufacturers on gun-shaped designs."
Mel Soonachian,
Maintenance Worker
"Give those cops a break. It's not like they sodomized the guy with a mop handle or anything."
