DA Responds To Public Outrage Over Racial Profiling With Racist Remarks Of His Own
Earlier this month, we reported on a traffic stop conducted in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in which a Black teen recorded himself being followed around by a cop who commented to the teen that “it’s a warm day to be wearing that jacket” before eventually handcuffing and detaining him, seemingly in response to the teen ignoring him and attempting to go about his business. Well, now, the district attorney in Lycoming County is trying his best to do damage control amid public outrage over the stop that many believe was a clear-cut case of racial profiling.
And by “trying his best,” I mean Lycoming County District Attorney Tom Marino is responding to the incident by being racist as hell.
This week, Marino spoke with Atlanta Black Star about the detainment of the teen, now identified as 18-year-old Jessie Lopez Jr., and how his office is handling it.
Well, that’s what the outlet attempted to discuss with the district attorney, but Marino clearly wanted to talk about something else that was, of course, completely irrelevant.
“In the Black community … there’s no supervision of the kids,” Marino said. “The father’s gone — whether in jail because of possession of guns or selling drugs — (and) the mother, unfortunately, has half a dozen kids, and the father is not around to support them.”
So, the district attorney of Lycoming County was asked about what appeared to be racial profiling committed by an officer — who, as we previously reported, was assigned to the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit, according to the Williamsport Bureau of Police — and the DA’s knee-jerk response was to break out his white supremacist BINGO card of anti-Black stereotypes, and check off every box he could in a single statement.
Mind you, Jessie Lopez Jr. has a present father, Jessie Lopez Sr., who literally spoke with multiple media outlets about his son’s experience with a cop who thought a hooded jacket in the summer provided enough justification to harass a civilian. So, Marino was asked about one Black person who didn’t fit his list of racist stereotypes, but he decided to fly off into a rant about his ignorant perception of Black people in general.
Well, except for the Black people he knows personally, of course.
Oh, come on now — y’all knew this racist was going to conjure up a “Black friend” or two, who likely don’t exist.
“I have several good friends, African-Americans; some work in the court, some are in law enforcement. Some are involved in big business around the area,” Marino said.
So, within a single statement, Marino went from talking about “the Black community” like it’s a destitute cesspool of fatherless children and mothers with 10 kids and 11 baby daddies, to claiming he has “several” good negroes in his friends list, and, if they’re not imaginary, I’m sure he’s had plenty of discussions with them about his thoughts on Black failure.
Marino wasn’t done, though. According to Atlanta Black Star, he said in a separate call that he wants to arrange a roundtable with the Black community to try and figure out how to curb teenage gun violence.
“The question is how are we going to stop 13, 14, 15, 16-year-olds from carrying guns and killing each other? They’re not killing white people. And white people aren’t killing African Americans. They’re killing their own young people,” Marino said.
Again, WTF does this have to do with Lopez? The 18-year-old wasn’t armed, wasn’t accused or suspected of taking part in gun violence, and hasn’t been accused in killing a fellow Black person. What even is a roundtable with the Black community? What does he think the Black community is? He seems to think the entirety of Black existence is basically the characters in every John Singleton movie and ’90s rap video ever, and he wants to have a meeting that, in his mind, will be a reenactment of the Bloods and Crips truce.
Anyway, now protesters are calling for Marino and the cop who detained Lopez to resign.
“It’s representing people in Williamsport who are scared, and you want better for Williamsport, you know, who don’t want to see kids getting harassed for the color of their skin or for wearing a hoodie with a hood up, so that’s why we were here today. So it’s ok to not be ok with that,” Jonah Milliken, a Williamsport City Council member, told WNEP 16.
Milliken also told Atlanta Black Star that he grew up in Williamsport and was disappointed by the DA’s comments.
“This is our chief law enforcement officer, leader, etc. for my county,” he said. “He sets a culture in that position, whoever he or she is in that position, they set the tone, and they set a culture.”
“Not only did [Marino] make a racist comment, he made it in response to a racist event,” Milliken continued, noting that Marino wasn’t at his office on Monday, during a “Justice for Juveniles Peace Walk,” which at least 100 people reportedly attended, with some dressed in hoodies in support of Lopez.
Meanwhile, Lopez Sr. said he is working on taking legal action against the county on behalf of his son, who he said was racially profiled by the officer, who hasn’t been named publicly.
“My son is a good kid; he works two jobs,” he said. “He just graduated from high school, and we’re trying to get him signed up for the Navy. I try to stay on top of him myself. He might be 18, but you know, he’s my baby.”
SEE ALSO:
PA Cop Harasses, Handcuffs Black Teen For Wearing Jacket On A ‘Warm Day’
Michigan Cops Handcuff, Detain Black Teen, Claiming He ‘Looked’ Guilty