OK: Unruly crowd gathers at standoff (100+ pelt cops w/rocks, shot(s?) fired @ murder arrest effort)

Tulsa World ^ | April 15, 2007 | Jeff Billington

[Stoat]

Unruly crowd gathers at standoff

Members of the Tulsa Police Special Operations Team team bring in an armored vehicle as they surround a murder suspect barricaded inside the Morning Star Apartments complex late Saturday.
 

4/15/2007

 

Police surrounded a north Tulsa apartment Saturday night attempting to take a murder suspect into custody.

Units from across the city were called in to help disperse a large crowd that had gathered, with some in the crowd reportedly throwing rocks and firing a weapon toward police and others near where the suspect had holed up.

The suspect, Rico Starks, 18, barricaded himself inside an apartment at the Morning Star Apartments, 2201 N. Hartford Ave., at about 7 p.m., refusing to comply with police demands that he surrender.

Officer Scott Walton couldn't confirm reports about rocks being thrown and shots being fired from the crowd, but KOTV, channel 6, cameraman Dominic Armstrong, who was in the middle of the melee when it began, said he was standing next to a vehicle that was hit by shots fired from the crowd. He also said several people in the crowd grabbed a reporter from another television station by her hair and threw her to the ground.

Police wouldn't confirm who was holed up in the apartment, but the suspect's grandmother, Lucretia Lewis, who had driven from Dallas, confirmed it was Starks. She said he was alone in the apartment, but didn't know if he was armed or not.

 

"I had tried to get him out. We talked to him, trying to talk him into giving himself up," Lewis said. "I came here to talk to him, and they won't let me."

Starks was charged in early Febru5 ary with second-degree murder in the slaying of Mark Jordan, 18.

In January, a charge of shooting with intent to kill was filed against Starks.

Additional police, some wearing riot gear and carrying batons, were called from other districts to help deal with the crowd, which numbered about 200. The Special Operations Team and armored personnel carrier, along with the department's helicopter, were also dispatched to help with the situation.

Walton said the additional officers were needed to help secure a perimeter around the apartment complex and provide security for officers attempting to get Starks to surrender.

"Early on, there was a lot of chaos, and we didn't know what we had," Walton said.

By 11 p.m., police had established contact with Starks and were negotiating for his surrender

[Balding_Eagle]

Maybe they should have tried smiling: “How to scare bank robbers? Try smiling”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1817815/posts

[NonValueAdded]

Placing these two sentences in the correct chronological sequence:

"In January, a charge of shooting with intent to kill was filed against Starks."

" Starks was charged in early Febru5ary [sic] with second-degree murder in the slaying of Mark Jordan, 18."

Wow, who would have seen that second one coming? /sarc Certainly not the judge or prosecutor in January, it would seem. A shame they aren't going to serve time along side Starks. Congress should be investigating why more DAs and US Attorneys aren't getting canned on a regular basis.

[loboinok]

For extra credit, which group costs us the most in legal and medical expenses?

Illegal Aliens?

[taxesareforever]

He’s innocent, just ask Sharpton and Jackson.

[livius]

They’ve been hanging out there all day. The “crowd” was already there, although some of its members may have had to beep their friends who were up in their apartments watching TV. We have a convenience store in my town where the pavement is thick with guys who just stand around all day, drink a little beer, sell a few drugs, and then go find their “baby momma” to collect some walking around money from what she has collected from welfare. Pretty pathetic.

[umgud]

why did the crowd turn violent?

The OJ jury would have turned violent too, if they could only have been present at the end of the slow speed chase.

[sageb1]

“I hope that you live in an area of New York that allows law-abiding citizens to effectively protect themselves.”

Eastern way upstate. So yes, so far.

[mamelukesabre]

2.5 hour standoff is nothing.

[HiJinx]

Ping!

[SauronOfMordor]

It’s depressing that over 100 people will spontaneously gather to violently prevent the arrest of a murderer, simply because they are all of the same race.

It's possible that much of the crowd were "business acquaintences" of the perp, who of course do not want to see their friend get taken.

[Stoat]

He’s innocent, just ask Sharpton and Jackson.

The wisdom of the mob...errr...excuse me, 'group of honorable and virtuous economically-disadvantaged victims' is plainly evident.  The trial should be cancelled and this delightful young man should be released immediately so that he can go about his business which will undoubtedly include suing the City of Tulsa.

<<< banging fuzzy stoat head on desk

[Stoat]

The reporters better ge a hurryt outta the way.

He also said several people in the crowd grabbed a reporter from another television station by her hair and threw her to the ground.
 

If the reporters don't move out of the way quickly enough for Sharpton to lumber in, the crowd will be delighted to help.

[Stoat]

Oklahoma Ping

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***I live in Tulsa, so here’s the scoop. North Tulsa is where ‘disadvantaged inner-city youth’ live. Offhand I’d say that 75%+ of our violent crimes occur there. ***

A replay of 1921? Oh, wait. The wrong people are causing the trouble this time.

[Mad Dawg]

I'm sorry, but what you say simply can't be true. We all know that transfer payments, public housing, and the like are intended to end social ills, not create or exacerbate them. Our betters have taken our money to provide housing and allowances for these young persons while they recover from the insult of slavery, or in the case of people of other ethnicities, other social insults and injuries which were your fault.

In fact, I'll bet that the vast majority of these fine young persons are so misguided as to be Republicans. If they were Democrats, they'd understand that this kind of behavior is just not nice.

Or it's global warming, or maybe cellphone radiation....

[Stoat]

It seems that many in the black community, much as with OJ, would rather see a black murderer get away (with it) than see “the Man” bring him to justice.

I'm guessing that the City of Tulsa has many fine black police officers, many of whom were probably at this event.  And of course I'm sure that Tulsa has many fine black judges, prosecutors, etc.

But none of this 'counts' of course, because all of these mentioned folks speak English correctly and are working to uphold the law and the Constitution, and so they are judged as being 'not authentically black' and part of the Oppression by the Evil White Man.

This is all so very tiresome.

 

[familyop]

"For extra credit, which group costs us the most in legal and medical expenses?"

...the Mob bosses. BTW, how's Ottawa Co. doing these days? ;-)

[Roccus]

Tiresome though it may be, as someone who had the ‘privilege’ to be on Malcolm X Blvd. (AKA Lennox Ave) between 133 and 134 Sts. in Manhattan on the afternoon of the OJ verdict, my statement stands.

[Stoat]

I’m guessing that your presence was appreciated and that you were treated with kindness and courtesy by everyone in the vicinity.

“snicker”

“snort”

[Roccus]

Once all the hoopla died down, my partner and I shut off the engine, got out of our truck and went back to work in the alley. By and large, we were ignored.(which suited us just fine)