Black Church Baits White Police Officer
By Wyatt Earp | August 3, 2010
Sgt. Matthew Grimes was asked to give a presentation to a church audience on July 24 at Municipal Gardens, in the 1800 block of Lafayette Road. During the presentation, an altercation broke out in the crowd, and Grimes intervened. The officer was thrown to the ground and drew his Taser, ready to stun one of the people involved, police said.
At that point, someone stepped in and told the officer that the incident had been concocted to test the reaction of the officer to the situation, police said. Grimes suffered severe back spasms after the incident and was taken to Methodist Hospital for treatment.
James Harrington, pastor of the Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church, said he set up the scenario to test a white officer’s reaction to a fight between two black men.
“Their job is to protect and serve, and even though they have families and children, that they don’t put any regard to their safety,” Harrington said.
One of the racist scumbags involved in the set up claimed that this was simply a “teachable moment.” Hmm, where have I heard about this before? Oh yeah, from our racist president. I wonder if Barack Obama will claim that the Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church acted stupidly?
Somehow, I doubt it.
Topics: The Job | 20 Comments »
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:45 pm
The police should lock them all up that participated in the teachable moment! Then see how they like it in prison,another teachable moment!!!
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
So, now cops are crash-test dummies? What the-you-know-what!?
Hope the judge throws the book at them.
August 3rd, 2010 at 9:09 pm
I hope the cop sues the shit of the pastor, and his church.
August 3rd, 2010 at 9:44 pm
What? No Main Spin Media jumping on this story? Thanks for posting this, Wyatt. Otherwise, we’d never heard of it.
August 3rd, 2010 at 10:16 pm
So who gets “tested” next?
An Asian officer or maybe a search and rescue dog?
I hope Sgt. Grimes sues them into oblivion, buys a 2 bedroom condo in Boca Raton, a badass set of golf clubs, and takes an early retirement.
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I’m almost to livid to type right now, since this is something I’ve been following locally for some time. And I know I’m not saying anything thats going to surprise anyone here, but I gotta say it. I’ve lived in Indy all my life (hence the nom de comment) and I’m getting really tired of a very small but vocal and active quasi-political minority around here that seeks to stir the pot and blame everyone else for the problems in their communities. A couple of weeks ago we hosted, as we do every year, a “Black Expo” (sort of a cultural fair) that came complete with it’s own shootings. 10 injured over 3 separate incidents (last reports all gang related), and all these clowns can seem to focus on is whether the white cops are responding “fairly” to black-on-black violence. Now I’m not a cop, but I just can’t see a good black cop (of which Indianapolis has many) responding any differently from the way Sgt. Grimes responded. These “pastors” have money and they have a pulpit, but unfortunately it seems they find it much easier time after time to point fingers than fix problems.
Sorry to turn your comment section into a rant, this one just LITERALLY hits close to home.
Oh, and P.S. The prosecutor IS looking into how the bozos responsible for this can be charged. I just hope he has the guts to follow through. Who knows, maybe one of the “combatants” can get to spend a little time with his dad whose currently serving for child molestation. Yes that’s a cheap shot (but true). That’s just the mood I’m in.
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Gosh….have we learned nothing since the ‘teachable moment’ and subsequent ‘beer summit’?/////
This begs the question of how long the church’s charade would’ve gone on if a black police officer was the first one to respond….
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Fenway_Nation
My understanding, and it may very well be wrong since all my info is second hand, is this. Officer Grimes was specifically invited to this meeting to discuss violence prevention. They invited him knowing he was white. Further, he was the only police officer invited. In short, he was set up.
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Teachable moment? What I learned is “James Harrington and his church are racist jerks.” Might be time for a new lesson plan.
August 4th, 2010 at 1:13 am
“Whoever is behind this should be charged criminally with felony battery on a police officer.” – FOP president
damned straight!
August 4th, 2010 at 5:22 am
Indiana Ed
Shoot…..that’s what I get for not reading. I heard this story elsewhere and thought it was the ‘church’ testing the first-responders as opposed to specifically inviting a white officer and staging the incident in his presence…..
/Damn my Dyslexic speed-reading!!
August 4th, 2010 at 5:53 am
Gee, let’s turn all of this around. Let’s let a white church call on a black officer to do the same thing and see what the press does with that. OOORRRRRR let’s see what happens when whites form the Congressional White Caucus and then scream racisim when they get their hands caught in the cookie jar. Post racisim indeed…..
August 4th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Black church invites white police officer to the church,i dont know if its just me but i would have smelt a rat and set up strait away i trust very few people until i have known them a while. My age i supose!
August 4th, 2010 at 8:57 am
So they were trying to set up an incident to make the white officer look racist so they could justify their own racist perceptions? Would that be an accurate guess?
I’m glad they have been disappointed. A racist response would have been to stand back and let them beat each other to death, or throw them both guns so they could kill themselves and as many innocent bystanders as possible with stray rounds, or stand at the podium and give a blow by blow description with the microphone whilst laughing his arse off. Yup, glad they were disappointed.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:14 am
The problem is that most white people don’t care about this. Aside from some scattered articles or blog posts, there hasn’t been an “outrage”.
Basically, it’s a case of “It didn’t happen to me, I don’t care.”
August 4th, 2010 at 11:49 am
George – Never happen. If charges are filed, the church members will cry “RACISM!”
RT – Yep, we’re test subjects in society’s maze.
Wagonsux – So do I.
Robert B. – I checked CNN and MSNBC. Nothing on either.
Mrs. Crankipants – He should sue them, buy the church and level it.
Indiana Ed – No reason to apologize. I was pissed when I was writing this story, too.
Fenway – I’m sure Obama will be inviting Sgt. Grimes to the White House any minute now . . .
Indiana Ed – Yep, at least that’s what the story reported.
HeatherRadish – Sadly, the racism angle is their one and only lesson plan. No backup plans afoot.
Smite – Agreed, but I doubt it will happen. I hope it does, but I’m a realist – and a pessimist.
Roger – Maybe we need yet another conversation about race, huh, Mr. Holder? Of course, since the Holder Justice Department doesn’t prosecute blacks, I guess there’s no need.
Ajdshootist – The sergeant gladly attended. And look what he got for it.
Jon – It backfired, and they are probably sorry it did. I guess they would have rather seen the church members and the sergeant hurt.
Randal – That’s part of it, but you keyed in on the other part. The national MSM refused to cover the story. Can’t be outraged if you don’t know about it.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Wyatt:
I remember a time when a police officer would walk down the street on his beat, and the RESPECT shown to him was a teachable moment in and of itself for everyone that saw him.
Then, there were the people that needed the business end of a baton to “wise them up” when it came to OBEYING THE LAW.
(another teachable moment)
Between the lack of respect given officers today, the budget cuts that permit less coverage and resources on the sreet, and this “lawsuit mentality” by groups that live for making some free money, it’s not all stacking up that well one damn bit.
Add to that all the “touchy-feely” aspects of law-enforcement today, made to help with citizens’ self-esteem…don’t JUST be a cop…be an ambassador of “good will”…or a negotiator.
(*rolls eyes*)
Well, some things in life are simply NOT negotiable.
Like, when you break the law!
But hey, that’s just *my* opinion.
Stay safe out there.
August 4th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
We should take off and nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
August 4th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Bob G. – Those days – of respect – are gone forever. Trust me, they are never coming back.
Sgt. Hicks – Weren’t you asleep during the drop?
August 6th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Low-life bastards. I hope the officer sues their asses off.