A local newspaper, The Sun Herald, has this article this morning regarding the investigation into the death of local high school football star, Billy Joe Johnson. Apparently the family’s lawyer and the NAACP are concerned about some of the wounds on the body of Billy Joe Johnson. The civil rights group is also paying for a second autopsy after the state examiner’s office is complete with their autopsy.
And here is where this blog post will turn into an editorial. I’m starting to get a little upset with the implications by the NAACP and this lawyer from Mobile. The MBI (Mississippi Bureau of Investigation) hasn’t even completed their investigation yet, and they trying to implicate the officer in the death of Billy Joe Johnson. They are trying to make it a race case. And I am sick and tired of it.
The wound they are specifically complaining about is a trauma to the side of his head behind his left ear. Now I’m not sure what kind of trauma (gunshot, blunt force, etc.) but let’s think about this for a minute. If Billy Joe was trying to unload a gun (not saying that he was — just conjecture at this point), and the gun accidentally went off and shot him in the torso, wouldn’t he immediately fall back from the gun blast? Wouldn’t his head also hit the ground? Couldn’t this just be a wound from hard impact with the ground?
We don’t know — no one but the state medical examiner knows at this point. And that’s the way it should stay for now. Geez, people. Let the authorities complete their investigation before you start questioning the evidence. That’s the whole point of an investigation — to find out what happened and why.
George County Sheriff Garry Welford, because he had a deputy at the scene, turned the shooting investigation over to the MBI and the district attorney, who has said that he cannot by law release details of the investigation until the case is presented to a George County grand jury.
That’s exactly what should have been done, and I commend Mr. Welford for that. I will say it again: Let the investigation commence and quit trying to implicate people in the middle of it. We will all know soon enough.
They only thing I will say is ” How would you react if your child killed himself when an officer pulled him over” maybe the wait and see method would work or maybe you want to start finding out before it gets dirt put over it
The citizens of Mississippi and the nation needs an immediate answer surrounding the death of Billie Johnson. The MBI should make this their number one priority. If they don’t have the resources then this matter should be turned over to the FBI.
Eric:
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Yours is the ONLY common sense article that I have come across on the internet. All the others seem to want to place suspicion on our Deputy or imply a coverup. There is a lot more to this story that outsiders do not know. Unfortunately for the family, their son’s reputation will most likely be ruined because of their decision to bring in the NAACP whose “President”, Curley Clark, has taken it upon himself to put “facts” out there that are fabricated and totally untrue.
I must commend our law enforcement for not rising to the bait with partial investigation findings and incomplete test results.
Just as it is wrong to assume that the officer is guilty-it’s also wrong to assume the NAACP or any other organization will turn this into a race issue. Looking objectively at the statement provided by the officer and the wound behind the left ear– a second look is warranted. No one is trying to drag MS through the mud or make assumptions that the death was racially motivated. I think you are being too sensitive. A young man is dead and his parents want the truth, whether he committed suicide, it was accidental or he was murdered. Either way, they deserve to know. The fact that Billey is black should have no bearing on this. The NAACP represents all people of color– not just black people. Some of the original founders of the NAACP were white and the NAACP’s job is not to fabricate evidence– as mentioned-the family is requesting another autopsy. If you are so concerned about what “outsiders” think– try educating yourself and then post intellectual comments based on facts and not your one sided opinion which in itself seems to be tainted.
Debi, i agree that i may have been over the edge with my “fact” statement, but unless you live in the black community of Lucedale then there would be absolutely positively no way in HELL that you would know what kind of harrassment a member of MY community has to put up with. You may live in Lucedale but do you live on Mable, Pine, JFK, Martin Luther King, Pecan Circle, or any of the black communities in Benndale, Basin or Bexley? If you do not then how would you know rightfully and truthfully that the sheriff’s department isn’t “always harassing the African American community”. Word of mouth doesn’t count, just like I really don’t know what happened to Billy because I was not there, but I do know for a fact what kind of racially motivated harrassment that has been associated with the “urban” community of Lucedale because I grew up in it.
I have many friends of different races and I personally was not raised to see color, but unfortunetly as a member of the black community I myself and friends of mine have endured different types of racism directed at us because of the color of our skin. NO ONE can tell me, a person that is very much educated and law abiding that my experiences are a mere figment of my imagination. As for me “grossly overestimated the “harassment”. How about you come down to “the grove” and post up there for a couple weeks and take notes. Even after that you probably still would not have enough knowledge to actually know the types of injustice that has accured. I kid you not. I can relay a couple of stories to back up what I am saying but time doesn’t permit me to do so.
I just wanted to let everyone know that race is an issue, and just because you don’t have to experience it or the fact that so many people ignore it doesn’t mean that it doesnt exist. I hate that you may feel that I or anyone else WANTS racial strife because when I go home and go to the store and get followed around, ignored and not waited on or have people turn their nose up at me because I don’t have the same skin color as them. This is going on now, in Lucedale and other places that I have visited even though it is now 2009. I by all means don’t like to get treated less than human, but I guess if you have never experienced that then you might be ignorant on that subject. As for Billy, I pray that he can rest in peace and whatever did happen is brought to light.
I appreciate you, Eric for realizing the fact that race is an issue, even if it is not in this terrible case. I find it very admirable of you to at least be willing to experience something before making a blind hypothesis. I have actually thought about beginning a blog because I have very strong opinions about this issue as well as other issues. I tend to get worked up the most when people want to share comments that are blatanly ignorant, and I admit to falling to these internal pressures to let my emotions get the best of my reasonings.
Aside from the standard he said, she said, I try to base my writings on the facts and the horse’s mouth or even personal experience. If I have none of the above, than I try to keep my mouth closed until I KNOW what the case may be. But I also like to hear others opinions and thoughts because my mind will never be closed to reason or others insight. Instead I am willing to take the benefit of doubt into consideration before I take a stand on an issue.
I just wish that more people were willing to step outside of their body/mind/ways and step into the full situation of another and then be able to think/feel/respond as if they were that person. There is always more to the story than what meets the eye and being able to think outside the box actually opens up a whole new world of reasonings. Stay real Eric and let God continue to bless you and yours.
Did you hear about the white guy in NY who went on a killing spree targeting blacks, hispanics, and jews. If you can tell me what would have stopped that man from going to the police academy for 6 months and getting a state backed license to kill black people. What could stop him? Please respond.
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This is a sad thing that has happened, no doubt, but im pretty sure the cop didnt do it, seeing as how in a later article it was revealed that the officer tested NEGATIVE for gun residue, meaning he could not have fired the gun, do i think the kid killed himself? no not really, will i completely dismiss it as not plausable? no, for the simple reason that when it comes to suicide little makes sense, as well as the fact that it is a well known fact that Men are more likely to just up and commit suicide without any warining signs, what has been revealed in the case is that his ex-girlfriend was dating a new guy, with whom he had got into a fight a few days before this, and that the morning of the incident Billy had been at her house, where she had called the cops on him because of an argument or something, her father is a cop in george county, so she may have just called him, this officer pulled him over after he ran a stop sign and red light.____from biloxi’s Recent post…null
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To me it sounds like a love sick 17 year old who could not handle the fact that the love of his life didnt want him back,im the first to admit that it sound kinda weird, how did the gun end up on his chest if he shot himself behind his left ear? it could be that he put the gun up to his head, slightly behind his left ear, pulled the trigger, the enourmos impact and kickback of the gun throws him to the ground, and gun in the air…since it would kick up, and it lands on him. i know thats a little graphic, but im sick of people in these blogs painting my homestate as some horrible place, where we just run around killing black folks for fun, , racism still exsists there, as it does everwhere, bad things happen all the time, this is no different, this kid was touted as the best running back to come outta mississippi since Walter Payton, some people cant handle pressure like that, componded with the lose of someone they love. People, dont be so quick to throw out the possibility that the cop aint lying, sometimes the truth makes little sense.
Marty, I know what you’re saying. And it makes sense — if the family was kept in the dark for a long time. The family was not kept in the dark, and they called the NAACP in after only three days. Three days is not nearly enough time for “dirt” to be “put over” anything. The DA even had numerous meetings with the family to let them know what was going on.
Being in the military i get to hear people from all over the countries opinion about Mississippi being backwoods, rednecks, racist, hillbillies whatever. MBI and all the other investigating parties need to get to the bottom of this either the kid shot himself or the George County Sheriffs Office is covering for their buddy. WHATEVER the case may be i hope it gets solved quickly with the reputation we already have the state of Mississippi cannot afford another “Mississippi Burning” case. The people of the State of Mississippi and the United States of America deserve answers and obviously MBI is draggin their feet so i think its about time somone else got involved. How bout the FBI isnt that who solved all the other cases just like this in Mississippi when MBI “didnt have the resources” i think so. Im not choosing sides in this i think the situation as a whole is HORRIBLE but whatever the case is we all want answers and most of all the family of Billie Johnson DESERVES answers!!!!
I am a black female from George County and I must say when I heard about this story I was sickened about the initial statement the Sheriff made. Any and everyone that is not from the state or the county has an opinion. I was born and raised in the county and I know for a FACT that this is race related. The Sheriff’s department is always harassing the African American community and anyone from this town can tell you that. I am happy that the parents refuse to let the death of their son be swept under the rug because this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to underhanded mess happening in that town.
You do not “know for a fact” that this was race related. The Sheriff’s Department is not “always harassing the African American community”. I do live in Lucedale, and I can tell you that. There has not been and will not be any attempt to sweep this under the rug, and as far as the “tip of the iceberg”, the underhanded mess in this town is the crime that is rapidly growing and the individuals repsponsible for it. The Sheriff’s Department has their hands full trying to protect the citizens of this county and should not have been put in a position of having to defend themselves from unfounded accusations and innuendo as have been placed in front of their faces by racially-motivated people for simply doing the job that they are paid to do.
The NAACP and the attorney from the Cochran firm have, a couple of weeks ago, put this out there as a
“hate crime” — their words, not mine, and it was extremely unfair of them to do so.
Stevie,
I agree that “everyone that is not from the state or the county has an opinion” — but it doesn’t make their comments relevant since they are not familiar with the dynamics of the community.
I have lived here all my life — some of my best friends were and are black. True, there are still people out there who want there to be racial strife, but I believe you have grossly overestimated the “harassment”.
In relation to Billy Joe’s case, the DA, sheriff’s department, and the rest of the authorities have had several meetings with the family, and the family actually came away from some of them “satisfied”, as it was put in the newspaper. No one is “sweeping” anything “under the rug”.
Thanks for stopping by, Debi. I try my best.
Stevie,
You’re absolutely right. No one deserves to be treated as less than human. And if there truly is harassment going on by the sheriff’s department and/or LPD, then shame on them! I, like you, was raised to see everyone as a person and not a color.
You know, that’s not a bad idea about going to “The Grove” and seeing what goes on. I encourage you (if you haven’t already) to start one of these blogs (they’re free
) and document it. I’d gladly read it so that I could try to understand where you’re coming from. I hate to think that the people we hire to protect us are harassing people, but I know that the world is not perfect and people aren’t either.
I too pray that Billy can rest in peace, and I truly hope that if any injustice was done in his death, that those responsible are punished to the full extent of the law. Billy did have a promising future, and it is a total tragedy all the way around. And God bless you too, Stevie.