No Goose Creek students died in the halls that day, but the potential for tragedy was immense and the risk unjustified. Yet some readers accused me of being, oh, a commie-loving, left-wing radical, whereupon left-wing radicals everywhere cried in protest.
I don't doubt that Jones was pretty scary. An extra-large man stoned on cocaine and PCP would seem threatening even without a weapon. And Jones did lunge at and bring down one officer, as captured by a security camera, though not on the police tapes replayed on most television news programs.
Even so, a whack or two should be sufficient to bring down a rhino, much less a man, who, let's face it, probably wasn't going to give much of a chase. Officers involved said Jones wouldn't cooperate, that he continued to struggle. How exactly does one relax and cooperate when being beaten? Trying to escape painful blows is the only response for any person - black, white, fat, thin, stoned or straight.
I'm no softy on crime and no enemy of cops. I'm a fan of reasonable consequences and punishments, and I admire those who risk their lives to protect our communities.
But Americans have a right to demand that those we arm to protect us use force judiciously. We also have a duty to take the "right" side, not the black or white side, when something goes wrong. People who have committed no crime shouldn't end up dead when the police show up.
It is a fact of American life that not many unarmed, middle-aged white women are on the receiving end of excessive police force. But I would like to think that if I were the 18th white woman to be killed by a black cop in fewer than 10 years that blacks - not just whites - would raise hell on my behalf.