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I respect and admire Mr. Kohanowich; his patriotic participation in his lawful display of love for his country is inspiring.

The events of that day will now forever be colored by the rants of police hating people like Stum. Mr. Stum was not there, nor were any (or most) of the other detractors who feel a need to unload their vitriol.

As painful as it would have been, their should have been a full public disclosure with a trial. Mr. K could have requested summary judgement by the judge, and all parties could have then presented sworn testimony, at which time the judge would have most certainly dismissed the charge.

God bless Mr. K, and God bless and protect our public safety personnel from sidewalk supervisors.

This must be a really painful experience for the lefties in the city- who to hate more- Mr. K for his unapologetic love for America or the police for doing the job the swore to do. I guess the police are the bigger target.

There is no such thing as a summary judgement in a criminal case.

If he is most certainly innocent, as you seem to indicate, it would be a perversion of our justice system to put him on trial. We should not get into the habit of trying innocent people just so their "story" could get out.

Believe it or not, innocent people have been convicted at trial before. Why should an innocent person run this risk?

Ellis,

I agree that if this matter had gone to trail, it would have surely been quickly dismissed. The problem is that this matter did happen to a citizen, and it should not have. The police officer here over-reacted and put Mr. K. in legal jeopardy unnecessarily. Not only was he knocked to the ground and handcuffed, but taken to jail, incurring legal expenses to clear his name, and the city declares that the arrest was righteous. Greensboro Police Department was going to let this "crime" go to court, where Mr. K was going to have to defend himself from what may be a felony crime. At a minimum, Mr. K will have an arrest record.

It's not the rants of police-hating people like Mr. Stum in play here, as you describe it, but rather a call for our police to act as law enforcement professionals. I am not a police-hater, far from it, but this incident was far from GPD's finest hour. The incident has gone nationally, and it has only served to add another black eye to the reputation of what was once the finest law enforcement agency in the Southeast, along with the city itself.

And, yes, there were witnesses to the events of that day, other than other policemen. If this had gone to trial, GPD would have received another black eye, when the brutish actions of the officer were revealed. If there was anyone of substance in charge of GPD, or this city for that matter, they would have quickly dismissed the charge and issued a letter of apology to Mr. K. This is a freaking embarrassment to the city that didn't have to happen.

Ellis,

Read Jeri Rowe's account of what happened. It is obvious from reading his account, as supported by the NPR reporter's tape recording, that this incident did not have to happen. Why was Mr. K told to move after he had been on the median for 1 1/2 hours? Why didn't the officer inform Mr. K. that if he refused to move, he would be arrested, rather than throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him ? Obviously, he did not react to Mr. K touching him, as he said not to put his hands on him seven times. So, if he says this seven times, how was it he was shoved? Why did the police officer break his sign? What's that about, they didn't like his sign supporting the troops? After he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed, an officer says to charge him with assault? Was that done after the fact because the officers knew that their actions went too far? All of this and Mr. K. incurs $2,500 legal expenses to clear a joke of a charge? A lot of questions to be answered, Ellis. The scary part of this is that any of us could find ourselves in a situation like this. We could be in a situation where we unintentionally ignore a policeman's order, and there we are, on the ground, handcuffed, and headed to jail. But, above all, do not touch a police officer in Greensboro.

By the way, what ever happened to the three police officers being investigated for sexually assaulting a fellow officer four months ago and counting? Why is that taking as long as making an epic movie?

I've also wondered about the sexual assault investigation. It seems to have been hushed up, doesn't it? Maybe someone hopes people will forget about it. Or ..... maybe one (or more) of the three officers involved was also suspected of inappropriate behavior by Chief Wray, in which case, it could mean that Chief Wray was, in fact, right?

This happens every day to poor folks in America. Just ask young black men how many times a police officer warned them before taking them to the ground.

I'm not saying what happened was right.

But it happens all the time to folks who aren't elderly white men and few take notice.

Earnestine,

So, what was the most recent case of a young black man being taken down without warning in Greensboro?