Prosecution of Kohanowich would embarrass Greensboro
Friday's No. 2 editorial.
The arrest of Alexander Kohanowich allegedly for assaulting a police officer is an embarrassment to the city of Greensboro. The shame will deepen if the city continues the case, as its statement Thursday indicates it will.
Kohanowich was standing in the median of Coliseum Drive during presidential candidate Barack Obama's March 26 visit holding a sign that read, "We Support Our Troops" and "God Bless America." According to his account, a police officer directed him to move, and when Kohanowich put his hand on the officer's shoulder to ask where, he was taken down to the ground and handcuffed.
The story, originally reported by News & Record columnist Jeri Rowe, made national news and generated torrents of criticism. A key fact is that Kohanowich is 78 years old.
The Police Department Thursday issued its most detailed statement to date. It said Officer L.D. Prescod told Kohanowich several times to move from the median. Kohanowich didn't. Instead, he "raised his voice" and created a "disturbance." Then he "held his sign in his right hand and reached forward with his left hand, shoving Officer Prescod's shoulder."
That action prompted the arrest on the charge of "assault on a government official and that is now a court issue," the police statement said.
If it's a court issue, prosecutors will have to demonstrate that the police account of a "shove" -- not Kohanowich's version of a "touch" -- amounted to an assault. It will have to prove that the elderly man meant to do harm and gave the officer reason to fear for his safety. If the city wants national media attention on that courtroom scene, it will deserve the scorn that it brings.
With so many real crimes to prosecute, the District Attorney's Office should advise the city to drop this embarrassing case.
Comments (5)
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The Greensboro Police Department is becoming the " Keystone Kops" and a disgrace to all of us. When will our Council fire Mitch Johnson and Chief Bellamy? Until they are gone, its only going to get worse.
Posted on April 11, 2008 5:01 AM
Since there seems to be two different versions of what happened, I believe the witnesses the police mention must be unbiased witnesses and not other police officers or the public will never believe the police did the right thing in handcuffing and placing/throwing a 78 year old man to the ground and arresting him.
The man said he had a hearing impairment and if he was told to move a couple of times, it is possible he did not hear the directions of the officer. Until the police department mentioned it, I have never heard anyone say that the 78 year old man was raising his voice and causing a disturbance.
Since this incident has already made the national news, Greensboro Police need to be sure their information is entirely correct. If this goes to trial, we will surely make national news again and the first time made Greensboro and the police look bad.
Posted on April 11, 2008 8:51 AM
Give me a break -
Greensboro had plenty to be embarrassed about before this came along . . .
Posted on April 11, 2008 2:42 PM
Hey, its OK sometimes to say, we made a mistake, we overreacted because we did not understand the complete circumstances at the time. Fellows put this one to bed, its a loose, loose.
Posted on April 11, 2008 7:28 PM
GPD retired said:
"Hey, its OK sometimes to say, we made a mistake, we overreacted because we did not understand the complete circumstances at the time. Fellows put this one to bed, its a loose, loose."
Here's a retired Greenboro Police officer who is exactly right, & I thank him for speaking up as a voice of reason.
Police officers are human too, & they make mistakes just like the rest of us. On my website I've been pretty hard on them in this case, for a couple of reasons.
1. The action if they continue to try & justify it, is on it's face, completely irrational. It's scary, & involves crucial constitutional rights.
2. Because there's very little that can justify putting a 78 year old man at risk for a heart failure by using excessive force, you have to ask what was behind such an overstepping of authority? We have to remeber that "excessive force" for a 78 year old man, is not the same as it would be for a 20 year old. They could have literally scared him to death.
As I outlined on the post on my site. It just looks bad, & makes one wonder if it was motivated by officers who agree with Barack Obama's disdain for saluting the flag, which is what Mr. Kohanowich was doing when he was taken down.
Maybe that's NOT the case, but again because the action was by all standards irrational in the first place, it's going to raise questions.
Dropping the charges would be good for the City of Greenboro's Public Relations. Unless this is all about preserving the egos of the officers invloved, then that is the right thing to do.
I'd like to be able to counter what I've written on my news site, with something positive about Greensboro NC, but so far the department isn't giving those of us in the media anything to work with. Even if we grant you that Mr. Kohanowich could have handled it a little better on his part, wasn't the arrest enough punishment? Why do you have to give him a criminal record? It's excessive & an ill advised move by any common standard under the law, given the circumstances.
~ Dan Lee
Posted on April 13, 2008 9:05 PM