[news] Michigan city erupts: Years of neglect blamed

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Michigan city erupts: Years of neglect blamed
By Cinque L. Muhammad
Staff Writer
Updated Jul  8, 2003, 10:10 pm

Mich. Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, flanked by local ministers, addresses
the national media on how the needs of aid for Benton Harbor will be
worked out.
Forced into a local state of emergency in response to several days of
violent protests following the tragic high-speed chase death of
motorcyclist Terrence Shurn, Michigan’s poorest city, Benton Harbor,
recently served as the pulse of American civil unrest.

In a seemingly inevitable chain of events June 16-19, dissatisfied
citizens expressed their outrage over the relentless police misconduct,
meager employment opportunities, inadequate living conditions, lack of
social services and local government indifference that they experience
in the southwest Michigan town in Berrien County.

At 2 a.m. June 16, a high-speed chase ensued after Berrien County
Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Lundin saw two motorcyclists exceeding speeds of
100 mph traveling north in Royalton Township. As the chase escalated
beyond his capability, officer Lundin discontinued pursuit and radioed
the description of the vehicles into Benton Township. The two speeders
apparently split up, because Benton Township Patrolman Wes Koza only
spotted Terrance Shurn, 28. The other motorcyclist was not identified.

Officer Koza continued the chase into Benton Harbor. In a catastrophic
accident, Mr. Shurn died of a torn artery shortly after losing control
of his motorcycle and crashing into an abandoned building at the
intersection of Empire and Pavone streets in the downtown area, where
some neighbors say he was born and raised.

State troopers position themselves in front of a liquor store, one of
the few business on Empire Street.
According to Benton Harbor Police Chief Samuel Harris, the city’s police
do not chase people for traffic violations; they chase people after they
have been informed of, or have just witnessed that person commit a
felony. Michigan state law allows area police departments to practice
their chase rules inside of neighboring jurisdictions, unless the chase
becomes "dangerous to the public."

This leaves the citizens of Benton Harbor open to the judgment of
individual officers, which has led to their harassment from departments
in surrounding townships. Chief Harris said that Mr. Shurn was illegally
driving at up to 70 mph on residential streets, which made Off. Koza’s
actions lawful.

Implying that Terrence knew the area too well to have such an accident,
neighbors claim that Off. Koza caused Mr. Shurn’s death by bumping his
motorcycle with his squad car. They also say the victim didn’t receive
proper medical attention—claims that police deny.

"There was no contact between the police car and the motorcycle," said
State Police Lt. Joseph Zangaro. He claims that the officer’s car was
several blocks away when Mr. Shurn’s bike smashed into a house, and that
neither of the pursuing vehicles was equipped with video cameras. He
further reported that Mr. Shurn was driving with a suspended license and
had marijuana in his possession.

Witnesses dispute cop’s story
"This is where they hit him the first time. I heard them slam their
brakes and I saw sparks fly," a friend of Mr. Shurn and alleged
eyewitness Johnnie C. Williams told The Final Call, as he pointed out a
car’s tire tracks on the sidewalk and a deep scratch in the asphalt on
the corner of Lake and Pavone streets, three blocks away from where Mr.
Shurn died.

Mr. Williams said he’d be willing to take a polygraph test. "If they’re
wrong, they’re wrong," he concluded.

Evette Taylor, residing only a block away from the accident, said she
saw blood and a dent on the hood of Off. Koza’s squad car. A cousin of
Mr. Shurn, who wished to remain anonymous, claims that he saw Off. Koza
laughing at the scene of the crash. Several neighbors referred to Mr.
Koza as a "racist" who only stops Blacks and Hispanics, and said he has
been involved in numerous offenses against citizens, including the
choking death of a man in April.

"We’re not going to tolerate it anymore," said activist Belinda Brown of
the Banco organization, who claims she has filed complaints against Off.
Koza for harassing her, to no avail. "If they were doing their jobs, in
protecting our city, then we would have a better city. This has been
going on too long."

Officer Koza was on paid leave pending investigation at Final Call press
time.

Citizens uprise
Around 8:15 p.m. on the day of Mr. Shurn’s death, his friends and family
were disallowed by cops to hold a memorial prayer vigil at the site of
the accident. Upset that they couldn’t honor their companion, the group
went to Benton Harbor’s City Commission chambers to protest.


"They took our flowers and cards and told us to go to our houses," said
resident Tonya Gibbs. By 9:30 p.m., several hundred angry people took to
the streets and began torching vacant houses and bombarding police with
bricks, chunks of asphalt, bottles and tree branches. Vehicles were
turned over and set on fire.

The Benton Harbor Police Department, having only 15 officers, was
outnumbered and unable to control the uprising. "Things got out of
hand," Chief Harris said to the media on June 17.

On the evening of June 17 a crowd protested at Benton Township Hall,
saying that Off. Koza should be removed from the force without pay until
the state police investigation is completed. Meanwhile, Benton Harbor
City Manager Joel Patterson and Berrien County Board of Commissioners
Chairman Bret Witkowski signed a local state of emergency, which allowed
surrounding police departments to provide assistance, the state police
to take control, and for police to set up road blocks. It also allowed
Benton Harbor to enforce its longstanding 10:30 p.m. curfew for
children, ages 16 and under.

More than 200 officers from various departments, including tactical
response teams dressed in fatigues, were all staged and waiting for
orders at St. Joseph River, where a bridge connects Benton Harbor to
nearly all-White, affluent St. Joseph city.

Resident Larry Hardin believes that the local state of emergency was
declared to protect the residents of St. Joseph. "They didn’t want it to
escalate across that bridge over there. Two or three more days of this
here, it would have went across to St. Joseph," he said.

War zone

Michigan State troopers and SWAT teams travel in armored personnel
carrier in Benton Harbor.
The June 17 evening’s rebellion, which began at about 8:30 p.m., was
more heated than the previous night. More buildings, some occupied, were
burned when fire spread from the adjacent vacant homes.

Resident Joshua Taylor said that state police neglected to help him
remove things from his neighbor’s burning house. "I begged them to get
out of their car and help. An officer said, ‘That’s your problem.’ They
laughed at us," he said.

When Mr. Taylor called the fire department, they refused to respond, due
to the high-risk situation. "These houses didn’t have to burn down like
this," he said.

"It was enough good neighborhood people out here to fight the mob. We
would have helped fight them off while they tried to save our houses,"
he added.

Nevertheless, crowds kept firefighters away from the burning buildings,
including the one that Mr. Shurn crashed into. Police waited until 2:30
a.m. June 18 before they used teargas to disperse crowds in what Lt.
Zangaro called a "war zone." Several firemen were injured and two
firetrucks received considerable damage. Gunshots were fired at officers
from a vehicle. Broken glass, bricks and stones were strewn through the
streets. There were over a dozen injuries, but no deaths reported.
Police made over 10 arrests.

"It was enough good neighborhood people out here to fight the mob. We
would have helped fight them off while they tried to save our houses,"
Mr. Taylor said.

Dialogue begins
By June 18, violence had subsided in the five-block neighborhood
surrounding the downtown area of Benton Harbor and people were ready to
talk. The Benton Harbor Ministerial Alliance wore yellow "God Squad"
T-shirts and walked the streets reasoning with citizens that violence is
not the answer. Several town hall meetings were held during the tense
days to help mediate between the city, the citizens and the police
force. Police mistrust and abuse of power were discussed as the root
causes of the unrest, and Chief Samuels openly admitted that his
officers are young, inexperienced and ill-equipped to deliver proper
service.

Raynard Shurn, the older brother of the victim, called for an end to the
violence during a June 18 meeting at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church.

"I ask that the events of the past several days become more than just
another tragic incident," he demanded.

Several people were wearing white T-shirts with Terrance’s picture and
many residents spoke up on behalf of Terrance, noting his plans to go to
automotive college and get married. On hand was an NAACP representative
to hand out petitions.

"This is not the way God wants this thing done, nor do we want it," said
Rev. James Atterberry, alliance president and a Berrien County
commissioner.

After meeting for two hours with the Shurn family, clergymen, elected
officialss and community leaders on June 19, Michigan Governor Jennifer
Granholm said in a press conference that, for Benton Harbor, "This is
the beginning of a new day."

She spoke of plans to assemble a "reconciliation team" to leverage state
help and expressed her desire to address the people’s hopelessness by
providing jobs and education. Stressing the need for economic
development, Gov. Granholm urged business investors to look at Benton
Harbor and promised that the state would commit to focusing on
prioritizing the needs of the city.

Many residents echoed the sentiment that they’ve "heard this all
before."

"It’s a shame it took somebody to die for the governor to come down,"
said Mr. Shurn’s cousin, Jaton Swanson.

Terrance Shurn’s funeral was held June 23.

A tale of two cities

Called the former "Mecca of Southwest Michigan" by one resident, Benton
Harbor has a 96 percent Black population of 12,000, a 25 percent
unemployment rate, and a median income of $17,400 a year. It has been
named one of the worst U.S. cities to live in.

Directly adjacent to the south of Benton Harbor is the highly affluent
city of St. Joseph. It sits on Lake Michigan, has a 90 percent White
population of 8,700, a 2 percent unemployment rate and a median income
of $37,000 a year.

Incorporated as a township, the two cities have not always been in their
current condition.

According to former Benton Harbor Mayor Wilson Cook (’82 to’87), in the
’20s and ’30s, Benton Harbor was the largest municipality in southwest
Michigan, affectionately called "Bungtown" as the leading producer of
the metal rings that go around barrels. Its booming economy boasted the
largest outdoor fruit market in the world (excluding citrus) that
shipped fruit globally. There were four movie theaters in the city.

Factories such as Superior Steel, Voice of Music, COVOL, Otto’s, and
Whirlpool would send buses to the South and shuttle Blacks to the city
to work and settle down for better housing.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph was poor and relied heavily on revenue generated
by Benton Harbor.

Decades later, the auto industry weakened and a lot of the factories
left town. With little reason to stay in Benton Harbor, Whites started
to populate the surrounding cities of Benton Township, St. Joseph and
St. Joseph Township.

In the ’60s and ’70s, "White flight killed Benton Harbor," said Mr.
Cook.

A city sucked dry

Basically left behind, Blacks in Benton Harbor started getting involved
in government.

"They moved out. We came in," said City Commissioner Ricky Hill. "It
wasn’t like we were experts at running cities. This was new to us about
50 years ago."

Mr. Hill claims that Benton Harbor was "an area that was striving. We
were not striving with it. We had a lack of community responsibility."

Gradually, he said, Benton Harbor fell, until the mid-80s, when "we
started bringing the city back with the help of the governor and state
legislature." In the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor city government, the mayor
and eight commissioners set policies and they are carried out by the
city manager.

Former Mayor Cook said he saw Benton Harbor lose Mercy Hospital to St.
Joseph. Mercy was the most progressive hospital in southwest Michigan,
he said. Mercy was equipped to facilitate open-heart surgery, nuclear
medicine, dialysis and ontology. He said that St. Joseph’s Memorial
Hospital was only equipped to facilitate tonsillectomies and cataract
surgery. In ’84, he recalls, the board of directors of both hospitals
voted in three Black members. The new boards, Mr. Cook said, worked out
a merger that allowed them to become one board, "and dismantle the
hospital in Benton Harbor in favor of the one in St. Joseph."

Benton Harbor residents blame the city government for allowing the
surrounding communities to "suck the city dry."

City Manager Joel Patterson was not available for comment.

Frustrated town

"This thing has been building up for years. There’s always been a rift
between Benton Township police and the citizens of Benton Harbor," said
current Benton Harbor Mayor Charles Yarbrough. "There is a lack of
respect for the citizens here, and I think the police need to do a
better job of community policing and get to know the residents."

"Given the circumstances here, all of this couldn’t be over one
incident," added Police Chief Samuel Harris.

Many residents in this town feel—perhaps rightly so—that they have
nothing to lose and the revolt finally helped bring attention to the
problem. One woman said the children aren’t scared that they might die.
Educator Gladys Peeples-Burks explained that the children mostly
rebelled because they have low self-esteem and don’t feel they are
valued.

"It strikes me that so many of these people are caught up in just what
they are feeling. I don’t think they are aware of the many avenues for
dialogue present in the community," she said.

People feel like they are not being heard, so now they’re "taking it to
another level," said Rev. Henry R. Griffin.

During a speech to several dozen people on Juneteenth (the June 19 date
celebrated as the last day of slavery when Texans got the news two years
after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation), famed boxer Rubin
"Hurricane" Carter, who was in town to hear the governor’s address and
to raise concerns about police misbehavior, suggested that people are
frustrated because they can’t talk to "their so-called government."

Residents speak out

The only way to get a job, citizens say, is by applying at a temporary
employment agency, such as ManPower. There are very few permanent jobs.

"They work you for 89 days, then they lay you off," said Joshua Taylor.

Others say the agency doesn’t give a person their full wages for the
jobs they perform. "With the temp agency, if you make $10, they give you
$7," said one man. Residents say that there are a lot of educated people
in Benton Harbor without jobs.

There’s only one high school in Benton Harbor—Benton Harbor Senior High.
Robert Thompson, a teacher’s aid at North Lincoln, a school in St.
Joseph, said that in 1981 he graduated from Benton Harbor Senior High
within a class of 500 students. This year, only 84 out of an original
400 freshmen graduated from the high school.

Mr. Thompson teaches children that have been diagnosed with learning
disabilities and behavioral problems.

"I get children from Benton Harbor that are in 7th grade, that are
reading at the 2nd grade level. The school system there is inadequate,"
he said.

The fact that better schools are in the surrounding cities, Mr. Thompson
said, discourages parents from sending their children to schools in
Benton Harbor. "The teachers don’t care. They won’t make you come to
class. They just want you to leave them alone," SoCyarria Ward told The
Final Call.

Nevertheless, St. Joseph Mayor Mary Goff noted that there were several
programs in place between the two cities. Among these, she said, are
Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes in both communities. She also
referenced a recent pickup basketball event that was open to Benton
Harbor teams, as well as certain educational programs that Benton Harbor
children are involved in.

"All kinds of things are going on," said Mayor Goff. "Unfortunately,
it’s not being talked about right now."

According to Betty Haynes, a resident of Benton Harbor for over 20
years, the city government doesn’t tell citizens much about the policies
and practices of Benton Harbor.

The house that she rents, like most people in the neighborhood, is
deteriorating. She said that two to three families live in one home to
help pay rent, she rarely sees her landlord and doesn’t know where her
landlord lives. Seventy-five percent of the families live in nearly
derelict public housing and collect government aid to support them,
statistics show.

"There’s not an opportunity to own anything around here. It’s always
somebody who doesn’t live in your city and don’t look nothing like you
that owns your house," said Mr. Taylor, whose home was destroyed by
fire. He said people pay the average rate for a good house to live in
poor houses. He claims that the city allows "landlords to be slumlords."

Mr. Taylor has lived in Benton Harbor for 32 years and says much hasn’t
changed in "this burnt out town." Holding back tears of bitterness over
the loss of his house, Mr. Taylor said, "My own people took away
everything I had. It’s hard to start over, and I don’t think I’m coming
back to this neighborhood."

© Copyright 2003 by FinalCall.com

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