Another kind of police brutality, with an assist from the media. Former Chicago homicide detective Wayne Johnson, writing in the Chicago Crime Commission’s “Action Alert” (Spring/Summer): “As the case investigator of a specific homicide involving a middle class African American female who was brutally murdered in the rear stairwell of her building in a high crime area, I was reassigned several days later along with three other investigators to the equally brutal murder of a young female white graduate student from a prominent family. This second crime occurred in an upscale Gold Coast neighborhood and received a great deal of media coverage because of the social status of the victim. This investigation was my only assignment for six months, and we eventually made an arrest while the other case lay dormant. Fortunately, upon refocusing my efforts on the original case, I was able to make an arrest and clear that case also. The chief of detectives at that time spoke out on the social ramifications of such investigations and how the media can affect resource allocation in homicide investigations. This official was sanctioned for his comments by the leadership of the department and the city.”
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Without medical attention? From a recent press release: “When the Carl Hammer Gallery first gave birth to itself in 1979…”
