The Martin Anderson Case

For those of us who live in New York, we have been bombarded with the news of   the shooting of the 23 old groom, Sean Bell and his friends by five police officers outside a strip bar in Queens. There are now many questions surrounding the shooting, not the least of is why the officers shot 50 times at the group of young black and unarmed males. In fact, the case has also received some about amount of national attention as well but, what has not made news is the case of Martin Anderson. 

Martin Anderson was a 14 year old teen who had lived in Florida when he was sent to boot camp in Hillsborough County by the Florida juvenile court system which found him guilty of committing some miner crimes . Shortly after he arrived on January 5th, he was surrounded by 7 police instructors and one camp nurse. The eight employees proceeded in beating the young African American male until he passed out. The next day Anderson died from the trauma he received from the beating. The original report from the local coroner’s office listed the death as a blood disorder but, thanks to a video of the beating and nearly one year of police investigations, the 7 ex-instructors have been arrested but the nurse is yet to be found. The case forced governor Jeb Bush to close all of Florida’s state run boot camps.

While Martin’s family has come out as being satisfied that their son has finally gotten justice the question must still remain as how such an attack came to be in the first place. The question itself is rhetorical but, must be asked nonetheless. Like Sean Bell, Anderson was a young black male killed before he could reach the prime of his life. While the lynching of African Americans is certainly nothing new, it is an issue that the media and politicians tend to shy away from. One possible reason might have to do with the large number of cases involving police officers. There seems to be a sense in the United States that any action the authorities take is always justified, look at the Rodney King beating or the Amadou  Diallo case. Not one officer has been charged in either of those cases. With the Amadou Diallo shooting, the police changed their story three times. But, there are a few differences with the Martin Anderson beating. First, he was so young, 14 in fact. Second, he was already in custody at the time of the beating. And third, Anderson was assaulted less than a day after his arrival at the boot camp.

Perhaps the worst part of the lynching was by the media outside Florida. On a national level, there seemed to be a virtual media blackout of the case. Such cover ups tend to be common but, at this point, unlike the before mentioned cases, there are officers who are not going to walk free this time around. And perhaps thats the bigger story. For more on this story check out the links below. Until next time. 

http://www.groundhog.tv/apps/editor/staticplayer.jsp?clip=1164833012425.wmv

http://www.groundhog.tv/apps/editor/staticplayer.jsp?clip=1164832772285.wmv