Diallo verdict an American disgrace

I

sat in the car, shocked but not surprised, after hearing that the four white police officers who fired 41 bullets at Amadou Diallo were acquitted. This verdict is a travesty, as have been so many others. It brings shame on the New York City police force and the American legal system.

This case is about nothing, if not about race and class. When Amadou Diallo fell in a hail of police bullets, with him died the last illusion of justice, and what may well be the last hope for racial reconciliation in this country.

What began as a personal tragedy for the Diallo family has now become a tragedy of enormous proportions, and a national disgrace.

Margaret Rice Moir

Fair Haven