The Wrong Messenger
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Whatever would we do if we didn’t have the Reverend Al Sharpton telling us what we need to get excited about?
Immediately after the tragic shooting by the police of an unarmed man, Sean Bell, on the morning of his wedding, Rev. Sharpton coordinated a protest demanding answers from the NYPD. When well-known public figures show up at events that have barely resonated in our consciences, facts tend to get pushed aside and replaced by emotional frenzies that can spiral out of control. If anyone knows the consequences of this, it should be Rev. Sharpton. Remember Freddy’s?
In 1995, a black-controlled Harlem landlord, the United House of Prayer, raised the rent on Freddy’s Fashion Mart; the store’s Jewish owner then raised the rent on his subtenant, a black-owned music store. Rev. Sharpton’s National Action Network set up picket lines and harassed shoppers entering Freddy’s, calling them “Uncle Toms” and “traitors.” Protesters shouted, “Burn down the Jew store.” On December 8, one of the protesters entered the store and shot four employees, then set the store on fire. Seven employees died in the fire.
Rev. Sharpton was also instrumental in inciting the riots that took place in 1991 in Crown Heights when he spoke at the funeral of Gavin Cato, the 7-year-old accidentally killed by a chasidic driver. He ranted against the “diamond merchants with the blood of innocent babies on their hands.” During a march by hundreds of demonstrators through the Jewish neighborhood, a rabbinical student, Yankel Rosenbaum, was stabbed to death by a member of a mob that was shouting: “Kill the Jews.”
Who can forget the Tawana Brawley hoax?
Imagine my surprise when I read an editorial at Townhall.com proclaiming: “Sharpton’s Stature Rises to New Heights.” This time out, Rev. Sharpton is being reasonable and calling for calm rather than angrily inciting racial free-for-alls. He has even managed to enlist Mayor Bloomberg. Sadly, the mayor has made a very grievous error in prejudging the incident, coming down against the NYPD unit involved.
I’ve known that Rev. Sharpton was a smart man ever since he appeared on Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect” when it actually was. I’m also aware he has hinted that he may run for president in 2008, and so find understandable his toned down, pseudo-respectable demeanor. What I cannot understand is how his shameful past and blatantly demagogic behavior could have been forgotten so easily by those now praising his reserve.
I truly believe in redemption healing the soul, but as far as I know, Rev. Sharpton has never apologized for the crimes he’s committed against a civil society. He certainly has never apologized to Steven Pagones, a young prosecutor he singled out as the perpetrator of a crime that never happened —the rape, abduction, and smearing with feces of 15-year old Tawana Brawley. Although Mr. Pagones sued Rev. Sharpton and won $345,000 verdict for defamation, he’s still waiting for the reverend to admit his role in this disgraceful affair.
One thing Rev. Sharpton is doing right, for whatever reason, is calling for answers to the events that occurred in Queens last week. While I do not believe Commissioner Raymond Kelly should be removed because of what may have been excessive action by the police squad, I do think he needs to admit that not all the cops in the NYPD are superheroes. Some of them are complete bozos.
I’m not sure whether it was the ACLU or NOW that was responsible for lowering the NYPD’s hiring standards, but whenever I see a certain female police officer at the ferry terminal who is shorter and rounder than I am, I can’t help but think — “Hey, even I could take her gun.” One of the recruits coming out of the Police Academy prompted a homeless vagrant to shout: “Did you see that itty-bitty thing? She’s off to see the wizard.”
The reality is that some cops do not always identify themselves as such. My son was stopped in St. George on his way home by men in plainclothes in an unmarked vehicle who demanded to know where he was going. My son asked: “Who are you? Why should I tell you?” A cop then jumped out of the car with his hand on his gun and came up behind him. It was only after my son told him he lived in the building that the police officer reached inside his shirt and pull out his ID badge.
It’s time to stop pretending we have elite police units. Elite policemen don’t make headlines. They know when to use their guns and they know how to hit a target without emptying their firearm.
A shakeup is definitely needed, but what a shame it takes someone like Al Sharpton to make that point.