opinion
The person who could have killed me will face no accountability, and I share in the blame.
The penultimate day of May was nearly my last. A man drove his truck through a crowd of demonstrators, sending dozens scrambling and me through the air. We were all fortunate to watch the sun set that evening.
I spoke to an investigator from the state attorney’s office about the incident. Keep in mind — we were marching against an unjust criminal justice system. How could I subject my trespasser, who I am called to love as myself, to the cruelties of that system?
Attempting compassion, I told the officer that — though the man nearly killed me — I did not believe he set out that morning to do so. I expressed my desire for a restorative justice process, to meet and work out our differences.
The officer said he had no such authority, but would make note of it.
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State Attorney Campbell used a twisted version of my statement to justify his own cowardly abdication. My words were part of a good-faith effort to resist prejudice against that man based on our limited, though violent, encounter. They were not intended to absolve him of accountability — but that is how Campbell chose to use them.
I also believe a Mayor Dailey, City Manager Goad, and Police Chief Revell have demonstrated a failure of leadership. Goad and Dailey used a series of antidemocratic actions to install Revell, a man with his own history of extrajudicial killing, atop a police department that would soon take three more lives.
I'll take this as a lesson on the power of my own words and the responsibility I have to carefully craft them. Using that power, I denounce Campbell, Dailey, Goad and Revell.
They have shown no interest in securing the trust and consent of the governed, so they are illegitimate and must resign.
Will Crowley is a Tallahassee transplant with a background in urban planning, public finance, and higher education. He is also an active member of the local arts community.
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