Telling it like it is

Calling a spade a spade: So Cmdr. Eddie Selby gets in hot water because one of his officers didn't like him pointing out the obvious: The bad guys are probably young black males. The subordinate goes whining to a superior that Selby is using "racial profiling"; Selby gets pulled off his post and is reassigned to headquarters.

According to the Times-Picayune, during roll call Friday night (7.1.11) as the Essence Festival kicked off, Selby--commander of Special Operations, charged with keeping the teeming throngs safe on the streets--tells over 30 patrolmen and ranking officers before deploying them on their beats "to look for young black males sitting on stoops because they are responsible for recent armed robberies and are likely carrying guns."

Was Selby right? You're damn right he was. Here are the robberies that happened over the weekend where Essence Fest was happening in the French Quarter, CBD, and Marigny Triangle. ALL were committed by black men; all the victims were black, except for one:

• Saturday (7.2.11) 3:55 a.m.: A black thug snatches the purse out of the grasp of a 21-year-old black woman who was walking on Gaiennie and S. Peters streets, near the Convention Center.

He is described as 5'8" tall, weighing 160 pounds, with short hair, wearing a gray tank top and dark shorts.

• Sunday (7.3.11) 1:55 a.m.: Two black hoodlums pull a pistol on a 31-year-old black man walking on Loyola Avenue near Gravier Street and empty his pockets.

One is 20 to 25 years old, 6'1" tall, weighing 190 to 200 pounds, with dreadlocks, wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans; the other is 5'8" to 5'9" tall, weighing 200 to 250 pounds, also wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans.

• Sunday (7.3.11) 2:05 p.m.: Two black dudes robbed a black couple, he 35, she 31, who were walking in the 100 block of Exchange Place near Canal Street. One of the robbers pulled a pistol and demanded the man's gold chain and Rolex watch, then told the victims to turn and walk away.

They described both robbers as 25 to 35 years old and 6' tall, one with a heavy build and short hair, wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts; the other with a thin build, wearing a dark cap and dark shorts.

• Monday (7.4.11) 4:05 p.m.: 8th District cops arrested Marcus Hayes, 35, after he accosted a 41-year-old black man on Common Street, between O'Keefe Avenue and Barrone Street. Hayes allegedly showed him a handgun in his waistband and demanded the victim's money. The victim said he didn't have any and Hayes fled on foot.

Hayes was charged with attempted armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, and illegal carrying of a weapon. He is being held in OPP on $80,000 bond.

• Monday (7.4.11) 10:50 p.m.: A gang of 4 black thugs robbed an 18-year-old black fella who was sitting on the library steps at Loyola and Tulane avenues. One asked to use the victim's cellphone while a second pulled a pistol and demanded the victim's money; a third took the victim's wallet from his pants pocket; the other told the victim to walk away.

The robbers were described as: one 5'11" tall, with a thin build, wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts; the second as 5'8" tall, with a thin build, wearing dark shorts and no shirt; the third as 6' tall, with a muscular build, wearing dark shorts; the fourth as 5'8" tall, with a thin build, wearing a black T-shirt.

• Tuesday (7.5.11) 3:15 a.m.: A 28-year-old white guy sitting in the 700 block of Frenchmen Street near Washington Square Park had his iPad snatched from his hands by a young punk who fled in a red 4-door pickup truck toward St. Claude Avenue.

Police caught up with Ernest Jarreau, 17, and charged him with simple robbery. He is being held in OPP on $15,000 bond.

If you're going to be a cop, you've got to be able to tell black from white, male from female, young from old, tall from short, fat from thin. Personally, I'd find out who it is who was offended by Selby's comment and fire them--they just indicated to me that they're too colorblind to see who the criminals are.

Chief Ronald Serpas' flak, Remi Braden, said the accusations against Selby call into "question a commander's ability to lead professionally, fair and therefore, effectively." And she added, "Discriminatory language is not tolerated in the NOPD."

I guess if you're a professional flak paid big bucks to make everything sound politically correct, you've got to say crap like that.

But I can tell you this: In my myriad of private and public conversations with Lt. Selby (so many phone calls that my wife jokingly accused us of carrying on an affair), I never, never heard him make a disparaging remark about a suspect (or black person--virtually the same in my book).

Selby, a New Orleans cop since 1975, hates crime and is dedicated to apprehending criminals. His favorite saying after a bust: "We got'em!"

He is one of the most effective cops in the NOPD. Numerous tales abound on how he's tracked down criminals and coaxed them to confess, even so far as getting down on his knees with a suspect and "going to Jesus" to get them to admit guilt.

About 6 months after Selby came to the 8th District as head of investigations, the district was plagued by nearly 2 dozen armed robberies in July of 2007, with 2/3 of them in the Lower Quarter and Marigny Triangle. Selby responded by transforming his entire squad of detectives into a plainclothes taskforce to patrol the streets at night. Within less than 2 weeks, robberies dropped dramatically.

It was a brilliant stroke on Chief Serpas' part to appoint Selby as commander of the Special Operations Division, to utilize his talents on a broader scale to reduce crime in the city.

I'll tell you what: You don't want him there, we'd love to have him back in the 8th District.

(Unfortunately, Selby resigned after 36 years on the NOPD late Wednesday, effective 7.7.11)

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As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome at NOcrimeline@gmail.com

Thom Kahler