Families of Wendell Allen and Trayvon Martin find that justice can be slow for some victims: Jarvis DeBerry

You lose a loved one to violence. You know who did it. Not just you. Everybody knows who did it. The police, too. But they haven't made an arrest. There are procedures they're bound to follow, they say. Got to go by the book.

wendell-allen-close.jpgNew Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has said that Wendell Allen, shown here, was not armed when Officer Joshua Colclough shot him during a March 7 raid. Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard has said he detected no gunpowder on Allen's body, which suggests the shot was fired outside close range.

You hear that. Maybe there's even a tiny part of you that believes it. But your experience has primed you to expect the worst.

The humiliation in having to publicly beg that your loved one's killer be handcuffed! How can you have faith that justice will prevail? You're not even convinced the justice system cares about the loved one you lost -- at least not in comparison with the known assailant.

That is what the family of Trayvon Martin is going through in Florida and what Wendell Allen's family must fear they'll endure here in New Orleans.

Martin was a 17-year-old kid accosted and shot dead by an overly aggressive, self-appointed community watch captain in Sanford, Fla., Feb. 26 as he walked from the store to his father's girlfriend's house in a gated community. Allen was the 20-year-old Gentilly man shot in the chest by a New Orleans police officer during a March 7 raid to rid our streets of weed. Though Allen had a previous conviction related to distributing marijuana, it doesn't appear that he was the police's focus during the fatal raid.

George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old hot head who shot Martin, says he acted in self defense. Martin, the 140-pound teenager he killed, had in his pockets a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea.

Joshua Colclough, the 28-year-old former security guard who shot Allen, didn't give a voluntary statement to police investigators until Thursday afternoon, the details of which, a police spokeswoman said, the department cannot disclose. Colclough's attorney Claude Kelly had said Tuesday, "An honest investigation of the incident will find Officer Colclough justified. And I trust that will happen."

Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has said that Allen was unarmed. Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard has said there's no evidence that Allen was close to Colclough when the officer fired the fatal shot. Minyard said he found no gunpowder on the victim's skin.

The Louisiana Justice Institute is asking that an investigation into Allen's death be fast-tracked. Tracie Washington, one of the group's attorneys, says theirs "aren't just empty demands" but that she and others are prepared to take action through protests and litigation.

Given Colclough's delayed statement, is it too soon for Allen's family, the LJI and the rest of New Orleans to expect solid answers regarding Allen's death? Too soon to expect an arrest and the involvement of the district attorney? Probably. At the same time, when a young black man is killed like this, it's never too early to fear that his death will wrongly be deemed justified and that it will eventually go unpunished.

Apologists will bring out the heavy artillery: crime statistics, the victim's past arrests, racist stereotypes, anything and everything to avoid blaming the cop (or the pretend cop) who pulled the trigger.

According to 911 records, Zimmerman deemed Martin was suspicious because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and walking slowly in the rain. Zimmerman vowed to stop him, against the advice of the dispatcher who told him to stay in his car and wait for the police. "These assholes always get away," Zimmerman said before giving chase.

"What's your problem?" According to Zimmerman, those were among Martin's last words. He spoke them to Zimmerman when he realized he was being followed. Soon Zimmerman -- 11 years older and more than 100 pounds heavier -- found himself on the ground and losing a fist fight. Witnesses said the boy was on top of him. Zimmerman shot him with a 9 mm. He says he killed Martin in self-defense.

Sanford Police say they haven't arrested Zimmerman because they can't prove he wasn't acting in self defense. Zimmerman chasing down an innocent boy, they say, wasn't itself a crime.

If it's not a crime, it certainly is a message: Black boys, you enjoy no protection. You can be stopped for nothing, killed for nothing and then be blamed for your demise.

By your very nature, you're a threat. The ordinary rules of engagement don't apply. Don't be surprised if you're shot when your hands are empty. Or if in carrying a bag of Skittles, you're deemed more dangerous than a zealot with a gun.
