Letter to the Editor

I saw a report in October on CNY Central News.

The report described a murder that was committed on the South Side on Calthrop Avenue.

The reporter gave a description of the suspect: a black man in dark clothes. I fit that description, as I am sure many other African-American men do.

In my opinion:

1. News reporters are bound to accuracy and that “non description” is anything but accurate.
2. That description probably fit hundreds of African-American men, if not thousands. It fit me.
3. What benefit can that description be to “anyone,” since descriptions are meant to help in apprehending criminals?
4. These types of slights are typical of police and news organizations, so what message are they really sending out? It’s certainly not a knowledgeable or helpful one considering the times.
5. I wrote News Center. Their response: Blame it on (information from) police.
6. There is no excuse for slighting a whole population of men. They really didn’t address anything at all about their choice to repeat the information. The police didn’t make them do that.

Barry Irving
Former South Side resident