
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 3, 1991                   TAG: 9104030500
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

POLICE DON'T SHOOT SUSPECT FOR HIS RACE

I AM GRATEFUL for the NAACP. Who else would stand up for a man accused of rape, stabbing a woman, and attacking a police officer?

A police officer fires his weapon only when he is protecting his life or the life of others. This is the 20th century, not the Civil War era. A police officer does not shoot a suspect because of his race.

As for the "glaring omission" from the police report, the fact that Mr. Morris had recently moved to a predominantly white neighborhood is completely irrelevant. The Police Department does not have a contact in the real-estate business. If Mr. Morris had been a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, he would be alive today. There is no one to blame for his death but Mr. Morris himself. MARGIE CROTTS ROANOKE

by CNB