I was the victim of a felony assault in October 2006. My troublesome neighbor, Mike McGarity, essentially stalked me and then hit me in the back with a roadside sign, leaving a bleeding abrasion. There was an eye witness to the attack. . . . McGarity used a "dangerous instrument" and caused "physical injury." Under the law, that's a felony.
When I reported the case to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, they claimed it was a misdemeanor and refused to conduct an investigation. In order to pursue a criminal case, I would have had to swear out an arrest warrant, saying the attack was a misdemeanor. In other words, I would have been forced to make a false statement under oath in order for the case to proceed. Under those conditions, I refused to pursue it. (If the case had been correctly classified as a felony, the sheriff's office would have been required to conduct an investigation and any charges would have been brought directly by the district attorney--at least that's what I was told.)
Would Kenneth Earl Dukes receive this kind of softball treatment if he was white like McGarity--or if he worked at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, as McGarity does (in spite of his lengthy criminal record)? Not a chance.
(For the record, based on the political signs he puts in his yard, McGarity is a Republican--a status which also helps make him off limits under Shelby County "law.")
How did a preacher/school bus driver come to have his reputation trashed--all apparently because he is black, in Shelby County, Alabama? Here is how The Birmingham News described it, after Dukes appeared last night before the Shelby County Commission:
On Monday night, Dukes appeared before the Shelby County Commission and recounted the events from last summer. He said he learned from some members of his church that his picture was in the "most wanted" section, and after contacting the Sheriff's Office, he was told to turn himself in, which Dukes said he did not do.
He said after he found out his picture was on the most wanted website, it took four days for him to get it taken down.
Dukes told commissioners that the situation had hurt his reputation in the community and caused his children to be ridiculed.
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