By: Bishop Otis Carswell
I wanted to post this blog that I might give a personal account of the horrific events that have transpired since the untimely death of Justin Jackson. There have been many things said, many false reports, blames, hate mail and even the casting of aspersions. All of a sudden this case has become about me and what I did and said. This is not about me; it really should be about getting to the true facts of this case and putting to rest the numerous speculations that have been made. My name has become the object of a smear campaign in the paper and on KDKA and it has gotten out of hand. I would like to put to rest some of the rumors of what I allegedly said. I do know that some people will believe what they choose to believe no matter what clarity I bring in this blog.
Let’s start from the beginning.
The Day My Life Changed by a Stranger’s Death
Due to the case of Justin Jackson and Officer Aulf still being under investigation, I am unable to go into great detail, I will however, tell you what I told investigators. My wife and I were driving down Arlington Avenue on Tuesday May 6, 2008 at approximately 6:55 pm. We noticed a police car parked in the alley and a police officer talking to a young man (who we now know was Justin Jackson) seated on the wall. I was alerted in my spirit to slow down and observe what was going on. I now wish I would have followed my first instinct and stopped.
Though I did not see the shooting itself (which would have taken place less than two min. of me slowly passing the scene) or who fired weapons that day, I did see what preceded the shooting and the accounts immediately following. Again, Justin was sitting on the wall while one officer talked to him, and the other officer was approximately 10 feet away with a dog on a leash (that dog being Pittsburgh’s K9 officer Aulf). It appeared that the officer was pushing Aulf toward Justin who while sitting remained non-threatening in his posture. I slowed down and began to try to view the happenings through my rear view mirror when suddenly I heard 4 or 5 shots. I knew immediately something went terribly wrong.
Without hesitation, I backed up, parked my vehicle and with my wife, got out and ran to see what happened. As we came upon the scene, there was Justin laying on the sidewalk motionless (where he previously sat) and officer Aulf lying in the street in front of him. Both police officers were attending to the dog.
Witnesses – That’s What We Were, Witnesses
My wife and I were horribly shaken as we watched Justin’s body lay on the sidewalk. No one attended to him, as police cars came from every direction to the scene. Though just a few minuets earlier we were compassed with others screaming comments like, “Oh man did you see what they just did?” and others who said, “Man it’s about to get crazy, I’m out.”
Witnesses became scarce as the police tape became the dividing line between death and those who remained to say what they saw.
As my wife aggressively requested that the police not disperse the crowd without querying them for witnesses, it concluded with me, my wife and one other young man who were detained and then escorted to the police headquarters to give our statements. Throughout that process, I never once pointed the blame at the police officers. I would never make random statements without facts to support my statements.
I must admit, my calling to care for people expanded that day to a whole new dimension. It was at that moment I began to pray how I may assist this young man’s family in coping with this shooting.
Graciously, the Lord answered my prayer and afforded us the opportunity to meet the Jackson family and to offer our assistance. This couple was like any other American family who learned of a tragedy; the lost of their son. They cried, they worried, and they asked the proverbial questions, “Why–How-What do we do now?” It was important to them that they talk to us, being one of the last people to see their son alive.
The Race Card – I didn’t pull it, but I did address it when it came forth!
Though it was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, “Preacher “blast’s, rips” police and media..:”, this is not true. I did not “blast” the police nor did I accuse them for any of the events which unfolded that evening.
I did however say that I did not like what I witnessed and believe within my spirit, it did not have to end the way it did. Though I am not aware of the correct police procedure used to investigate suspicious persons, I am still certain this scenario did not have to play out the way it did.
It is important to relay to everyone this point; I would have stopped and did the same thing in spite of the ethnicity of the persons involved. Our stopping and giving our assistance and statements had nothing to do with race. This shooting has now become a racially tense state of affairs in our city. How did we get to the age old “race card” theory? I believe I know the answer to this question.
Precisely one day after the shooting I tuned into radio station 1020 KDKA am and to my surprise I heard Mr. Fred Honsberger talking about this very incident. However to my dismay, I heard Mr. Honsberger spew comments to his audience that could further fuel an already explosive community, a police force under public scrutiny, and a family devastated by the loss of their son. In addition, his comments were racially tainted as he spoke of the Jackson’s son (in my opinion) with such disdain for his life. As the self-proclaimed, “Voice of Pittsburgh” I have no doubt Mr. Honsberger’s stance aides the racial divide in our city and many of his callers indicated the same.
The Shock-Jock who went too far
Mr. Honsberger advised the listeners that it was good that Mr. Jackson’s life was taken so that someone else could live. This comment could be considered in the ears of listeners, as a way to curtail community violence – kill [them] and we will all be better off when they die! I personally cannot allow such “status quo” comments without taking some form of action. With this type of “shock-jock” entertainment/news, Mr. Honsberger convinced me that KDKA is indeed a racially insensitive station and that ratings matter over all else. Such commentary which speaks of the good of a young man dying in the streets remains very disturbing.
I was appalled at the comments of Mr. Honsberger, who, before the investigation is completed, called this kid a “gang banger, a thug” and stated it was good he died. He went on to say, “The cops did us a favor”. I want to know who is “us?” Yes, I was immediately offended as I reflected, “this is someone’s child!” Such insensitive, racially tainted comments should not be permitted on the air. To accuse his parents of killing their son while they are mourning his loss is inhumane. As if his blaming Justin’s parents for his death were not enough, he then “scoffed” at our church’s prayer vigil held the following day at the site of the shooting. He stated that we as a church should have been there when this boy was being raised, “It’s the church’s fault” and “now” we want to come out and pray.
I don’t have to tell you how offensive these comments were to me, the religious community and my local congregation specifically since our community involvement with Mayor Ravenstahl, Chief Harper and other agencies have collaborated in efforts to usher peace into our community. These numerous endeavors are noted and on record. My personal involvements are too plentiful to list but most recently we as a church were involved in the “52 Weeks of Peace Campaign” sponsored by The Mayor’s office and Chief Harper.
Mr. Honsberger’s comments only fueled what many believe; and that is, a black man’s life is worth less than a dog, especially if he has been in trouble in times past.
Talk Radio – More Like Accusatory Radio
After the funeral, I received a call and was informed that I should contact the Marty Griffin show. The caller indicated that this guy was tearing into me regarding my eulogy of Justin. Marty informed his listeners that he attempted to call my office a half dozen times to get me on his show in order to obtain a response from me and that I ignored their calls.
Needless to say, I was surprised to hear this since I had not received any calls or messages from KDKA that they allegedly made.
In disbelief that my integrity would be so causally tossed to and fro, I immediately returned the call and spoke with Mr. Griffin’s producer who invited me on the spot to speak live on the air with Marty.
I agreed and accepted the invitation with the hopes to bring to a halt these rumors that were now spreading quickly throughout the city. While conversing with Mr. Griffin, I found him to be extremely gracious and allowed me space to bring clarity to some of the confusion. What I thought would help extinguish some of the fires, I later discovered, was used to ignite further fires and to discredit me as a Pastor, a black man and as a witness to this tragedy.
On this same station and day, Mr. Honsberger would later play sound clips of my comments from Marty’s show in order to make a spectacle of me.
Kill the Bishop’s Integrity the old school way – locate another Black Man with differing views
In addition to Mr. Honsberger’s negative comments about Justin and his family, he was now waging an all-out-war against me. In one day, he located and invited Rev. Jesse L. Peterson an out of state African American Pastor, who knew nothing of the case or of me. The purpose of his interview was to address my comments obtained through the Post Gazette and excerpts of Marty’s show and to then use my comments to feed his argument against me while trying to become the “good guy who just tells the truth” in everyone’s eyes.
This is one of the age old tricks, pit two black men against each other, which Rev. Peterson welcomed the opportunity to do so and accomplished this goal vehemently. Interestingly, Reverend Peterson was not instructed on how far he should go with mocking my comments because Mr. Honsberger had to stop him several times in my defense. I refuse to stoop to such antics and will certainly forgive Reverend Peterson’s ignorance. He was only used as another tool to add ratings and shock to Mr. Honsberger’s show, who by now was ranting on-and-on about how I said he was to blame for Justin’s death and that “Justin was right and the police are wrong”, what a character. God could not be pleased.
At the end of the day – a young man is dead, and his parents are still asking what really did happen!
It is such a shame the mourning Jackson family became lost in the midst of all of this. Their son laid in the streets of Mt. Oliver for more than two hours, uncovered and exposed, then to the county morgue, for days, without them ever being permitted to see their child.
Providing a proper burial for Justin and to comfort his parents became important to me, my wife and now the Potter’s House family. We have since begun to bond with Donald and Anna Jackson and their entire family. We all realize that we were “called” that warm spring day not just to witness that awful scene, but to this young man though dead, and these grieving parents.
Yes, I believe my steps were ordered by the Lord to this family. One purpose is so that I may share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them and our community, the other is to proclaim and demand the much needed
reformation in our city. I also pray for the reformation of a radio station and personalities; reminding them while seeking ratings, they cannot forget that they must be accountable for words spoken over the air waves of Pittsburgh. The Apostle Paul said in the book of 1 Corinthians
12 Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.
We did host the funeral service for Justin and ministered to this family that they may begin the healing process. I would like to report that over 12 young people gave their lives to the Lord at the conclusion of the service. However, that positive story did not make the commentary in the Post Gazette.
Time to take a broader stance of my own
Mr. Honsberger denied having said some of the quotes I took issue with yet he never played back any of the sound clips from his show to refute what I and others heard him say. As many of us know, this is not the first time that Mr. Honsberger has crossed the line. I therefore have no other choice than to take a public stance against the tactics and comments made. I have filed a formal complaint with KDKA and I await a response.
My initial petition was for an apology to this family, which I feel would have put out some of the existing fires, but Mr. Honsberger has already indicated on air there will be no apology to our community or to the parents. With that said, I petitioned for the immediate reprimand of Fred Honsberger and a public retraction of his derogatory statements or I will enforce the proclaimed boycott I initially spoke at the funeral – immediately. I would hope that a station with such longevity in our city would be accountable for the comments made by their on air personalities.
I advised KDKA that I am available for an off air discussion should they choose to dialogue further. Should matters change, or the Lord releases me from this stance, I remain diligent in this matter.
The Good Samaritan or Preacher of Hate – You Decide
The past two weeks have been quite an awakening for me and my family. I have been slandered on live radio, misquoted in the newspaper, portrayed as a hater of police and media, compared to Minister Louis Farrakhan, and considered an instigator and racially fueling a situation that initially began due to one man’s flipped and unrestrained comments.
I now realize why the average person does not want to get involved or testify to a crime witnessed. Here we have a classic case of what happens when you attempt to help.
On that frightful Tuesday evening my wife and I knew something was wrong, we knew it. However, we were not prepared for such a tragic ending. Justin’s ethnicity doesn’t really matter; I would have stopped despite whose child it was. The fact that he was a young black man simply exacerbated the tragedy all the more due to the countless lives already loss in the streets of Pittsburgh.
We will continue to go out into our communities and seek to reach anyone that will listen to the Gospel of Good News. Should anyone reading this blog desire to meet with us, receive prayer, love, and genuine concern, we are as close as a phone call or an email.
My continued prayers go out to the Jackson family, Officers Sciulli, Simoni and their families, and yes, even Fred Honsberger.
I close with a question and statement recorded in Luke’s gospel. Jesus said, “Now which of these might be considered a true neighbor and citizen to the victim?. The man replied, “The one who showed him some pity.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
