FORUM REPONSES: SUMMER 2004

JONES AND PIAGENTINI: VICTIMS OF THE TIMES

Joseph Piagentini was shot thirteen times at 10 o'clock in the evening on
May 21st, 1971. He lived long enough to feel himself being lifted into the
back of a green and white radio-car by stunned patrolmen, only to die
minutes later, sprawled across that car's vinyl seat on the way to Harlem
Hospital. It seems inconceivable, but it's true. His partner, Waverly
Jones, had the back of his head blown apart by a gun that was fired from no
more than five feet away. He was dead in midair, and yet his killers felt
it necessary to shoot him three more merciless times in the back.
Thirty-three years later, it seems, certain members of Waverly Jones' own
family have taken to shooting him in the back as well. It seems
inconceivable, but it's true.

32nd Precinct New York City Patrolmen Joseph A. Piagentini , 28, and Waverly
M. Jones, 33 were ambushed and assassinated in the night by three members of
the Black Liberation Army , a violent off-shoot of the Black Panthers during
a time of unprecedented tension, hatred and violence in America. They were
murdered, not because they harmed anybody, not because they did anything
wrong, but because they chose to try to better themselves and society by
choosing to become police officers. They started their careers, in fact, on
the same day; August 1st, 1966 was their first day at the police academy.
Their careers were ended on the same day, five years later, ended by three
killers on a rain-slicked Harlem sidewalk. Those killers were, and always
will be, Albert Washington, Herman Bell and Anthony Bottom.

Anthony Bottom is up for parole once again, and certain members of Patrolman
Jones' family are championing a misguided campaign for his release from
prison. The fight on this side, apparently, is being led by Jones' youngest
son, named for his father. Waverly Jones, Jr. was just a baby when his
father was killed. In fact, Waverly Jones, Jr. had not even been yet
released from the hospital when his father was killed. Waverly Jones, Jr.
was under observation at Harlem Hospital, the same hospital that torturously
admitted his father's corpse on a blood-soaked gurney. Several nurses who
viewed Jones and Piagentini's bullet-riddled bodies screamed, "No! It can't
be!" But it was. It was true. Thirty-three years later, there are still
those who shake their heads at the thought of this shocking crime and say
the same thing. It can't be. There are those who hear Waverly Jones, Jr.
making a case for the release of the man who helped kill his father and say
"it can't be." I am one of those people.

I spoke to Waverly Jones, Jr. over the phone in the winter of 2001 as I was
doing preliminary research for a play I was writing about the Jones and
Piagentini assassinations. The play was called "The Paper Cutter & The
Check Sorter" (two professions in which Jones and Piagentini were employed
prior to entering the Academy) and I asked Waverly Jones, Jr. to talk about
the crime. He said, "My father and his partner were victims of the times."
This is true. They were victims of a time where law enforcement officers
were no more respected than alleyway drug addicts. They were victims of a
time where 33,000 New York City police officers were anonymously held
responsible for the misdeeds of only a small, devious few. They truly were
victims of the times.

But what Waverly Jones, Jr. forgets is that his father and his partner were
also victims of men. They were victims of men with hatred and men with
guns. The passing of time can numb or distort this fact for some, but it
cannot do it for all. Men, Washington, Bottom and Bell killed Waverly Jones
and Joseph Piagentini . Men aimed those guns at their backs and pulled the
triggers. Whatever catalyst, whatever history, whatever seething,
animalistic, self-righteous or justified rage was behind the actions, it was
still murder. It was not the political statement that it arrogantly
proclaimed itself to be. It was just a disgusting double cop-killing that
rightfully shocked the world. It is a crime that is all the more shocking
today by the shameful, disgraceful manner in which Waverly Jones, Jr.
chooses to put an uninformed social agenda ahead of the legacy of his
father's decent choices, and his untimely end.

Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones were already victims of times hopefully
long gone; do not let them become victims of these times, too.

Gabriel L. Nathan
Ardmore, PA

Gabriel L. Nathan lives and writes in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. He is
the author of the book "For a Tin Star: Honoring America's Slain & Living
Police Officers," published in 2001 by Turner Publishing, Paducah, KY. His
e-mail address is gabrielnathan@hotmail.com


RESPONSES TO THIS ISSUE:

Mr. Gabriel Nathan,

After reading your words I've decided to respond to the false information that you are putting out. First, I was not nor have I ever been in Harlem Hospital for any reason. The night my father was Ambushed I was in my mother's arms. wherever you got "under observation at Harlem Hospital" is as far away from the truth as much as the foundation upon which your standing on. You must not have done too much research into the "Times" or the nature of crime. It seems as though you stopped your research at the door of the prosecutor and the police dept. also, if one bad apple spoils the whole bunch then what have a "few" bad officer's done to the 33,000 "good" ones. You know Sir it is said that Wicked men prosper so long as Good men do nothing, perhaps if the 33,000 good ones had done their job and either reported or arrested the bad ones maybe the backlash as a result of police misconduct going unpunished would not have resulted in my Father and his partner's death. Much of what I hear about these men who were convicted does not accurately describe the reality of who they are or have become. Herman Bell was incarcerated for 30yrs and never got into an argument or fight yet he's described as a vicious, unrepentant killer with hatred and malcontent in his heart, also his accomplishments can not go without notice. Jalil Muntaqim is another one that spent his duration in prison as a model prisoner never engaging in anything violent or disruptive. They have also maintained their innocence all the while. You see Gabriel, I see this whole thing from a different perspective than you do, my people's historical experience here in the good U.S. of A. gives me an angle that might be a little difficult for you to comprehend. The Cointelpro of J. Edgar Hoover was an evil and wicked scheme to crush all black organizations that were "deemed" enemies of the interest of those who were in power even though those organizations were doing great things for black people. They falsely accused, set up, Murdered, fabricated stories, solicited help from individuals that they threatened with Federal imprisonment unless they posed as members of organizations in order to foster division from within those organizations, all kinds of deceptive and sinister tactics were used to achieve their desired goals no matter what the consequences where. The NewKill program that came out of the Nixon Administration also was an evil intended program. You really should look into these things to balance your views. It may be difficult for people to understand why I chose to stand with these men in their petition for parole but if I had hatred and bitterness and sought revenge where would I begin? You know the law of Cause and Effect affects everything in life and we can go on and on about "if this didn't happen that would not have happened" until we get all the way to the origin of it all. Innocent lives are always the casualty of an environment of Injustice, those who are in the seat of authority, those who administer justice are responsible for the many crimes that result from their actions. If you only are going to look at the effect of things and not explore the cause you'll never see positive change you'll only be a reactionary individual which is part and parcel of the PROBLEM!

Respectfully submitted

Waverly Jones "Jr"
Waverlyjones71@aol.com


Dear Mr. Jones ,

I have to say that I was dismayed, but not at all surprised, by your
response to my commentary posted on www.nycop.com. In point of fact, I was
just wondering today when I was going to hear from you. Life is indeed
ironic.

Allow me to begin by addressing your claim that my statement about your
being in Harlem Hospital the night your father was slain is untrue. If it
is untrue, then it is because you lied to me in our telephone conversation
that took place in the year 2000 and, if that is the case, then you have
only yourself to blame; not me, because from your lips, Mr. Jones, is where
I got that information.

I put that information in the commentary because, I assumed, if it was
coming from you, then it must be true, but, really, Waverly , where you were
on May 21st, 1971 is, if I may say it without offending you, totally
irrelevant. Where Albert Washington, Anthony Bottom and Herman Bell were on
May 21st, 1971 and where your father and Joseph Piagentini were on May 21st,
1971, is decidedly more important. As much as it may discontent you or as
much as it may not coalesce with your view of the past and the world, those
three men were killing your father and his partner on that date. That, not
where you were, is what is important here.

I am not an ignorant man, Mr. Jones. I am not a dispassionate man. I am
not blind to the centuries of oppression and hatred and malice and
wrongdoings perpetrated against African Americans in this country. I am
also not blind to the fact that this history of violence and ugliness has
undoubtedly been the cause of misuse of authority, racial profiling, false
arrest, evidence tampering perpetrated by law enforcement officers against
African Americans.

I am also, Mr. Jones , not blind to the fact that centuries of this same
oppression and violence simmering inside passionate, furious youths could
easily have led them to join a fanatical faction of the Black Panthers and
mercilessly pump bullets into the backs of two unsuspecting patrolmen.

Two sides to every coin.

To that same point, there are two sides to peoples' opinions regarding Mr.
Bell and Mr. Bottom . I strongly believe that your reasoning behind why you
believe they should be released is confused and irrational. You feel that
their post-murder actions are more important than the actions they committed
outside the Colonial Park Apartments. It is my contention that their
actions, specifically their actions on May 21st, 1971, speak quite a bit
louder than their subsequent actions while in prison. I am thoroughly
disinterested in their advanced degrees and their Victory Gardens and that
Mr. Bell has become an adept flautist. This does not move me in the least.

Mr. Jones, you state that Bell and Bottom are model prisoners, that they
haven't committed a violent act while in prison. Well, I don't find this
very impressive either, and let me tell you a little anecdote which might
serve to explain why. I am closely acquainted with a gentleman who is a
psychiatrist, counseling career criminals, murderers, psychopaths, serial
rapists, etc, at a prison in the Boston area. He talks to me about his
patients and he states that the very delusional ones make statements like,
"I don't understand why they won't let me out-- I've been in prison all this
time and I haven't killed anybody in 10 years!" Why should we reward
convicted double-assassins with parole-- because they've got their masters
degrees and they haven't killed anybody else? It is patently ridiculous.
And I do not think I am alone in this sentiment, Mr. Jones.

Lastly, Mr. Jones, as I hope you have read by what I wrote at the beginning
of this e-mail to you, I understand why Bell, Bottom and Washington did what
they did. I understand they were too young to realize that their murdering
two police officers is not the way to effect positive social change. I
understand. I know the government and the police were not terribly fond of
the Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Army, and that there is
documentation to that effect. But the Black Panthers and the Black
Liberation Army were not too fond of the police either, Mr. Jones, and I do
not think you may reasonably deny that. There may not be as much
documentation of that animosity, but there are plenty of gravestones with
etchings of police badges on them to tell those stories.

I think it is time you stop romanticizing this monstruous deed, stop
pretending it was part of something greater, more valiant and own up to what
it was; an ugly, awful, hateful deed committed by men who do not deserve to
breathe the air your father breathed.

I think you also need to decide whether you believe these men should be
freed because you respect them, or because you think they didn't do it.

Yours Respectfully,

Gabriel L. Nathan
Gabrielnathan@hotmail.com


This letter is for both Mr Waverly Jones, Jr and Mr Gabriel Nathan.

Gentlemen,

Both of your sentiments are well and deeply felt, however there is a different dynamic neither of you has commented on, and that is, the plight of those of us who lived in that very neighborhood where those two policemen were slain. Not a very proud topic for the local PTA. My family was one of the very first (one of two actually) to move into the Polo Grounds when it was first opened. My father was an active-duty soldier soon to serve in Vietnam and I believe the other family was that of a disabled Vietnam vet. I remember the night a friend of mine, Mark, told me he had seen two policemen who were lying dead near Colonial. Since I was only 10, he had to be about 8. I don't remember who he was with that night but I remember quite clear what he told me. I also remember the wanted posters in the lobby of the building searching for the killers. Those murders not only shocked an entire community, but it left lasting impressions on those kids like myself who had little choice but to endure. Not many adolescents get to grow up around such profound violence. Think it doesn't have an effect on one the rest of your life...talk to anyone who knows. My own mother later became a corrections officer. I'm 43 now and soon to retire from the military after service for 25 years and a few combat tours while a US Paratrooper and I will never forget the uneasy fear I felt knowing two of the good guys were killed in my neighborhood. I know all too well of the injustices we as African Americans have had and still endure today however, the perpetrators of this crime are still murderers and they should stay behind bars for the rest of their lives for the pain they caused all of us.

MSG A. Oliver
Andrewshamm@aol.com


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