Back on January 26, The College Fix reported on a situation involving New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s son and Yale University.
Blow’s son Tahj appeared to match the description of a burglar who had been reported in the area. A Yale police officer stopped Tahj at gunpoint, and the department detained him briefly.
The elder Blow took to Twitter to lambaste the Yale PD, stating, among other things, that he has “NO PATIENCE for ppl trying to convince me that the fear these young blk men feel isn’t real.”
Blow neglected to note that the officer who detained his son is black. The head of the Yale PD is also black.
Now, the Yale Police Benevolent Association, “an independent union [that] represents YPD officers,” is dismayed at the Yale administration’s response, claiming “it created a presumption of guilt.”
References to incidences where unarmed men were killed by police officers was disproportional, and had “no place” in a discussion of a simple burglary investigation, the [YPBA] statement said.
Defending the actions of the police officer who drew his weapon, the YPBA argued that the administration’s reaction “has a chilling effect on officer safety and may yield a consequence that results in the death or serious physical injury of one of our officers.”
“We completely support our officer in his actions,” a statement from the YPBA read. “Yale needs to unequivocally support its police officers when their actions are reasonable and appropriate; not sacrifice them for political expediency.”
The statement further noted that the officer’s decision to draw his gun was in fact in line with the “reasonable officer standard of review.” The University’s investigation into the event, it suggested, should therefore find the officer’s actions justified.
In condemning the administration’s reaction, the YPBA’s statement argued that the University responded to the incident in the way it did because of public optics.
The YPBA statement also asked if Yale would have reacted similarly had Tahj Blow not been “the son of an influential newspaper columnist and television commentator.”
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
IMAGE: YouTube screencap
Please join the conversation about our stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, MeWe, Rumble, Gab, Minds and Gettr.