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in front of mybrother's corpse just praying that it willhurry up and be over. it was like this wasn'treally happening. like it was a bad dream. r: one of phillip'sfriends, albert hannibal, could barely speak.he covered his face with his hands,sobbed out some words that soundedlike, please, god. think of the family right now. thelma: it was something thati couldn't believe it. i just couldn'tbelieve he was gone. after the two hour service, the funeral procession traveled to fairlawn, new jersey,to bury phillip pannell. then when i closed thecasket for the last time, that's when i couldn't take it. i couldn't take it. going in that cold ground. r: at the end,after the bronze casket had been borne down thesteps, the
w3: let me finish my statement. paul: we heard itfrom every direction from those supportive of thepolice to those anti-police. thelma: if that was a black copthat shot a white boy, he would not be outwalking in the streets. face reality. face it. paul: there was anger,there was frustration, there was anticipation. of a trial,wasn't pleasant to be part of. m1: and we come to a towncouncil that i believe truly wants to dothe right thing. but because of ignorance, it does not know how. mike: you had african-americanactivists, people who wanted to address the question ofphillip pannell's shooting, but also wanting to broaden thediscussion into other issues. r: teaneck residents came totown council meetings to demand that more blacks be addedto the police force. but no aspect ofthe racial issue gripped the community's emotions
the attorney general, bob deltufo, to oversee prosecution and therefore take away thepotential for conflict of interest. i guess what we allwant is justice, and justice is whati'm committed to. r: tonight,new jersey governor jim florio revealed hewill move a grand jury from teaneckto trenton because the mood there will be calmer. the grand jury is expected toconvene in trenton in about a week. now, when jesse jacksoncame, he was more popular than alsharpton at the time. but i've neverseen him again. he never came back. al sharpton, i appreciated him. he put numbers out hereto make us stronger. we cannot have hypocrisy where you fight apartheid3000 miles away, but it's all right to shootblack kids in the back right here inteaneck, new jersey. thelma: that man,let me tell you, maybe he might bea little harsh, but in this world, to fight for somebody like me, mean blacks, we can't just sit backand be soft spoken.
(protestors chanting) william: it was avery challenging time to be a policeofficer in teaneck. cop: we are here todayto send a message. m: police didn't want to march.they had no choice. cop: he had a gun. (crowd chanting "he had a gun.") r: in a few minutes,the trial of police officer gary spath will begin. mike: it is extremely rare for police officers tobe put on trial. m: when you said that yousaw phillip being shot. witness: i didn't say i sawphillip get shot. m: just asking he motions, i give up.then pow. shot went off peter: but we'vebeen waiting a long to hear from officerwayne blanco, one of the only other people in authority at thetime of the shooting. thelma: i looked and i saw all white jury.
and so they reached out tothe reverend jesse jackson. they were really hopingthat jackson could bring in some sense ofcalm to the town, but also he'dtaken on the mantle of the post kinggeneration as a real nationalleader. he'd even run for presidentand done very well. jesse: in too many instances,the police fear and paranoia is translating into violence. we must draw the line. thelma: all i want isjustice for my son, the way he got killed. r: the pannell familysays they still want a special prosecutorinvolved in this case. and the reverend jessejackson says he will take that request directlyto governor jim florio. jim: we had a very productivemeeting with jesse jackson. he asked for aspecial prosecutor. i said, we're not going todo a special prosecutor. but we are going to take itout of the local area and lift it to the state level.
and therefore take away thepotential for conflict of interest. i guess what we allwant is justice, and justice is whati'm committed to. r: tonight,new jersey governor jim florio revealed hewill move a grand jury from teaneckto trenton because the mood there will be calmer. the grand jury is expected toconvene in trenton in about a week. now, when jesse jacksoncame, he was more popular than alsharpton at the time. but i've neverseen him again. he never came back. al sharpton, i appreciated him. he put numbers out hereto make us stronger. we cannot have hypocrisy where you fight apartheid3000 miles away, but it's all right to shootblack kids in the back right here inteaneck, new jersey. thelma: that man,let me tell you, maybe he might bea little harsh, but in this world, to fight for somebody like me, mean blacks, we can't just sit backand be soft spoken. we're not goingto get anywhere.
and so they reached out tothe reverend jesse jackson. they were really hopingthat jackson could bring in some sense ofcalm to the town, but also he'dtaken on the mantle of the post kinggeneration as a real nationalleader. he'd even run for presidentand done very well. jesse: in too many instances,the police fear and paranoia is translating into violence. we must draw the line. thelma: all i want isjustice for my son, the way he got killed. r: the pannell familysays they still want a special prosecutorinvolved in this case. and the reverend jessejackson says he will take that request directlyto governor jim florio. jim: we had a very productivemeeting with jesse jackson. he asked for aspecial prosecutor. i said, we're not going todo a special prosecutor. but we are going to take itout of the local area and lift it to the state level. the attorney general, bob deltufo, to oversee prosecution
r: it may have been themost difficult day so far for the familyof phillip pannell. the 16 year old wasto be buried. thelma: that day! oh, my god. my legs. i remember my legs. i was moving. then again, i wasn't moving. and again, i was sayingthings and i wasn't saying. i would just followingthe light that day. i was just-just following the light. when i got to the church, you couldn't evenhardly see the ground. it was so many people. i mean, you can see nothing. it was so many prominentpeoples were at the funeral all the black clergy counselorswas there, the naacp. and then i rememberi seen all of clint's friends was just looking at me,crying with the head down. and then soon as it got out ofthat hearse, they just started rubbing on the casket. r: outside,friends of the slain
w3: let me finish my statement. paul: we heard itfrom every direction from those supportive of thepolice to those anti-police. thelma: if that was a black copthat shot a white boy, he would not be outwalking in the streets. face reality. face it. paul: there was anger,there was frustration, there was anticipation. of a trial,wasn't pleasant to be part of. m1: and we come to a towncouncil that i believe truly wants to dothe right thing. but because of ignorance, it does not know how. mike: you had african-americanactivists, people who wanted to address the question ofphillip pannell's shooting, but also wanting to broaden thediscussion into other issues. r: teaneck residents came totown council meetings to demand that more blacks be addedto the police force. but no aspect ofthe racial issue gripped the community's emotions more than the chargethat white teaneck cops
that, of course,has caused the garment or his body torotate inside of it. so we have themessentially coaligned. (metal detector beeping) walter: this isforensic evidence that phillip'shands were raised. the bullet holesin his jacket lined up with the bulletholes in his back. when his arms were raised. r: sources say themedical examiner mistakenly found thatthe teenager's hands were at his side. that would havesupported the spath's story that pannell could have beenreaching for a gun. but an independent report showed the youth's handswere in the air. raymond: the symbolof raised hands is nothing new andis not obscure. it is known topeople in combat, even though theymay speak different languages and havedifferent cultures. it's known in law enforcement.it's even known to little children whoplay cops and robbers. it means i will offer no moreresistance and i am not armed. thelma: it's provenevidence that he gave his handsup. he surrendered.he surrendered.