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Tee Goode's "Mistaken Identity"
Submitted by Councilman Goode on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 12:59pm.
Let me first thank Dan and Jennifer for their thoughtful posts and all those who offered supportive comments to me and my family. I do appreciate them.
I am breaking my silence on this issue - with just a few words (less than 600). :)
On January 7, I had the honor and pleasure to stand with Michael A. Nutter, a former City Council colleague, as he took the oath of office to become Mayor. It was an honor that took place after I was sworn-in to my third term on Philadelphia City Council. I was among the first to hug the new Mayor, which I did with sincere pride. Not just because he became the first African-American Mayor to succeed another African-American Mayor, but because I know Michael A. Nutter has the potential to be a great mayor. I called him “Mr. Mayor” instead of “Mike”.
The next time I talked with Mayor Nutter was slightly over 100 hours into his new term. I called “Mike” to inform him of a police shooting that took place two hours before which resulted in the death of my 24-year-old cousin, Timothy Jerome Goode. Mayor Nutter asked for his name - and I responded “Timothy Goode”. Immediately, he recognized that this police shooting would be highly publicized. I informed the Mayor that my family would be focused on two primary pieces of evidence - the autopsy that would confirm whether my cousin was shot in the back twice and video surveillance footage of the shooting incident.
As documented, there were 110 police shootings in 2006 that resulted in 22 people losing their lives. I don’t know their story - but the police shooting of Timothy Jerome Goode is a story that is evolving into a case of “mistaken identity”. Timothy, known as “Tee”, has been characterized in the media as a suspected drug dealer who pointed a gun at police before he was shot. The evidence presented publicly thus far shows that he was shot in the back twice but there is no video footage of the incident although police surveillance cameras were positioned in the area.
Hundreds of people attended Tee’s funeral, not because he was the grand-nephew of a former Mayor or the second-cousin of a third-term at-large councilman. Many were family members who are not impressed with that fact, others were friends who were impressed with Tee - and heart-broken over his death. Timothy “Tee” Goode’s obituary reads quite different than the media portrayal of him by the police department.
Timothy Jerome Goode is remembered by those that knew him as an honor roll student that was valedictorian of his 2001 graduating class at Mercy Vocational High School. He accomplished that by ranking #1.
Timothy studied business in college, received a diploma as an electrician, and completed coursework to obtain a real estate license. Tee was also an accomplished musician and artist who intended to build a studio.
The police shooting of Timothy Jerome Goode was a case of “mistaken identity”. Tee was probably mistaken for someone who had nothing to live for - but he wasn’t a high school dropout, he was a valedictorian. Tee was to become a father for the first time this spring. He was running for his life - and into a brighter future - until he was mistaken for not having one.
I am sorry for your loss, Councilman Goode
and thank you for writing.
This idea of "mistaken identity" is a sad and moving illustration of what happens when we make assumptions based on circumstance or geography or style and write people off, here with life-or-death consequences. Your cousin is a person and doesn't deserve to be an object lesson in all this, but as we enter a period of likely heightened policing, we need to make sure that more young men are not mistaken for people with nothing to live for because of the corner they're on.
and let's be clear
there should be no such thing as a person with nothing to live for, and even if there is, it's up to no one to decide that but the person them self. Even if someone is on a corner selling drugs, there's no reason to shoot them in the back.
i understand how dangerous a job it is to be a cop, but this tragedy certainly makes me wonder...
Yes,
Well said.
Well said.
There is no excuse for crap
There is no excuse for crap policing period - if thats what turns out to be the case. Noone is safer if police mistakes are covered over in the name of "protecting their own" - at all.
I don't know enough of what really happened in this case and I pray for a fair and full accounting.
I wish the entire Goode family strength in a time of adversity, regardless.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
My Friend...
Councilman...
I just want to extend my sincere condolences to you and your family. Unfortunately, too many families stand in a situation too similar to yours. Violence is violence. Violence begets violence. The mentality of a eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth is damning our City.
As you continue your public life, the sad fact is that there will be countless other black men who suffer either physical abuse or worse death, at hands of the PPD. While an overwhelming majority of the PPD Officers are upstanding citizens, I have a grave concern about those members who can "mistake an identity" and as a result someone is dead.
And this is the City that is embracing a wholesale "stop and frisk" program?
sincere condonlences
to you and your family, Councilman Goode.
Tee Goode, not just a statistic
Councilman please accept my most sincere condolences to you and your entire extended family. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and words here on YPP and the OP/Ed page of the Daily News.
I know it may have been dificult and maybe even cathartic for you to write about your cousin. Please know that your description of his life's accomplishments and tragic death help make him more than just another cold statistic. Your words speak to the truth that we can't allow the daily body count to desensitize us or forget the many lives that are profoundly affected by violence.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
Seth
Sincerest Condolences
Councilman, my deepest condolences to the immediate family of Tee,you, and your extended family in this tragic loss of your loved one! I could feel the spirit. and goodness of Tee as you wrote about him. It is very difficult, for me, with a young black-male son about Tee's age.not to ache when thinking about your loss. As you describe Tee, I know that he was, in the words of Nina Simone,"Young, Gifted and Black." For him to have been shoot, as reported, twice in the back is unexcusable. He could not have been a danger to the officer that shot him, he was running away. I don't care what he was doing if anything on or about the corner where he was shot. He did not deserve to die.
Joyce Webb-Eubanks
Not the Only One
As Councilman Goode mentioned, Tee Goode is not the only one to have lost his life to police shootings in Philadelphia recently. We must not forget the young man who died trying to shelter a young child from a hail of bullets fired by police.
Let's be clear. I do not think we should take a "guilty till proven innocent" approach towards police officers. That said, I do not think we should hold them to a lower standard than the rest of us. If anything, the badge they wear and the power it conveys places a higher burden of responsibility on them. I think most police officers realize this.
To be blunt: If you or I shot a man in the back and claimed it was self-defense, the detectives and prosecutors would be laughing as they dragged us in front of the judge. If we fired shots in self-defense, and ended up mowing down a group of bystanders, the District Attorney might be sympathetic, but we would still end up in court, and quite possibly jail.
The police, as enforcers of the law, must be held to the same legal standard as the rest of us.
The Expatriate
Is there anything we can do to help?
Councilman Goode-
I'm sure all the good wishes are appreciated, but I like to be as practical as possible: is there anything we can do to help your family in its time of need?
-Z
Next Steps
As the investigation continues, I am proceeding in a mostly private and deliberate manner. I have been briefed on the incident - and there are still more questions than answers.
There are a few public policy issues that I am pursuing that are related to the incident but extend beyond this particular incident.
1) A review of the City's deadly force policy.
2) A review of the effectiveness of police surveillance cameras.
3) A policy response to the plight of young Black males, who are disproportionately both the perpetrators and victims of gun violence.
My family is coping with all of the harsh realities that define this incident - including the many illustrations of human frailty - through our faith and service commitment.
I probably won't be making many public comments on this matter for a variety of legal and policy reasons - but I want to reiterate my appreciation for the many condolences and other offers of support.
Again, thanks.
WWGjr
Deadly force + the police
Am I misreading things, or does it seem that the Philadelphia Police have been a bit quick to shoot lately? Mind you, I understand why: when your comrades are being shot at the rate PPD members have been, it can make one a bit trigger-happy. But good people wind up paying the price far too often.
-Z