Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough

See updates through May 17, 2023, at end of post.


Fig. 1. “District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. answers media questions on Friday [December 16, 2022] after announcing his bid for re-election.” Photograph by Paula Reed Ward, December 16, 2022, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,[1] fair use.



Jessie Sage refers to a sex worker outreach program and, in her temporal reference (“now”), to a scandal in which Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has directed his office to refuse plea deals with a Black defense attorney, Milton Raiford, who criticized systemic racism in the Allegheny criminal (in)justice system.[2] This refusal has been widely condemned and there are numerous calls for the D.A. to step down. One judge is now refusing any plea deals from the D.A.[3]

It seems like a pretty good bet that this D.A. finds a way to back the fuck down. But that shouldn’t reassure us about the state of criminal (in)justice in Allegheny County, or, really, anywhere. It’s just that, for me, coming from California, I’ve been shocked to see how cops treat Blacks. I see who gets pulled over for traffic infractions. I have witnessed an incident in which a local cop allowed his dog (this was a K-9 unit) to bark uncontrolled across a lane of traffic stopped at a red light at Black man who was doing nothing more than walking across a parking lot.[4] I have seen who, as an Uber and Lyft driver, I pick up at Pennsylvania local district courts, which strike me as sketchy from their very appearance, occupying utterly undignified retail or otherwise commercial space, often in shopping centers (examples in figures 1 and 2).

Yes, these really are district courts.
Fig. 1. A district court in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, located across Old Curry Hollow Road from an asphalt company. Fig. 2. A district court in Baldwin Borough, Pennsylvania, in the Curry Commons Shopping Mall.
Photographs by author, June 3, 2021.

Passengers have told me these courts are often like clubs, with membership consisting of the judge and a few local cops. In an already dubious national context,[5] where original causes of deviant (colloquially labeled ‘criminal’) behavior are ignored,[6] where cops often exploit judicial deference to their testimony and perjure themselves, usually with impunity,[7] where cops have aligned themselves with white supremacist groups and refuse outside accountability,[8] where police departments have their own colors, their own rigid hierarchies, their own legitimization of violence, and their own ideas about what rules they should adhere to, and thus deserve to be presumptively labeled as white supremacist gangs, you’ll just have to forgive me if I think the systems here in Allegheny County, certainly in southwestern Pennsylvania, have generally very likely taken the next step down that systemically racist road.

Which is all to say that I think Raiford is almost certainly right. That the legal community here is nearly unanimous in condemning Zappala suggests more that the latter has stepped beyond even a very dismal pale than that the community nearly so unanimously recognizes the righteousness of or is willing to take action to address Raiford’s lament.[9]

Zappala’s resignation, however warranted, would be far from sufficient.


Update, June 4, 2021: Utterly unsurprisingly, Stephen Zappala has denied he is a racist. He argues that Milton Raiford was, in essence, comparing apples and oranges in the cases the latter claims show unequal treatment. Zappala’s argument[10] does not appear to address the argument that he is treating defendants differently based on whom they choose as their attorney,[11] nor does it appear to substantively address the wider charge of systematic racism in Allegheny County’s criminal (in)justice system.[12]

In general, I treat the denial of racism as confirmation. Because racism is rooted in prejudice, which may be subconscious, one can never really know and therefore never honestly deny that they are prejudiced. A denial that one is racist is therefore dishonest and to be taken as evidence of racism until rebutted, with a rebuttal being nearly, if not entirely impossible. Humility is the wiser course here; admit at least the possibility that one is indeed racist.

That’s not a blanket confession. Some charges of racism are clearly absurd, as when people drop the n-word incessantly and then call me out for objecting.[13] Apart from the problem that their argument is a non sequitur, hate speech cannot cease to be hate speech simply when members of subject groups utter it; this assumes that no one in those groups participates in systems of oppression, when in fact one of the most pernicious ways that oppression socially reproduces itself is to employ members of subject groups to enforce hatred and systemic racism against those very same groups, as when police departments white supremacist gangs hire Blacks and other members of subaltern groups. Even in less egregious cases, the power to speak is in fact power: One’s choice of wording, whether or not including hateful language, is a choice imposed upon anyone who hears.

Also, I continue to reject the claim that only whites can be racist; this over-generalizes, assuming all whites have power over all members of all other subaltern groups, and then confounds power relationships with prejudice, ignoring that prejudice may exist even in the absence of a power relationship.[14] It’s worth noting that this claim descends further into absurdity when Alison Collins, a Black San Francisco school board member, can be accused of racism against people of Asian descent,[15] requiring us to determine which races can be racist against which races. Spare me. Everyone can be racist.

Zappala’s denial thus clearly fails to address the reality of racism and systemic racism and I take it as confirmation that Allegheny County’s criminal (in)justice system is indeed racist.


Update, June 5, 2021: I have added citations to Ryan Deto’s story in the Pittsburgh City Paper, which specifically lists a number of politicians and others calling for Stephen Zappala’s resignation,[16] as appropriate in the original text. This change is meant to improve supporting documentation for this post; the argument is unaffected.


Update, June 6, 2021: I have added a citation to Democracy Now! coverage of a report showing not only that police white supremacist gangs kill a great many people of color, but that about 60 percent of the people they do kill are of color. People of color make up about 40 percent of the population.[17] As with the previous update, this change is meant to improve supporting documentation for this post; the argument is unaffected.


Update, June 8, 2021: Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, Jr., has supposedly rescinded[18] the ban on plea deals with Milton Raiford, a defense attorney who had complained of systemic discrimination in the criminal (in)justice systems around Pittsburgh generally and specifically within the district attorney’s office, leading to numerous calls for Zappala’s resignation.[19] The D.A. has also issued new guidance on handling discrimination claims.[20]

[Milton] Raiford called [Stephen] Zappala’s weekend memo “garbage,” adding, “I think it’s stonewalling the fact he violated my constitutional rights and the rights of my clients. The mule’s out of the barn, and he’s trying to protect himself. It changes absolutely nothing.”

Raiford added: “He has never apologized to me.”

Fordham University Law Professor Bruce Green, an expert in prosecutorial ethics who followed this issue, said he does not read the new policy to rescind the earlier one against Raiford.

“It’s a new and different policy, reminding prosecutors to make charging and plea bargaining decisions based on evidence,” Green said. “It’s somewhat pointless, since the theory of structural racism is that it is baked into the process, not that individual prosecutors are consciously making racist decisions. It also ignores learnings about unconscious bias. And, so, it shows a certain obtuseness about the earlier criticism of the office.”

Green said the instruction for defense attorneys to report accusations of discrimination seems pointless.

“Not many defense lawyers will risk the prosecutors’ enmity by making these accusations, especially not after witnessing the office’s vindictiveness, and given that the accusations certainly won’t do individual clients any good,” he said.

David A. Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who studies race in the criminal justice system, said the policy outlined by Zappala in Sunday’s memo ought to already be in place.

“That should already be happening,” Harris said. “‘If you have a problem, come to us.’ That’s not a new policy. That’s got to be the case all the time.”

Harris said the response from Zappala misses the point of what Raiford was initially trying to express.

“It was less about a particular plea offer, though that may have been included, and more about the system and the actions of the DA’s office as a whole.”

Examining individual claims of discrimination in a single case will not reveal if there is racial impact or systemic racial choices being made, Harris said.

“You can’t really tell if you have a systemic process if you don’t look at the run of the entire system,” he said. “A person could say a white person would get a better deal, but how would you go about proving that? It would be very difficult.”[21]

There are an awful lot of Black folks in Allegheny County. I don’t keep a count but I think they’re probably a majority of my passengers as an Uber and Lyft driver. It’s more than a little frightening to think about what they face.


Update, June 9, 2021 (revised June 10 and 11, 2021): Y’all know I don’t doubt Milton Raiford’s righteousness,[22] and I have to assume he knows what he’s doing as he “refused Wednesday to participate in his client’s nonjury trial until Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. meets with him, resigns or recuses himself from all of Raiford’s cases” and “spoke [in court] for several minutes Wednesday morning about God, racism and the need for the legal system to repent.”[23] But damn, the man’s got balls.

“God saved me from cronyism and racism,” [Milton] Raiford said. “This system is systemically racist.

“Stephen Zappala has personally threatened me.” . . .

“Those of you who sit up there have to come in contact with your own brokenness and weakness and have respect for those who come before you who are broken and weak themselves,” Raiford said. “This building is a cesspool of white privilege.”

He told [Judge Anthony] Mariani that he holds young people of color, from neighborhoods like Homewood, East Liberty and East Hills, to a standard that many can’t meet.

“You’re holding them to your standard of responsibility,” he said.

Throughout the argument, the judge repeatedly asked Raiford if he would would uphold his oath as an attorney and represent his client, Vanessa Williams. She was scheduled for a bench trial on charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Each time, Raiford said he would not.

“You’re asking me to stand by an oath you violate everyday,” Raiford said. He said that he can’t operate with any prosecutor who is “an agent of Stephen Zappala.”

“I’m trying to help get you guys cleaned up.”

The judge responded, “It’s not your job to clean us guys up. And I wouldn’t have the audacity to judge whether you needed to be cleaned up.”

Mariani reiterated his position that Raiford is a good attorney and advocate. Still, he said, he had no choice but to remove Raiford as Williams’ attorney.[24]

Raiford has served as a pastor at the Imani Christian Academy,[25] very near the south end of Park Hill Drive (figure 3), a place the City of Pittsburgh has neglected, in attending to abandoned properties, the roads, even sewer service.[26] It’s one of a number of areas that Mayor Bill Peduto’s government just doesn’t give a damn about. The academy itself is located adjacent to what looks to me to be public housing, which is actually in reasonable condition (and probably run by the county). It isn’t a wealthy area by any stretch. Nearly everyone I’ve picked up there is Black; certainly all are poor.

Fig. 3. Screenshot by author of 2200 East Hills Drive from Google Maps. This largely covers the area south of that covered in figure 2, including all of Park Hill Drive, as well as the housing development I think is public housing.

Raiford himself seems to have come at least from this sort of background;[27] it’s possible to imagine these are his people. And I can’t help but believe that this has something to do with what we’re seeing here; everyone has a breaking point, beyond which they can take no more, and Raiford himself refers to people “who are broken and weak.”[28]

The judge just wants to get on with the case, to carry on with dispensing injustice according to the letter of the law,[29] which is itself not quite so clear cut,[30] and which misses entirely the original causes of crime,[31] and thus misses the reality of these people’s situations entirely.

Justice, we say, is supposed to be “blind.” It would be more accurate to say that the system of injustice we actually have wears blinders; it intentionally misses context and thus immediately fails a critical theorists’ scrutiny. It is a tragedy.


Update, June 10, 2021: I guess Milton Raiford didn’t have a plan after all. He has capitulated, asking to be restored[32] to the case he had refused to participate in,[33] citing white supremacy and systemic racism in a dispute that drew attention to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, Jr.[34] There are a couple problems here:

  1. Zappala has not had to apologize and there has been no commitment to address Raiford’s complaints. White supremacism is, for all practical purposes and certainly in the eyes of those who defend the criminal injustice system of Allegheny County, “vindicated.”

  2. Raiford may or may not be able to resume his practice as before; to the extent he is, he will surely have to “behave” himself according to the white supremacist rules of a systemically racist system. He is being humiliated for trying to do a right thing.

This stinks.


Update, June 11, 2021: I added a screenshot from Google Maps (figure 3) to the update originally written on June 9, 2021.


Update, November 6, 2021: So, even after losing three white supremacist gangsters to COVID-19,[35] and exposing an unknown number of civilians to the disease,[36] Pittsburgh and Allegheny County gang unions resist a vaccine mandate, challenging it in court,[37] even filing a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board.[38]

That’ll be something to remember the next time you hear somebody call them “Pittsburgh’s finest.” They’re not alone of course; white supremacist gangsters are resisting the mandates across the country,[39] even as the disease claims five times as many gangster lives as gunfire.[40] But of course the “feared for their life” excuse, an excuse utterly belied by their vaccine refusal,[41] is the one they use to justify shooting and killing so many Black people.[42] Which is how you know I’m right to call police ‘white supremacist gangsters’ and their departments ‘white supremacist gangs.’


Update, December 23, 2021: There are numerous rationalizations—actually—for the brutal Pittsburgh white supremacist gang[43] conduct[44] in the murder of Jim Rogers in Paula Reed Ward’s latest. These “experts” talk about the effects of being in these gangs for so long, but what they never get to[45] is that the very idea of policing is intrinsically about bullying. Police are the very expression of a sovereign’s monopoly on the allegedly “legitimate” use of force.[46] It is their role to be bullies on behalf of the state—more precisely, the rich[47]— and you cannot expect them to be otherwise.


Update, January 4, 2022: It appears that the white supremacist gangsters who tased Jim Rogers and left him mortally wounded in the back seat of a white supremacist gang car can be charged with involuntary manslaughter.[48] It remains to be seen if such charges will indeed be brought.

But, um, if indeed “the medical examiner’s determinations are based on medical criteria,” how do medical criteria determine that a—to be generous—maliciously negligent death[49] was “accidental?”[50] At best, this indicates a false binary between ‘accidental’ and ‘intentional.’ At worst, it suggests the Allegheny County medical examiner is complicit.

“In Pennsylvania, there are five recognized manners of death, including homicide, suicide, accident, natural and undetermined,” and “Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist who previously served as coroner and medical examiner in Allegheny County, called the finding for manner of death inadequate.”[51]

“How can it be an accident? All this time, and that’s what they come up with?” [Cyril] Wecht asked. . . .

Accident is defined as a death that occurs as the result of an event with unintentional consequences. Homicide is a death caused at the hands of another.

The cause of death — acute global hypoxic ischemic injury of the brain — simply means diminished oxygen and blood supply getting to the brain, Wecht said.

“Does it say what it’s due to? It’s due to the tasering,” Wecht said. “How in the hell is it accidental? How do you call it accidental to tase someone eight or 10 times?”[52]

When I speak of corruption,[53] when Milton Raiford complains in vain about systemic racism in southwestern Pennsylvania,[54] this ‘finding’ is so blatantly those things, that I wonder how the medical examiner can say it with a straight face.


Update, December 17, 2022: Oh yay. The violence in Pittsburgh is now a campaign issue.[55] This, from a guy, Stephen Zappala, who is very much part[56] of the problem; advocates a criminal injustice “solution” that is a known failure;[57] and directs largely against a guy, Ed Gainey, who mostly just needs to fulfill his campaign promises.[58]

It’s fine to talk about listening, Zappala. You talk about listening to business people downtown.[59] But how about listening to people in the neighborhoods where the violence is happening?[60] But I guess that would mean listening to someone besides white Christian nationalists.


Update, May 17, 2023: With a significant progressive turnout, Stephen Zappala, Jr., was defeated in the primary in his quest for re-election as Allegheny County district attorney.[61]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Pennsylvania primary 2023: Progressive wave sweeps across Allegheny County as Innamorato, Dugan, Hallam win,” May 17, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2023/05/16/2023-allegheny-county-primary-elections-results-live-updates/stories/202305160064

  1. [1]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala criticizes Gainey administration, Pittsburgh police over response to city violence,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 16, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-criticizes-gainey-administration-pittsburgh-police-over-response-to-city-violence/
  2. [2]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh politicians call on DA Stephen Zappala to be removed or resign from office,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 2, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-politicians-call-on-da-stephen-zappala-to-be-removed-or-resign-from-office/Content?oid=19583745; Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala: No plea deals to Black attorney who called his office ‘systematically racist,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-no-plea-deals-to-black-attorney-who-called-his-office-systematically-racist/
  3. [3]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh politicians call on DA Stephen Zappala to be removed or resign from office,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 2, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-politicians-call-on-da-stephen-zappala-to-be-removed-or-resign-from-office/Content?oid=19583745; Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County judge halts plea deals amid questions surrounding DA Zappala,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-judge-halts-plea-deals-amid-questions-surrounding-da-zappala/
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Hey cops! Do you know what year it is?” Not Housebroken, August 27, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/08/27/hey-cops-do-you-know-what-year-it-is/
  5. [5]Steven E. Barkan, Criminology, 3rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentic Hall, 2006); David Benfell, “On the pretense of ‘law and order,’” Not Housebroken, September 11, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/09/11/on-the-pretense-of-law-and-order/; Ernest Drucker, A Plague of Prisons (New York: New Press, 2011); Jeffrey Reiman, The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison, 7th ed. (Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon, 2004); Dan Simon, In Doubt (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2012).
  6. [6]Wanda D. McCaslin and Denise C. Breton, “Justice as Healing: Going Outside the Colonizers’ Cage,” in Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies, eds. Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008), 511-529.
  7. [7]Mark Joseph Stern, “The Police Lie. All the Time. Can Anything Stop Them?” Slate, August 4, 2020, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/police-testilying.html
  8. [8]Mark Berman et al., “Protests spread over police shootings. Police promised reforms. Every year, they still shoot and kill nearly 1,000 people,” Washington Post, June 8, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/protests-spread-over-police-shootings-police-promised-reforms-every-year-they-still-shoot-nearly-1000-people/2020/06/08/5c204f0c-a67c-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html; Kyle Cheney, Sarah Ferris, and Laura Barrón-López, “‘Inside job’: House Dems ask if Capitol rioters had hidden help,” Politico, January 8, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/08/congress-democrats-capitol-riot-inside-job-456725; Tim Craig, “Proud Boys and Black Lives Matter activists clashed in a Florida suburb. Only one side was charged,” Washington Post, February 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/florida-protest-bill-unequal-treatment/2021/02/01/415d1b02-6240-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html; Democracy Now! “Report Documents 32,542 Police Killings in U.S. Since 2000 with Vast Undercount of People of Color,” June 1, 2021, https://www.democracynow.org/2021/6/1/report_police_killings_people_of_color; Ryan Devereaux, “The Thin Blue Line Between Violent, Pro-Trump Militias and Police,” Intercept, August 28, 2020, https://theintercept.com/2020/08/28/kyle-rittenhouse-violent-pro-trump-militias-police/; James Downie, “Time to toss the ‘bad apples’ excuse,” Washington Post, May 31, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/31/time-toss-bad-apples-excuse/; Jeet Heer, “How Not to Mourn George Floyd,” The Time of Monsters, April 21, 2021, https://jeetheer.substack.com/p/how-not-to-mourn-george-floyd; Arelis R. Hernández and Cleve R. Wootson, Jr., “Black Americans are buoyed by Chauvin conviction, but they worry it will blunt pace of reform,” Washington Post, April 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/20/chauvin-verdict-black-americans/; Jason Johnson, “I'm not happy. I'm not relieved. The verdict is a cultural make-up call. This ruling means it takes a Black man being murdered on TV in front of millions, a years worth of protest and a phalanx of white cops saying "this is wrong" for a black person to get a scintilla of justice,” Twitter, April 20, 2021, >https://twitter.com/DrJasonJohnson/status/1384637989444325378; Kimberly Kindy, Mark Berman, and Kim Bellware, “After Capitol riot, police chiefs work to root out officers with ties to extremist groups,” Washington Post, January 24, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/police-capitol-riot-extremists/2021/01/24/16fdb2bc-5a7b-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html; Maggie Koerth, “The Police’s Tepid Response To The Capitol Breach Wasn’t An Aberration,” FiveThirtyEight, January 7, 2021, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-polices-tepid-response-to-the-capitol-breach-wasnt-an-aberration/; Kurtis Lee, “Derek Chauvin is guilty of murdering George Floyd,” Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-04-20/jury-verdict-derek-chauvin-george-floyd-death; Kurtis Lee, Jaweed Kaleem, and Laura King, “‘White supremacy was on full display.’ Double standard seen in police response to riot at Capitol,” Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-01-07/la-na-washington-capitol-police-attack-race; German Lopez, “Police officers are prosecuted for murder in less than 2 percent of fatal shootings,” Vox, April 2, 2021, https://www.vox.com/21497089/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-trial-police-prosecutions-black-lives-matter; Wesley Lowery, “Aren’t more white people than black people killed by police? Yes, but no,” Washington Post, July 11, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/07/11/arent-more-white-people-than-black-people-killed-by-police-yes-but-no/; Brentin Mock, “What New Research Says About Race and Police Shootings,” CityLab, August 6, 2019, https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/08/police-officer-shootings-gun-violence-racial-bias-crime-data/595528/; Elie Mystal, “There’s Only One Possible Conclusion: White America Likes Its Killer Cops,” Nation, May 27, 2020, https://www.thenation.com/article/society/white-america-cops/; Alanna Durkin Richer and Lindsay Whitehurst, “1 verdict, then 6 police killings across America in 24 hours,” Associated Press, April 24, 2021, copy in possession of author; Jon Schuppe, “Police across U.S. respond to Derek Chauvin trial: ‘Our American way of policing is on trial,’” NBC News, April 15, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-across-u-s-respond-derek-chauvin-trial-our-american-n1264224; Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, “How Do We Change America?” New Yorker, June 8, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-do-we-change-america; Raphael Warnock, “Today’s verdict affirming Derek Chauvin’s responsibility for killing George Floyd is the right outcome in this trial, but it is not justice. . . .” Twitter, April 20, 2021, https://twitter.com/SenatorWarnock/status/1384651251061858323
  9. [9]Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County judge halts plea deals amid questions surrounding DA Zappala,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-judge-halts-plea-deals-amid-questions-surrounding-da-zappala/
  10. [10]Paula Reed Ward, “DA Zappala says office halted plea deals with Black attorney to avoid ‘false claims of racism,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 3, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/da-zappala-says-office-halted-plea-deals-with-black-attorney-to-avoid-false-claims-of-racism/
  11. [11]Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County judge halts plea deals amid questions surrounding DA Zappala,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-judge-halts-plea-deals-amid-questions-surrounding-da-zappala/
  12. [12]Paula Reed Ward, “DA Zappala says office halted plea deals with Black attorney to avoid ‘false claims of racism,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 3, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/da-zappala-says-office-halted-plea-deals-with-black-attorney-to-avoid-false-claims-of-racism/
  13. [13]David Benfell, “On the ‘n-word,’” Not Housebroken, March 18, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/02/09/on-the-n-word/
  14. [14]David Benfell, “In succumbing to the politics of exclusion, some feminists recreate the very structure that oppresses them,” Not Housebroken, May 13, 2015, https://disunitedstates.org/2015/05/13/in-succumbing-to-the-politics-of-exclusion-some-feminists-recreate-the-very-structure-that-oppresses-them/
  15. [15]David Benfell, “San Francisco’s political establishment doth protest too much,” Not Housebroken, March 22, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/03/22/san-franciscos-political-establishment-doth-protest-too-much/; Jill Tucker, “Mayor Breed calls for S.F. school board member to resign over racist tweets directed at Asian Americans,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 21, 2021, https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Mayor-Breed-calls-for-S-F-school-board-member-to-16040970.php
  16. [16]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh politicians call on DA Stephen Zappala to be removed or resign from office,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 2, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-politicians-call-on-da-stephen-zappala-to-be-removed-or-resign-from-office/Content?oid=19583745
  17. [17]Democracy Now! “Report Documents 32,542 Police Killings in U.S. Since 2000 with Vast Undercount of People of Color,” June 1, 2021, https://www.democracynow.org/2021/6/1/report_police_killings_people_of_color
  18. [18]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala updates policy on how prosecutors should deal with discrimination claims; rescinds policy against Raiford,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 7, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-updates-policy-on-how-prosecutors-should-deal-with-discrimination-claims/
  19. [19]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh politicians call on DA Stephen Zappala to be removed or resign from office,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 2, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-politicians-call-on-da-stephen-zappala-to-be-removed-or-resign-from-office/Content?oid=19583745; Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County judge halts plea deals amid questions surrounding DA Zappala,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-judge-halts-plea-deals-amid-questions-surrounding-da-zappala/; Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala: No plea deals to Black attorney who called his office ‘systematically racist,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-no-plea-deals-to-black-attorney-who-called-his-office-systematically-racist/; Paula Reed Ward, “DA Zappala says office halted plea deals with Black attorney to avoid ‘false claims of racism,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 3, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/da-zappala-says-office-halted-plea-deals-with-black-attorney-to-avoid-false-claims-of-racism/
  20. [20]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala updates policy on how prosecutors should deal with discrimination claims; rescinds policy against Raiford,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 7, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-updates-policy-on-how-prosecutors-should-deal-with-discrimination-claims/
  21. [21]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala updates policy on how prosecutors should deal with discrimination claims; rescinds policy against Raiford,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 7, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-updates-policy-on-how-prosecutors-should-deal-with-discrimination-claims/
  22. [22]David Benfell, “Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough,” Not Housebroken, June 8, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/06/03/stephen-zappalas-resignation-would-be-nowhere-near-enough/
  23. [23]Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  24. [24]Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  25. [25]Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  26. [26]Rich Lord, “Can East Hills residents reverse ‘blightlining’ and ‘rotrification’ on Park Hill Drive?” Public Source, June 9, 2021, https://www.publicsource.org/east-hills-consensus-pittsburgh-blight-rising-tide-partners/
  27. [27]Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  28. [28]Milton Raiford, quoted in Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  29. [29]Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  30. [30]John Hasnas, “The Myth of the Rule of Law,” Georgetown University, 1995, http://faculty.msb.edu/hasnasj/GTWebSite/MythWeb.htm
  31. [31]Wanda D. McCaslin and Denise C. Breton, “Justice as Healing: Going Outside the Colonizers’ Cage,” in Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies, eds. Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008), 511-529.
  32. [32]Paula Reed Ward, “Attorney Milton Raiford apologizes for leaving client’s case during Zappala dispute; seeks to be restored,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 10, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/attorney-milton-raiford-apologizes-for-leaving-clients-case-during-zappala-dispute-seeks-to-be-restored/
  33. [33]Paula Reed Ward, “Black attorney demands apology from DA Zappala, calls Allegheny Co. courthouse ‘cesspool of white privilege,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/black-attorney-demands-apology-from-da-zappala-calls-allegheny-co-courthouse-cesspool-of-white-privilege/
  34. [34]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh politicians call on DA Stephen Zappala to be removed or resign from office,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 2, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-politicians-call-on-da-stephen-zappala-to-be-removed-or-resign-from-office/Content?oid=19583745; Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala: No plea deals to Black attorney who called his office ‘systematically racist,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-no-plea-deals-to-black-attorney-who-called-his-office-systematically-racist/; Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County judge halts plea deals amid questions surrounding DA Zappala,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-judge-halts-plea-deals-amid-questions-surrounding-da-zappala/; Paula Reed Ward, “DA Zappala says office halted plea deals with Black attorney to avoid ‘false claims of racism,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 3, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/da-zappala-says-office-halted-plea-deals-with-black-attorney-to-avoid-false-claims-of-racism/; Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala updates policy on how prosecutors should deal with discrimination claims; rescinds policy against Raiford,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 7, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-updates-policy-on-how-prosecutors-should-deal-with-discrimination-claims/
  35. [35]Ryan Deto, “Three Pittsburgh Police officers have died of COVID in just over a month,” Pittsburgh City Paper, November 2, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/three-pittsburgh-police-officers-have-died-of-covid-in-just-over-a-month/Content?oid=20485841; Megan Guza, “Pittsburgh police lose 2nd officer to covid-19,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 21, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-police-lose-second-office-to-covid/; Megan Guza, “Pittsburgh police sergeant dies after covid complications,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 2, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-police-sergeant-dies-after-covid-complications/
  36. [36]Zak Cheney-Rice, “The Police’s Farcical War on Vaccine Mandates,” New York, October 22, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/10/the-polices-farcical-war-on-vaccine-mandates.html
  37. [37]Sarah Boden, “Experts question the science of police union’s challenge to Allegheny County’s vaccine mandate,” WESA, October 20, 2021, https://www.wesa.fm/health-science-tech/2021-10-20/experts-question-the-science-of-police-unions-challenge-to-allegheny-countys-vaccine-mandate
  38. [38]Megan Guza, “Pittsburgh police union file grievance over covid vaccine mandate,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 5, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-police-union-file-grievance-over-covid-vaccine-mandate/
  39. [39]Fola Akinnibi, “NYC, other big cities confront police-union blowback on vaccine mandates,” Sacramento Bee, October 20, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article255158627.html; Eric Berger, “Police departments face a shortage as unions enable officers to refuse vaccines,” Guardian, October 18, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/17/police-shortage-vaccine-mandate-unions-seattle-chicago; Mark Berman, “As coronavirus cases mount and vaccine mandates spread, holdouts plague police and fire departments,” Washington Post, October 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/02/police-firefighters-resist-vaccination/; John Byrne, “Chicago police union official compares vaccine standoff with mayor to ‘Hunger Games,’” Sacramento Bee, October 20, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/article255157522.html; Zak Cheney-Rice, “The Police’s Farcical War on Vaccine Mandates,” New York, October 22, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/10/the-polices-farcical-war-on-vaccine-mandates.html
  40. [40]Ryan Young, Jason Morris, and Ray Sanchez, “Five times as many police officers have died from Covid-19 as from gunfire since start of pandemic,” CNN, October 16, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/16/us/police-vaccine-covid-deaths/index.html
  41. [41]Fola Akinnibi, “NYC, other big cities confront police-union blowback on vaccine mandates,” Sacramento Bee, October 20, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article255158627.html; Eric Berger, “Police departments face a shortage as unions enable officers to refuse vaccines,” Guardian, October 18, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/17/police-shortage-vaccine-mandate-unions-seattle-chicago; Mark Berman, “As coronavirus cases mount and vaccine mandates spread, holdouts plague police and fire departments,” Washington Post, October 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/02/police-firefighters-resist-vaccination/; John Byrne, “Chicago police union official compares vaccine standoff with mayor to ‘Hunger Games,’” Sacramento Bee, October 20, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/article255157522.html; Zak Cheney-Rice, “The Police’s Farcical War on Vaccine Mandates,” New York, October 22, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/10/the-polices-farcical-war-on-vaccine-mandates.html
  42. [42]There are so many of these stories that at some point, I stopped keeping track of them. I suspect there are many more in my archive: Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Blue Lives Matter,” Atlantic, December 22, 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/blue-lives-matter-nypd-shooting/383977/; Kimberly Kindy and Kimbriell Kelly, “Thousands dead, few prosecuted,” Washington Post, April 11, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/04/11/thousands-dead-few-prosecuted/; Trymaine Lee, “Eyewitness to Michael Brown shooting recounts his friend’s death,” MSNBC, August 12, 2014, https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/eyewitness-michael-brown-fatal-shooting-missouri-msna388411; German Lopez, “Cleveland police shooting of Tamir Rice: city to pay $6 million after 12-year-old’s death,” Vox, April 25, 2016, https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7275297/tamir-rice-police-shooting; German Lopez, “East Pittsburgh police officer charged for shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose,” Vox, June 27, 2018, https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/6/20/17484480/antwon-rose-east-pittsburgh-police-shooting-video; Eliott C. McLaughlin, “Video: Dallas police open fire on schizophrenic man with screwdriver,” CNN, March 19, 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/18/us/dallas-police-fatal-shooting-mentally-ill-man-video/index.html; Eliott C. McLaughlin, “Woman streams aftermath of fatal officer-involved shooting,” CNN, July 8, 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/07/us/falcon-heights-shooting-minnesota/index.html; Kyle Paoletta, “Listen up, police officers: Real life isn’t like ‘Breaking Bad,’” Salon, April 13, 2014, https://www.salon.com/2014/04/13/listen_up_police_officers_real_life_isnt_like_breaking_bad/; Rich Phillips, “Florida deputies shoot man they mistook for car thief in his own driveway,” CNN, August 1, 2013, https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/31/us/florida-police-shooting/index.html; Sandhya Somashekhar et al., “Black and Unarmed,” Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/08/08/black-and-unarmed/; Tampa Bay Times, “Informer, not neighbor complaints, led up to fatal Tampa pot raid,” July 15, 2014, https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/informer-not-neighbor-complaints-led-up-to-fatal-tampa-pot-raid/2187316/
  43. [43]David Benfell, “Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough,” Not Housebroken, November 6, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/06/03/stephen-zappalas-resignation-would-be-nowhere-near-enough/
  44. [44]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh Police officers disciplined in death of Jim Rogers; report says his calls for medical help were ignored,” Pittsburgh City Paper, December 21, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-police-officers-disciplined-in-death-of-jim-rogers-report-says-his-calls-for-medical-help-were-ignored/Content?oid=20785257; Julia Felton and Paula Reed Ward, “Family of man who died after being tased by Pittsburgh police calls for charges against officers,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 17, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/family-of-man-who-died-after-being-tased-by-pittsburgh-police-call-for-charges-against-officers/; Patrick Varine, “Protesters block Grant Street, demand prosecution in Jim Rogers’ death,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 12, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/protestors-block-grant-street-demand-prosecution-in-jim-rogers-death/; Paula Reed Ward, “Man who died after being tased by Pittsburgh police pleaded for medical help but got none, report says,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 21, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/man-who-died-after-being-tased-by-pittsburgh-police-pleaded-for-medical-help-but-got-none-report-says/; Paula Reed Ward, “Experts say more must be done by Pittsburgh in response to Jim Rogers’ death,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 22, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/experts-say-more-must-be-done-by-pittsburgh-in-response-to-jim-rogers-death/
  45. [45]Paula Reed Ward, “Experts say more must be done by Pittsburgh in response to Jim Rogers’ death,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 22, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/experts-say-more-must-be-done-by-pittsburgh-in-response-to-jim-rogers-death/
  46. [46]Max Weber, “What is Politics?” in Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classic Readings, ed. Charles Lemert, 4th ed. (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2010), 114-116.
  47. [47]David Benfell, “On police,” Not Housebroken, April 25, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/08/10/on-police/
  48. [48]Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County Medical Examiner rules Jim Rogers’ death was accidental,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 3, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-medical-examiner-rules-jim-rogers-death-was-accidental/
  49. [49]Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh Police officers disciplined in death of Jim Rogers; report says his calls for medical help were ignored,” Pittsburgh City Paper, December 21, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-police-officers-disciplined-in-death-of-jim-rogers-report-says-his-calls-for-medical-help-were-ignored/Content?oid=20785257; Paula Reed Ward, “Man who died after being tased by Pittsburgh police pleaded for medical help but got none, report says,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 21, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/man-who-died-after-being-tased-by-pittsburgh-police-pleaded-for-medical-help-but-got-none-report-says/; Paula Reed Ward, “Disciplinary action initiated against 9 Pittsburgh police officers in tasing, death of man in Bloomfield,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 28, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/disciplinary-action-initiated-against-9-pittsburgh-police-officers-in-tasing-death-of-man-in-bloomfield/
  50. [50]Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County Medical Examiner rules Jim Rogers’ death was accidental,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 3, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-medical-examiner-rules-jim-rogers-death-was-accidental/
  51. [51]Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County Medical Examiner rules Jim Rogers’ death was accidental,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 3, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-medical-examiner-rules-jim-rogers-death-was-accidental/
  52. [52]Paula Reed Ward, “Allegheny County Medical Examiner rules Jim Rogers’ death was accidental,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 3, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/allegheny-county-medical-examiner-rules-jim-rogers-death-was-accidental/
  53. [53]David Benfell, “It is what it is,” Not Housebroken, December 31, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/12/31/it-is-what-it-is/
  54. [54]David Benfell, “Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough,” Not Housebroken, December 23, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/06/03/stephen-zappalas-resignation-would-be-nowhere-near-enough/
  55. [55]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala criticizes Gainey administration, Pittsburgh police over response to city violence,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 16, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-criticizes-gainey-administration-pittsburgh-police-over-response-to-city-violence/
  56. [56]David Benfell, “Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough,” Not Housebroken, January 4, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/06/03/stephen-zappalas-resignation-would-be-nowhere-near-enough/
  57. [57]David Benfell, “The question should not be ‘Why Are Police So Bad at Their Jobs,’ but why is the criminal injustice system so bad at its job?” Not Housebroken, June 5, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/06/05/the-question-should-not-be-why-are-police-so-bad-at-their-jobs-but-why-is-the-criminal-injustice-system-so-bad-at-its-job/
  58. [58]Tom Avril, “Renovating abandoned houses reduces the rate of gun violence, Penn study finds,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/health/gun-violence-philly-abandoned-houses-penn-study-20221214.html; David Benfell, “To Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey,” Not Housebroken, October 30, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/10/30/to-pittsburgh-mayor-ed-gainey/; David Benfell, “The rent is too damn high. But politicians wonder why violence is increasing,” Not Housebroken, November 23, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/11/23/the-rent-is-too-damn-high-but-politicians-wonder-why-violence-is-increasing/; Ellie Rushing, “Can widespread trauma therapy prevent gun violence? This community leader says yes,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 13, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/philadelphia-trauma-therapy-gun-violence-prevention-will-little-personal-development-20221213.html
  59. [59]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala criticizes Gainey administration, Pittsburgh police over response to city violence,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 16, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-criticizes-gainey-administration-pittsburgh-police-over-response-to-city-violence/
  60. [60]Jon Moss, “Allegheny County homicides concentrated in small number of neighborhoods, report says,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 28, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2022/07/28/allegheny-county-homicides-concentrated-small-number-neighborhoods-report-says-black-men-pittsburgh/stories/202207270111
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22 thoughts on “Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough

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