3/13/2008

By SHARON MONTAGUE

Salina Journal

In light of Monday's shooting in Salina of a black man, allegedly by a Hispanic teenager, the Salina Human Relations Commission has issued a statement calling on everyone in the community to confront and overcome racial conflict.

"The Human Relations Commission of Salina is deeply concerned that ALL Salinans respond to a critical human relations situation which early this week resulted in a life-threatening shooting, in a public park," the statement, issued Wednesday, reads. "That shooting endangered other innocents and will forever affect the young people involved, as well as their families. ... Inter-racial and inter-group conflict seems at its root, and such conflict must be rooted out."

Torrean Hughley, 18, was shot numerous times with a small-caliber handgun as he stood in Woodland Park about 6:30 p.m. Monday with sev- eral other adult men and two small children. Woodland Park is at North Fourth and Woodland streets. Hughley is black.

Cesar V. Ramos, 15, and Juan P. Ramos, 16, both Hispanic, were arrested in Texas and charged with attempted first-degree murder. Carson Mansfield, deputy Salina police chief, said an adult male who was driving the car the boys were in when they were stopped in Texas could be charged with aiding a felon.

Mansfield did not name that man on Wednesday.

Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell said Wednesday that, after reviewing all of the reports related to the shooting, she will decide whether to petition the court to have the brothers tried as adults for the shooting. Police haven't said which boy they allege fired the weapon.

Symptom of racial tensions

David Norlin, human relations commission chairman, said members of the commission discussed the shooting at their regular meeting Tuesday, and they believe it's a symptom of racial tensions. They fear it could lead to further violence, and they want to try to prevent that from occurring -- especially over spring break, which, for Salina public schools, is next week.

"We call on all citizens of all ages and ethnicities to encourage dialogue," the commission's statement reads. "We as a community will not and cannot tolerate behavior that substitutes violence for dialogue, or harsh words and dismissive behavior for mutual respect. Each individual has infinite dignity and worth."

Norlin said commission members fear that if the racial tension is ignored, it will get worse.

"There is certainly a consensus of people on the commission that this is something that affects everybody," Norlin said.

Norlin said some people might try to dismiss the shooting as the action of a "young thug," but "what he is doing has, in part, been given license or approval by disparaging remarks, and the kind of attitude that suggests that the life of this other person is worth nothing.

Those attitudes are becoming more prominent, and we cannot tolerate that kind of behavior."

Norlin called the shooting a "defining moment" and says it calls for a community discussion.

"It is not as simple as saying there are just a few bad apples out there," Norlin said. "That, I think, is something we're pretty firm about. We can't simply say, 'This doesn't affect me.' "

Call for police help

The human relations commission calls on police specifically to enforce city curfews. City ordinances mandate that children ages 15 and younger not be out between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., except under certain circumstances. City parks also have curfews, which are posted at the parks. Mansfield said Sunset and Bill Burke parks are closed between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., and most other parks are closed from midnight to 5 a.m.

Mansfield said police have had no reports of racially motivated fights or rumors of fights in the city's schools recently.

He said police believe that Monday's shooting was related to a fight between Hughley and at least one of the Ramos boys that occurred about a year ago at Central High School.

"I don't know what motivated the fight at that time," Mansfield said.

Mansfield said police are aware that "any time there's violence against one race by another, that can incite further violence."

But he noted the two people suspected in the shooting have been arrested, and he said they will be held accountable.

"We would ask anyone not to inflame this situation," he said. "We would hope that there's no need for retaliation."

Gangs? Not so much

He said police also are aware that some of the people involved in the Monday incident claim affiliation in gangs.

"There's a matter of degree," he said. "There is a specific definition of a gang, and it has to do with illicit activities and making money and having a continuing criminal enterprise. We're not seeing things like that rise to that level."

Mansfield said police vigorously pursue people suspected of tagging (using spray paint to mark a territory) and also enforce the city's curfews to try to curb what they call gang-like activities. Four people arrested this week were tied to 22 tagging incidents that occurred over the weekend.

"The most effective method of law enforcement is visibility and enforcement," he said. "That is what we use, among other tools."

Race a societal problem

Mansfield said that race relations are a societal problem.

"We are doing our part, but we can't do it all," he said.

Seeking safe schools

He said that during the past couple of weeks, police have encountered parents who have supplied paint to and acted as lookouts for teenagers involved in tagging and also relatives who have helped teenagers escape.

"Some of this is a parenting problem," he said.

Carol Pitts, public information coordinator, said the Salina School District is doing what it can to address racial issues.

"We certainly recognize that, currently, there are some heightened tensions between various groups in our community," Pitts said. "As always, our responsibility is to make sure our schools are secure and our students and staff are safe."

She said, though, that no racially motivated fights have been reported in Salina schools this week.

Veronica Hill, a senior at Salina South High School, said the shooting has been a general topic of discussion within the school.

"I guess the scariest thing for me is that Salina has a small, hometown feel, and it seems unbelievable that something like that can happen here and that someone my age is capable of that," Hill said. "I've never touched a gun in my life, and it's very frightening to think of what people can do."

Hill was one of several students who, in 2006, attended a daylong conference on preventing bullying and school violence. Before that conference, there were several incidents at the school, including a brawl involving several students and a racial slur written on a student's car.

That conference, she said, was helpful, but "you can't reach everyone."

"It seems like this year there hasn't been as much tension," Hill said. "It seems like things have calmed down, at least in our school. I can't say what might be going on outside of our school."

Just checking seat belts

Mansfield said the police department assigned an extra officer to Central High School earlier this week, because Cesar Ramos was enrolled in the school and wasn't arrested immediately.

But he and school officials said the large number of officers at Central High Wednesday after school -- several police officers on motorcycles and several more in patrol cars -- wasn't related to the shooting. He said those officers were being paid, through a grant, to conduct seat belt checks.

Pitts said teachers and staff work with students regularly to reinforce that they should treat one another with dignity and worth.

"We're actually just starting our new curriculum on bullying that will address some of these issues," Pitts said.

She said she appreciates that the human relations commission noted that people should be encouraged to talk about racial issues.

"That's what we do, when we talk about conflict resolution, is to encourage dialogue and interaction between individuals," Pitts said. "That statement is right on the mark. Parents also need to engage their students in dialogue about what they see and experience.

"I also think the part where they call they call on our community leaders to engage our community in discussion and dialogue is excellent, because it is a community issue."

nReporter Sharon Montague can be reached at 822-1411 or by e-mail at smontague@salina.com.