THE BIG STORY
WasCBSFair?
TheCBSMorningNewsaireda5-minutesegmenttitled “DeathinParadise” aboutthedemiseofCharlesEimerslastThanksgivingwhilebeinghandcuffedbypoliceafter driving away fromatrafficstop.MayorCraigCateswentontherecordsayingthereportwas “one-sided.” However,thereportwas,ifanything,overlygeneroustowardsourfairtown,andcriticalofthelateEimers.
First,theychargeEimerswith “recklessdriving” whenwhathemadewasanillegallanechangeinaconstructionareawithunclearlanedesignations.Nexttheysaidhe “fledthescene,” wheninfacthedroveawayslowlythroughthetown.
Worst,theironlyoriginalresearchnotalreadyreportedlocallystatedthathe “hadpreviousrun-inswiththelaw,includingarrestsfordomesticabuseandtheftbackinthe’90s.” Thatis,20yearsago,hehadarrests,butapparentlynoconvictions,forthingsthathadnothingtodowithhisactionshere.Itcausesamistrialincourt,andisplainlyprejudicialintheCBSreport.Itwouldbemoreappropriatetodiscussthe20-yearrecordsofthearrestingpolice,becausetheviolencewasallontheirsideinEimers’arrest.
Finally,CBSquotedarrestingofficersclaimingEimersresistedarrest “withviolence,” somuchsothatone”officer’sfingergotcaughtinthehandcuffs”duringthestruggle.Thefactisthatthosepolicereportswerewrittenfivedaysaftertheaccident,butbeforethecellphonevideosurfacedshowingthatEimersslowlyturned,raisedhisarmstoobeypolicecommands,andcarefullyloweredhimselftotheground.
Eimers’ “struggle” wasnottoresistthepolice.Itwastogainabreathashewasbeingsuffocatedunderawaveoflargebodiescrushinghimintothesand,asplainlyshownintheshockingvideo.
CBShighlightedouryouthful,telegenicpolicechiefDonieLeethreetimes,allowinghimtoappearbothconcernedwiththetruth,andresponsiblyfollowing policies making him donothingaboutEimers’death.Thetitleofthepiece,displayedthroughoutonalineatthebottom,calledus “Paradise.”
Withbeautifulfootage,CBSdescribesusas “theislandparadiseforsunandsand…bestknownforitsbeaches,barsandlaid-backlifestyle.” ForEimers, “Itwasadreamretirement … Hewantedtocomesouthtowarmerweatherandwalkonthebeach.”OurTouristDevelopmentCouncilpayshighlyforsuchpraise.
SothosewereCBS’editorialslants,praisingKeyWestandimpugningEimers.WhattheMayorandothercityrepresentativescomplainedaboutwasnoteditorialbias,buttheplain undeniable facts,which,unfortunatelyforusall,aredamning:
- InitialpolicereportsofEimersrunningandcollapsing,andlaterofhisstrugglingtoresistarrest,wereprovenfalsebythevideo.
- Eimers’familywasnotnotifiedforfourdaysthathewasonlifesupport.
- Insteadofbeingsent,bylaw,totheMedicalExaminer’sofficeforanautopsy,hisbodywassenttoalocalfuneralhome,narrowlyavoidingcremation.
- TheautopsyshowedthatEimershad10fracturedribsandbruisesandabrasionsonhiswristsfromhandcuffs,anddidnotdieoftheheartattackthatpolicehadblamedforhisdeath.
- Thesupposedlyindependentinvestigatingagencythateveryoneisstillwaitingfor,aftersixmonths,toconclude,isledbyawomanwhousedtobemarriedtothesupervisoroftheofficersinvolved,allofwhomarestillonactiveduty.(CBSdidnotaddthatsheisalsothemotheroftheirchild.)
- ThelawyersforEimers’childrenhavebeendeniedaccesstothepolicedashboardvideos,thewitnessesatthesceneofthedeath,andthefinalautopsyreport—sotheycannotevencollecthismodestlifeinsurancepolicy.
CBSavoidedcompletelythemostcontroversialelementofthecase,thatpoliceprofiledEimersasahomelessperson,becausehiscarwasfilledwithhisbelongings.ThatwouldleadtodiscussingourParadise’smajorhomelessissue,andhowourpolicehavebeentaskedwith “handling” them,which tacitly involves rough treatment.
Theonlypersonwithaclearlynegativeopinion,morethanreportingobjectivefacts,isEimers’son,Treavor.Hestatesthathisfatherwas “murdered” andthatthepolicehave “lied” tohim.ThatisnotCBS’opinion,itisTrevor’s,andheisentitledtohaveandexpressit.
Especiallysinceheisoverwhelminglylikelytobeprovenright.Noneofuswantstobelieveit,butsometimeswehavetofacethetruthinordertomakeamendsand stop it from happeningagain.
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Not sure what happened to the article…it has no spaces in between words, so it’s impossible to read.
Please fix the way this page renders. There are no spaces between words (in Firefox, at least).
WOW! That was really [intentionally?] hard to read.
Doesn’t anyone proofread before publishing anymore? I’m not limiting that to just KONK Life either. Spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors are rife in today’s world and reflects upon how well government meddling in the world of education has produced such dumbed-down generations of Americans. Sorry I couldn’t comment on the story itself but the real message is clear. America is in a sharp decline having such folks now at the helm in business and government.
Editing is missing throughout.
also the images are placed over part of the paragraphs!?
where are you speaking of? If there is a formatting issue… chances are your browser is not the latest version and will not display pages correctly. Please check and see ti that is so. If not please tell me the page that is not showing propberly.
once again, ugh. what port, where? there port.
It was tough to read, but thank you for the coverage. I thank The Blue Paper for keeping this tragedy in the light. If not for Blue and a few synchronistic events, such as the bystander video and the body not being cremated, by just luck alone, the KWPD were unable to cover this up and CBS never would have covered let alone known about Mr. Eimer’s retirement package.