Legislator: Shooting victim didn't call the police so all is well

PAVLIC

Everything in Troy is political. Everything. If someone on the Council sneezes – or doesn’t sneeze, someone cries foul, creates a Facebook page and then threatens to run them out of office.

The shooting Sunday at Kokopellis is no different, and social media has been abuzz about it almost to the frenzy it was in the weeks following the infamous Jan. 25 2014 melee. An unarmed black man was shot allegedly by the one of the bar’s owners Joe Glick, according to sources. Police expect to charge Glick by mid-week.

Political opponents are quick to point out that Council President Rodney Wiltshire was critical of the police in the aftermath of the melee and Councilman Bob Doherty accompanied the owners at a hearing in front of the State Liquor Authority. As far as I know, the councilmen have been silent on the latest episode.

But, Legislator Gary Pavlic, D-Troy, also defended the bar during the Public Safety Committee hearings and he wasn’t quiet. He defended the bar on Facebook, telling others in the threat about how he used to go to the bar and never had any problems.

At one point he took a veiled shot at the police, saying he used to wave at them while they sat in their cars at the bank parking lot located near the bar. One of the Glicks complaints was that police were harassing their clientele and scaring away businesses.  

Pavlic, during a debate on Facebook said: “It’s been closed since Jan. 1. The even last night was a private farewell party by invitation only. This would not be a story if one of the attendees did not call after everything was over and done with. The person who was shot is fine and did not call police as far as I understand.”

Rather than worry about the shooting of an unarmed black man, Pavlic said: “Onto using our energy to improve our beautiful city!!!”

Must be a new take on the the whole “If you see something say something,” which is the mantra of Homeland Security and about every neighborhood watch program in the nation.  Following Pavlic’s lead, this new philosophy of citizen activism is more along the lines of “no harm, no foul …” or at least “no bad harm, no foul.”

Come to think of it, there was more of a stink made when the police allegedly used excessive force against an unarmed black man in the same bar almost a year ago. The FBI investigated and found they did not. Maybe, if this unarmed black man had been killed, Pavlic would take more of an interest.