The reckoning, p.15
The Reckoning, page 15
“Do you know him, Mr. Caulfield?” Attorney Smith asked.
“Yes. He’s not a friend, but I know who he is. Are you sure about this, Lawr—I mean, Lamar?”
“He’s sure, Mr. Caulfield,” Attorney Smith answered instead. “I assume arrests will be made after you’ve had a chance to talk with Mr. Wilson. I think we’re past the questioning stage.”
“I appreciate your concern,” DA Caulfield said caustically to Attorney Smith. “But you are not the district attorney of this parish. I am. We will handle this case the way we see fit. Now, I thank you for bringing me this information. But we will not be pushed or forced into taking any actions if we don’t think they’re warranted.”
“We just want you to do what’s right. What’s fair and just. We want you to follow the law.”
“We will follow the case where the evidence leads us, Mr. Smith.”
“The eyes of the nation and the world are on you, Mr. Caulfield. People are demanding justice.”
Mr. Caulfield moved away from his desk.
“Mr. Smith, I have been the district attorney of this parish for fifteen years. I don’t need anybody to tell me how to do my job. Especially you. You don’t even live in this town or this parish. Thomasville is not in Jackson Parish. You are an outsider, sir. So don’t lecture me.”
“Wait, Mr. Caulfield. Attorney Smith represents this family,” Reverend Thurmond intervened. “And I’m the family’s pastor. We speak with one voice. All we’re trying to do here is make sure there is justice. A man has been killed. If it wasn’t a Black man who was killed by a White man, there would be no problem. Justice would be served.”
“Is that your way of calling me a racist, Reverend? Are you saying that if it had been a White person who was killed, I would do things differently? Is that what you’re saying? I’ll have you know that I have been fairer to Black people than any other district attorney in the history of this parish. I was the first to hire a Black person on my staff. I supported Mayor Johnson in his bid for reelection. I dare you to imply that I am a racist.”
“Mr. Caulfield, we came here to give you some important information about the case. We didn’t come to upset you or to get into a fight with you,” Attorney Smith said.
“Mr. Smith, the reverend has implied that I am a racist. Do you think I should sit still for that?”
“I don’t think he called you a racist, Mr. Caulfield. But if that’s the way you heard it, there isn’t anything we can do about that. We have to get back to our supporters so we can make them aware of this new development. We wanted to give the information to your office first. We have done that.”
Mr. Caulfield returned to his chair. He shuffled some papers around, then looked up at Attorney Smith.
“I thank you, Attorney Smith, for letting me know. Excuse me. We have work to do.”
Attorney Smith nodded and opened the door for the Phillips family and Reverend Thurmond to leave the office. On the way back to the protest, Lamar caught up with Attorney Smith.
“Do we have to let everyone know that it was Jeff’s father who recorded the video? I feel so bad for Jeff. I wish there was another way. Jeff’s my friend.”
“There isn’t, Lamar. Unfortunately, securing justice is very often messy, and sometimes innocent people get hurt. Sometimes the truth hurts. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Lamar answered. “I guess so.”
“Hey, Lamar. Are you going to the DA’s press conference?” Drayton Wilkerson asked as he and Victor walked past the stage where Lamar was standing with his video camcorder. “We’re going over now to cover it. I think he has an announcement about the video. You’re not going? This could be big news.”
“Where is the press conference?” Lamar asked Drayton.
“In front of his building,” Drayton answered as he and Victor hurried off.
Lamar quickly shared the information with his parents, Kyra, Attorney Smith and Reverend Thurmond.
“We just left his office a little while ago,” Lamar’s father said.
“We better get over there to see what’s going on,” Attorney Smith suggested.
When they arrived, Mr. Caulfield had already begun the press conference. Standing next to him were Jim Westerfield, his public relations man, and other people Lamar didn’t know. Newspaper and other TV reporters were there, too. Drayton Wilkerson, standing near the front, waved when he spotted Lamar. Lamar waved back.
“Good afternoon. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m John Caulfield, district attorney for this parish. With me are my assistant, Ike Kendricks; Jim Westerfield, from our public information department; Peter Conforte, the sheriff of this parish; and James Weston, president of the police jury. For those of you who are not from the state, and I see there are a few of you, the police jury is the legislative governing body for the parish.
“We called this press conference to provide an update on the case you all have been following lately. As you may know, a video recording was aired on WKCU News 6. Supposedly, it captures the interaction between Mr. Joshua Phillips, the victim, and Mr. Rutherford Thigpen, who fired the shots that killed Mr. Phillips. Also shown on the video are sheriff’s deputies, whose actions following the incident are in question. Our department, as well as the sheriff’s department and the Morton Police Department, are undertaking a thorough investigation to determine the authenticity of the recording. As you may know, WKCU News 6 did not disclose the name of the person who sent the video.”
“Have any arrests been made?” Drayton Wilkerson yelled out, interrupting the DA.
“I will get to that, sir. Please, show a little patience. Just recently,” continued Mr. Caulfield, “we were given information that will, perhaps, not only identify who sent the video but who recorded it.”
“That means there is an eyewitness?” another news reporter questioned the stern-faced DA.
“What I can say,” he responded, “is all the information we have received is being investigated thoroughly. Now, regarding the question about arrests. No, no one has been arrested. But people are being questioned as we speak.”
“Mr. Caulfield, don’t you have enough evidence to make an arrest?” Drayton continued to probe. “The video is quite revealing, sir.”
“Caulfield is just a lot of talk,” Kyra whispered to Lamar. “He’s just trying to get ahead of this so he can put his spin on it.”
“As I said earlier,” the determined DA replied, “we are doing a thorough investigation. We’re working on our schedule and not anyone else’s. We resent anyone implying that this office will not handle this case fairly. We will go where the evidence leads us. Again, the purpose of this news conference is to provide an update as more information comes in. We will schedule another news conference tomorrow. We’ll let you know the time. Now, we have to get back to work.”
Reporters scrambled to throw more questions at the district attorney. But their efforts were in vain.
“See you tomorrow,” the DA said, waving to them as he and his group hurriedly walked back into the building.
Lamar sat on the steps of the post office building, taking a much-needed rest. It had been a full day. There were the meetings with the district attorney, the one with Jeff, the press conference. So much had happened that he hadn’t missed T.C., who had gone with his family to visit his ailing grandmother. When he looked up, he saw his friend approaching.
“I didn’t think I would be able to get here before the protest ended,” he told Lamar.
“How’s your grandmother?” Lamar asked.
“She’s okay. Why didn’t you answer my call?”
“Oh, wow. I forgot to turn my phone back on. I turned it off during all those meetings.”
When he checked, there was a message. “Lamar. This is Jeff. Call me back.”
Lamar knew it had to be important. He could hear how frantic Jeff sounded.
He returned the call quickly. “Jeff? This is Lamar. What’s up?”
“I tried to reach you,” Jeff said.
“Yeah, I had turned off my phone.”
“Tell Jeff I said hello,” T.C. interrupted. “Tell him I miss his ugly face.”
Lamar ignored T.C.
“What’s up, Jeff?”
“He did it, Lamar!” an excited Jeff told Lamar. “My dad did it!”
“Did what, Jeff? What’re you talking about?”
“He told what he saw! He didn’t want to, but he did. Two investigators came by the house. They took a statement from him. And he told the truth. He told them everything that he saw.”
“I don’t believe it!”
“I didn’t believe it either, Lamar,” Jeff exclaimed. “But he did it!”
“What happened?” T.C. asked, anxious to know what all the excitement was about. Again, Lamar ignored him.
“Jeff, that’s great news.”
“What’s great news? What are y’all talking about?” T.C. was beside himself with curiosity.
“Jeff’s father told the police what he saw when Gramps was killed,” Lamar finally told him.
“YES!” T.C. responded, thrusting a fist into the air.
“So you won’t have to leave now, will you, Jeff?”
“Are you kidding, Lamar?! We really have to leave now. Dad don’t want to face his friends. So we’re still going to Dallas. But he said he’ll come back for the trial. Maybe things will cool down after a while. Maybe.”
“I sure wish you didn’t have to leave. We didn’t get to do that film together.”
“No, we didn’t. Maybe later, huh?”
“When are you leaving?”
“This evening. We’re all packed. We would have been gone already if the investigators hadn’t come by. They didn’t seem like they wanted Dad to talk. But he did. He surprised me.”
“Maybe it was because of you, Jeff.”
“You think?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it at all.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ve got to go. Dallas is about a four-hour drive. At least I’ll finally be in a big town where there is a lot to do.”
As he held the cell phone to his ear, Lamar thought about the new things he had learned from Jeff and that Jeff had learned from him. If Jeff was Black or if I was White, Jeff would be my running buddy just like T.C., Lamar thought.
“Jeff,” Lamar said to his friend, “no matter what happens, let’s stay in touch. Let’s check in with each other. Actually, I hope you come back to Morton Middle School.”
“Me too,” Jeff replied. “I like Morton. You know, Lamar, your grandfather was right to stand up and fight to change things back in the Civil Rights Movement days. That’s what we gotta do. Well, I gotta go. But I’ll call you when I get to Dallas. I’m gonna start working on that synopsis again. And I’ll let you know how it’s going.”
“Me too,” Lamar responded.
“Later, Lamar,” Jeff said.
“Yeah, Jeff. Later. Make sure you call me, now.”
“You got it.”
Lamar ended the call.
“You ain’t crying, are you, Lamar?” T.C. asked.
“No, I ain’t crying,” Lamar answered, trying to brush off T.C.’s inquiry. He turned away so T.C. couldn’t see the tears that had begun to well up in his eyes.
“Lamar. The DA called another press conference for five thirty,” Drayton said as he ran past Lamar and T.C., who were still sitting on the steps of the post office. Victor followed him, holding tightly to his camera. “I think it’s something big,” Drayton added.
Lamar thought about going to get his family. But it was almost 5:30. So he and T.C. ran behind Drayton and Victor.
They arrived just in time to see DA Caulfield tap on the microphone. The DA had more people with him this time. Mayor Johnson was there. Jim Westerfield, the DA’s PR man. Members of the Morton town council. Morton’s chief of police. Lamar saw his family, Attorney Smith and Reverend Thurmond approaching from a distance.
“I think we have to stop meeting like this,” the DA said. But his joke fell flat. So he continued with the real purpose of the press conference. “You have probably heard that a major break has occurred in the Joshua Phillips case. That’s why we have called a second press conference.
“As I told you all during the first press conference, we are going to conduct a thorough investigation. And we are going to follow where the evidence leads. We are not going to yield to pressure from anyone. But we are going to let our legal system do its work. For those of you who thought justice wouldn’t prevail, you’re wrong.”
“Mr. Caulfield, you called us here because there is new evidence in the case?” one of the reporters asked impatiently. “Is that true?”
“Yes, sir, that is true. We have interviewed and gotten a statement from an eyewitness to the incident that occurred on Highway 76. Based on his statement, the sheriff’s department has placed deputies Gregory Nelson and Andrew Thornton on unpaid leave while the department conducts a thorough investigation. What we saw on the video was disturbing and is not representative of the fine men and women who serve in the sheriff’s department. Finally, a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Rutherford Thigpen has already been issued.”
“What will Mr. Thigpen be charged with?” asked a reporter.
“That will be determined,” the DA answered.
“Will the two sheriff’s deputies be charged?” a second reporter inquired.
“We are investigating their involvement.”
“From the video, it looks as if Mr. Thigpen shot Mr. Phillips without cause. And it looks as if the sheriff’s deputies covered it up. Am I right about that, sir?” yet another reporter asked.
“As I said, we’ll be looking into everything,” Mr. Caulfield replied, agitated. “But as I told you, those two deputies are on unpaid leave pending further investigation.”
“Mr. Caulfield, isn’t it true, sir, that the family of the victim has done the real investigative work in this case?” Drayton asked, joining the chorus of questioners. “If not for them, this case would have been dropped. Is that a true statement?”
“I resent those accusations!” Mr. Caulfield roared back. “Yes, it’s true that the Phillips family has been helpful to us. But we have been focused on this case from the beginning. And we continue to do so!”
Another reporter made her way up front. “Mr. Caulfield, we have been doing research into past cases in this parish where Black citizens have been shot, some killed, by White citizens. The vast majority of those cases never went to trial, or the perpetrators received extremely light sentences. Will it be like that in this case? If not, can you tell us why it won’t be?”
“Listen, I am not here to discuss past cases! The purpose of this press conference is to provide an update on this particular case. We’re still in the early stages of this investigation, and we will continue to provide updates. We have much yet to do.”
“What kind of charges are you considering, Mr. Caulfield?” Drayton asked as the DA turned to leave.
Jim Westerfield stepped up to the mic. “No more questions,” he announced. “We’ll let you know when the next press conference will be scheduled. Thank you all for coming.”
By the time the announcement ended, the DA and his entourage had made their way into the building. The reporters followed, peppering them with questions to which they didn’t respond.
“They’re still trying to find a way out of this,” Attorney Smith told the Phillips family and Reverend Thurmond.
“They can’t get around it, can they?” Lamar’s father asked.
“It will be difficult,” answered Attorney Smith. “We’ve got to keep the pressure on.”
Later that evening, Lamar yelled from the living room. “There’s breaking news! I think they arrested Mr. Thigpen.”
Kyra, Lamar’s parents and Attorney Smith rushed in. Drayton flashed onto the television screen.
“This is Drayton Wilkerson from WKCU News 6 reporting from in front of the courthouse in Morton, Louisiana. We are waiting for sheriff’s deputies to arrive. We understand Rutherford Thigpen, the man who shot and killed Joshua Phillips weeks ago, has been placed under arrest at his home and is being brought here for booking. You may remember that, initially, Mr. Thigpen said he shot Mr. Phillips in self-defense. A cell phone recording that this station aired seems to show that it wasn’t self-defense. As a result, a warrant was issued for Mr. Thigpen’s arrest.”
Lamar leaped into the air. Kyra clapped her hands enthusiastically. Their parents embraced. Even a normally cool Attorney Smith couldn’t contain his excitement.
“Wait. Wait. Let’s hear the rest of it,” Kyra said, turning up the volume.
“The man who recorded the video, Mr. Craig Wilson, has already been interviewed. Black people in Morton, and some White supporters, who have been protesting for nearly a week to get justice in the case, have been calling for the arrest of Mr. Thigpen. They feel the shooting was racially motivated. A former businessman in Morton, Mr. Thigpen once served on the Morton town council. He once headed the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. I think the sheriff’s deputies are driving up now.”
Lamar and the others watched as the deputies helped Thigpen from the car. Lamar thought he looked older than his seventy-five years. His aging body was bent over, and his almost bald head gleamed in the fading sunlight. The pained look on his weather-beaten face seemed to define the moment. The deputies walked slowly to accommodate Thigpen, whose weary legs looked as if they would give out.
Clicking sounds of photographers’ cameras filled the air. Television news cameras rolled. Rutherford Thigpen glared defiantly and then held up a middle finger to let the reporters know what he thought of them.
“Mr. Thigpen! Mr. Thigpen,” Drayton called out, pushing closer. “Why did you shoot Mr. Phillips? Did you feel your life was threatened?”
