NEW YORK -- For the residents of Wheeler Avenue, a modest stretch of two-story apartment buildings in the Soundview section of the Bronx, reports that four police officers had been indicted on charges of second-degree murder in the killing of their neighbor, Amadou Diallo, did little to allay their suspicion of the justice system.
One of Diallo's roommates, who answered a knock at his door, and neighbors who sat quietly on their stoops in the sunshine expressed deep skepticism about the judicial process, especially the official silence surrounding the grand jury. The Bronx district attorney's office, which has overseen the jury for six weeks, has refused to confirm that the officers have been indicted.These neighbors said they would not be satisfied until the police officers involved answered a central question: Why did they open fire on an unarmed 22-year-old immigrant whom everyone remembered as being courteous, hard-working and shy?
At Diallo's ground-floor apartment at 1157 Wheeler Ave., a roommate, who did not give his full name, opened the door a few inches and explained why reports Friday that the officers had been indicted did so little to address his concerns: "Just put yourself in those boots. Imagine a family member killed for no reason."
As for the reports of the indictments, he said only: "If that is what is required by law, then that's the right thing. All we are looking for is justice. We don't want anything outside the books."
For others on the block, the news about possible indictments was no news at all. "Justice is not done until there's a trial," a neighbor said. He declined to identify himself, saying he was a witness in the case and had given grand jury testimony.