OFFICER WINS SUIT COMMITTS SUICIDE

[Joseph]

Officer Cecil MCKenzie worked for the Jefferson Parish Sherriff's Office but was fired from the Department in 1994 after he was accused of striking an Afro American suspect he arrested after a car jacking. At the time of the incident the Sheriff Harry Lee was under a lot of heat from the black community because he wanted to constuct cement barriers to keep blacks from coming into his parish and stealing from the more affluent homes and driving back over into New Orleans. He wanted to barricade the streets. Officer Cecil McKenzie always stated he was fired as a scape goat to ease the tension. Officer McKenzie was cleared by the courts but Sheriff Lee Appealed it to the US Supreme Court where the court refused to hear the case. Officer Cecil McKenzie finally got his justice but it was to late he commited suicide the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He never gave up hope to clear his name an always stated all he wanted to be was a good cop and uphold the law. He never got to get that chance again.

[Blonde Heat]

Very sad. Its a shame his life was ruined and he felt the need to give up.

Do officers get a chance for some kind of therapy in the event tragic or otherwise situations occur?

[Snoopy1]

There are a few things about this that trouble me.

First, White people couldn't come in to burglarize the "more affluent". There are a lot of white people who would think of me as "more affluent" although I don't think I'm rich.

Once he was found innocent by the jury, the matter should have ended there and he should have been rehired.

It is sad that he couldn't have held out a little longer.

Yes, I'm white. I just like to see everyone treated fairly.