I’m an unavoidable day late with this post but I think there are a few things to add regarding the drug raid in Beijing’s main bar district Sanlitun on Friday night, particularly as the Reuters report (via the Guardian) only touches upon the story:
BEIJING, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Chinese paramilitary police swept through a busy bar district in Beijing, detaining about 20 African nationals suspected of selling drugs, witnesses said.
The raid at midnight on Friday in fashionable Sanlitun, also home to many embassies, came as police tighten security ahead of a Communist Party meeting in mid-October and next year’s Olympic Games.
“The paramilitary police sealed off the street at both ends, then moved in,” said a witness surnamed Wang.
“Some Africans entered the vans peacefully but others tried to flee and the police used force,” added Wang, who works on the street frequented by young foreigners.
Other witnesses said the troops targeted anyone on the street with dark skin.
The Ministry of Public Security and the Beijing police both declined immediate comment. Chinese police rarely get involved with foreigners if they can help it, owing mainly to poor foreign language skills.
As we can see from the South China Morning Post article below, the key point is the wild nature of the police operation in which anyone who was black was targeted.
Dozens of black tourists and expatriates, including the son of the Grenadian ambassador, were arrested and some badly beaten during an apparently indiscriminate anti-drug operation by Beijing police.
About 30 men, mostly African or Caribbean, were detained as dozens of baton-wielding security guards and uniformed police swept through Beijing’s nightlife district, Sanlitun. Students, tourists and the ambassador’s son Joslyn Whiteman Jnr were among those wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and hauled to a nearby police station.
At least three people, including Mr Whiteman, were beaten with rubber truncheons despite few signs that they were resisting arrest.
Grenadian ambassador Joslyn Whiteman said he was furious at the way his son was treated. The 22-year-old spent a night in hospital with a concussion.
“Obviously I’m very angry,” the ambassador said. “My son was arrested and beaten for no reason whatsoever. I will be taking this up with the authorities and looking into the matter.”
Witnesses said the round-up appeared to be aimed squarely at black men. Those who tried to photograph the incident were made to delete the images from their mobile phones and cameras.
“It was pretty brutal,” Beijing-based magazine editor Alex Reid said.
“I saw a man being beaten by six guys in camouflage. He was covered in blood. The police seemed to be targeting anyone who was black.”
Thabo Lieket, a 24-year-old student from Lesotho, was among those arrested and later released without charge. He thought the police assumed he was dealing in drugs because he was black, he said.
“They were rounding up all the black people; it was pretty frightening,” he said. “I was walking with some friends past one of the bars when I was grabbed by some of the guys in camouflage. They dragged us all to the police station, where we were put in the same cell.”
When asked about the incident, a police officer at the Sanlitun station said: “This is an anti-drug operation.”
I have no doubt the SCMP report can be taken as read as I consider the author of the article - housemate, friend of ten years and a member of my journalism class - to be a very reliable source. He was present at the scene of the chaos on Friday night, having a beer outside the Saddle bar opposite Tongli Studios. I feel it is worth detailing exactly what happened, away from the constraints of a limited word count and the news story format.
At about 1am, a group of five or six men in camouflage uniform charged past the Saddle towards Poachers’ Inn. Their average age was around 18 and 19 - some looked as young as 16, others maybe 25 - and their scruffy appearance, straggly hair and gangly limbs made them look decidedly amateurish. They do not seem to deserve the title “paramilitary police” given to them by the Reuters’ witness. A few Saddle patrons, including the SCMP reporter, followed them and saw three black men kneeling in the street surrounded by a group of about seven camouflaged men and three in Beijing police uniform. One man was handcuffed and was being beaten by foot-long batons, while he shouted his protestations; the other two were being threatened with blows. The policemen, much older than the camouflaged mob, were making sure onlookers stayed back. One was holding a gun but not pointing it with purpose. At no stage did the SCMP reporter see any resistance that warranted this kind of treatment but he didn’t see if the men had tried to resist arrest in the first place.
The three men were hauled up and taken to the police station around the corner. Many people were taking pictures and video footage. The SCMP reporter followed the police but his friend had to stay behind for a moment as the police deleted the pictures she had taken with her digital camera. She was allowed to keep two photos of blood on the pavement. Many others were forced to delete the images they had taken. By the way, someone has video footage (haven’t seen it myself) of this incident so I hope it will be online shortly.
The SCMP reporter stood with several other foreigners outside the police station. There was a feeling of indignation, disgust and the sense that they should at least make their presence felt so the police would know they were being observed. It should be said at this point the incident still appeared to be the arrest of three black men on the suspicion of dealing drugs. The picture changed over the next hour, however, as snatch squads of five to six young men in camouflage kept running out of the station and returning with more arrests, all black men. It was becoming clear that the teams were being sent out to the bars and told to bring back anyone who was black. By 2am, 20 to 30 men had been arrested, ranging from a tourist and a student (quoted in SCMP article) to possible drug dealers and the son of the Grenadian ambassador. One man was led in with his shoulder covered in blood.
The police began to release people without charge at about 2.15am. Those with valid passports and visas were allowed to go - the student from Lesotho was lucky enough to remember his passport number. Outside the station, the SCMP reporter spoke to a white Canadian guy. He had been drinking with a fellow student, who was black, in a bar until his drinking buddy was snatched from under his eyes and dragged outside into the street. The reporter spoke to two black men who had been arrested in separate incidents. Their Chinese friends had warned them that police appeared to be rounding up anyone who was black and carting them off. Worried, they left the bar and were grabbed by the camouflaged mob, rather than men in police uniform. It is no wonder some innocent people were caught trying to run away.
The SCMP reporter and two of his friends then entered the police station and propped up the counter. One of his friends was nagging the police, firing questions at them. They answered two questions and volunteered a justification in the course of an hour. “What are you doing?” “This is an anti-drug operation.” “Why are you beating the people?” “Because they tried to run away.” This was followed by, “You’re an American. The police in America beat people too.” According to the SCMP reporter, most of the staff in the police station looked bemused at the foreigners’ bemusement.
The Grenadian ambassador Joslyn Whiteman, and his wife, arrived at about 2.30am, angry and distressed but grateful to the foreigners that they had stayed around the police station. He even had the good humour to comment that he was the only “white man” in the building. After giving the police a description of his son to a policewoman who spoke some English, he was told his son had been released. They found him later and took him to hospital where he stayed overnight due to truncheon-induced concussion.
China Expat has written a post that addresses the racial implications of this incident. I will focus on the shocking baseness of the policework and sheer ignorance of the authorities involved. It is unclear to whom the young men in camouflage were affiliated. From the description of their appearance, I find it hard to accept they belonged to either the police or the military. It sounds like some kind of security company made up of untrained youths hired by the Beijing police to do their dirty work. This ensures that no one has video or photographic evidence of a uniformed Beijing policeman dishing out a beating with a baton. But it also demonstrates the clumsiness in the way the police carried out the anti-drug operation. The overwhelming majority of drug dealers in Sanlitun are black Africans and the way in which they conduct business is blatant. The simple combination of surveillance and plain clothes could notch up an arrest a day at least. Instead, it appears the logic was: drug dealers are black so if we round up enough black people we will catch some drug dealers. If they show fear or resist then they are guilty.
Maybe the police prefer a public show of its strength to act as a deterrant and to demonstrate their unerring efforts to combat drugs in line with the Minister of Public Security’s call to clamp down … etc … ahead of the Party congress. Well in this case, it has forgotten its audience. Too many appalled foreigners, too many foreigners with links to the media. If their thinking is that the rough treatment will convince the drug dealers to go straight, then they are surely misguided. The incident had the appearance of being all for show and it has received negative coverage in the media. There won’t be any further drug raids in Sanlitun for a while so it appears it is now safe to peddle illegal substances on its streets. It does appear to be a very localised effort to make a few drug-related arrests. If the Beijing police have aspirations of ridding drug-dealing from the capital’s streets then it should adopt a more citywide approach. After all, it is well known that most of the drug dealers have relocated to another area of Beijing over the last year or so. When I first arrived in Beijing at the beginning of 2006, a stroll down the busy main road of Gongti Beilu would be to the soundtrack of “Hey, man” from African drug dealers. This just doesn’t seem to happen anymore.
As for the bar district of Sanlitun, I often find there is a tinge of aggression in the air, particularly outside Tongli Studios (the area where the police raid occurred). Probably no more than outside De Niro’s in Newmarket, H2O in Bishop’s Stortford, Jumping Jack’s in Harlow or any other of the small-town nightclubs in which I had the opportunity to meet many of the UK’s leading fools during my teenage years. But a tinge nonetheless, accentuated in my mind perhaps because Beijing is generally free from all the loutish (why do I feel so much older than my years when I use that word?) nonsense that goes on in Britain. It does seem that lashings of violence in Sanlitun, like the one written about on the Zhongnanhai blog here, are happening more frequently though.
Related links:
Africa Beat - http://jenbrea.typepad.com/africabeat/2007/09/africans-beaten.html#comments
Newsweek blog - http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/ov/archive/2007/09/25/beijing-vice-a-brutal-bust-reveals-the-strong-arm-of-the-chinese-law.aspx
Jeremiah | 25-Sep-07 at 12:01 pm | Permalink
I’ve been watching this carefully and last night called a friend of mine on the street who runs a bar on the street to confirm what went down. Thanks for such a cogent, clear, and complete description.
Absolute kudos to those who went to the police station to “observe.” Nobody knows what would have happened if the police/thugs had felt nobody was watching them.
Jeremiah | 25-Sep-07 at 12:02 pm | Permalink
Great post.
I’ve been watching this carefully and last night called a friend of mine who runs a bar on the street to confirm what went down. Thanks for such a cogent, clear, and complete description.
Absolute kudos to those who went to the police station to “observe.” One wonders what would have happened if the police/thugs had felt nobody was watching them.
Xiao Zhu | 25-Sep-07 at 12:45 pm | Permalink
Excellent summary. I think this is a classic example of how Chinese law enforcement agencies ‘crackdown’ on particular crimes. I have seen the same thing when 城管 round up motorised rickshaws. They get some loosely-uniformed thugs to apprehend the drivers, while the properly dressed chengguan guy waits to conduct his investigation.
lee | 25-Sep-07 at 12:45 pm | Permalink
it’s because of the heroin OD at Bar Blu of the australian big brother contestant 2 weeks ago. i assume the cops assumed he bought the heroin from one of the many african dealers who do hang out behind tongli. not knowing which one sold the smack, they decided to smack the crap out of anyone who fit the “profile”. imagine what they must do to chinese, especially outside of beijing
Cam | 25-Sep-07 at 1:25 pm | Permalink
Excellent post… thanks for describing this in such vivid detail. I had a black friend from Britain visiting in town on Saturday night, and we went to Sanlitun. I’m lucky I didn’t take him there a night earlier.
Chris | 25-Sep-07 at 2:02 pm | Permalink
While no doubt the actions taken by the authorities were over the top and unacceptable (the alleged racial profiling part), I think people should realize that this is how things work here. Good or bad, that’s it. We can’t change it. We can complain all we want, but that won’t change things.
People can avoid putting themselves in these situations. Or even better, those who are wrongfully profiled due to the stereotypes, they could help clean up Sanlitun. “We don’t want drug dealers in our town.”
Possible?
Update on the Sanlitun Incident at Chris’ Website | 25-Sep-07 at 2:37 pm | Permalink
[...] Newspeak wrote their view on the incident I wrote about in my previous post. I wrote a comment that I have pasted here for convenience: While no doubt the actions taken by the authorities were [...]
dan | 25-Sep-07 at 9:25 pm | Permalink
Fantastic post.
michael | 25-Sep-07 at 9:45 pm | Permalink
Whether or not this is a reaction to the death of the Aussie guy in Sanlitun, Gordon Sloan did not overdose on heroin, he did not inject anything. The unknown toxin was found in his stomach, not injected into a vein. Read the press reports and the autopsy findings published in the Australian press.
As for this crackdown, I’m surprised that Beijing would put on such a crude display of racism and boneheaded law enforcement - or maybe I’m not. The use of rent-a-mob thugs by local authorities is nothing new outside of Beijing. I just thought the capital’s cops were a little more subtle than that - obviously I was wrong. Look like we’re in for an interesting Olympics.
Peterpaul | 26-Sep-07 at 12:19 am | Permalink
This has been a clearly written and informative post.
One of the main problems with China is its willingness to use ruthless thugs to inforce state decrees, whether local or provincial. The cases are innumerous and easily researched on Google or ESWN. Please remember that when one lives, works, or visits China one is, by doing so, assenting to that behavior. I should know, I lived there for five years until it was too much for me to bear…
We would be shocked at someone who chose to do business with the Nazis in 1938, with the Iranians in 1980, or the Serbs in 1997. Why do people think there actions aren’t helping to support a brutal and repressive regime is beyond me…maybe money and success DO wash away all sins!
Hmmm | 26-Sep-07 at 1:44 am | Permalink
Well, as much as it is unfair that people were unfairly targeted because of their color, anyone who has lived or hung around in Sanlitun over the years has seen this coming. There just aren’t a lot of white/Chinese dealers standing on street corners. They hang out in bars, like clever dealers do. I have talked with black people who are not drug dealers, especially females, who are ashamed and embarrassed by the blatancy with which these guys operated, and there were PLENTY of them for sure. Also many were aggressive, and threatened several people I know personally over the years.
All was fine when they were just dealing a few chunks of hash, but as it was pointed out in previous posts, they have moved onto coke and heroin and crappy E’s. All worth cracking down on.
Many foreign people like Beijing and Shanghai, because even as two of the biggest cities in the world, they are decidedly low on violence, certainly against foreigners, and much safer for women. Why? cuz the police don’t mess around, even if they don’t do the best job. Those who think that having to run a gauntlet of assholes bugging you to buy hash/whatever, is some kind of fun, should move on to Lagos, Freetown, LA, Manchester, Mexico city, all those “quality of life” towns around the world where the police have lost any and all control they once had.
This whole country is, at any point, a moment away from total chaos, and if you want to see unfairness, just let the central powers that be lose control of this “striving to be harmonious” society.
mike | 26-Sep-07 at 10:36 am | Permalink
Chris: “We don’t want drug dealers in our town.”
- speak for yourself buddy, I’m all for it.
Hmmm - “Lagos, Freetown, LA, Manchester, Mexico city, all those “quality of life” towns around the world where the police have lost any and all control they once had.”
- how and why did manchester get put into that mix? as an exiled manc, all I can say is lagos it ain’t. I can only imagine
a. you have never been to manchester
b. you are a scouser
xxx
Justin | 26-Sep-07 at 1:26 pm | Permalink
I can’t believe this has happened in Sanlitun in front of the international audience. I kind of believe the Beijing police presiding over Sanlitun along with the security guards they employ are first of all, unfriendly like many in China, and also unprofessional, uneducated, finally unwelcome. They have not been trained how to do things differently in Sanlitun. For sure they can speak little English and never believe the constitution of China is a law after all.
I’m ashamed. Sigh….
Inst | 26-Sep-07 at 1:46 pm | Permalink
Can we get imagethief to do his thing on this incident? This seems like a poster child for legalism in the modern Chinese state; it’s brutal but effective.
Hugo Restall | 26-Sep-07 at 2:09 pm | Permalink
To Hmmmm,
Hong Kong is also a very safe town, and the police do not go around beating people. It is not so hard to use best practices of police work, but the Chinese authorities don’t seem to be interested in doing so. Could the reason be that without democracy they are not accountable? This party line of “we’re on the brink of chaos, so put up with it” is terribly condescending to Chinese.
nanheyangrouchuan | 26-Sep-07 at 2:22 pm | Permalink
from the B
Last Updated: Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 06:03 GMT 07:03 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Riot police ‘beat’ Burmese monks
BBC graphic
Riot police have used batons to beat back protesters including monks at the Rangoon pagoda used as a rallying-point for marchers, eyewitnesses say.
They baton-charged a crowd of civilians and monks outside the Shwedagon Pagoda as demonstrators readied for a ninth day of protest marches.
Police and troops have been ringing Buddhist monasteries in the city.
Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops opened fire on unarmed protestors, killing thousands.
In a further sign that the military authorities are cracking down, two key dissidents were arrested.
interviews of people inside of Burma are calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics if Beijing does not stop supporting the junta.
cxy | 26-Sep-07 at 5:16 pm | Permalink
Basically, the Chinese discriminate people, no matter what colour they are. The rich vs the poor, the urban vs the rural, the priveliged vs the commoners, Shanghainese vs non-Shanghainese, the powerful vs the disadvantaged.
It just happened to be black people in this case who dominate the drug business in this area (why?).
wk | 26-Sep-07 at 6:11 pm | Permalink
1.I” take it racism if 3 men, one white, one black, one Chinese, all do drug dealing but only the black guy got arrested.
2.Here in DC, almost all roadside car stops and checks are against blacks. Local blacks have been complaining about the unfairness and racism of metro police.
3. If a police talks to you, you should do as what the police says, running away will make the police use the violent ways. In the United States, you could get shot.
I think it’s unlikely that Beijing police will smash you with batons if you comply with the police.
wk | 26-Sep-07 at 6:21 pm | Permalink
so the question we should ask is of the drug dealers in Sanlitun, how much percent is black?
Us police often raid Chinese restaurants to catch illegal immigrants, why dont they raid the French restaurant next door? Racism?
wk | 26-Sep-07 at 6:34 pm | Permalink
To peterpaul
How the hell is this related with repression and brutalness?
If you are an American/British, you better hang yourself first because your tax money is being used on killing iraqis, possiblly iranians in the near future
Transpacific Triangle » Back to Blogging: Some Things I've Missed by Graham Webster | 26-Sep-07 at 6:59 pm | Permalink
[...] early to see it first hand. A first report came from Jen Brea, and a later, more detailed one from Chris O’Brien. A Newsweek blog has another first-hand account from an expat who was forced to delete photos of [...]
Sofia | 26-Sep-07 at 10:43 pm | Permalink
Well, I was there when all of this happened.
Still can’t believe how could they do that?!
I mean, just because the simple fact that they are black men, doesn’t mean they all sell ilegal drugs.
I have a couple of black friends and I had to tell them not to go to the bar area and they couldn’t just go there and have fun all because these stupid people who were beaten them up.
What the hell is wrong with this world?!
Why do the Chinese police have to beat up the Africans indiscriminately in Beijing? « 边想边瞧 | 27-Sep-07 at 1:39 am | Permalink
[...] do the Chinese police have to beat up the Africans indiscriminately in Beijing? Why do the Chinese police have to beat up the Africans indiscriminately in Beijing? Why do some of the Africans have to travel tens of thousands of miles to Beijing just to commit [...]
Say No to Drugs | 27-Sep-07 at 1:12 pm | Permalink
For their courageous efforts to address a serious Drug problem dealing primarily with “Drug Dealers” at the Sanlitun Bar area, the Beijing Police should receive medals of Valor!!
China, the sovereign Government, has the right to protect it’s citizens by investigating alleged criminal behavior and arrest those suspects in a lawful manner.
In this case, Beijing Police Department dispatched Officers to investigate numerous civilian complaints that the Sanlitun Bar, a predominately African Bar, was being used by Drug Dealers to sell drugs.
The Officers arrived at the Sanlitun area, under the color of authority, and lawfully announced their presence. The police investigation led to the arrest of several suspects that were arrested. It is unfortunate, but the facts indicate that some of those arrested “resisted arrest” and that reasonable force was used by the Police to overpower the suspect and effect the arrest.
It is irrelevant that the arrestee is Black or is a foreigner with Diplomatic immunity, the fact remains that the arrestee has a legal responsibility to comply with a lawful Police order.
Lastly, lets look at the threat that drug dealers bring into a peaceful society: Addiction, pain and suffering for the family and crimes of violence. The Police should be applauded for there thankless job to protect society…..Say no to drugs!
whatsis | 27-Sep-07 at 8:16 pm | Permalink
“The Officers arrived at the Sanlitun area, under the color of authority”
I was there that night, and the “officers” were teenagers in camouflage wielding batons, pulling people indiscriminately out of bars, and beating men who were already restrained, on the ground and not resisting. If you want to clean up the area, by all means do so, but don’t hire gangs of untrained teenagers to round up people based on a general description and rough them up. There are other methods to make an area safe, and if the police don’t utilize them, it makes them appear completely incompetent and unable to do their jobs properly.
Er | 28-Sep-07 at 8:22 am | Permalink
Some people better be careful for their behave in China. The China government takes drug dealing very serious. I know if one person carrying over 50 gram heroin gets caught, he could be sentenced to death.
Let's see those pics | 28-Sep-07 at 7:27 pm | Permalink
If anyone who was there took photos/videos, but were made to delete them by the police, you know you can recover them through the use of software tools as long as you don’t format the memory card or take any new photos using the same card.
When photos are deleted, they don’t actually get physically erased from the memory card, they only get flagged as deleted and get overwritten when new photos are taken.
Africa rulez | 29-Sep-07 at 12:12 pm | Permalink
Whenever I walk through Sanlitun, I am approached by Africans, may be Afro-Americans, offering drugs, typically every 50-100 m.
I have never been approached by a white or an Asian selling drugs in that area.
That is a fact.
Police brutality is thought to be a potent deterrent for criminals in this country, regardless if Chinese or foreign. Its the law of the land.
Drug dealers and petty criminals reflect very badly on the vast majority of fine individuals of African descent and it is up to fellow Africans to distance themselves and expose these bad apples.
DS | 01-Oct-07 at 1:27 am | Permalink
You are doing really great work. This is a great post. Having worked with many of the other great bloggers in Beijing in the last few years, I feel real regret that I have not met you. Keep up the super work!
Boss-man | 01-Oct-07 at 3:51 am | Permalink
I cant believe this! this is very racial and sad! the government should loook into this matter.Some chinese people tend to be very ignornt .. how are you going to beat up every black man thinkin his a drug dealer! am callin upon african heads of state and the greenadan government to look into this matter.Something must be done!
DGE | 02-Oct-07 at 12:27 pm | Permalink
While I agree with everything written, the one aspect no one seems to be talking about is the drug dealers relationship with the police. What I have heard many times over the years is that the drug dealers are run by the police, hence there ability to sell out in the open. And the reason they are all black is by design. They have an unwritten agreement with the police to sell the drugs but both sides know if something goes wrong the drug dealers will have to take the fall. The other part of the story is that historically in Beijing the diplomats were the ones running the drug trade. While I am not suggesting any of these diplomats are involved or suggesting that all of the people involved were drug dealers, there is historical background information that needs to included in the story.
Deportation | 02-Oct-07 at 3:28 pm | Permalink
There is an issue that has not been discussed as to date. It is the Deportation of those individuals that were arrested at the Sanlitun area and later convicted of a drug related crime in China.
To be effective, the Chinese Government has the right to try, in a Court of Law, those citizens and foreigners that violate the law with impunity and seek their conviction for the drug related offense.
In this case, once the foreigners were rounded up, they would have the right to a judicial hearing regarding the allegation. If the foreigner is convicted for a drug related crime, he should serve their time in jail, then be immediately Deported from China to his country of origin.
The Deportation by the Chinese Government would say one thing loud and clear to those that choose to sell, possess or induce others to take drugs: “SAY NO TO DRUGS”.
Don't Eat My Buchela | 05-Oct-07 at 6:50 pm | Permalink
Great post.
Thanks!
T.K | 11-Oct-07 at 1:06 am | Permalink
Say No To Drugs wrote:
“It is irrelevant that the arrestee is Black or is a foreigner with Diplomatic immunity[...]”
…wrong. Violation of diplomatic immunity is a very serious matter. If the police or their civilian contractors really did beat an ambassador’s son, it tells a lot of their ham-fisted operation. The words incompetent and brutal come to mind.
JCAMP | 29-Jan-08 at 9:19 pm | Permalink
This is a very complicated matter that I am able to see both sides argument. On one hand, it is not fair to arrest someone for the sole reason being that they are black. On the other hand, every (OK maybe 95 %)drug dealer in this district fits the description of the younger black male who was targeted. Lets face this fact too, Beijing is not a hotbed for young African males to just be walking around. Sure there are some, but we are not in Kenya here. I really don’t think this was a big deal. I am sure if the men didn’t flee and showed their passport they were let go without issue quite soon. The ones who got injured were I have no doubt the ones who ran. The ambassadors son (this fact has no importance to the issue though, he is just a person after all) I’m sure ran and tried to use the fact that his father is an ambassador to make himself seem superior to others. Is it far to beat someone because they ran? I don’t think for that sole reason, but police have the authority to use force against people who resist arrest in any country in the world. China, United States, or any country that has a police force for that matter. Racial profiling is not new, and I could argue that it is even beneficial in certain circumstances. Bottom line, those who didn’t resist I am sure were released without punishment. Those who ran, although not warrented, may have been injured. This raid was done with the intentions of protecting the public, not to “beat blacks” or anything like that. Once again, this is not a black or white issue and both sides could make solid arguments in their favor.