April 29, 2008 -- Barack Obama made a call for nonviolence in the aftermath of the Sean Bell verdict - infuriating the Rev. Al Sharpton, who accused the presidential candidate of trying to "grandstand in front of white people," sources told The Post.
During what a source described as a "heated" phone call yesterday, Sharpton told Obama he was disappointed with the Illinois senator's words on Friday, when Obama said "resorting to violence to express displeasure" was "completely unacceptable and counterproductive."
"[Obama] issues this statement and not a single rock had been thrown," said a source. "How does the candidate of change ask people to accept a verdict that is unjust?"
The source said Sharpton had hoped Obama would "side with the Bell family" and not use it as an "opportunity to grandstand in front of white people."
An Obama spokesman described the conversation as a chance to "hear [Sharpton's] views and to get his perspective."
This case reminds me of the Rodney King beating case from Los Angeles. The police officers were acquitted by a jury of their peers, and a several day riot ensued.
The Feds, panicked by the violence, got involved and filed civil rights charges. The burden of proof for civil rights actions is much less than for a criminal case, so the officers ended up convicted on federal charges. The whole thing smacked of double jeopardy to me, but obviously the authorities disagreed. I foresee the same outcome in New York.
Sharpton has also threatened violence in Denver if Obama doesn't get the nomination. I wonder if he's rethinking that now.
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