FUNERAL FOR SHOOTING VICTIM

Pastor Calls For Full Disclosure In Probe Of Isaac Singletary's Death

The Rev. Mark Griffin told the crowd at 80-year-old Isaac
Singletary's funeral Saturday that he didn't want to discuss how
Singletary died, but it was unavoidable.

Singletary was shot and killed Jan. 27 by undercover narcotics
officers outside his home on Westmont Street near Philips Highway. It
was the third fatal officer-involved shooting in two weeks.

Community members have been outraged about whether any of the
shootings was necessary.

Given the "unusual circumstances" surrounding Singletary's death,
Griffin devoted the majority of his sermon to what he thought
Singletary would stand for if he were still alive: about the
shooting, about race and about drugs in his neighborhood.

Police and witnesses say that Singletary thought undercover officers
were drug dealers and asked them to leave his yard. When they didn't
leave, he brought a gun out and was shot by officers, police said.

Griffin echoed sentiments from community leaders, asking for police
to reconsider the tactics in undercover sting operations.

Gary Evans, Singletary's nephew, said that his "Uncle Ike" had talked
with the undercover police performing reverse stings in his yard
before. He said they always identified themselves and Singletary let
them go about their business.

"Why did they have to kill him this time?" he said.

The Sheriff's Office hasn't made it clear what was said to Singletary
before the shooting. After he was shot at least once in an exchange
of gunfire and retreated around the back, another officer wearing
gear that identified him as police called for Singletary to drop the
gun and fired, Sheriff John Rutherford said Monday.

Sammie Corley, a family friend, said Singletary was against drugs,
but he was still respected by the drug dealers in the neighborhood.
He said he spoke with a lot of people about the dangers of drugs and
made a difference.

More crime and public safety coverage Crime Around You: An occasional
series on Jacksonville's homicide rate "I can see it and they can see
it. He made a very big impact in that area," he said.

Griffin said more needs to be done to get the drugs off the streets,
including job programs to prevent people from turning to drug dealing.

Isaac Singletary

Still, Griffin said the drug dealers and users in the neighborhoods
should not be called "thugs," in response to comments made by
Rutherford at Monday's news conference. Griffin said using the word
"thug" implies these people aren't worth saving and that most people
are "just on the wrong track."

"If you tell a child they are a thug, then they will probably be
thugs," he said.

The main issue, Griffin said, is about respect. He quoted the Bible,
Timothy 5:1, in which Apostle Paul tells a young man: "Do not rebuke
an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your own father."

Griffin said it's important to respect the elderly, no matter who you
are. He said it's not about "police training" but "house training" to
know that.

The Rev. Mark L. Griffin delivers remarks at Isaac Singletary's
Saturday. Griffin encouraged funeral attendees to remember
Singletary's life, but to hold police accountable during the
investigation of his death.

"How can he be respected by thugs, or so-called, and disrespected by
police?" he said.

No matter what the Sheriff's Office investigation finds, Griffin
asked for full disclosure to the public in a timely manner. He said
the projected six-month timetable was too long. He also said he
worried that select findings vindicating police would be periodically
released and the results that incriminate officers would be held
until the investigation is complete. He said everything should be
released as it happens or nothing should be released until the end of
the investigation.

Griffin warned against aggressive action toward police. The tone was
very different from the funeral of Douglas Woods III, held a week
earlier. Woods was shot by an undercover narcotics officer Jan. 20 at
the Sable Palm Apartments.

At Woods's funeral, Yusef Shabazz, national spokesman for the New
Black Panther Party, said, "We think black people should fight police
in the street."

Griffin said such calls to violence are irresponsible and urged
people not to look at the shooting as a race issue, but rather a
question of police tactics.

"There is no white devil. There is no black devil. The devil is the
devil," he said.

Gary Evans mourns the death of his uncle Isaac Singletary at Wayman
Chapel AME Church in Jacksonville on Saturday.

The speech was indicative of the rift in Jacksonville's black
community about how to respond.

On Tuesday, Juan Gray, board chairman for the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, criticized church leaders such as Griffin for
not taking more action to oppose police tactics. Gray told the
Times-Union that Griffin and his colleagues were "rubber-stampers"
who simply approved of whatever the Sheriff's Office does.

Previously, Griffin said he had not spoken publicly about the
Singletary shooting out of respect for the family. He said he would
not discuss the shooting again after the funeral. He praised the
family for how they've handled the situation.

"I want you to focus not on how he died, but focus on how he lived," he said.

Singletary, who was born in Sanford, served in the Navy for three
years in California before becoming head custodian and eventually
supervisor of grounds at Rollins College. After retirement,
Singletary moved to Jacksonville.

Evans said his uncle loved his backyard garden and would grow collard
greens, cabbage and "anything you could eat." Griffin called
Singletary a real hero and community leader. Family members said
Singletary was loved by everyone, affectionately called "Pops" in the
neighborhood.

"Anyone who missed a chance to sit down with my uncle - just to talk
- - really missed a treat," Evans said.