DALLAS (CBSDFW.com – Rory Norman, a 1-year-old boy from southeast Dallas can still be seen flashing his dimples that his mother gave him.
Ebony Miller stood by the sign and his photograph she kept in front of the house, saying “It feels as if everything still happened yesterday.” “I still wonder what the reason was.” Is there a reason? Who?”
Miller and her family awoke in January 2020 to gunfire.
Jaylon Miller, her brother, said that “the person may have stepped through this passageway”, pointing out the gated passageway running along the side their house.
That night, someone fired shots at their side of the house. Renee Hall, chief of Dallas police, said that the shots were directed downwards and pointed at the family’s bed.
Jaylon said, “He moved from room to bedroom to room.”
Rory was hurt by his uncle.
Jaylon still has scars on his left shoulder from being hit by five of them.
Rory was dead by the time his family reached Rory’s room.
Chief Hall stated that “it happened on my watch” and that he was angry.
Leaders of the city were outraged at the sudden spike in violent crime.
Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted, “We must quickly bring the killer to justice.”
Chief Hall stated, “We won’t rest until we discover exactly what happened.”
Ebony was confident that the police would catch the culprit.
She said, “And then they just vanished.”
It has been two and a half years since the arrest.
She said, “I feel like they have forgotten about me.”
Rory was among 236 Dallas victims that year. Dallas police reported that they had solved more than three quarters (77.69%) of the cases and recorded a homicide clearance ratio of 77.69%. This is well above the national average of around 50%.
The CBS News Innovation Lab looked into the FBI’s vast collection of crime data and found something quite remarkable. It is much less likely that a murder will be solved in the US if the victims are Black or Hispanic. The fact is that police are more successful in closing murder cases involving white victims than they are at closing those involving black victims.
The innovation lab discovered that police are 28% more likely than Black people to identify a suspect for a White murder in 2020, which was the year Rory passed away. Ebony is not surprised.
Ebony stated that the area where we live is important because of the crime and the other things that happen in it.
Most residents of Miller’s Bonton are Black or Hispanic. Fewer than 6 percent identify themselves as white. Ebony believes that police officers, city leaders and the media take violent crime in this area as a given.
Ebony said, “I feel like they would just place it as, Hey, It’s another thing under the hood.”
Jaylon and she both felt suspicious even though they were victims.
“Of course, being a young Black male, you know, “Was he involved in a gang?” What was the mother doing here? What was the mother talking to? He said, “” about the questions people were asking.
CBS News’ former chief Hall said that the race of the victim does not affect the efforts put into a case.
She stated that every homicide deserves the same attention.
“There is no backing down in–in neighborhoods of color?” asked CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.
“Not in my experience. Hall replied, “Not that I have seen.”
Tim Bray, a former deputy chief of the Illinois State Police Police, said that some murders are easier to solve.
Let’s assume that one group of people is more likely to be the victim of a homicide, assault, or murder between intimate partners, family members, or business associates. Bray said that those cases are easier to solve than the stranger crimes gone wrong type of situation.
There’s another explanation.
“I believe there are many factors. Jesuorobo Enobakhare is chair of the Dallas Police Oversight Board.
He said that witnesses in minority communities are less likely than other witnesses to be comfortable sharing information.
Enobakhare stated that there is some mistrust. “Black men, women and children are killed by police. This is paired with slower response times for calls from the Black community than the white community.”
However, he sees progress in places like Dallas.
Eddie Garcia, the current chief of police, said that Chief Garcia is “going out into communities and listening.” Trust is more likely when you feel heard.
Police are not the only ones trying to fix relationships. Marcus Estelle, who was convicted of aggravated robbery and spent 13 years in prison, now devotes his time to peace building in underserved communities like Pleasant Grove where he grew.
“People in urban areas see police as takers. They enter the community to take. You can see them taking your life, your freedom or taking your car. Take, take, take, take, take. They are therefore forbidden from speaking out.
He said that this code only makes black and brown communities suffer more. He argues that they should be part of the solution.
“Somebody must be held accountable and stop this action. Do you see what I’m referring to? We’re all dying. We’re dying! Someone shoots my daughter… He said, “I’m going to want someone to stand up for it and say who did it.”
Ebony believes there are people out there who can tell her who killed her son.
“I feel like they must know. She said that they must know something.
She is certain that one day she will find the answers she seeks. She’s focusing on moving forward for now.
She said that many people told her, “I thought your mind was going to go crazy,”. They thought I would collapse.”
Ebony returned to school instead and became a pediatrician. Jaylon also graduated and set up his own business. Ebony thanks Rory. He’s still very present in their lives, she feels. They said that their memory gives them the strength and ability to overcome all expectations.
People believe that once you have experienced this, you won’t be moving on. Your whole life will be the same. Just prove them wrong. She said, “Prove them wrong.”
