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His Uncle Dead, A Viking Defensive End Pleads for Justice

“Hi, my name is Otis Grigsby. I’m a member of the Minnesota Vikings, and I’m telling you this because…I want to help raise awareness towards something that recently happened to my family, and to a family member of mine. My uncle, Lernard Grigsby…was murdered by an Illinois State Police officer.”

Otis, a defensive end for the Vikings, spoke those chilling words in a video that was released on YouTube in late April. Looking directly into the camera, he argued to an audience of thousands that the death of his uncle was an instance of law enforcement officers taking their power too far.

Lernard Grigsby of Crest Hill, Illinois was pronounced dead on the morning of April 28th after a police officer fired two shots at his abdomen. Police were responding to a domestic disturbance call at Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, where Grigsby was employed as a correctional officer. He allegedly became violent towards the officers, and attempted to grab a weapon from one of the officers. When this happened, one of the responding officers fired his shots.

At least, that’s the official story. While this account of the incident has been reported in such publications as the Chicago Tribune (click here for the Tribune’s article), the Grigsby family would beg to differ with that version of the story.

“They [the officers] responded to a domestic call, and basically, they wanted him [Lernard] to do something that he didn’t want to do, which was come outside. He wanted them to come in, and they dragged him outside. They beat him. There’s evidence of this because he had internal bleeding.”

Why did Otis decide to release this video?

“He’s always been a person first and football player second,” said Otis Grigsby Sr., the father of the Viking defensive end, in an interview with Vikings War Cry. “If he makes your team, he’s a tremendous person.”

According to Grigsby Sr., someone asked Otis Jr. to remove the video from YouTube because there was concern for the player’s safety; Otis Jr. complied, but the video had already catalyzed a passionate response from people on both sides of the issues of police brutality and racial profiling.

Grigsby Sr. was unaware of Otis Jr.’s intentions to speak out on YouTube, but is proud of the courage his son displayed by releasing the video. “I turned him over to independence a long time ago. He’s not afraid.” says Grigsby Sr. of Otis Jr.

“They beat him, and when he fought back, [one of the officers] shot him in his back. Shot him multiple times. My uncle was unarmed and unable to defend himself from gunshots, just like anyone else. Somehow, he made it to the hospital. Honestly, I really thought he was going to survive, I thought that he would make it. But…that didn’t work out.”

“What they reported isn’t correct,” said Grigsby Sr. when asked about his brother’s death. “I’m asking for an investigation.” He described Lernard as a giving person who regularly traveled from Chicago to Louisiana to aid his sister in caring for an autistic niece.

“From the time he was a kid, all he did was fight for rights,” Grigsby Sr. continued. “He was just a big-hearted person.” According to Grigsby Sr., Lernard was heavily involved in his union at the prison and traveled to Jena, Louisiana to show support for the Jena Six and participate in demonstrations.

Grigsby Sr. says he wants to set the record straight for people who believe his brother was the type of person who would “attack [the officers] simply when they got there arguing with him in his room on a morning when he was supposedly ready to go to sleep. There’s just more to this than that.”

“When my son came out with the video, he explained it the way I view it,” said Grigsby Sr.

Grigsby Sr. has sent out his story to various political figures in the state of Illinois. “I can’t see why the people I sent [inquiries about the shooting] to wouldn’t react, but if they don’t, then I’ll go to sleep tonight, wake up tomorrow and think of something else.”

“People need to know if [this story] is not covered correctly, then Lernard would have died in vain. Some things will hopefully come out in an investigation.”

He continues, “I have forgiven situations like this before and I will continue to forgive them…Mercy is something that we all get, but justice comes later.”

“Part of why I feel like I need to say something…is that this is not an issue that just hits my family. This is an issue that hits so many people. These things happen so many times. And if you actually pay attention to the things going on in the cities around you, these things do happen. And it needs to stop. These things happen, and people who do them get away with it.”

Both Grigsby Sr. and his son clearly believe that there are plenty of lessons to be learned from Lernard’s death.

“If profiling and things like that are taking place…then that’s what this is all about, to reveal the light,” said Grigsby Sr. “The internet has brought down many people.”

Furthermore, Grigsby Sr. echoes his son’s sentiment that “we need to scrutinize more how we hire” when it comes to law enforcement.

Why did Otis Jr.’s video attract so much interest? (Over 50,000 people have viewed it, at last count.)

“I just think it’s a movement,” said Grigsby Sr. “And I don’t think you can stop it — we can’t stop it anyway — so people should tell the truth, and I think people identify with [this story] because so many people have experienced it and are frustrated.”

When people viewed this story on the internet, “they could tell, I think, something genuine,” said Grigsby Sr.

“Someone who shoots another man in his back who is defenseless and unarmed should not walk this earth a free man. It just shouldn’t happen. You shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy freedom, you shouldn’t be allowed to experience life. This is a privilege, this society that we live in. Just because someone gave you a badge and a gun…you don’t have a right to do that.”

In the end, it is hard to predict if anything will come of the public comments by Otis Jr., and now his father. Still, one is left suspecting that the media reports haven’t told the complete story of Lernard’s death.

Regardless of your feelings about the issues raised by the Grigsbys, the request for an investigation seems entirely reasonable. As a member of the Vikings, Otis Jr. is one of ours, and his family deserves the dignity of knowing the truth about this shooting.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 11:53 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.