A popular song suggests God watches from a distance and that Earth looks better from afar. This personal perspective of Trenton offered from 4, 000 miles away hardly matches any view from a super deity but from a vacation spot in Puriscal, Costa Rica the capital city sounded deplorable, and looked worse during recent tumult with crime, murder, death, and a continuing war on women. What a past couple of weeks and several days. A friend texted: “Can you imagine two elderly people dying tragically in a fire; a kid caught after murdering another kid, on a holiday (Halloween) meant for kids; and two women shot, one killed in a domestic violence shooting; and a woman dying in a (Trenton Police Department) jail that has no business being open. Morrisville/Yardley is up in arms just because the body was left there inside a vehicle (That’s normal).” No argument here. Yes, a deceased body discarded in any town should cause concern. The reasoning behind beliefs that women shot dead in Trenton should stay and be found here resonates as understandable until one shows concern for the victim. From a distance, anyone should recognize the proliferation of violence against women in the capital city. (Read column on Nov. 25). Two dead in a fire cultivated numerous inquiries regarding smoke detectors, inspections, cause, and whether the property listed as a rental. We lost Joseph Kokulo, 18, a Trenton Central High School student in a row house fire that displaced dozens in September. Cause? Working smoke detectors? Last inspection of the seven properties? No official word or information available. One 18-year-old caught after murdering a 17-year-old sounds dreadful enough. Two lives ruined, two families disintegrated. One boy gone forever and the other, if convicted, set to spend a significant amount of time behind bars. Black boys/men lives matter, just not as much as the lives of others. Despite a carnage of killing and proliferation of violence perpetrated by a disproportionate number of Black males, authorities fail to address these issues. Think hard on this question. Would you be willing to spend an extra $10,000 a year to assure challenged children receive all available support during their first eight years for potential creation of successful outcomes to avoid laying out $40,000 annually for incarceration for a similar amount of time in their adult lives? Don’t hate the players understand that a significant reduction in crime means fewer law enforcement officers, less correction officers, less prisons, etc. hate the game that needs crime to drive business and professions connected to criminal behavior. Reduce access to guns and many businesses involved in funerals would lose revenue. A woman found dead inside a Trenton Police Department jail cell produced a litany of conspiracy theories. In January, 2011, Kenneth Howard, 55, was being held in Trenton police custody following arrest after a traffic stop. Howard, beset with cirrhosis of the liver, fell unconscious in his jail cell then went undiscovered for seven hours. State statue requires officials observe jailed inmates every 30 minutes. Howard died in hospital care the next day. False accounts were filed the officer and two police aides faced tampering with public records and presenting false documents. Charges against the men were dropped in November 2011 when the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office decided the matter more suited for administrative oversight by the city police department. In 2016, Howard’s family settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the City of Trenton for $690,000. The settlement included no admission of wrongdoing. Given the history of what seems like a tendency to side with police, remember the four Trenton officers who misrepresented vacation time and walked with pensions and without punishment, The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office should not lead an investigation into this recent jail death. In the best interest of transparency, residents have a right to all information regarding this woman’s death. Consider the Trenton police officer who suffered a leg wound during an October 4 traffic stop near North Clinton Ave. We still have no details about how the police officer ended up shot. Initial reports inferred the young male motorist shot the officer. Perhaps God or Santa, whichever you believe in, knows circumstances of this incident. They have 24-7 surveillance of our lives so be good for goodness sake. Back in Trenton soon where proximity and acceptance to chronic problems will seem almost acceptable. From a distance? Unacceptable and difficult to observe. L. A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian. com.
https://www.trentonian.com/2025/11/23/viewing-trenton-from-a-distance-allows-a-different-perspective-l-a-parker-column/
Viewing Trenton from a distance allows a different perspective [L.A. PARKER COLUMN]
