Does the Dinerral Shavers story end here?

I’m a bit slow in acknowledging this, but I had missed the initial news until E pointed it out to me. The T-P reports that the charges against the young man accused of murdering Hot 8 drummer Dinerral Shavers have been dropped. (Earlier posts on Shavers here and here.) A 15-year-old girl described as a “key witness” in the case is apparently refusing to testify.

The collapse of the case brought strong reactions from both the police and the family of the victim. New Orleans police spokesman Sgt. Joe Narcisse said Friday that “a beautiful case” had fallen apart.

“Because the witnesses would not come forward, we have a killer loose on our streets,” Narcisse said. “This is a perfect opportunity to point out the importance of citizen cooperation. We cannot do it alone.”

The newly formed anti-crime group Silence Is Violence also issued a statement, which quoted Nakita Shavers, the sister of the victim, who joined the group after his death.

“My family and I are not satisfied with the investigation and prosecution that have taken place so far. I understand the DA’s decision to dismiss today, in that this decision leaves open the possibility of reindictment,” Shavers is quoted as saying. “I also understand the reluctance of the young witnesses to testify. It can be very intimidating, especially for someone so young.”

Obviously, this is depressing.  New Orleans is not the only city to see this kind of problem, with witnesses and others deciding not to cooperate with law enforcement, either out of mistrust for the system, fear of reprisal, or some combination of the two. It’s happening in a lot of places. (I believe the issue was even part of a recent “Anderson Cooper is concerned” segment on 60 Minutes, focusing on the “Stop Snitching” ethos and its endorsement by certain hip hop stars.) It’s certainly happened in New Orleans before. I remember several cases, when we lived there, of murders occurring in broad daylight in front of many witnesses, that resulted in no prosecution.

I don’t know what the answer to this problem is, because it’s a big one. It’s easy to say, “People, come on, you have to cooperate with the law!” But I get a sense that the underlying problems aren’t going to be addressed just by stating what seems so obvious. It’s a pretty major breakdown in the social contract, and if somebody is leading the way to address, change, and fix it, I’m not aware of that.

It’s a really sad end to Shavers’ story, and in my view would be a highly disrespectful way to treat his memory and legacy if this is where it stops. I hope there is a new chapter in this saga, and that however it concludes, it doesn’t all simply fade away. We’ll see.