Video: Longtime Pastor, Community Leader Shares Views On Unrest Following Officer Involved Shooting

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – For 28 years, Bishop Clarence Parks has pastored Tupelo’s Temple of Compassion and Deliverance. He is not only a well known and respected pastor, but he is also an outspoken community leader.

This past Monday, Pastor Parks was up front at a news conference hosted by Shumpert family attorney Carlos Moore. . Moore claims Tupelo Police Officer Tyler Cook shot an unarmed man already subdued by dog bites while Tupelo Police say Shumpert came out of hiding from a crawl space and attacked the canine and his handler leaving lethal force as Cook’s only alternative. While the MBI does its independent investigation a community which touted reconciliation is growing divided. That’s where the clergy has to step in.

Pastor Parks says there is a deep seated mistrust among many in the African American community when it comes to law enforcement.

“When we see police, we don’t see them as protectors, a lot of our people doesn’t you know, they see them as someone that is trying to somewhat hurt them in some type of way, they feel like when they see the police , most of the time it’s for a conflict,” Pastor Parks said.

Parks says he has talked with his sons, and other family members about how to respond if they are stopped by an officer of the law.

“I tell them, if the police stop them, comply, I tell them put hands out the window, let the police know they don’t have anything, if they ask questions, answer questions without getting in a loud voice, or loud tone, or getting smart with police,” Parks said.

Also, Pastor Parks points out he doesn’t believe all white police officers are racist, in fact, he counts many law officers as close friends.

“Black and white, they have treated me nice, but then there are some who have not been so nice,” he said.

As a Christian leader, Parks says he is disturbed by what he has seen on social media in the wake of the incident.

“We shouldn’t going on Facebook, Twitter or whatever and saying,’ these people are racists, these people are white supremacists,’ things of that nature, because you can’t label everybody the same. As Christians, we ought to respond in a kind and decent way, we ought to put our concerns out there, but we ought not to be mad, using bad languages, calling them names and saying bad things about people, I just don’t agree with that,” Parks said.

Finally, Pastor Parks realizes the official investigation will take time and the outcome will not please everyone.

“If the investigation comes up and we find out the policeman did not do his job correctly, and took this young man’s life, wrongly, we want him to serve time just like anybody else would serve time. And if the facts come out on the other side, we want the community to be calm,” he said.

An appeal for calm will be the focus of a rally Thursday evening at TCD.

And an organization called “The Minority Youth Matters Movement” plans a March called “Tupelo Stand Up” July 30th.