Charles Robertson (York, Pennsylvania)

Charles "Charlie" H. Robertson (born 1934)[1] is an American politician who served as Mayor of York, Pennsylvania from 1994–2002. He attended William Penn Senior High School in York and spent two years as a medic in the United States Army.[1]

Robertson is best remembered for his role in the 1969 York Race Riot, during which time he was a police officer. He helped to incite the violence by shouting, "White power!" and by allegedly giving white rioters ammunition and encouraging them to, "kill as many niggers as [they] can."[2][3] He was arrested on May 17, 2001, and released on $50,000 bail.[4] On May 27, 2001, Robertson was arraigned on murder charges stemming from his involvement in the riot; he was found not guilty on October 19, 2002.[2] While he admitted that he had shouted the racial slur (calling it "a youthful incident of ingrained police racism"), he steadfastly denied all other charges against him.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Bunch, William (2001-09-02), Handcuffed By History, The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E7DD1F31F931A3575AC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3, retrieved 2008-12-27 
  2. ^ a b 1969 Riot Investigation, York Daily Record, http://w2.ydr.com/page/riot/allen/, retrieved 2008-12-27 
  3. ^ Scolforo, Mark (2005-08-25), Nearly 300 get call to testify, The York Dispatch, http://yorkdispatch.inyork.com/riotsinvestigation/ci_0001924460, retrieved 2008-12-27 
  4. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (2001-05-18), York, Pa., Mayor Is Arrested in 1969 Racial Killing, The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E5DF1E3AF93BA25756C0A9679C8B63, retrieved 2008-12-27 
  5. ^ Clines, Francis X. (2001-05-17), Mayor Says He Expects to Be Charged in 1969 Killing, The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00EEDF103AF934A25756C0A9679C8B63&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FS%2FSuits%20and%20Litigation, retrieved 2008-12-27 
  6. ^ Longman, Jere (2001-11-01), A City Begins to Confront Its Racist Past, The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E2D81330F932A35752C1A9679C8B63, retrieved 2008-12-27