Councilman Riddick under fire for singling out Jews during radio show

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12:30 PM EDT on Tuesday, June 22, 2004

By Wayne Carter, 13News

Some members of the Jewish community are concerned about remarks made by Norfolk councilman Paul Riddick.

13News Councilman Paul Riddick apologized for singling out Jews in his comments.

Over the weekend, on a call-in public radio show on WHRV, he said, “Military Circle is a 90 percent African-American mall. They would not have done it over at the Palace Shops, which are frequented a lot by Jews, MacArthur Center or down at Lynnhaven Mall. For them to come to a 90% African-American mall and put persons at risk I think is unconscionable.”

Riddick was talking about an undercover drug bust that turned violent in the Military Circle parking lot on June 11th. Riddick criticized police for staging the sting near a crowded mall where many customers are black.

Two officers and two two drug suspects were wounded.

Riddick says the undercover bust shouldn't have happened in such a public place.

Melanie Kanter is a Jewish person and says she spends time at the businesses in and around Military Circle. “We were over at Piccadilly at the cafeteria all the time. We were talking about how it could have happened to us. We were over there, we could have been in the wrong part of the parking lot and gotten shot or our cars could have been hit. It doesn’t matter. It could have happened to anyone,” she said.

After hearing Riddick's remarks, Kanter added, "It does make me angry, especially for someone who’s a distinguished person who’s a city councilman - he shouldn’t be saying things like that that discriminate against people in his own city."

13News Councilman Paul Riddick appeared on 13News at 11 Monday.

Riddick apologized live on 13News at 11 Monday.

"I felt it was important to apologize profusely for the comments that I made. It was an error of my head and not of my heart. I should not have singled them out. I should have just said 'any rich middle class neighborhood.'

But he says his concerns about the shooting continue.

“I think we are going to see some changes. While the police department might not admit that they should make some, I guarantee, I still believe they're going to make some changes."

Riddick told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper that he didn't believe at first that he had anything to apologize for, but he changed his mind after getting a call from Andrew Sacks, a Hampton Roads lawyer and regional chair of the Anti-Defamation League.

Sacks says he takes Riddick "at his word" that he intended no harm. But he called Riddick's comment about Jews "irresponsible and frankly bizarre."

(Associated Press contributed to this story.)