Weathersbee: Cofield represented Memphis' pride. He may have been killed by its shame

Glenn Cofield was part of that Memphis which contributed to it being lauded as the most giving city in the nation.

Then, last Friday, he fell victim to that part of Memphis which has it languishing as the nation’s fourth most violent city.

Cofield, 57, a Memphis financial service executive, was fatally shot on the evening of June 7 as he was leaving a charity event in Midtown. Besides volunteering with local charities, Cofield’s brother, John, said he would often go to grocery stores and wait by the cash register to pick up the tab for large families.

Seeing that Shelby County has the highest rate of people in Tennessee who don’t know whether they can afford enough food to last through the week, Cofield’s generosity wasn’t wasted.

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Yet it’s sad that for all his charity, and for all the charity of many Memphians, such efforts do little to make a dent in the violence and crime often committed by people who can’t see beyond a life of struggle; people who care more about what’s in a person’s pocket and not what’s in that person’s heart.

Echos of Phil Trenary's murder

To be clear, what motivated someone or some people to shoot Cofield is unknown. Memphis Police Department homicide Lt. Anthony Mullins said a “verbal exchange,” occurred before the shooting. Earlier Twitter posts said the suspect or suspects fled in a dark vehicle, and that one was described as a male wearing a hoodie.

Yet what is known so far about Cofield’s slaying mirrors Phil Trenary’s murder. 

Like the former Greater Memphis Chamber CEO who was fatally shot downtown in September of 2018 as he left a Chamber event nearby, Cofield was also leaving a charitable event.

The suspects charged with Trenary’s murder - Quandarius Richardson, 18 and McKinney Wright Jr., 22 – cornered him Downtown, which, like Midtown, often attracts well-heeled people.

So, it’s no surprise that those who are looking to rob or steal from people may increasingly look for victims in such areas. In fact, a friend and I recently went to retrieve our car after dining at a Downtown restaurant, only to find that the parking lot was illuminated with police cruisers flashing blue lights.

Turns out that the windows in many of the SUVs in that lot had been smashed.

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Again, Cofield’s slaying is still being investigated. But, if it turns out that someone or some people killed him while trying to rob him, then that’s yet another sign that Memphis’ charitableness isn’t melting hearts faster than poverty and dysfunction is hardening them.

On top of that, Memphis continues to struggle to recruit and retain police – even with the help of acommission powered by private donors.The homicide rate has risen 48% compared to the same time last year.

Nonetheless, if events and areas where people are expected to be spending money, or who look like they have money to spend, are being targeted, that tells me that Memphis’ approaches to crime aren't working in a way which whittles away at the conditions that lead people to become mired in it.

The slayings of Trenary, and now Cofield, show that such violence can no longer be ignored as only affecting people in poorer communities; communities whose crime rates tend to amplify their marginalization.

And that’s a predicament that will break giving hearts such as Cofield's.

Tonyaa Weathersbee can  be reached at tonyaa.weathersbee@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter: @@tonyaajw.