Attorney General Ellison’s office to lead prosecution in death of Daunte Wright

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that he has accepted a request to lead the prosecution against former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who is currently charged with second-degree manslaughter in the April 11, 2021 Brooklyn Center death of Daunte Wright. The request comes from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman after the Washington County Attorney’s Office, who charged Ms. Potter, returned the case to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank, who is the manager of the Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office and was a presenting attorney in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, will supervise the case. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will provide staff to the Attorney General’s prosecution team. Attorney General Ellison, who led the prosecution of Mr. Chauvin, will actively assist. The first step, reviewing the evidence and charges laid against Ms. Potter, is already underway.

Attorney General Ellison released the following statement:

Daunte Wright was a son, a brother, a father, a friend. When he died, he was only 20 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him.

Daunte Wright’s death was a tragedy. He should not have died on the day that he did. He should not have died the way that he did. His parents, brothers, sisters, and friends must now live the rest of their lives without him. His son, only two years old, will grow up without his father. I have privately expressed my condolences and sorrow to the family and expect to work with them closely throughout the proceedings.

The community of Brooklyn Center and people across Minnesota also continue to grieve Daunte’s death. I join them in that grieving. His death is a loss to all of us.

I did not seek this prosecution and do not accept it lightly. I have had, and continue to have, confidence in how both County Attorney Orput and County Attorney Freeman have handled this case to date. I thank County Attorney Orput for the solid work he and his office have done, and I thank County Attorney Freeman once again for his confidence in my office. I appreciate their partnership as my office takes the lead on this case.

Prosecutors are ministers of justice. This means we must and will follow justice wherever it leads. I promise the Wright family and all Minnesotans that I will handle this prosecution responsibly and consistent with the law, and that I will be guided by the values of accountability and transparency.

No one, however, should expect this case will be easy to prosecute. History shows that this case, like all cases of officer-involved deaths by deadly force, will be difficult.

We are not destined to repeat history. Once again, we in Minnesota find ourselves at a moment where a deadly-force encounter with police has galvanized our grief and focused our attention. If prosecutors ensure that prosecutions are vigorous and swift, if legislators at every level pass long-overdue reforms, if police leadership demonstrates misconduct has no place in the profession, and if community continues to keep up the cry for justice, we will break the cycle of history and establish a new standard for justice.

Officer who murdered Tamir Rice withdraws application to small police department in Ohio

The police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland four years ago has withdrawn his application to a police department in eastern Ohio, CNN affiliate WTOV-TV reported, citing the department's police chief.

Timothy Loehmann was hired by the police department in Bellaire, a small town on the Ohio River, about 65 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. Bellaire Police Chief Richard "Dick" Flanagan told WTOV on Wednesday that Loehmann called him saying he was "rescinding his application here at the Bellaire Police Department."

"I had accepted his withdrawal from the Bellaire Police Department," Flanagan said. "He proceeded to tell me that he wanted to pursue the legal end of what's going on there in Cleveland and he just doesn't have the time to travel back and forth."

Flanagan said Loehmann was never sworn in and was still in the training process.

"Everyone assumes he was automatically hired -- no, there is a process," he said. "He did not receive one dime. He was not on the schedule."

The announcement of Loehmann's hiring caused an intense reaction from the community, WTOV reported. Flanagan said that at one point, the department received more than 200 calls between 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. "Our own citizens here in town were not able to get police, EMS or fire service because they couldn't get through anywhere," he said.

While Flanagan originally said that everyone deserved a second chance and that he stood behind the hiring of Loehmann, he told WTOV on Wednesday that he believes the withdrawal is personal and he supports the decision.

"I think he did the right thing by stepping down, not putting the citizens here in town in jeopardy," he said. "In this job you have to make split-second decisions, you have to see things you don't want to see, you have to do things you don't want to do, you have to say things you don't want to say. We're not supermen -- we just wear a uniform and enforce the laws."

[SOURCE: CNN]

White ex-Tulsa cop sentenced in killing of daughter's black boyfriend

A white former police officer in Oklahoma was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for the fatal off-duty shooting of his daughter's black boyfriend, after four trials spanning nearly a year including three that resulted in hung juries.

Former Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler was convicted last month of first-degree manslaughter in the 2014 slaying of 19-year-old Jeremey Lake.

Tulsa County District Court Judge Sharon Holmes also issued him with a $10,000 fine.

Kepler's lawyers said the 24-year police veteran was trying to protect his daughter because she had run away from home and was living in a crime-ridden neighborhood. Kepler, who retired from the force after he was charged, told investigators that Lake was armed and that he shot him in self-defense. Police never found a weapon on Lake or at the scene, and several neighbors testified that they didn't see a gun, either.

There also was a racial undercurrent to the trials. Kepler killed Lake days before the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, fanned a national debate over the treatment of minorities by law enforcement.

Read more: White ex-Tulsa cop sentenced in killing of daughter's black boyfriend

North Miami Police Officer Charged in Shooting of Unarmed Black Man

A North Miami police officer who shot an unarmed caretaker of a man with autism last summer has been charged in the shooting, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said Wednesday. Officer Jonathan Aledda is charged with attempted manslaughter and culpable negligence in the July 2016 shooting of behavioral therapist Charles Kinsey.

Black people, if black lives matter then we have to stop ducking jury duty.

If we are really tired of police officers always being acquitted by juries after killing unarmed black men then we as black people have to stop ducking jury duty and serve on these juries. Listen to more below.

Lebron James discusses recent police killings

During the Cleveland Cavilers first media session NBA star Lebron James took a few minutes to discuss recent shootings of black men and admitted that he is scared for his sons especially his oldest who will be driving in a few years. Watch his full comments below.

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LeBron James on recent police shootings: pic.twitter.com/iz4GawfE8L

— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 26, 2016

To my black brothers & sisters in Milwaukee: Don't destroy your own neighborhoods

By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com [EMAIL]

UPDATE 09:50 EST: We now know that the person shot was an 23-year-old African American male named Sylville K. Smith.

Over night there was a shooting of a young man by Milwaukee police. We don't know much about the incident at this time other than the police claimed the deceased was armed. At the time I am writing this post we don't know the race, although I'm sure we all can make an educated guess about the race of the deceased. Some also want to wait to see what the race of the police officer that did the shooting is but those people don't understand that the race of the officer makes little if any difference.

In the aftermath of the shooting protesters took to the streets of Milwaukee to voice their anger. Unfortunately many went further than expressing their anger, they burned down a gas station and several buildings in their own communities.

Again, we don't know much about the shooting but I do know burning down your own neighborhoods is stupid, and that just doesn't pertain to the current situation in Milwaukee.

I would like to ask those young men and women what do they think they are achieving?

I would like to ask them who do they think they are hurting?

We have always been told that violence achieves nothing. Well, that is wrong, it does lead to the destruction of neighborhoods that may never come back. The only people hurt by burning down buildings are those that live in the area now and in the future.

Does anyone really think the powers that be give a damn if black protesters destroy their communities? If you truly believe that there is institutional racism and that there are those that want to hold minorities back then stop helping those forces by destroying your own neighborhoods.

It can take decades for communities to bounce back after riots. It's been over 45 years since riots of the late sixties, and many of those communities have still not recovered. Today in 2016 it's still a big deal when a major retailer wants to open a store, or a developer wants to build housing in Newark NJ, Detroit, or Cleveland.

Riots only keep businesses from coming into our neighborhoods. When those companies don't come it limits access to jobs, fresh foods, medicine, and other goods and services a community needs to thrive. We are taking a bad situation with policing in our communities and making it worse by rioting.

I understand the frustration and anger. Many of us feel it, but we also know that violence is not the answer and that there is no simple or easy answer. I don't have all the answers, but it will take time for the policing situation in minority communities to be corrected. But if we all keep on it and vote in our local elections to get in people that will change things or to put out those that didn't.

I know many of you are tired of hearing about the power of your vote but you should be more sick of the needless destruction of our communities.

We are hurting no one but ourselves.

George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

Former Atlanta policeman charged in the death of unarmed black man

A white former Atlanta police officer was charged on Friday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man who he said was fleeing the scene of a crime and put his life in danger, claims that were refuted by investigators, a prosecutor said.

The charges come amid national unrest and Black Lives Matter protests over the deaths of two black men in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge at the hands of white officers and a national debate about race and the use of force by police.

James Burns, who was fired from the Atlanta Police Department on Tuesday, was charged in Fulton County with felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of violation of his police oath, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

District Attorney Paul Howard said he had requested an arrest warrant to be issued for Burns. It was unclear late on Friday if Burns had turned himself in to police.

Burns responded to a call about a suspected burglar breaking into cars on June 22. When he arrived at the scene, Devaris Caine Rogers, 22, jumped into a car and began to drive, an investigation report said.

Burns said Rogers drove toward him and that he fired into the vehicle because he thought he was in danger. Investigators said they found that Rogers made no attempt to strike Burns with the car he was driving and that Burns was never in danger.

Read more: White former Atlanta policeman charged in the death of unarmed black man

To black police officers: Keep Your Head Up

By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports EMAIL
I dedicate this to the brave black men and women who serve as police officers. I know that right know your jobs and to a certain extent just living your life is not an easy thing to do right now.

I am not a police officer, but as a black man elected to my local school board, I know how it can feel when it seems like your own people are against you. What I had to learn is that it wasn't that they were necessarily against me but that they were passionately advocating for their children and because I look like them they RIGHTFULLY expected more from me. Sometimes that can seem unfair, but we have to keep in mind that when we are in positions of authority and responsibility that we have to walk that delicate balance between treating all fairly and at the same time trying to fix the social ills that befall many in the black community. At times your won may not understand why you have to walk that fine line, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY DON'T LOVE AND RESPECT YOU.

I know I and many others respect the work you do and love the reason many of our black brothers and sisters became cops. You did it to give back and to make your communities better. You bravely chose to do a job that few can and that even fewer including myself would want to do. Some joined to help changed a flawed system from the inside. I know that you at times have to face the worst in humanity to protect us all, I love and respect you for that. And trust me it's not only me but millions of others feel the same.

I know that you walk a fine line between working to change the culture of many police departments while at the same time working to change that culture. I know that it's not easy and can make you feel like you are just slamming your head into a wall. But no fight for systemic change is easy, and it takes strong people like you to take up that fight.

In many ways you exemplify the best in humanity especially when it comes to bravery and compassion and are to be commended. But with that come being held to a higher standard that may at times seem unfair but one you will have to and will deal with because you are more than capable of doing that to make things better for both cops and minority communities.

So to my black police officers, Keep ya Head Up!

George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

Pres. Obama Statement On Shootings Of Alton Sterling And Philando Castile

President Obama has released a statement on the shooting deaths of both Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers. Read President Obama's statement below.

Why Fox News must destroy #BlackLivesMatter

Fox News has launched an all out propaganda war against the #BlackLivesMatter Movement. The network is trying to blame the recent deaths of police officers on the movement, and trying to make a case that #BlackLivesMatter is putting officers lives at risk by changing the atmosphere in which cops must now work. Somehow speaking out against BAD cops who kill people is spewing hate against all police officers. Fox News has blamed #BlackLivesMatter for starting a war on cops. There is no proof that is so and even a police chief who made such a statement admitted as much when pressed.

Fox News is spewing this propaganda and trying to make it seem like there is an epidemic of attacks on police although police deaths are down by 13% as compared to last year. US News & World Reports reports:

Shooting deaths of officers are actually down 13 percent compared with the same January-to-September period in 2014. There were 30 shootings last year and 26 this year. Those figures include state and local officers, as well as federal agents. The figures also include two accidental shootings. Suicides are not included.

Fox News has suggested that #BlackLivesMatter is a "murder movement". Network host such as Elisabeth Hasselback have asked why Black Lives Matter is not classified as a hate group. Bill (facts be damned) O'Reilly has said that #BlackLivesMatter is a hate group and declared that he was “going to put them out of business.”

But why has #BlackLivesMatter become such a huge issue for Fox News?

They would have you believe it's because the network is pro-police. That would be bullsh*t. The truth is #BlackLivesMatter is an Achilles heel for republican/conservative candidates that none of them have any answer for. Worse yet for republicans #BlackLivesMatter is making sure that it will be part of the national agenda for the 2016 election season. Any credible candidate will have to dedicate part of their platform to police reforms and that's the last thing conservatives want. If you think Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders had trouble with #BlackLivesMatter just imagine the issues a conservative/republican candidate would have addressing them. Fox News has falsely demonized #BlackLivesMatter to the point where no conservative candidate can be seen as pandering to the movement for fear of upsetting the "base".

But not being able to address police reform issues will hurt the already low percentage of black voters a republican candidate can expect to get. So what's the solution? Send in the Fox News attack dogs and try to misrepresent, demonize, demean, and belittle #BlackLivesMatter to viewers who don't know in and some cases don't care to know any better. This is being done to try to keep #BlackLivesMatter from setting any part of a national platform for the eventual 2016 candidates.

Simply put Fox News attacks on #BlackLivesMatter are purely political and must be fought back against. Fox News can have their own opinions, but they can't have their own facts.

George Cook AfricanAmericanReports georgelcookiii@gmail.com

Eric Garner grand jury records kept secret by appeals court

A mid-level appeals court has upheld a decision to withhold the grand jury minutes in ​the case against a cop initially charged in ​Eric Garner’s chokehold death.

The NAACP, New York Civil Liberties Union, Legal Aid Society and Public Advocate Letitia James — which appealed an earlier Supreme Court decision to keep the records secret — failed to prove there was a “compelling and particularized need for disclosure,” the four Second Department judges wrote in court papers.

“The Supreme Court properly determined that the public interest in disclosure was outweighed by the dangers inherent in violating the secrecy of the grand jury proceeding,” the appellate judges wrote.

Read more: Eric Garner grand jury records kept secret by appeals court

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott post responses to Walter Scott shooting

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott tweeted several messages about the horrific shooting of Walter Scott in North Charleston. See his messages below.

After watching the video, the senseless shooting and taking of #WalterScott's life was absolutely unnecessary and avoidable. (1/2)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

My heart aches for the family and our North Charleston community. I will be watching this case closely. (2/2)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

The horrific video that came to light yesterday is deeply troubling. #WalterScott (1/6)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

It is clear the killing of #WalterScott was unnecessary&avoidable; my prayers are with the Scott family as they go through this ordeal (2/6)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

The swift action taken by SLED&relevant authorities upon receiving the video shows the severity of this terrible event. #WalterScott (3/6)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

With several protests planned today, I join community leaders in North Charleston in calling for peace. #WalterScott (4/6)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

I understand the hurt, the frustration and the anger many are feeling today. But violence solves nothing. #WalterScott (5/6)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

We must come together as a community, state, and nation in working to bring our communities together and rebuild trust. #WalterScott (6/6)

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 8, 2015

Michael Brown shooting: Store owners did not call police

Owners of the Ferguson Market which Michael brown allegedly robbed say they never called 911 which directly contradicts the police version of events. Now both versions can't be right. I'm wondering why the national media which is covering all things Micheal Brown seems to be ignoring this aspect of the story. Thankfully the local St. Louis media is covering that aspect. Here is a report from on the store owners claims by KTVI, a St Louis television station.