Thursday, September 22, 2016

When is the United States going to have a real conversation about bad cops?

It seems that whenever black people want to discuss bad and aggressive policing other issues that have nothing to do with aggressive police get brought in by police and their supporters. How can we have a real conversation or fix the issues that are destroying lives and families if no one is listening to us?

Donald Trump supports stop and frisk

Here is further proof that Donald Trump just doesn't understand the issues of black voters and that his outreach to them is a farce.During a town hall event Trump discussed his support for the police tactic commonly known as stop and frisk. A tactic that when used has violated the civil and constitutional rights of many black and brown men and is a huge reason for the divide between police and the communities they "protect". This from a guy who slams Clinton for her super predator comment but doesn't see that stop and frisk treats black men like super predators. This guy just doesn't get it. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed a nationwide stop-and-frisk policy, when asked how he would prevent violence in black communities as president.

Trump, who has previously spoken out in favor of the policy, made the comments during the taping of a Fox News town hall on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Stop-and-frisk, a controversial program that allows police to stop a person on the street based on suspicion of criminal activity, was expanded in New York City under Mayor Michael Bloomberg until a federal judge ruled in 2013 that it was unconstitutional and racially discriminatory. It has since been scaled back.

While city officials had argued the program was an effective crime-fighting measure, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin wrote in her decision that it had led police officers to stop “blacks and Hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white,” the New York Times reported.

But at Wednesday’s town hall, Trump said the program “worked incredibly well” in New York City, arguing that it is “proactive” and should be expanded across the country.

[SOURCE]

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Loretta Lynch comments on Terence Crutcher, Keith Lamont Scott shootings

A the International Bar Association’s 2016 Annual Conference on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch commented on the police-shooting deaths of two black men in Tulsa, Okla., and Charlotte, N.C., according to a Department of Justice press release. She made the following comments:

“On Monday the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” she said. “As always, the Justice Department will be thorough, impartial and exhaustive in reaching a determination about this incident.”

“The Department of Justice is aware of, and we are assessing, the incident that led to the death of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte. We are in regular contact with local authorities as their investigation into the shooting begins to unfold,” Lynch added.

“These tragic incidents have once again left Americans with feelings of sorrow, anger and uncertainty,” Lynch said. “They have once again highlighted—in the most vivid and painful terms—the real divisions that still persist in this nation between law enforcement and communities of color.”

“Protest is protected by our Constitution and is a vital instrument for raising issues and creating change,” she said. “But when it turns violent, it undermines the very justice that it seeks to achieve, and I urge those demonstrating in Charlotte to remain peaceful in their expressions of protest and concern.”

[SOURCE]

Protests erupt after black man killed in officer-involved shooting in Charlotte

Police say a person was shot and killed in northeast Charlotte on Tuesday by a police officer, sparking protests, CBS affiliate WBTV reported.

Following the shooting, a large crowd has gathered near the scene in protest.

The incident happened around 4 p.m. at an apartment complex. Officers said they were searching for a person with an outstanding warrant when they saw a person get out of a vehicle with a firearm. The man has since been identified as 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott.

When the person got back into the vehicle, the officers approached. The report states that the person then got back out of the vehicle “armed with a firearm and posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers who subsequently fired their weapon striking the subject.”

The officers said they immediately requested MEDIC and began performing CPR, WBTV reported. The person was pronounced dead at the hospital.

WBTV reported that by 9 p.m., large crowds had gathered in the area of the shooting. Some were shouting at police, some held signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “It Was A Book.” It appeared at one point the crowds were blocking patrol cars from moving in the street, and even climbing on top of them, according to WBTV.

At 11 p.m. large clouds of what appeared to be tear gas could be seen coming from the crowds of protesters after officers in riot gear were seen putting on gas masks.

Read more: Protests erupt after man killed in officer-involved shooting in Charlotte

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Colin Kaepernick has received death threats

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick says he has had his life threatened as a response to his protest of racial oppression and inequality in the United States by kneeling during the national anthem.

Kaepernick said Tuesday that he has received threats via "a couple of different avenues," in addition to social media. He seemed mostly nonplussed by the threats, saying that he hasn't reported any of them to the 49ers security team.

"To me, if something like that were to happen, you've proved my point and it will be loud and clear for everyone why it happened and that would move this movement forward at a greater speed than what it is even now," Kaepernick said. "Granted, I don't want that to happen but that's the realization of what could happen and I knew there were other things that came along with this when I first stood up and spoke about it. That's not something I haven't thought about."

Read more: Colin Kaepernick says if he is killed for protests it will have 'proved point'