Trooper who arrested Sandra Bland formally fired

A Texas state trooper indicted over the arrest of a black woman who was later found dead in a jail cell was formally fired on Tuesday. Watch the story below.

Why Black Lives Matter skipped meeting with President Obama

On February 18 President Obama meet with several African American civil rights leaders. The White House billed the meeting as as a first-of-its kind gathering of veteran leaders, young activists, and the leader of the free world. Black Lives Matter was also invited but declined to attend the meeting. The groups co-founder Aislinn Pulley wrote the following statement as to why they refused in an op-ed posted at http://www.truth-out.org/

I respectfully declined the invitation to the White House to discuss criminal legal reform and to celebrate Black History Month. I was under the impression that a meeting was being organized to facilitate a genuine exchange on the matters facing millions of Black and Brown people in the United States. Instead, what was arranged was basically a photo opportunity and a 90-second sound bite for the president. I could not, with any integrity, participate in such a sham that would only serve to legitimize the false narrative that the government is working to end police brutality and the institutional racism that fuels it. For the increasing number of families fighting for justice and dignity for their kin slain by police, I refuse to give its perpetrators and enablers political cover by making an appearance among them.

Read Aislinn Pulley's full op-ed here" Black Struggle Is Not a Sound Bite: Why I Refused to Meet With President Obama

Charges dropped against 6 Ferguson protesters

Charges have been dropped against six activists who were arrested during a protest in Ferguson, just as their trial was about to begin. The case was expected to include allegations of police brutality, claims of missing evidence and discussions about the shortcomings of body cameras.

The charges had included property damage, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and third-degree assault. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1nD9Isk ) reports that Ferguson prosecutor Stephanie Karr dismissed the charges Thursday without explanation.

Later Thursday, the defendants filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Ferguson destroyed evidence and violated the constitution.

Read more: Charges dropped against 6 Ferguson protesters

Tamir Rice family releases statement about officers not being charged in Tamir's death

The family of Tamir Rice released the following statement about today's announcement that a grand jury has declined to press charges against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by police.

Today, more than a year after Cleveland police shot and killed 12-­year-­old Tamir Rice, a grand jury voted not to indict the shooter. Tamir’s family is saddened and disappointed by this outcome–but not surprised.

It has been clear for months now that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty was abusing and manipulating the grand-­jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment. Even though video shows the police shooting Tamir in less than one second, Prosecutor McGinty hired so-­called expert witnesses to try to exonerate the officers and tell the grand jury their conduct was reasonable and justified. It is unheard of, and highly improper, for a prosecutor to hire “experts” to try to exonerate the targets of a grand-­‐jury investigation. These are the sort of “experts” we would expect the officer’s criminal-­defense attorney to hire—not the prosecutor.

Then, Prosecutor McGinty allowed the police officers to take the oath and read prepared statements to the grand jury without answering any questions on cross-­examination. Even though it is black-­letter law that taking the stand waives the Fifth Amendment right to be silent, the prosecutor did not seek a court order compelling the officers to answer questions or holding the officers in contempt if they continued to refuse. This special treatment would never be given to non-­police suspects.

The way Prosecutor McGinty has mishandled the grand-­jury process has compounded the grief of this family.

The Rice family is grateful for all the community support they have received and urges people who want to express their disappointment with how Prosecutor McGinty has handled this process to do so peacefully and democratically. We renew our request that the Department of Justice step in to conduct a real investigation into this tragic shooting of a 12-­year-­old child.

Chicago 'Black Christmas' protesters march against police violence

Several hundred protesters against police killings of black men marched on Thursday along Chicago's Michigan Avenue, calling for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down and aiming to disrupt Christmas Eve shopping in a glittering, upscale commercial area.

The demonstration was peaceful, but after the main march concluded, police scuffled with a few dozen protesters who were trying to block the entrance to an H&M store and to obstruct traffic both ways on Michigan Avenue, a major thoroughfare.

Read more: Chicago 'Black Christmas' protesters march against police violence

No indictment in Sandra Bland case

A grand jury has decided not to indict anyone in the case of Sandra Bland, whose death in police custody raised questions of excessive force and the role of race.

The grand jury met for more than eight hours Monday.

"After reviewing all the evidence in the death of Sandra Bland, a Waller grand jury did not return an indictment in the death of Bland, nor were any indictments returned against any employee of the Waller County Jail," said Darrell Jordan, a special prosecutor handling the case.

The grand jury will reconvene in January to consider other indictments.

Read more; Grand jury decides against indictments in Sandra Bland case

Corrections officers indicted in death of Nimala Henry

This case may not be as well known as Sandra Bland's but it's just as tragic. Nimala Henry was also found dead in her cell in after being unable to make bail. George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com

A federal grand jury indicted four Louisiana corrections officers Thursday, charging them with violating the civil rights of inmate Nimali Henry, who died in prison last year after her medical needs were allegedly ignored. The indictment says the officers from St. Bernard Parish Prison in Chalmette, Louisiana, knew Henry, 19, had serious medical conditions but failed to provide her with necessary help, resulting in her death.

Capt. Andre Dominick, Cpl. Timothy Williams, Deputy Debra Becnel and Deputy Lisa Vaccarella are each charged with violating civil rights and making false statements to the FBI. The maximum penalties are life in prison for the civil rights charge and five years in prison for each false statement.

Henry was arrested in March 2014 on minor charges and held in jail after her family could not pay her $25,000 bond. She was arrested for disturbing the peace, simple battery and unauthorized entry after a domestic dispute. Henry, who was mother to a then-4-month-old daughter, was found lying facedown and unresponsive in her cell 10 days after her arrest, after suffering a blood clot leading to her death.

[SOURCE]

Police Tear Down Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Protest Camp

Minneapolis police began removing Black Lives Matter protesters from the 4th Precinct around 4 a.m. Thursday morning, using bulldozers and buckets of water to break up the demonstrators that had been camped out there since the shooting death of Jamar Clark on Nov. 15.

Two arrested in shooting attack on #BlackLivesMatter protesters

Police have arrested two men they have been seeking in connection with the shooting of five protesters the Black Lives Matter encampment Monday night.

Minneapolis police said they arrested a 23-year-old white man in Bloomington at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday. A second shooting suspect arrested in south Minneapolis at 12:05 p.m. has been released after questioning.

About 2:30 p.m., two men turned themselves in, police said, saying they were white, one age 26 and another age 21. They were being interviewed by investigators, officials added.

Authorities are weighing whether to treat the shooting of five people protesting near the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fourth Precinct station Monday night as a hate crime, sources familiar with the investigation said Tuesday morning.

The victims, all black men — ages 19 through 43 — were taken to hospitals with noncritical injuries, according to police.

Read more: 3 in custody, 1 released in 4th Precinct shooting; march to downtown ends

NJ legislators speak at #BlackLivesMatter inspired rally.

NJ legislators speak at #BlackLivesMatter inspired rally. By george L. Cook III

On 11/16/2015 a "State House Rally for Justice" was held outside the NJ Capitol building by the NJ Clergy Coalition for Justice. Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement the rally was just not a protest but presented state legislators with three items for legislation to aid in police reform.

1.Legislation that mandates body cameras for all officers in New Jersey.

2. Legislation that calls for an independent prosecutor when an officer is charged with shooting and killing someone.

3. Proper education and training for law enforcement to manage implicit biases.

Watch NJ State Legislators such as Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker and NJ State Senators Nia Gill, Ron Rice, and Ray Lesniak address these issues at the rally below. *Former Speaker of the House and Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver and NJ Senator Peter Barnes were also present but a certain person's iPhone ran out of storage, sorry.

NJ Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker.

NJ State Senator Ray Lesniak.

NJ State Senator Nia Gill

NJ State Senator Ron Rice

"State House Rally for Justice" New Jersey (#BlackLivesMatter)

NJ CLERGY COALITION FOR JUSTICE
Contact:
Pastor Pernini - 732-284-6054
njclergycoalitionforjustice@gmail.com

On Monday, November 16, 2015, from 11am to 1pm, the New Jersey Clergy Coalition for Justice (NJCCJ) will host a "State House Rally for Justice" at the New Jersey State House, 125 West State St., Trenton, NJ. The rally will focus on the following reforms: mandatory body cameras for ALL officers in New Jersey, an independent prosecutor when an officer is charged with shooting and killing someone, and proper education and training for law enforcement to manage implicit biases. The New Jersey State Legislators must protect citizens and pass reasonable laws that ensure fairness and equality for Black constituents and all New Jersey residents because the public's trust in Police Officers has been broken.

We will gather together under the creed, "Black Lives Matter." Black Lives Matter is a creed because, from the perspective of the long history of racism in the United States (slavery, segregation, racial profiling, mass incarceration etc...), the statement Black Lives Matter is a thing of faith and not fact. We will gather at the State House not in response to a "Call to arms," but rather, to affirm a "Call to lay down arms" in the name of justice and in the name of those who, if given the opportunity, would perhaps prefer to be behind bars instead of in a coffin.

We will gather in support of legislation that mandates body cameras for all officers in New Jersey. “'Knowledge that events are being recorded creates ‘self-awareness’ in all participants during police interactions,' said University of Cambridge officials in a statement on the study. 'This is the critical component that turns body-worn video into a ‘preventative treatment.'” Self-awareness leads to peace, not only internal peace, but external peace between officer and civilian which can result in more civil interactions between officer and civilian, less complaints against officers with a history of accusations of excessive force, and a decline of the use of lethal force by police officers.

We will gather in support of legislation that calls for an independent prosecutor when an officer is charged with shooting and killing someone. "'It’s very difficult to ask prosecutors who depend on police every day to be the ones to arrest and prosecute police,' says Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California at Irvine School of Law.'" According to President Obama's Task Forces on 21st Century Policing, "The task force encourages policies that mandate the use of external and independent prosecutors in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths."

We will gather in support of proper education and training for law enforcement to manage implicit biases. According to the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a speech given at Georgetown University, James B. Comey, "Much research points to the widespread existence of unconscious bias. Many people in our white-majority culture have unconscious racial biases and react differently to a white face than a black face. In fact, we all, white and black, carry various biases around with us."

The purpose of these, and other legislative efforts that call for an increase in police accountability are to make a step towards saving lives and restoring public trust in an institution that is charged with protecting and serving the public. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." Our garment of destiny has long since been ripped apart by injustice and broken trust. We have come a long way, but in light of all the police shootings and death, we are now arguing not for freedom from unjust prison sentences, but the ability to live long enough to stand before a judge to receive an unjust prison sentence.

It is the New Jersey Clergy Coalition for Justice's hope that at the State House Rally on Nov. 16, in attempt to mend the single garment of destiny by which we are all tied, that the threads of our repair are woven using as many colors, genders, ethnicities, political affiliations, and religions so as to resplendently represent the beautiful fabric of contemporary American society. When we gather on November 16 at the State House as a diverse body of people from a multiplicity of faith traditions, genders, ethnicities, and political persuasions, we will come together to affirm that black lives matter not only in words, but, with the above listed legislative actions, also in deeds.
____
1 Barak Ariel, William A. Farrar, Alex Sutherland. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. September 2015, Volume 31, Issue 3, pp 509-535.

2 Gillian Mahney. "Body Cameras: Experts Weigh In On How They Affect Police Officers." Jul 20, 2015. Web. Oct. 19, 2015. .

3 "Implementing a Body-Worn Camera Program: Recommendations and Lessons Learned." 2014. Web. Oct. 19, 2015. .

4 Ali Winston. "How Special Prosecutors Can Help Bring Police To Justice." Dec. 11, 2014. Web. Oct. 19, 2015. .

5 "The President's Task Force On 21st Century Policing." May 2015. Web. Oct. 19, 2015.

6 James B. Comey. Speeches. Feb. 12, 2015. Web. Oct. 19, 2015.
A Call for Action and Justice at the New Jersey State House
#BlackLivesMatter

Google awards #BlackLivesMatter $500,000 grant

Google.org announced a series of racial justice grants it awarded to a number of social justice causes and organizations. Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, was one of the first recipients of Google.org’s new giving cause, receiving a $500,000 grant.

The grant will support Black Lives Matter Patrisse Cullors, a fellow with the center who is working with the ACLU on a police violence reporting app.

[SOURCE]

#BlackLivesMatter Protesters Crash Hillary Clinton's HBCU Rally!

A small group of Black Lives Matter protesters interrupted Hillary Clinton's speech during a “African-Americans for Hillary” campaign event in Atlanta this afternoon at Clark Atlanta University. Watch video of the incident below:

Al Sharpton to deliver eulogy at Corey Jones' funeral

The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at the funeral this weekend for a Florida church drummer shot dead by a plainclothes police officer while waiting by his disabled car.

Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, has delivered eulogies at the funerals of several people whose deaths caught the nation's attention. Sharon Walker from the Carriers of the Glory International Ministries in Tallahassee, Fla. will also deliver a eulogy.

Corey Jones, 31, died around 3:15 a.m. on Oct. 18 while waiting for a tow truck. The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department says officer Nouman Raja got out of his car to investigate what he thought was an abandoned vehicle and was suddenly confronted by "an armed subject" who the officer then shot dead. Authorities say a gun was found on the scene.

Read more: Al Sharpton to deliver eulogy at Corey Jones' funeral

FBI to help Florida sheriff probe police shooting of black musician

The Florida sheriff investigating a plainclothes police officer's fatal shooting of a black musician asked for federal assistance on Friday to "ensure the highest level of scrutiny and impartiality."

The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, facing public criticism for its handling of prior officer-involved shootings, said in a statement that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had accepted the request in the case of Corey Jones, a 31-year-old drummer who was shot early Sunday.

It said the decision was made "to provide the family of Corey Jones and the community with a thorough and accurate investigation."

Local politicians and activists say the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office has lost the public's trust and that the FBI was already looking into one 2013 incident.

Read more: FBI to help Florida sheriff probe police shooting of black musician

Bernie Sanders keeps promise made in private to Sandra Bland’s mother

In an era when every moment is tweeted and politicized, Bernie Sanders elected not to capitalize on a meaningful meeting with the mother of Sandra Bland.

The chance encounter reportedly took place at East Street Café, a Thai restaurant at Union Station in Washington, D.C., five days before the first Democratic presidential debate.

The Rev. Hannah Adair Bonner, a pastor at St. John’s Church in downtown Houston, wrote in her blog about noticing the Vermont senator at another table while she was eating dinner with Geneva Reed-Veal, whose daughter became a face of the Black Lives Matter campaign following her death in police custody in July.

The pastor said she approached Sanders and asked if he would like to meet Reed-Veal and told him their group had asked if he would take a picture with them.

“He did not impose upon Ms. Geneva to ask for a picture of his own. He did not use the moment as an opportunity to promote his campaign,” she wrote. “He took no record; he made no statement. He did not try to turn it into a publicity stunt.”,/p>

Bonner, who is a Black Lives Matter activist, said she was impressed by everyone’s sincerity during the serendipitous moment.

The Democratic presidential candidate told Reed-Veal that the death of her daughter was inexcusable and promised he would continue to “say her name.” At the debate on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas, Sanders stayed true to his word when answering a question submitted by a law student through Facebook: “Do black lives matter, or do all lives matter?”

Read more: Bernie Sanders keeps promise made in private to Sandra Bland’s mother

Black Lives Matter Activists Say Meeting With Hillary Clinton Went Well

After Hillary Rodham Clinton wrapped up a meeting with Black Lives Matter activists in Washington, initial reports signaled that it had been a productive session.

DeRay McKesson, the leader of the group that is pushing to end police brutality against black people, tweeted out some details after the 90-minute gathering and said that they had pushed Mrs. Clinton to use less “coded” language when talking about black issues and to “de-center” the police as the key to making communities safer. He said that the Democratic presidential candidate was clear in her commitment against private prisons.

“In the end, I think she heard us,” Mr. McKesson said.

Aurielle Marie, another member of Black Lives Matter who was at the meeting, said Mrs. Clinton listened closely but did not offer specific proposals for addressing “anti-blackness” in America. Ms. Marie said that she was impressed with Mrs. Clinton’s openness, but also expressed concern about a lack of urgency among all of the presidential candidates.

“We are past the point where we need to just sit around and have conversations,” Ms. Marie told CNN. “The matter is urgent.”

The group is expecting to hear more details from Mrs. Clinton about her platform for overhauling the criminal justice system in the coming weeks.

[SOURCE]

Freddie Gray: Baltimore Police unit that investigates use-of-force allegations dismantled

The special investigative unit created by former Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts last year to probe shootings by officers and deaths in police custody — including Freddie Gray's — has been overhauled by Batts' successor, who has replaced all of the team's members and given it a new name.

Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis has replaced the Force Investigation Team (FIT) with the Special Investigations Response Team, or SIRT, swapping one Department of Justice review model for another.

Davis said "recent examples have demonstrated [that] the BPD is capable of policing itself when matters arise that directly impact public trust and confidence."

"Our capacity to investigate police-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, and other critical incidents relies heavily on the SIRT team and the quality of their objective investigations," he said in a statement.

The Force Investigation Team, or FIT, was modeled on a unit developed by Justice officials and put in place in Las Vegas. Batts brought it to Baltimore last year as a way to improve use-of-force investigations amid widespread allegations of police abuse and misconduct.

The department promised to post its FIT investigations online — a first-of-its-kind idea that was short-lived.

The criteria for triggering an investigation by FIT were vague, and reports were posted online for only nine of the team's more than 30 investigations in 2014. The links to those reports disappeared from the FIT website this year without explanation, and no more have been posted.

Read more: Police unit at center of Freddie Gray review, use-of-force investigations dismantled

Texas man jailed for falsely accusing #BlackLivesMatter of vandalism.

A Texas man who raised almost $6,000 in funds online to repair his truck was arrested on Friday after authorities determined that he vandalized the vehicle himself and tried to blame supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement for the damage, KDFW-TV reported.Police charged 45-year-old Scott Lattin with making a false report after arresting him at his home in Whitney, Texas. While the suspect denied the accusation during a brief on-camera interview, his arrest warrant stated that he admitted to damaging the truck for “insurance reasons.”

Colin Powell shows support for #BlackLivesMatter

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday morning that he doesn’t mind the #BlackLivesMatter movement or its slogan, adding that the U.S. has made substantial progress on race issues but still has a long way to go. While showing support for #BlackLivesMatter he also mentioned black on black crime. Watch more of that interview below: