TULSA COP FOUND NOT GUILTY OF TERENCE CRUTCHER MURDER

Feeling Rebloggy

"[Betty] Shelby, who is white, was charged last September with felony manslaughter in the shooting of Terence Crutcher, 40.

Police said Crutcher, [black and unarmed] failed to obey commands, and Shelby testified she thought Crutcher was reaching for something in his SUV..."

~CNN 

...but reports say THE WINDOW WAS MOST OF THE WAY UP. 

One of the attorneys involved thinks Crutcher was trying to put his hands against the car so as not to be perceived as a threat.

"Shelby, who testified in her defense, said she shot Crutcher because he acted bizarrely and she feared for her life."

~CNN 

WHITE COP FORMULA #1 FOR UNARMED BLACK DEATH

MOVE TO COOPERATE = WHITE RACISTS SCARED OF BLACK PERSON (ESPECIALLY "BIG BLACK" MAN) = BLACK PERSON DEAD. 

WHITE JURY COMES ALONG AND SAYS, "OOPS. SHOULDN'T HAVE MOVED"

WHITE COP FORMULA #2 FOR UNARMED BLACK DEATH

NOT MOVING IS A FAILURE TO COOPERATE= WHITE RACISTS SCARED OF BLACK PERSON (ESPECIALLY "BIG BLACK MAN") = BLACK PERSON DEAD. 

WHITE JURY COMES ALONG AND SAYS, "OOPS. SHOULD HAVE MOVED WHEN  YOU WERE TOLD." 

Read More:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/17/us/tulsa-police-shooting-trial/index.html


Below is 2016 Video of Crutcher's death (in case you've forgotten which unarmed black person Terence Crutcher is). This is police helicopter footage with the pilot(s) talking / narrating the shooting...when they thought his Shelby would use a taser instead of bullets. 
http://blackchickrocked.blogspot.com/2016/09/helicopter-footage-show-tulsa-police.html

THE SANDRA BLAND ACT PROPOSAL

A repost

• Sandra Bland was arrested for a failure to signal after, she said, she was tailgated by a police officer. She moved to get out of his way. He stopped her. He provoked a fight on dashboard cam over her continuing to smoke a cigarette. He cuffed her and yanked her around during the arrest then said Bland was the aggressor. Bland had been on her way to a job interview. After two to three days in jail, Bland was found dead in her Waller County Jail cell. 

•  Her death was ruled a suicide by hanging but some have doubts.

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston on a proposal that some are now calling THE SANDRA BLAND ACT. Basically THE SANDRA BLAND ACT calls for changes to what it is legal and illegal for cops to do when making a minor traffic stop.

"Although it's legal, it doesn't make sense for someone to be arrested because of a traffic violation or for a stop like Bland's to escalate into an arrest, Coleman said....

If a driver's tail light is out, or they cross over the yellow line, no matter how briefly, "the law says they are jailable offenses, so we have to remove that from the statute....[Encinia] "was well within his right to [arrest Bland], and that's where we're running into the problem...It's baked in the cake. Injustice is baked into the cake."

Other proposals from the committee include eliminating consent searches and raising the threshold for stops to something higher than the current "probable cause" and "reasonable suspicion." "

Read More: http://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/local/texas/2017/02/04/texas-house-committee-report-lays-foundation-sandra-bland-act/97495578/

SANDRA BLAND WOULD HAVE BEEN 30 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR ON FEBRUARY 7th. 

BLUE TEARS: BUT...WHAT ABOUT ALL THE GOOD POLICE OFFICERS?

This is why the goodness of the good police officers is constantly suspect:

"Thomas Fehr, a representative of the Fraternal Order of Police-Ohio Labor Council, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the grievance was filed Thursday on Tensing's behalf and with his consent. "We filed the grievance, number 1 because there was no just cause [for firing him], and number 2 because he was not afforded his due process rights under the contract," Fehr said.

I had assumed Ray Tensing wouldn't have a police union because he was a campus cop. Or was he a regular cop doing campus duties? I may have read and re-read a few things because I'm confused. Did this "Fraternal Order of Police - Ohio Labor Council" voluntarily insert itself into the OBVIOUS murder of Samuel DuBose or are they obligated to represent him?

And if this police organization is obligated to send someone to represent Tensing in regards to the violations of the technical rules of firing a police officer,  then where are the regular, due's paying members, the "good cops"  hollering, "OH H*LL NO" not with my money you're not?" Where are these officers? I haven't seen any coverage of their protest on television.  Did I miss this protest?

Or did some of these "good police officers" I keep hearing about contribute to Tensing making bail instead?

One person, two people or ten within the Fraternal Order Of Cops might be obligated to represent Ray Tensing and mis-represent his hair trigger racist reaction. But the entire Union doesn't have to pretend it's okay by being silent. Think my position on this is not entirely fair? Okay. It's not. But I'm less worried about hurt feelings of the good police officers who haven't done anything than I am the weak backbones in so many of these same "good police officers"  --backbones so weak they can't even stand behind a cop that DOES stand up to do the right thing.

  

MEME FROM COP BLOCK

Not only did "all the good police officers" fail to stand behind the whistle-blowers in the image above, Joe Crystal was actually threatened by fellow police officers for reporting on police brutality. And after 19 years of service, Cariol Horne was still fighting for her pension at the end of 2014  despite the officer she reported on was later accused of choking another cop off-duty and has since gone on to face what sound like criminal charges.

The silence in the face of abuse is always suspect. And it is especially suspect when good cops don't stand behind whistle blowers.

ON TROTTING OUT GOOD COPS (See photo below)

As kind as this white police officer looks to be, I cannot give him more than a quarter of a cookie for going slightly beyond basic human decency.

Officer Of The Day: John Nissen went above and beyond for a grief stricken driver named Barbie Henderson.While driving, Barbie got word of her sister's death and pulled over to the side of the road. She was too distraught to drive and didn't know what to do so she called 911.

That's when officer Nissen came on the scene and asked if he could sit and talk with her.

Nissen says: "I turned the air vents towards her – it was over 90 degrees that day – held her hand, and she cried on my shoulder. I had her take sips of water."  He stayed with her for an hour until another family member could come and get her home safely.

I'm all for this kind of story being put on a news website as a positive event in an other wise negative news day. All the news should not be bad.  However, we ought to find it pathetic and sad that stories like these have to be trotted out in order to prove that individual police officers are capable of basic decency when they've signed up for a public service job.

Instead of "Officer Of The Day" pats on the head, how about "Officer Of The Year" bonuses for those who stand up against police brutality--maybe do this instead of firing them?

If the shoes I'm describing don't fit, then some of these "good police officers" should stop wearing them. When the Joe Crystals and Cariol Hornes outnumber the silent bully majority, police officers will collectively earn our trust. 

In the meantime, I'm not going to jump up to wipe blue tears any faster than I do white ones. 

Read More: RAY TENSING DEMANDS HIS JOB BACK

SANDRA BLAND FAMILY FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST ENCINIA AND OTHERS

The lawsuit accuses Encinia of assault during the arrest and “wanton conduct” that violated Bland’s constitutional rights.

The family’s attorney said the family is suing for answers and accountability, not for money

http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/08/04/the-family-of-sandrabland-files-a-federal-lawsuit-against-the-arresting-trooper-and-others/

JONATHAN FERRELL WAS SHOT AT 12 TIMES AFTER HIS CAR CRASH

In 2013, Jonathan Ferrell crashed his car near Charlotte, North Carolina. And when police showed up, instead of giving him aid, they shot him.

"Monday marked the first day of the trial of Randall Kerrick, who was charged with voluntary manslaughter, and the details that emerged are as awful as many of us have imagined.


Even though Ferrell was shot in September of 2013, Charlotte officials have kept a very tight wrap on dashcam footage and other details, claiming it was to help them have an impartial jury."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/04/1408675/-Jonathan-Ferrell-shot-8x-while-crawling-EMT-testified-police-would-not-let-him-administer-first-aid

Jonathan Ferrell was shot at 12 times, 10 bullets struck him and 8 of those bullets struck him while he was crawling. According to testimony, police would not let the EMT administer first aid.

Officer Randall Kerrick is claiming self defense.  He was only charged with manslaughter. 

Read More:http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-panicked-shooting-black-man-prosecutor-article-1.2313878

Special Prosecutor for RAYNETTE TURNER

Raynette Turner is one of the 6 women of color (5 black and 1 Native American) to die in a United States jails just last month.

This will be the first such investigation since Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order appointing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as  the special prosecutor to investigate all cases where an unarmed civilian dies at the hands of police.

READ MORE:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-special-prosecutor-raynette-turner_55bf8d04e4b0d4f33a035ba1
Protest works. The Governor appointing a special prosecutor should be counted as a #BlackLivesMatter success as this is a good first step toward stopping the police from investigating themselves.

However, the state is still investigating itself.  And the state has an interest in not making itself look bad.

I'd like to see the federal government investigate all cases where unarmed civilians die at the hands of police. I'd also like to see a federal "depraved indifference charge" that carries jail time. 

SAM DUBOSE: OFFICER THAT KILLED HIM FOR DRIVING WHILE BLACK IS CHARGED WITH MURDER

“[Tensing] wasn’t dealing with someone wanted for murder. He was dealing with someone without a front license plate,” Deters said, describing that offense as “chicken crap stuff.”

Reblog:
Video from the officer’s body camera shows a routine traffic stop turning suddenly violent when DuBose leans toward the passenger seat and turns his ignition key, starting the car. Tensing then reaches into the car with one hand and, with the other, fires a single shot into DuBose’s head.
DuBose did not appear to be belligerent or aggressive toward the officer before the shot was fired, though his lawyer said Tensing feared he would be run over.

Tensing, 25, faces 15 years to life in prison if he’s convicted.

                                                                                     Cincinnati.com

READ MORE
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/07/29/publish/30830777/


WARNING: VIDEO OF THE MURDER HERE  

http://www.vibe.com/2015/07/sam-dubose-video-officer-charged-murder/

MOMENT OF MURDER BLURRED IN VIDEO BELOW

SANDRA BLAND: DASH CAM WILL SHOW VIOLATIONS, GRAND JURY WILL BE CONVENED

"There were law enforcement violations during the traffic stop of a woman who ultimately was found dead inside a Waller County jail cell. That's according to a preliminary review by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

According to the DPS, authorities spotted violations of the department's procedures and courtesy policy in dash cam video showing a state trooper's interactions with Sandra Bland on July 10 in Prairie View

The deputy involved has been assigned administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation."

READ MORE  http://abc13.com/news/dps-preliminary-review-shows-violations-in-bland-traffic-stop/858488/

Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said at a Friday afternoon press conference that Bland’s body was not discovered for up to 90 minutes. Under the commission’s guidelines, every inmate should be checked on hourly.... 

Mathis said he will take the case to a grand jury. The earliest that could happen, he said, would be in August.

Protests will continue:  “We believe she would have been here for us,” said the Rev. Hannah Bonner, “so we’re going to be here for her.”

Read More, Video Here: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sandra-bland-police-custody-death-more-questions

The Death Of SHELLY FREY

"In what certainly appears like a case of “not necessary,” 27-year-old Shelly Frey was shot and killed by an off-duty deputy after he suspected the Houston mother of two had shoplifted.


Frey was reportedly perusing the Walmart with friends Tiasa Andrews and Yolanda Craig when Louis Campbell, a 26-year veteran of the force, approached the ladies about shoplifting. The trio then ran off into the parking lot where Campbell followed them. The chase escalated to the point that Frey got into her car to speed away and Campbell followed. Shortly after, he fired, striking Frey in the neck.

He claims that he eventually drew his gun because he was “between the car door and the driver’s seat and feared for his safety.”

Read more: http://www.mommyish.com/2012/12/10/shelly-frey-walmart-shoplifting/#ixzz3bkk8oEK6

#AllBlackLivesMatter  #SayHerName 

THE DEATH OF ALESIA THOMAS: Killed While Handcuffed

Yes, another black woman has been killed by police while handcuffed.  

One of her  murderers, Officer Mary O'Callaghan, was tried and found guilty of assault. She faces a maximum of 3 years in prison.

ALESIA THOMAS                          MARY O'CALLAGHAN    

Alesia Thomas, described as mentally ill in one article and as a drug addict in another. Thomas did what I would have told her to do... if I'd known her and she had asked me.  She took her children to the police department and left them there because she didn't feel like her children were safe with her anymore. 

The police arrested her for this.

O'Callaghan was one of the officers that beat and kicked Thomas while handcuffed. Thomas eventually died.  



A bigger question for me is this: Why is Alesia Thomas's name missing or scarcely a part of  the Black Lives Matter
Movement?

Why do I keep hearing about black women for the first time when there murderer is either set free or given a slap on the wrist? I keep hearing about these black, unarmed, and then dead women two to three years after their deaths. 

Is it that black females don't matter?

Or is it that the mentally ill don't matter?

Or is it that poor, mentally ill, black females don't matter?

#AllBlackLivesMatter #SayHerName

The Death Of LA VENA JOHNSON and Other Military "SUICIDES"

For years I've been reading that suicide is a hidden, leading cause of death in the military. USA TODAY published a story as recently as October 2014. But the thing you may not know is that there is a question as to whether some of the female soldier suicides really ARE suicides.

In the case of La Vena Johnson, it looks like her "suicide" may have been a murder to cover up a rape.

Private First Class LA VENA JOHNSON

"In viewing his daughter's body at the funeral home, Dr. John Johnson was concerned about the bruising on her face.


He was puzzled by the discrepancy in the autopsy report on the location of the gunshot wound. As an Army veteran and a long-time Army civilian employee who had counseled veterans, he was mystified how the exit wound of an M-16 shot could be so small.

The hole in Lavena's head appeared to be more the size of a pistol shot rather than an M-16 round. But the gluing of military uniform white gloves onto Lavena's hands, hiding burns on one of her hands, is what deepened Dr. Johnson's concerns that the Army's investigation into the death of his daughter was flawed."

Warning: Only click here to read more if you don't think you'll be triggered. http://www.alternet.org/story/98061/u.s._military_is_keeping_secrets_about_female_soldiers%27_%27suicides%27

 La Vena Johnson died in 2005. She was 19 years old. Her parents still don't have answers.

 In 2010 Joan Booker made a documentary - La Vena Johnson: Silent Truth

 "On July 19, 2011, the criminal justice students in the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute (CCIRI) run as a student club by three universities, selected Johnson's case as their case for investigation. The CCIRI's crime scene reconstruction will help shed light on this case that has attracted worldwide attention" - wikipedia




SayHerName

STAND ON ROOF OF CAR AND SHOOT THE UNARMED - A PICTURE IS WORTH 1000 WORDS

On the unpunished murders of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell

This picture explains how the prosecution chose this one officer, Michael Brelo,  to charge. Not that this was correct, but I see how they charged JUST HIM and not the other officers who fired upwards of 100 rounds combined.

If you go to the article you'll see a mock up of the bodies. You'll see rods stuck into two mannequins that show the paths of the multiple bullets fired down into both Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell.

...two unarmed, now dead, black people.


And a judge saw all that, knows that robo-cop-wanna-be was standing on top of the car, and he still set that murderer free. If it's not blinding white racism that's blinding the judge to the humanity of the black victims, then I ask you, what is it? 

Click below to see the photo and the story:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJmq9HncMlcD2rPCFytlnMiDS_K6sf_WeK-ykjHZTPOaZ79UOkC1DfVxWvB87IU6Vjf7_ym7DM10T69Tjmz5KnbPRF7J2jJekMErGvcxpJstvfHLOXqRmPG2gWmC6AxEBZ5L-PSwFCR26/s1600/brelo+case+errors.JPG
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/30/brelo-shooting-judge-erro_n_7476676.html

BAD TURNING SIGNAL, CHASE, BROWN SKIN, & A CAR BACKFIRE JUSTIFIES 137 BULLETS

JURY SAID SO TODAY


Another Black, Unarmed, and Dead Post

Malissa Williams on the right with a friend

On the night of their murders in November of 2012, Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell were both homeless. At some point after Russell was pulled over for a turn signal violation, sped away. (Homeless No insurance maybe? Malissa was mentally ill, schizophrenic mentally ill and had had many contacts with the police.)

So at some point the car backfires and then some thirteen police officers fire 137 rounds into the car. Neither Malissa, who was shot 24 times, nor Russell, who was shot 23 times, was armed.

White Cleveland police Officer Michael Brelo was charged because  he  stood on the hood of the car and shot the unarmed pair 15 times just after other officers had already riddled the car with bullets. And Brelo was found not guilty today. 

I suppose 137 bullets fired, means 122 were fired before Brelo's television tough-guy cop stance on the roof of the car. I suppose that's why he was only ever charged with manslaughter. The only one charged....

And I do NOT HAVE TO suppose that this means he was never going to jail from the jump.  Reasonable doubt was packed into this case beforehand.
- - - - - - - - -

Family upset with Michael Brelo verdict, but it wasn't all Brelo's fault

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/05/timothy_russells_family_upset.html

Timothy Russell

I'm going to have to go back and check to see how many of my people are likely dead by white cop due to being poor.

6 Months Since Tamir Rice Died, and the Cop Who Killed Him Still Hasn't Been Questioned MAY 15 2015 MOJO ARTICLE

It’s Been 6 Months Since Tamir Rice Died, and the Cop Who Killed Him Still Hasn't Been Questioned

"Mother Jones has learned that the two officers involved in the shooting—Timothy Loehmann, who fired the shots, and Frank Garmback, who drove the police car—still have not been interviewed by investigators from the sheriff's department. According to an official familiar with the case, investigators have made more than one attempt to interview Loehmann and Garmback since the Cleveland Police Department handed over the case in January."

READ MUCH MORE HERE:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/tamir-rice-investigation-cleveland-police

Pearlie Golden 93 years old shot to death by Cop

A 93-year-old woman who was fatally shot by a police officer outside her central Texas home was apparently upset that her nephew was trying to take away her car keys after the Texas Department of Public Safety had refused to renew her driver's license.

She was said to be brandishing a weapon.

Friends say Golden -- widely known as "Miss Sulie" -- still shopped at the grocery store and greeted friends with a jubilant "Hey, baby!"

It was the second time Officer Stem (who was fired but never indicted) had killed someone in 22 months.And he was exonerated a second time a grand jury as well.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/09/officer-shooting-93-year-old/8886487/

THE BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S "GANG MENTALITY"

FORMER BALTIMORE POLICE DETECTIVE JOE CRYSTAL


A glimpse inside of the Baltimore Police Department, as told by former policeman Joe Crystal, back in January of 2015.

He reported another off duty officer for beating a suspect while handcuffed. When he reported it, his supervisor told him not to "rat." Detective Crystal went to prosecutors next. Once his fellow officers found out he was cooperating with the investigation, they stopped showing up to back him up. Somebody even left a dead rat on his car.

HERE AND NOW FROM MSNBC

"Former Baltimore P.D. Detective Joe Crystal was labeled a rat after turning in a fellow officer who beat a handcuffed suspect. He joined Chris Hayes to weigh in on the charging of six Baltimore officers in the death of Freddie Gray."

 FORMER DETECTIVE JOE CRYSTAL WEIGHS IN ON THE FREDDIE GRAY'S DEATH AT HANDS OF POLICE

ARREST & DEATH OF FREDDIE GRAY: The Problem With "The Van Did It"

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN
OVERCHARGED   - HE WALKED

DANTE SERVIN
UNDERCHARGED  = HE WALKED

BALTIMORE 6
OVERCHARGED  =   WILL THEY WALK?

Around the internet, I'm seeing a few lawyers say these 6 officers were over-charged. Of course there are those who don't think police brutality or racism exist.  It's the lawyers with a "progressive" reputation that worry me. And based on what has passed for law and order recently, I'm worried that they might be correct

If Freddie Gray died as a result of a "lack of a seat belt" in the back of that police van as the prosecutor said more than once, this might be a done deal. All of these officers may walk.


 Only one of the officers in the van was in charge. As I understand it, nobody in the back with Freddie actively beating him. So how did the prosecutor charge all of them as if equally responsible?

The police are quasi-military in function. Only one person was in charge. And that should have been the one to be charged with most, if not all, of the charges at each location (a) the point of arrest and (b) in the police van. Those of us who do not work in quasi-military environment have had a supervisor ignore us until the client or customer went ballistic. And person in charge was the person truly at fault

Charging the wrong people with the wrong things is what allowed Rekia Boyd's murderer, Dante Servin, to walk away.

  The defense will likely be able to prove that hundreds of police officers in Baltimore have done what they did to Freddie Gray hundreds and hundreds of times. Does the prosecutor think the breaking the seat belt rule is going to send them to prison for killing Freddie Gray?

If we're going to pretend that Freddie Gray was perfectly healthy and able to walk before he got in the van and wasn't already having problems breathing, then the most they are going to be able to say about the officers is that they should never have arrested him; should have given him his inhaler; and made their way to the hospital sooner.

This means at least half of the officers were over-charged. Again, charging all the officers as if they are equally responsible instead of the laying most of the charges on one officer-in-charge at each location (street arrest & van) might throw enough mud in the water to set them all loose.

If somebody doesn't prove that Freddie Gray's spine was actively damaged during arrest, that spine damage is the reason he couldn't walk, then...essentially the officers are going to be guilty of false imprisonment (something else that's probably been done hundreds of times) and not providing him with that inhaler. "We didn't realize..." is going to be the bottom line on the spine damage.

I don't know that it matters how dedicated to the black community the two black women out front, Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, are or aren't. I not at all sure either one of them has enough power to get justice done when the police are involved, especially since what actually happened is being made to sound as if it is so ambiguous

Rekia Boyd's murder was unambiguous as it gets. Her killer, Dante Servin, was (1)an off duty copy with (2)an unregistered weapon (3)who shot over shoulder (4)after initiating a confrontation over a noise complaint. And Servin was set free by one speech by one judge in a very few minutes on a single afternoon (click here to read more).  And like the previous 100 or so people in Baltimore that have sued the police department and won, Rekia Boyd's parents also won a civil settlement against the police department in Chicago but still lost in criminal court. 

There's a pattern here. Police don't go to jail even when it's been established in civil court that the police are responsible for the death and the victim died as a result of "homicide," which technical term that does not mean somebody committed murder. Eric Garner died as a result of "homicide." His killer, Daniel Pantaleo" is walking around free too. Since Rekia Boyd's killer was set free, I've become unsure about who has the power to put a police officer in jail unless everyone from the governor down to the people on the street are pushing hard for conviction. And, by the way, we haven't heard much of anything about Maryland's republican governor.  So I'm worried.

I'm especially worried whenever compare the proof to charges gap in Rekia Boyd's case, since her murder was so much clearer.

Let's assume the prosecutor charged Boyd's killer, Servin, with manslaughter because she didn't think she could get a murder conviction (a safe assumption in a city where a cop hadn't seen the inside of a courtroom in 17 years.) The judge set Servin free because the prosecutor described Servin committing murder but was only charged with manslaughter (Under-charged) George Zimmerman, on the other hand,  was charged with murder when nobody knew exactly what happened in those last few minutes of Trayvon Martin's life. But there wasn't anyway that anybody (officially) thought there was premeditation, which led some to say that Zimmerman was overcharged.

Overcharged***Undercharged***Overcharged???

My head is spinning. I don't see how "the van did it" and "lack of seat belt" is going to get any sort of murder conviction.  It's too easy to say for some of the cops involved to say "I didn't know" and others cops to say "I wasn't in charge."

Not that Uncle Ruckus in a uniform couldn't have been involved, but the white cops that arrested Freddie Gray either damaged him before they put him in the van or they didn't. The man couldn't walk and looked like he was in pain BEFORE the van. They were carrying Gray BEFORE the van. Why don't her charges address what happened BEFORE the van?  Excuse after excuse after excuse (read more here) have offered for Freddie Gray's death. And I'm not sure "The van did it!" isn't the final one.
 

Over-Charged***Under-Charged***Over-Charged

MIGHT EQUAL

Walk,Walk,Walk

RICKY HINDS on BLACK MEN & THEIR OBSESSION WITH MIMICKING OPPRESSION

FROM RICKY HINDS, AMERICANS UNITED AGAIN

"Cut the sh*t. You can get rid of this social conditioning. Read some books, actually LISTEN to the people you're helping oppress, I mean f*** Google will teach you all you need to know if you're really interested. Within this movement you have options, you have freedom, you have the comfort of those who value you so what the f*** is wrong with returning the favor just because it's the right thing to do? So what brought me to this tirade? Well for one it was WELL overdue because we've been doing this sh** for too long but the straw(s) that broke the camel's back for me were two things that happened this past weekend. The first was something that happened in the St. Louis area. Activist & Blogger Angel Carter so eloquently put it like this:

"Sunday, April 26th there was a rally held in downtown Saint Louis to amplify the names of black women who have been killed and/or raped by police officers. The desire to incorporate black women into the conversation about police brutality, is not an act of division, it’s an act of inclusion. This was the first rally held to centralize black women here in Saint Louis. It has been long overdue. In comparison to past events, the turn out was typical. White allies were in attendance, kids, signs, banners, blow horns, chants, cops, etc. Every thing was as it always is, minus one thing…. There were only six black men present. I wish I was exaggerating this number, but someone even walked around and counted to be sure. Six black men supporting black women. Even the police exceeded the amount of black men, there were approximately eight of them [policemen] standing behind us."

Add caption

Hardly anybody showed up for Rekia Boyd protest either.  Her killer walked away in April 2015 and there were crickets, half the people I've spoken to on Rekia Boyd hadn't even heard her name before.

Yet,"[a]ccording to the Huffington Post, 'early data indicates black women account for nearly 20% of those unarmed blacks killed by officers in the past 15 years.' " http://mic.com/articles/116102/this-unarmed-black-woman-was-shot-by-the-police-so-why-aren-t-we-marching-for-her

I might start calling Ricky Hinds a BLACK FEMINIST whether he wants to be one or not...just for a week or two. Those who cannot bear the weight of being identified as and binding together with black women that identify as BLACK FEMINIST or BLACK WOMANIST do not deserve the title. Black folk like this only show up for black women sometimes, much like the white anti-racist that disappears once the bullets and beatings aimed at the unarmed disappear...as if institutionalized racism isn't real.    

http://www.americansunitedagain.org/blog/2015/4/28/blacklivesmatter-yesniggaallblacklives-black-men-their-obsession-with-mimicking-oppression

White Officer Michael Slager Shoots Walter Scott In Back

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO

Michael Slager Shooting Walter Scott Dead

I always think of young black people as presumed dangerous by white people, even when running away.  Walter Scott was 50 years old when he was killed. And since they were the only two people that were there during the discussion that preceded the murder, we'll never know what really happened. Looks like they were struggling over something. Maybe the officer was trying to cuff him.

What does seem apparent is that Scott wasn't armed.

We don't know if Walter Scott was a good husband, proud father, and upstanding member of his church or embezzler, arsonist, and coke head.  All we know is that he was running away when he was killed. And we can see the officer wasn't the one in danger.

I think I heard 8 shots fired in the video.

I don't know if I need to know what happened just before the camera started filming.  I didn't really need to know what happened just before filming when Pantaleo choked Garner to death. I didn't need to know what happened just before filming when Rice knocked out Palmer.

Nothing can really change the fact that person A is left standing over person B's body on the ground.  Still, I won't say I know all I need to know. I'm curious.

Maybe Scott had something that was going to unleash a plague on the state of South Carolina -- and Slager is really a hero. But I doubt it.

Maybe the white officer was provoked. That would be entirely possible....if it weren't for the fact that the police report doesn't match this video. 

You don't get a pass just because you can't control yourself when somebody makes you angry, challenges  you, or even hits you. And that's true for anyone, much less those assigned to "protect and serve." You don't get shoot somebody 8 times in the back even if they punched you in the face. You still have to exercise self-control. I know America hasn't looked like this lately, especially if the victim is black, but it's still true.

I hear the white officer has been charged. This is not Flori-duh. Let's see if we can get him convicted.