Tensions Running High in Gordonsville

"Help. We have racist cops and demand something be done. You are locking our future up innocently- Will anybody listen."
Mayor Ernest Duncan at a special meeting Thursday outlined a series of actions town officials will take to address recent accusations that Gordonsville police are unfairly targeting black residents. [more]

Benton Harbor Riots One Year Ago. Police Killed Black Motorist.

One year ago, violence erupted in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Angry rioters took to the streets after a police chase led to the death of an African-American motorcyclist. That evening and again the following night, angry rioters burned down a total of 21 buildings and set fire to seven others. Ten people were arrested, dozens of minor injuries were reported, several emergency vehicles were damaged or destroyed and a Michigan State Police trooper was fired upon. An investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.  [more] and [more]

MESSAGE to Brownsville Police: "How Many More Atrocities will be Allowed?"

by Patricia Fay Fournet.
 Kermith Sonnier, Jr. was stalked and shot by two white police officers in the state of Pennsylvania.

        Apparently it is "Open Season" on citizens as law enforcement officers are stalking people at gunpoint and then shooting them as though they are wild game.One must address the mindset of the individual who is capable of committing such distorted behavior.One must address the true intent of an agency that practices the violent shooting of unarmed people as standard operating procedure; referring to such acts as "clean," or "done according to policy".One must also address the detrimental effects that are caused by this agency and by a government that supports and protects its' continued operations of desecrating basic human rights.Redstone Township Officer H. Dennis Fields and Brownsville Borough Officer Autumn Fike forced an unarmed man, namely,  Kermith Sonnier, Jr., into a vehicular chase that led to a wooded area near Brownsville Pennsylvania, where they then shot him in the back and killed him. He was 37 years old and a native of Oberlin, Louisiana.
        Assistant District Attorney Nancy Vernon said she saw "no problem", with the incident.Had the incident involved a member of Ms. Vernon's family, her Mama, perhaps, I imagine her perception of the event would be quite different.I can tell you that I see a huge problem in the events that took place on May 5th when my cherished friend was brutally murdered by Dennis Fields and Autumn Fike. I see a huge problem in Nancy Vernon's position as Assistant District Attorney when she condones inhuman acts of murder. I see the need for a public outcry and insistence that these conditions change immediately. Had these issues been acted upon when State Trooper Samuel Nassan committed the cowardly act of  killing a 12-year-old child named Michael Ellerbe, shooting him in the back as he climbed over a fence, perhaps my dear and brilliant friend would not have been gunned down in cold blood?
        How many more atrocities shall be allowed?
        How may I, a Louisiana resident, incite the change that is so obviously needed? How does a person like Nancy Vernon, who is so desensitized to the plight of the human condition, land a position of authority, enabling her social deviance to wreak havoc upon townspeople?
        Why do psychological misfits such as Autumn Fike and Dennis Fields secure jobs in the field of criminal justice, where, along with other defective humans, they comprise a collective effort called law enforcement which has so obviously become the disease and not the cure. I challenge Ms. Vernon, Ms. Fike, and/or Mr. Fields, to submit a logical explanation that would justify the murder of my beloved friend Kermith Sonnier, Jr.! I challenge each citizen to become appropriately appalled by the ongoing and disgustingly sadistic, human rights violations committed in this country, against our own brothers and sisters, by law enforcement officers and sanctioned by governmental officials who openly display an abnormal and inhuman attitude of indecency and a sickening disregard for life!

SEE: 

• Lawyers lay groundwork for lawsuit against Brownsville police
• Dad challenges cop claims
  
• Attorneys probing police shooting of Centerville man
  
• Fayette DA says policeman justified in shooting dr iver
• Attorney disputes police shooting reports
  
• DA recounts details of fatal police shooting
  
• DA Welcomes Federal Probe of Police Shooting
  
• DA: Tests show cocaine found in driver shot by police

Many Questions Linger in Suspicious Brownsville Police Shooting of Sonnier

        Kermith Sonnier Jr. was shot and killed by a police officer on May 5th. After an alleged traffic violation Police Officers reportedly pursued Sonnier on a high speed car chase through Brownsville and on into the neighboring Village of Century. Police have yet to disclose the nature of the traffic offense. Police claim that during the chase Sonnier circled his car around the police and then attempted to run them down as he drove toward them.[more] Officers, one from Brownsville and another from Redstone Township then fired three shots into his car; one shot killed him. A toxicology report indicted that Sonnier had cocaine in his system.
        However, many inconsistencies have been pointed out in the police version of what happened to Sonnier.  For instance, although Sonnier was shot in the back, police maintain that they shot at him as he charged towards them in his car. Police officials also released statements claiming that Sonnier had damaged several police cars with his truck. Yet photographs that have been taken of the truck since the incident only reveal a slight dent to the vehicle. Moreover, even though the police have stated that three shots were fired at Sonnier the toxicology report indicated that there were no other bullets in the car besides the fatal shot to Sonnier.  Derrick Fisher, an attorney for Sonnier's father has said that Brownsville police have also denied Sonnier's attorneys access to: autopsy reports, toxicology reports and an amateur video of the incident shot by a neighbor. The police confiscated the video tape.
        Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon has stated she will not pursue criminal charges or a criminal investigation against the officers and has said that their actions were "justified". Sonnier's family has retained Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger, to pursue civil claims against Brownsville on Sonnier's behalf.  The NAACP, Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the Pittsburgh Coalition of Concerned Citizens are interested in the case.

SEE: 

• Lawyers lay groundwork for lawsuit against Brownsville police
• Dad challenges cop claims
  
• Attorneys probing police shooting of Centerville man
  
• Fayette DA says policeman justified in shooting dr iver
• Attorney disputes police shooting reports
  
• DA recounts details of fatal police shooting
  
• DA Welcomes Federal Probe of Police Shooting
  
• DA: Tests show cocaine found in driver shot by police

Oakland Racial profiling model lauded

Touted as a "more credible method" for collecting data on racial profiling, a report by the Oakland Racial Profiling Task Force was presented at a congressional luncheon Monday afternoon hosted by the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization. The report is expected to be sent to the Department of Justice for use as a guide for other cities looking to track racial profiling. [more]

Possible Mattingly Trial -Officer shot dead Black teenager in the back

Officer shot dead Black teenager in the back. The 7th Black man  killed by Louisville police in  past 5 years.
Attorneys are drafting questions to gauge the impact of publicity on prospective jurors in the murder case of a former police officer charged with shooting a Black teenager in the back. Mattingly, a former Louisville narcotics detective, is charged with murder in the January shooting of Michael Newby, 19, outside a liquor store. The shooting sparked protests led by civil-rights activists. Newby was the seventh black man fatally shot by Louisville police in the past five years, but Mattingly is the first officer charged in any of those cases. [more]

New York Officer Pleads NOT Guilty in Death of Unarmed Man

New York City police officer pleaded not guilty today to second-degree manslaughter in the death of an unarmed Black man he shot to death in a Chelsea warehouse last year. A grand jury in Manhattan handed up the indictment  on Wednesday. [more]

Another suit filed against the Dallas Drug task force

The latest incarnation of the Tulia suit comes in the form of a federal suit, similar in form to the Tulia action, that was filed this year by an Amarillo man who says he was abused by members of the same drug task force that conducted the controversial 1999 Tulia drug sting. According to the lawsuit, Plemons was a customer in an Amarillo furniture store Dec. 13, 2001, when officers connected with the PRNTF conducted a drug raid. Plemons was forcefully handcuffed, with officers stepping on his ankles and stomping on his back, the suit claims. [more]

ATHENS POLICE ACCUSED OF RACISM

Athens' police chief and acting mayor have named a four-member review panel to review police actions in an incident last week that has sparked allegations of racism. [more]

Shreveport board clears officers in fatal shooting of Unarmed Black Man

Two officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man last year have been cleared of wrongdoing by Shreveport's civil service board. 25-year-old Marquise Hudspeth was shot in the back eight times after a chase. The officers said they believed the cell phone Hudspeth was holding was a gun. [more]