Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 3-23-18

National
Police Kill Unarmed Man In His Own Backyard; Mistook Cellphone For Gun
SACRAMENTO - Officers say they mistook Stephon Clark’s cellphone for a gun. Activists want more answers.
Police killings of unarmed Black men helped fuel the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Now a new tragedy — the shooting death of an un- armed Black man in his own backyard — is raising new questions about how much things have changed, if at all.
On Sunday, 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot in the backyard of the home he was staying in with his grand- parents. Police officers were reportedly responding to re- ports of a man breaking car windows.
According to a press release by the Sacramento Police De- partment, a helicopter tracking a suspect directed the officers to Clark, who ran towards the house after being confronted by officers. The police depart- ment said Clark turned and began to “advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands.”
The officers, who are said to have thought the object was a gun, then fired 20 rounds at
ily and community are de- manding answers.
”He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own backyard?” Sequita Thomp- son, Clark’s grandmother, said to the Sacramento Bee on Tuesday. Thompson
also said that though she heard the gunshots, she never heard the police ask Clark to drop what he was holding. Clark’s family also said that they were not immediately told that their relative was the man killed in their backyard.
Clark. It’s unclear how many of the shots hit Clark, but other facts aren’t in dispute, and they’re disturbing: After the shooting, officers waited several minutes for backup be- fore moving to handcuff Clark and beginning medical treat- ment. And the only item he turned out to have been carry- ing was a cellphone.
The shooting has sparked public outcry both locally and nationally. And, nearly four years after the death of Michael Brown sparked the
rise of Black Lives Matter and brought more attention to racial disparities in police shootings, the Clark case serves as a stark reminder that even as national attention has waned, unarmed Black men and women continue to experi- ence deadly encounters with police.
There are a lot of questions and few answers about the Sacramento shooting
What happened immedi- ately before Clark’s shooting remains unclear, and his fam-
STEPHON CLARK
Rita Owens, Mother Of Queen Latifah, Dies After Battling Heart Condition
Latifah and her mother, Rita Owens, in 2010.
Queen Latifah is mourn- ing the loss of the “love of her life” after her mother, Rita Owens, died on Wednesday.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my mother, Rita Owens passed away today,” Latifah said in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE magazine on Wednesday. “Anyone that has ever met her knows what a bright light she was on this earth. She was gentle, but strong, sweet, but sassy, worldly but pragmatic, a woman of great faith and cer- tainly the love of my life.”
“She had struggled with a heart condition for many years and her battle is now over. I am heartbroken but know she is at peace,” she said. “Thank you for your kindness, support and respect for our privacy at this time.”
Latifah signed off on the statement, writing, “Much Love, Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah), forever Rita Owens’ daughter.”
Latifah opened up about her mother’s struggle with heart failure, which is a condi- tion where the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body, in a blog for Huff- Post two years ago.
“It affects nearly 6 million
in the U.S., including my mom,” the entertainer wrote. “It’s estimated that 1 in 5 peo- ple over the age of 40 will de- velop heart failure in their lifetime.”
She recalled the day that her mother was diagnosed with heart failure in her 40s and spoke about what it was like to be her mom’s caregiver and “advocate-in-chief.”
“Caring for the woman who not only raised me, but made mewhoIam,isnotthetypeof thing that I take lightly,” Lati- fah said. “It also comes with its own unique set of chal- lenges. But I realized that as with most things in life, it’s all about attitude and gratitude.”
Throughout the time she spent taking care of her mother, Latifah said the two learned as much as they could about heart failure to manage her mom’s symptoms and teach others about the condi- tion. Her mom’s health battle taught Latifah a lot about her outlook on life.
“As my mom says, ‘You can’t change the past but you can change your future. You get only one shot at this body, so take care of it,’” Latifah wrote. “I know I’m going to do just that, and I hope you will too.”
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13-A