Page 19 - 3-24-15 Tuesday's Edition

National
Rally Held For Woman Killed By Detective In Chicago
NY Subway Clerk
Missing Mississippi Man
CHICAGO, IL - Friends and family at a rally remembered Rekia Boyd on Saturday as a trial date looms for the Chicago police detective accused in her fatal shooting, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The officer, Dante Servin, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors say he recklessly opened fire, over his shoulder, at a group of people on March 21, 2012, fa- tally wounding 22-year-old Boyd. The trial is scheduled to begin April 9, after it was post- poned from an October start date.
The charges against Servin, also accused of reckless dis- charge of a firearm and reckless conduct, were the first time in more than 15 years that a police officer was charged in Chicago
Knife Attack
Tree; FBI Now Involved
UVA Student Bloodied By Police Being Investigated
REKIA BOYD
in connection with a fatal shoot- ing, the report says. He was placed on paid desk duty and stripped of his police powers.
The city of Chicago paid $4.5 million to settle the wrongful- death suit filed by Boyd’s fam- ily. But that has been of little solace to her family. Her brother Martinez Sutton, 32, told protesters Saturday that he’s still looking for answers in her death.
NEW YORK,
NY - Metropolitan Transportation
Authority clerk
Richard Single-
ton had just
started his shift RICHARD when an argument SINGLETON between two men turned violent.
The two men were arguing in- side the New York subway station early Sunday morning when one of them pulled a knife. Thanks to a shift change and Singleton’s heroics, police apprehended the knife-wielding attacker.
The 27-year-old man believed that a 30-year-old man, both of whom were not named in the re- port, began arguing over a stolen cell phone. The argument quickly turned physical and the 27-year- old man pulled a knife and began slashing at the victim.
"The only thing I thought was, 'Am I in a position to save this per- son's life’?" Singleton said. "Everything else happened so fast but I knew I couldn’t let someone get stabbed to death in front of me."
Singleton, who has worked for the MTA for 18 years rushed from his booth and grabbed the attacker's wrist. The knife fell to the ground and he held the man down until police arrived. The vic- tim suffered cuts to his head and neck and was taken to a local hos- pital and is in stable condition.
Oklahoma Mayoral Candidate Apologizes For Blackface Display That Mocks
ELK CITY,
OK ---A white
Oklahoma
mayoral candi-
date has apolo-
gized to voters
after videos sur- BILL
Bill Helton, who is cur- rently serving as Elk City’s com- missioner and works as a hair stylist, claims that the character was inspired by one of his African American clients, notes the report. Helton says he has been hosting fundraisers and community events across the state dressed as “Pollyster Kotton” since 2005.
“It’s just satire, she’s a char- acter,” Helton tells KFOR, News Channel 4. “Anyone that’s offended, I would sit down and talk to them. Because where my heart is, I would never do that and want to help whoever I can help.” Helton added that he does not see himself as racist be- cause he has “great, great friends who are African American.”
The Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP condemned Hel- ton, according to a statement released to KFOR. “The charac- ter could have been just as effec- tive done without the black face makeup and would be far less offensive,” the group said in the statement.
JACKSON, Miss. — The FBI is enlisting the help of their fa- bled Behavioral Analysis Unit in the case of the hanging death of Claiborne County man Otis Byrd.
Byrd, 54, was found hang- ing by a bed sheet from a tree not far from his last known res- idence Thursday after having been missing for two weeks. Local authorities called in the FBI upon finding his body, and the probe has been an all-en- compassing one for federal, state and local law enforcement over the last few days.
The NAACP immediately released Byrd's identity, and called for the Department of Justice to get involved in the case. According to FBI.gov, the Behavioral Analysis Unit "fo- cuses specifically on criminal human behavior in an attempt to better understand criminals — who they are, how they think, why they do what they do — as a means to help solve crimes." Officials said they hope the BAU will help narrow down whether Byrd's death was a suicide or a homicide.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Don Alway said investigators continued to do interviews through the weekend, but now they're putting every new detail under the microscope to see if
Otis Byrd was reported missing. He was later found hung.
there are any new leads that develop.
"We're really going to ask for folks again to dig deep and think if there's anyone who has communicated with Mr. Byrd, especially from March 2 on, no matter how small that commu- nication could have been," he said.
Authorities are still waiting on autopsy results to help deter- mine the manner of death as well.
"We're hoping that autopsy report will shed light into the definitive cause of death," Alway said.
Alway would not speak to specific reports that Byrd had gambling debt and other per- sonal financial problems in the weeks leading to his death.
Stops Violent
Found Hanging From A
VIRGINIA - According to USA Today, the 20-year-old Black University of Virginia student bloodied by alcohol- control officers outside a bar last week was denied entry after a "polite and cordial" con- versation because he named the wrong zipcode for the ad- dress on the Illinois license he presented, the pub says.
The state police and Alco- holic Beverage Control officials are investigating the arrest of Martese Johnson, which triggered campus protests and allegations of racial profiling and police brutality.
Johnson "did not appear to be intoxicated in the least" and simply walked off after being turned away, the Trinity Irish Pub said in a statement released Saturday night. It called reports that bar staff were "belligerent" toward Johnson or that he was bel- ligerent to management
Martese Johnson was beaten and bloodied after at- tempting to enter a bar in Virginia.
"patently untrue."
A breathalyzer test showed
Johnson was not intoxicated. The statement also said the Charlottesville bar and restau- rant "does not nor has it ever discriminated on the basis of race, color, religion, or na-
tional origin," which is illegal.
Black Women
Officer Helps Woman Finish 10K Run After She Wouldn’t Quit
faced of him
wearing blackface and perform- ing in drag as a Black woman named “Pollyester Kotton,” according to Think Progress.
HELTON
Machete-Wielding Man Shot At Airport Dies, More Weapons Found
KENNER, La. — Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Nor- mand says a man who used wasp spray and a machete to try to attack TSA employees and passengers at the New Orleans airport has a history of mental health issues.
Richard White, 63, died in a hospital Saturday afternoon. He was shot three times by one of Normand’s officers Friday after approaching a security checkpoint, spraying insecticide and swinging a machete. Nor- mand said White chased a TSA agent when the sheriff’s lieutenant fired.
That TSA agent was hit in the arm by a bullet fired at White, but her injuries are not life- threatening.
“Fortunately, he didn’t seri- ously injure anybody,” Nor- mand said at a news conference Saturday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Air-
Lt. Aubrey Gregory helps Asia Ford to the finish line along with her son.
INJURED TSA WORKER
port.
Normand said the situation
could’ve been much worse. “You know, sometimes, the saying: You’d rather be lucky than good. I think we were both last night to the nth degree,” Normand said Saturday.
Police say White was also carrying Molotov cocktails and had smoke bombs in his car along with other potentially dan- gerous materials.
KENTUCKY - Asia Ford's weight loss journey, losing 200 pounds, led her to the Rodes City Run a 10K in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday.
According to Wave 3 News, Ford's breathing became la- bored around Mile 4, with each step Ford could feel more pain, but her heart wouldn't let her quit. Even though other partici- pants had crossed the finish line, Ford marched on.
An officer who had been watching Ford's progress got out to check on her with an EMS worker. Lt. Aubrey Gregory told the news station. "I said I'm not going to let her stop, we're going to do this together. So I got
out and I grabbed her hand. I had to meet this inspirational woman."
And together, Lt. Gregory, Ford and her son, Terrance walked the remaining 2 miles. The officer told her stories about his mother struggle with dia- betes and somewhere between the officer's kindness and Ford's perseverance, the pain subsided and the three of them crossed the finish line hand in hand. The officer told the news station that it's moments like this one that made him want to be an officer and Ford who was overcome with emotion shortly after crossing the finish line called Lt. Gregory her angel.
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