Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 6-28-19

National
Alabama Teacher Dies After Risky Cosmetic Surgeries In The Dominican Republic
A 45-year-old Birmingham, Alabama mother died in the Dominican Republic after hav- ing cosmetic surgery — the country’s second surgical vic- tim this month.
Alicia Renette Williams, a 9th-grade teacher at Huffman High School, developed blood clots five days after her June 2 surgery for liposuction on her arm, a tummy tuck, and a Brazilian butt lift, WBRCre- ported.
Myra Bennett Powell, MD, of Ederra Bella Plastic Surgery and Medical Spa, spoke about the passing of Williams in a Facebook post, saying she felt “very moved” after Williams’s sister reached out, Yahoo reports. “She’s a mother, she has a 14- year-old son, she is a teacher...she got her bachelors from Jacksonville State...she was really active in her church...” a tearful Bennett says in the footage.
“Her sister said that she loved fashion,” added Powell, “and she was a diva and she was a really creative person.”
The doctor noted that Williams, who was anemic, went to the Dominican Repub- lic for “a lot of surgery to hap- pen all at one time,” after which she felt weak so she was hospi- talized, sedated, and given IV fluids and blood, but she later
ALICIA WILLIAMS
died. Powell believes Williams may have lost a large volume of blood due to anemia.
Powell says she feels “like a failure because as much as I talk about how to be safe, [Williams] still went there and did something that wasn’t safe and now she’s gone.”
A representative of Birm- ingham City Schools tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “Birmingham City Schools is deeply saddened to confirm Alicia Williams, a ninth-grade English teacher at Huffman High School, recently passed away in the Dominican Republic. She recently com- pleted her third year at Huff- man. Our hearts go out to her family during this tragic situa- tion, and she will be missed by the Huffman community.”
People usually opt for sur- gery in other countries due to the “lack of regulations” and because the procedures are cheap.
Black St. Louis Police Officer Sues City After Being Shot By Fellow Cop
A Black St. Louis police of- ficer who was shot while off duty by a fellow officer is suing the city, alleging the department has not sup- ported him since the June 2017 incident.
Officer Milton Green
filed suit in U. S. District Court in St. Louis two years after he was shot by a col- league outside his home in the city’s North Pointe neigh- borhood. The shooting oc- curred while officers were searching for suspects of a stolen vehicle who fled the car and ran near Green’s home.
Green says when officers approached, he identified himself as a policeman but was shot in the arm by Offi- cer Christopher Tanner, according to St. Louis Post- Dispatch.
He is now suing Tanner and the city of St. Louis, as Green believes he would have been treated differently at the time of the shooting and the aftermath if he were white.
In an exclusive interview with Post-Dispatch, Green said of the cop who shot him, “How did he not see my badge in my hand? My gun was pointed down, and the other officers were calm. The detective told them who I was
OFFICER MILTON GREEN
and told them not to shoot.” According to the lawsuit, Green was working on his neighbor’s car in their shared driveway when he heard a ve- hicle crash into another car at the nearby intersection. The occupants inside fled the scene and one of the suspects ran next to Green’s house and dropped to the ground when police fired at him. He then pointed his gun at Green and his neighbor — that’s when Green pulled out his department-issued gun and yelled: ‘Police! Drop
your gun!” the suit says.
The suspect ran off, and a responding officer told Green to drop his weapon and get to the ground;
Green complied. When he informed the officers he was a police officer, a detective told him to stand and ap- proach him. As he did so, the suit alleges that Tanner walked up and shouted for him to drop the weapon while simultaneously shoot- ing Green.
“The racial implications of how Officer Green has been treated cannot be ig- nored,” the suit states, noting that Green faced a lack of support from the department and his fellow officers after the shooting.
“Had he been shot by the perps everyone would have considered him a hero,” Green’s attorney Javad Khazaeli said. “It happened while he was trying to stop a criminal and now he’s per- manently disabled.”
Court documents claim the St. Louis Police Officer’s Association raised $2,000 for Tanner but held no fundrais ers for Green.
“If I was white, I feel like I would have been taken care of,” Green told Messenger. “That’s how I feel.”
Green, who has been a police officer since 2005, is now “drowning in bills,” and struggling to support himself and his four children, the re- port states.
Family Of Stephon Clark Reportedly Comes To ‘Verbal Agreement’ To Settle $20 Million Lawsuit
A partial settlement has re- portedly been reached by the family of Stephon Clark and the city of Sacramento.
Clark, 22, who was un- armed but assumed to have a gun in his hand which was de- termined to be a cell phone, was fatally shot in the back by Sacramento cops in March 2018. His family filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city.
On Tuesday, a closed door session was held with lawyers in federal court before U. S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman. According to the Sacramento Bee, The “parties reached a verbal settlement” in regards to Clark’s two young sons and their guardians. Ac- cording to court minutes, the outlet reported, all future court dates involving them were or- dered vacated as well. The exact amount of the settlement the family received has not been disclosed.
What was missing from the agreement was whether Clark’s grandparents would
STEPHON CLARK
be paid. Clark was killed in the backyard of his grandpar- ents’ home.
However, City Spokesman Tim Swanson said City Council hasn’t approved a set- tlement just yet.
A source has told the Bee that the parties were negotiat- ing a $4.5 million settlement but were still trying to finalize figures.
The suit was filed earlier this year in U. S. District Court in Sacramento by the Clarke’s parents, grandparents and children, alleging racial profil- ing and use of excessive force. The relatives are seeking dam- ages in excess of $20 million.
Toys ‘R’ Us Expected To Re-Open For Christmas 2019
Remember 2018? It was a rough year. Between the state of the global political three- ringed circus and impending doom at the hands of a cli- mate crisis, we were put through the emotional ringer. Not to mention Toys ‘R’ Us closed and completely obliter- ated all our chances of reliving fond childhood memories being a spoiled brat and tor- turing parents.
But now, 2019 holds new hope with the announcement the superstore chain is ex- pected to return just in time for the holidays this year.
According to Bloomberg, the defunct toy store is set to return this holiday season by opening about a half dozen stores in the U. S. as well as an e-commerce site.
Industry sources shared their intel – but asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.
However, they did claim Richard Barry, a former Toys ‘R’ Us executive, has been pitching his vision to
TOY’S ‘R’ US
reincarnate the chain to toy- makers, including at an indus- try conference this week.
Barry, who is now CEO of new entity Tru Kids Inc., is apparently planning stores slated to be about 10,000- square feet, roughly a third of the size of the brand’s big-box outlets which closed last year.
The locations will also offer a more immersive expe- rience for kids and their long- suffering parents, including
features like play areas.
A spokeswoman for Tru Kids said the company wasn’t ready to publicly share details on its U. S. strategy. All the same, a Toys ‘R’ Us’ return has been in the works since earlier
in 2019.
After being absorbed by
Tru Kids Inc., Barry said in February there was a ‘once-in- a-lifetime opportunity to write the next chapter of Toys ‘R’ Us.’
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