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National
Texas Man Sues After Jail Employees Choked Him Because He Smiled For Mugshot
Officer Testifies That Freddie Gray Asked For Help During Fatal Van Ride
Orlando Gunman Had Visited Club Before; Surfed Gay Dating Apps
Omar Mateen, who au- thorities say killed 49 people at the gay nightclub Pulse in Or- lando, Fla., was reportedly no stranger to the club.
Multiple media outlets are re- porting that some Pulse regu- lars recognized Mateen, saying that he spent time at the nightclub before the shooting early Sunday.
Meanwhile, at least two men say they interacted with Ma- teen on gay dating apps.
The reports — which are ac- tively being investigated and have not been officially con- firmed — are a reminder of how little is known about Ma- teen's background and motiva- tions.
The Orlando Sentinel writes
Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53, before dying in a gun battle.
that "at least four regular cus- tomers" at Pulse said they had seen Mateen before.
HOUSTON, TX --- Christo- pher Johnson says he’s just a smiley guy.
So he was smiling when au- thorities took his mugshot — and he says they didn’t like that.
Johnson, 38, alleges that two Harris County, Texas, sher- iff’s department employees put their hands around his neck and choked him for 30 seconds to make him stop smiling.
This week he filed a federal lawsuit against the department. “He was choked, in front of a room full of people, for smiling. That’s very humiliating,” John- son’s lawyer, Andre Evans said.
Johnson was arrested on July 25, 2015, on suspicion of driving drunk on his motorcy- cle.
The lawsuit, according to the Houston Chronicle, says guards took several photos of him dur- ing booking.
When a guard told him to stop
Christopher Johnson has evidence that he was choked..his mugshot.
smiling, Johnson replied, “This is how I always take my pictures. ... I’m going to beat this case. Why wouldn't I smile?”
The guard, according to the suit, said “we gon’ to make you stop smiling,” then brought in a colleague.
Democratic Lawmakers Call On FDA To End Restrictions On Gay Men Donating Blood
NYC School Administrators Accused Of Mishandling Sex Abuse Cases Against Black Victims
After the massacre at a gay bar in Orlando, there was a high demand for blood for the 53 victims who were wounded. How- ever, gay men are not allowed to donate blood.
Freddie Gray died of a bro- ken neck after being arrested and transported by van to jail. The driver of the van is now on trial. Cesar Goodson is on trial for his death. The first officer tried in the case, William Porter testified on Monday.
One of the Baltimore police officers facing charges in the death of Freddie Gray testi- fied Monday that Gray had asked for help while being transported in a police van where he suffered a fatal neck injury.
Police Officer William Porter spoke at the trial of Po- lice Officer Caesar Goodson, who, as the van’s driver, is fac- ing the most serious charge in the death of the 25-year-old Gray. Prosecutors accuse Goodson of giving Gray a “rough ride,” and he is facing multiple charges in the death, including second-degree de- praved-heart murder.
According to the report, Porter testified that he re- sponded to a call to help Good- son after the van stopped for the fourth time while trans- porting Gray. Porter testified that he found Gray, who was shackled, lying on his stomach on the van’s floor, his head fac- ing the front of the vehicle. What if anything did Mr. Gray say?” prosecutor Michael Schatzow asked Porter.
“I said, ‘What’s up?’ He said, ‘Help,’” Porter said. “‘What do you need help with?’ ‘Help me up.’”
Officers did not request med- ical aid, and Porter helped Gray back onto a bench inside the van. Gray was not secured with a seat belt in the van, which was in violation of police department policy.
Democratic lawmakers are calling for an end to the Food and Drug Administration’s legal restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, in light of Sunday’s mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando.
The initial 1985 policy issued a lifetime ban on gay and bisex- ual men becoming blood donors, namely due to the AIDS epidemic of that time. Last year, the FDA revised its standards with a 12-month window from the time a man had sex with other men.
Current FDA donor recom- mendations state:
Defer for 12 months from the most recent contact a man who has had sex with another man during the past 12 months. Defer for 12 months from the most recent contact a female who has had sex during the past 12 months with a man who has
had sex with another man in the past 12 months.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) initiated a letter Monday evening among lawmakers in Congress to “promote a less dis- criminatory system.” The letter will be delivered to FDA Com- missioner Robert Califf.
Quigley, Rep. Barbara Lee and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin all teamed up on Monday issuing a joint state- ment on the matter.
“We find it unacceptable that gay and bisexual men are banned from donating desper- ately needed blood in response to this tragedy. Blood donations are needed now more than ever, yet gay and bisexual men re- main unable to donate blood due to an outdated and discrim- inatory FDA rule,” the group said in a statement.
NEW YORK -- After three al- leged sex assaults at three sep- arate city schools resulted in what attorney Carrie Gold- berg calls victim suspen- sions, she suspected a systemic problem.
“By the third case it was very clear to me that this was a pat- tern and a practice of the New York City Department of Edu- cation and that they discrimi- nate against victims of sexual assault,” she said.
Goldberg represents the families of all three victims, who are between 13 and 15 years old. She’s claiming that the students were victimized a
second time by the actions or inaction of school officials.
Goldberg described the vic- tims as young, Black girls from low- income families. One is a special needs student who was allegedly lured into a school stairwell by seven boys.
In another case, she said school administrators failed to stop a video of the sexual attack from being shared across social media.
Goldberg is calling for a joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education into the handling of sex assault cases by New York City schools.
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