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National
Cops Fired Over Photos Of Chokehold Used On Elijah McClain
Back To Phase One In Atlanta? Business Owners Must Choose Between Advice Of Governor, Mayor
ATLANTA — Should At- lanta go to the guidelines of ‘Phase One’ now that there’s a spike in COVID-19 cases? Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said yes. She now ordering the city back to that phase, but Governor Brian Kemp said her plans are not enforceable.
With that disagreement between the two leaders, Fri- day’s record-breaking surge of COVID-19 cases has some businesses once again mak- ing a tough decision.
The decision now is whether to listen to the At- lanta mayor's new message or to continue operating under the guidelines of phase two.
Dialing back to Phase One
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS AND GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP
means shutting down the city once again. All residents will be asked to stay home and only make essential trips to places like the grocery store.
Restaurants can remain open for to-go and curbside pickups only.
“It’s a way of life. Keep hand sanitizer on you. Keep a mask on you. Stay six feet away," he said. "Put our re- sponsibility as a business and humanity, put that be- fore the dollar." stated one business owner.
This photo released by the Aurora Police Department, in Col- orado, shows Officers Erica Marrero, from left, Jaron Jones and Kyle Dittrich. Jason Rosenblatt, one of three white officers who stopped Elijah McClain, has been fired over the photos showing colleagues reenacting the chokehold used before the Black man died in August 2019, according to documents from prosecutors. The officers shown in the photo have either been fired or have resigned, according to officials. (Aurora Police Department via AP)
AURORA, Colo. — Three offi- cers were fired Friday over pho- tos showing police reenact a chokehold used on Elijah Mc- Clain, a 23-year-old Black man who died last year after police stopped him on the street in a Denver suburb.
One of those fired is Jason Rosenblatt, a white Aurora of- ficer who helped stop McClain in August for wearing a ski mask and “being suspicious.” Police put McClain in a chokehold, paramedics injected him with a sedative and McClain suffered cardiac arrest before later being taken off life support.
Aurora Interim Police Chief Vanessa Wilson told reporters that officers sent the photos to Rosenblatt and others two months after McClain died to “cheer up a friend,” without ex- plaining who that was. Rosen-
blatt responded with a text say- ing, “Haha.” Officer Nathan Woodyard, who put McClain in a chokehold, also got the pho- tos but he was not disciplined because he didn’t respond.
“We are ashamed, we are sickened, and we are angry,” Wilson said. The officers may not have committed a crime, but the photographs are “a crime against humanity and de- cency,” she added.
McClain’s death has be- come a rallying cry amid a na- tional reckoning over police brutality and racial injustice, with the state reopening the case for possible criminal charges and federal officials looking into a civil rights inves- tigation. In several places, the chokehold has been banned and other police reforms passed after nationwide protests.
FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 23-A