Page 34 - Florida Sentinel 9-4-20

News Around The Nation
LA Cops Shoot And Kill Dijon
U.S. Tops 6 Million Coronavirus Cases; Hillsborough County Has 37,458 Cases, 551 Deaths
Kizzee Following Alleged
‘Bicycle Code Violation’
Police in Los Angeles on Monday shot and killed a Black man after officers stopped him while riding a bike for what was being de- scribed as a “bicycle code vio- lation,” sparking a night of protests in California’s biggest city.
The victim was identified as Dijon Kizzee and witnesses have reportedly blamed the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Depart- ment (LASD) for overreacting.
However, the LASD at- tempted to justify the killing by claiming when they ac- costed the 29-year-old, he dropped a gun, ran away and ultimately assaulted an officer before he was shot. There is graphic cell phone footage on social media showing portions of the encounter, which prompted protests into Tues- day morning.
The LASD said Kizzee was carrying an armful of clothes but that he dropped them be- fore he fled, revealing a gun among the apparent laundry. It was unclear if riding a bike while carrying the clothes was the purported violation Kizzee was stopped for, but
Dijon Kizzee was 29 years old.
one witness told CBS Los An- geles that he posed no threat to the officers.
“He had a towel and he had his clothes and his pants couldn’t even stay up, so that’s what made him slow down so they had enough to get him,” the woman who granted anonymity said. “They did- n’t have to shoot him more than 5 times, they could have shot him one time in the leg.”
She continued: “What’s the use of having the prison sys- tem if y’all are just gonna kill us? What are y’all here for? Who are you protecting?”
The United States on Mon- day topped 6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U. S. has reported a million more coronavirus cases and about 21,000 more deaths in just the past three weeks.
More than 183,000 people in the U. S. have died as a result of COVID-19. A recent projection model by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
says the total number of U.S.
deaths from the virus could reach 317,000 by December.
Florida has reported over 637,00 cases with 11,373 deaths. In Hillsborough County, there's 37,458 cases with 551 deaths.
Black, Indigenous and Lat- inx communities have been hit hardest by the coronavirus. Black Americans, according to the CDC, are 2.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to their White coun- terparts.
Meghan Markle Expected To Score Million- Dollar ‘Exclusive Podcast’ Deal From Spotify Similar To Michelle Obama’s
Meghan Markle, whose marriage to Prince Harry made her a global celebrity, is on the cusp of inking a $1.3 million deal with Spotify to produce exclusive podcasts for the streaming giant, The Sun reports.
Spotify has also signed Michelle Obama to a deal in which the former first lady has recorded podcasts on issues
MEGHAN MARKLE
that are important to her, such as her friendships and the COVID-19 pandemic. So Meghan Markle’s deal, and possibly one with Harry as well, could prove similar.
According to insiders at Spotify, Meghan Markle, 39, and Harry, 35, would be such a score for the company that “money would be no ob- ject.”
Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend Sues Louisville Police
Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of the late Breonna Taylor, has filed lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), reports the Courier Journal.
Walker says that he is a victim of police misconduct and he is seeking immunity from prosecution for firing a single bullet, which allegedly hit a police officer the night they broke into his girlfriend’s apartment under a “no-knock” warrant and fatally shot her.
“Kenny continues to reel from the death of the love of his life, but he is also the vic- tim and survivor of police mis- conduct — misconduct that threatens his freedom to this day,” the complaint said.
Attorney Steve Romines says his client did not fire the
BREONNA TAYLOR AND KENNETH WALKER
bullet that hit the police officer in the leg. “We know police are firing wildly from various an- gles,” Romines told the out- let. “The timeline and evidence at the scene is more indicative of [police] actually shooting [Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly] than it is Kenny Walker.”
Walker is seeking “unspec- ified monetary damages from the city and Louisville Metro Police for assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, ma- licious prosecution, abuse of process and negligence,” ac- cording to the Courier Jour- nal.
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