Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 7-26-19

National
Tainted Methanol-Laced Alcohol Kills At Least 19 In Costa Rica Since June
Officials in Costa Rica have issued a national alert after 19 people died from alcohol tainted with methanol, a sub- stance often found in an- tifreeze.
According to the country's National Health Ministry, 15 men and 5 women between the ages of 32 and 72 died in different areas of the country since the beginning of June.
CNN reports 30,000 bot- tles of alcohol from varying brands were confiscated after samples tested positive for toxic levels of methanol.
Vendors who continue t o sell Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Es- trella, Aguardiente Barón Rojo, Aguardiente Timbuka and Molotov Aguardiente could face criminal charges.
Adding methanol or adul- terating liquor with other sub- stances allows distributors to grow their profits by increas- ing the volume of liquid they can sell, according toSafe- Proof.
This is similar to the process used by illegal drug dealers who “cut” drugs like heroin with other additives such as fentanyl.
Victims of methanol poi- soning can experience many
symptoms, including but not limited to dizziness, confu- sion, drowsiness, headaches, and the inability to coordinate muscle movements.
Additionally, symptoms of methanol poisoning often ap- pear long after methanol has been consumed, according to the World Health Organiza- tion.
The World Health Organ- ization also reports methanol poisoning outbreaks are often tied to counterfeit or infor- mally produced drinks.
The recent outbreak of methanol poisoning in Costa Rica has health experts won- dering if counterfeit alcohol tainted with similar toxic chemicals is behind the string of tourist deaths in the Do- minican Republic.
Oakland’s Second ‘BBQing While Black’ Party
Draws Thousands
OAKLAND — About two music. Police were stationed
OAKLAND — About two thousand flocked to the grassy banks of Lake Merritt on Sunday afternoon to BBQ, dance, relax — and make a political statement about racism and belonging.
They were there for the city’s second “BBQing While Black” event, a party started last year with the intention of affirming black Oaklanders’ right to barbecue in public spaces. The tradition started in response to a video that went viral with the hashtag #BBQBecky in April 2018 of a white woman calling the po- lice to report several black men using a charcoal grill at the lake. The video sparked a conversation about racism and gentrification, with the woman at its center facing questions about whether she called the police because the people barbecuing were black — a claim she denied. (Barbe- cuing was allowed in the area where the men were, but charcoal grills were not.)
On Sunday, the scene of that video was crowded with throngs of people having a good time. The air was filled with music and the smell of cooking meat as families and friends clustered around dozens of portable grills, re- clined on picnic blankets or lounged in chairs. Children and dogs played in the grass. A dance party broke out at the amphitheater, and cou- ples twirled and spun to salsa
at intersections along Lakeshore Avenue, directing traffic and preventing revel- ers from blocking the road.
For 64-year-old Morris Jackson, an African-Ameri- can man who has lived in Oakland his whole life, Sun- day’s party was about more than having a good time. It was about reminding people of their right to be there.
“We’ve come a long way,” Jackson said as he relaxed on a bench on Lakeshore Av- enue and watched groups of people walk by. “From the back of the bus to the front of the bus. And now we can bar- becue.”
Oaklanders hosted the first “BBQing While Black” event in May 2018, the month after the “BBQ Becky” video went viral. A year later, the video has faded somewhat from the public consciousness, though the underlying issues — includ- ing gentrification that is pric- ing many of Oakland’s African-American residents out of the city — remain a hot-button issue.
Lonnie Fields, 41, was- n’t thinking about “BBQ Becky” as he grilled two racks of ribs while his chil- dren played in the grass at his feet. In his mind, Sunday’s events were only tangentially, if at all, related to that video.
“I think it’s a good excuse to come together and have fun,” he said.
Chicago Police Board Fires 4 Cops Accused Of Covering Up Laquan McDonald Shooting
The Chicago Police Board voted Thursday to fire four officers who are accused of covering up the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager who was shot 16 times by a white police of- ficer.
The nine-member board, which is a police disciplinary agency within the city, an- nounced that Sgt. Stephen Franko and Officers Janet Mondragon, Daphne Sebastian and Ri- cardo Viramontes would be discharged from the Chicago Police Department.
The board found that the officers exaggerated the threat that 17-year-old Mc- Donald posed in order to justify Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting him 16 times in October 2014. Franko was Van Dyke’s immediate superior, and the three other officers were on the scene when Van Dyke shot Mc- Donald.
In their findings, the board said Franko approved re- ports that contained several falsehoods, including that McDonald assaulted Van Dyke and the other officers, injuring Van Dyke in the process. Franko also al- legedly failed to make sure his officers were using the audio component of their in- car video systems, depriving
LAQUAN MCDONALD
the police department of a critical information source related to the shooting.
The board found that the remaining three officers “failed in their duty” to pro- vide truthful statements to investigators, “either by out- right lying or by shading the truth,” according to the find- ings.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson filed charges in 2016 with the board, calling for the officers to be fired for making false reports about McDonald’s death. The four accused offi- cers were assigned to desk duty during the Police Board’s case, though none of them were criminally charged. They can challenge their dismissals by filing law- suits in court, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The board unanimously
voted to fire Viramontes, Mondragon and Franko for several violations, includ- ing making false statements. All but one board member voted to fire Sebastian for bringing discredit to the po- lice department and prevent- ing it from achieving its goals, though she was not accused of making a false statement.
Patrick Murray, first vice president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, told the Tribune that the offi- cers did nothing wrong and that “this Police Board has out-served its usefulness.” The police union defended Van Dyke during the case, giving him a job with the FOP even as he faced murder charges.
The vote comes nearly five years after Van Dyke killed the teenager on Chicago’s South Side for carrying a small knife, causing nation- wide outrage. Police dashcam footage released in 2015 shows Van Dyke firing 16 shots into McDonald, in- cluding many that were shot after the teen had already fallen to the ground. The video contradicts several claims the police made, in- cluding the false allegation that the teenager was lunging at officers with his knife when Van Dyke repeatedly shot at him.
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