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National
Three Queens Men Wrongfully
‘I Can’t Breathe,’ Fresno Man Told Police Officers Before He Died, New Bodycam Footage Shows
The Fresno Police De- partment under judicial order released Friday edited body camera footage from a 2017 homicide in which an of- ficer sits on a backboard on top of the victim as he says “I can’t breathe” before he stopped responding.
Joseph Perez, 41, pleaded with Fresno police officers and Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies in the moments leading up to his death, say- ing “Let me redeem myself” and “I can’t breathe.” Ameri- can Ambulance paramedics instructed an officer to sit on the backboard, placed on top of Perez as he’s face down on the ground, so law enforce- ment officers and paramedics could restrain him.
Perez, who was unarmed and handcuffed, was killed by law enforcement officers May 10, 2017 while suffering a mental breakdown. The Fresno County Coroner deter- mined the death was a homi- cide. His family is suing Fresno police officers, Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies, the
JOSEPH PEREZ
city and the county of Fresno and American Ambulance for wrongful death and excessive force in federal court.
Former Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall speaks in the video, expressing his condo- lences to the Perez family. Hall said the family origi- nally requested the footage be kept confidential, but recently requested that it be released. Hall agreed to release the footage, he said, but Ameri- can Ambulance objected. The footage was released Friday under federal court order.
Convicted In 1996 Double Homicide
Three Queens men who were wrongfully convicted in a 1996 double homicide returned home to their families after nearly a quarter century be- hind bars.
A Queens Supreme Court judge vacated the convictions of George Bell, Gary John- son and Rohan Bolt, Friday in the murders of an Astoria business owner and off-duty police officer on Dec. 21, 1996. Bell, Johnson and Bolt were convicted of killing Ira “Mike” Epstein and NYPD Officer Charles Davis dur- ing a botched robbery of Ep- stein’s check cashing business on Astoria Boulevard. Davis was off-duty, working as a se- curity guard for Epstein’s store at the time when both men were fatally shot.
However, defense teams for the three men found that key evidence in the case was with-
George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt pictured with their families (left to right)
Released From Prison
held by prosecutors during the initial court proceedings which could have proven their inno- cence.
The defense lawyers filed a joint motion with the Queens District Attorney to vacate all three men’s convictions after learning that the case prosecu- tors had wrongfully withheld
the documents in the ’90s.
Judge Joseph Zayas
ruled in their favor – stating that the Queens District Attor- ney’s Office and case prosecu- tors in the 1990s had deliberately withheld informa- tion — and released the three men on their own recogni- zance.
This Woman Rose From Part-Time Waitress To Owner Of Outback Steakhouse Restaurant
Poet Amanda Gorman Tailed By Security Who Felt She Looked 'Suspicious'
Amanda Gorman, the poet who stole the show at President Biden's inaugu- ration, says she went from hero to suspect, adding it's a reality of what Black girls are forced to endure.
Amanda was walking home Friday -- apparently in L.A. -- when a security guard seemingly felt she was a threat and followed her. When she got to her home, she says he demanded to know if she lived there be- cause "you look suspicious."
Amanda says she showed the guard her keys and went inside, but that's not the end of the story. After the guard realized she lived there, there was no apology ... nothing.
Amanda says, "This is the reality of black girls: One day you're called an icon, the next day a threat."
AMANDA GORMAN
To that Amanda agreed ... "In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ig- norance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be."
Gretta Jackson has be- come a symbol of hope for many Black women and other women of color in Roseville, Michigan. Her entrepreneurial journey has attracted applause and praises.
Jackson worked as a part- time waitress at an Outback Steakhouse restaurant for nearly 20 years. She is now a franchise owner of the com- pany in Roseville. What is more, she is the first Black woman to own an Outback Steakhouse in the Detroit area. Jackson became a mother in her first semester in college when she was only 18 years. She needed to provide for her baby, Ashley and so she de- cided to take up a second part- time job at Outback Steakhouse in Southfield. “I made these decisions and choices and have to live with them but how, at 18, am I going to pull this off?” she said, according to Fox 2 Detroit.
Jackson said she did not
GRETTA JACKSON
allow her situation to destract her from pursuing her educa- tion and aiming to be at the top of the corporate world. “Don’t let other people tell you what you can’t do because of your situation. Show them what you can do in spite of your situa- tion,” she said.
She recalled the tough times she endured, such as missing her birthdays in the past two
decades. Today, she is the first woman of color to open an Outback Steakhouse in down- town Detroit.
“What started off as what I thought was just a simple post to celebrate a milestone in my life quickly turned into some- thing else,” Jackson told Fox 2 Detroit. “I could never imag- ined so many people would come to say hi and thank you and congratulations to me in person. I’ve had people send gifts, flowers, Edible Arrange- ments to the restaurant for me. Just an overwhelming amount of love and support.”
Jackson is content with what she has achieved for her- self. She is glad she has be- come a source of inspiration not only for her daughter but for other Black women who want to be franchise owners or start their own enterprise. “(She thinks) If my mom can own her own outback there is nothing she can’t do,” Jack- son said of her daughter.
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