Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 12-15-17

National
Bodycam Video Released To Justify Broward Deputy Fatally Shooting Man
Federal Lawsuit Filed By New York Fire Dept. Employees
NEW YORK CITY — Sev- eral New York City Fire De- partment employees have filed a federal civil rights law- suit recently.
Less pay, scarce raises and diminished opportunities for advancement have been a norm within the FDNY when it comes to Black personnel, charges the suit filed in Man- hattan Federal Court on De- cember 1, according to the New York Daily News.
White employees are of- fered more on the job, the suit said, in the department which is predominately White and has served as a battleground over bias for decades.
“The entrenched racism within this organization is a disease,” Cyrus Mehri, the lawyer for the seven African- American employees who have joined the suit, said at a press conference outside City Hall in New York City.
LAUDERDALE LAKES, FL —- A citizen’s video that shows the fatal shooting of a Lauderdale Lakes man by a Broward Sheriff’s deputy ap- peared on social media.
And on Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s office took the unusual step of releasing ad- ditional video from surveil- lance cameras, two deputies’ body cameras and 911 record- ings from the open investiga- tion to defend the actions of Deputies Sean Young- ward, 48, and Steven Briggs, 49, when they met Jean Pedro Pierre, 42, Wednesday at the Sunset Hills Condominium in Laud- erdale Lakes.
Broward Sheriff Scott Is- rael said Friday he wanted to share the evidence to be transparent and correct what he called “misinformation” about the shooting. At the be- ginning of his press confer- ence, he offered condolences to Pierre’s family.
Newly released security and body cam video shows the moments that led up to a shooting involving two Broward County sheriff's deputies.
The video shows the deputy entering an apart-
Jean Pierre, 42, was fatally shot by a Lauderdale Lakes deputy last Wednesday.
ment and being confronted by Pierre, CBS Miami re- ports.
Seconds later, the deputy bursts from the apartment with Pierre following after him. The fight between the two men spilled into the courtyard. The deputy used a Taser to try and subdue Pierre. It didn't work.
Surveillance footage shows Pierre striking the deputy and kicking him as the deputy tries to use a baton to defend himself.
Seconds later, another deputy arrived to help.
The second deputy's body
camera showed his encounter as Pierre ignored com- mands to stop his aggressive behavior. Pierre continued kicking the deputy on the ground and when he let go, he appeared to charge after the other deputy.
That's when three shots rang out and Pierre fell to the ground in the parking lot.
Jean Pierre's sister, Guilaine Jean, and his en- tire family is devastated. They say the video does not represent their loved one — a father of five, an entrepre- neur and a one-time political candidate in Haiti.
Plaintiff Stephanie Thomas (r., at microphone) is joined by other African-American civilian employees of the FDNY, Annette Richardson (far l.) and Dino Riojas (far l.), to announce a civil rights class-action lawsuit alleging institutional racism at the de- partment.
Cancer Researcher, Her Toddler And Elderly Parents Kicked Off Spirit Air
HOUSTON, TX — Dr. Mei Rui a Houston, Texas mother and biochemist was kicked off a recent Spirit Air- lines flight along with her 2- year-old son and elderly parents because she allegedly did not comply with the flight attendants commands KHOU reports.
Rui, a renowned classical pianist and cancer re- searcher said she was flying to New York, Friday morning to participate in a cancer re- search study, also accompa- nied by her parents. As the plane began taxiing down the run-way with the cabin doors shut, the mother continued breastfeeding, despite having earlier said she would stop once the cabin doors were closed along with buckling her son in his seat before the plane took off.
Flight attendants told her to stop and put the child into his seat, however, Mei said she asked for a few minutes to finish to prevent her son from waking up as the boy continued crying.
Dr. Mei Rui and her family were kicked off a Spirt Airline flight on Friday.
Cellphone footage showed Rui’s son in his seat crying when another flight atten- dant instructs them to leave the plane.
In a statement, the Mira- mar, FL based, Spirit Airlines stood by its flight attendants’ decision to remove the family from the flight.
Rui received a full refund but while now saying she won’t be flying with Spirit Airlines again.
‘It was humiliating to be chased off a plane in front of hundreds of people. We had
never been through anything close to this,’ Mei said. ‘We’re not lawbreakers or trouble seekers. We’re the elderly, a baby and his mother, why did they have to treat us this way?’
The question is was it be- cause she was Asian-Ameri- can.
A graduate of Yale Univer- sity, Yale School of Music, and Stony Brook, she holds duo-degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (B.A.) and Music (M.M., A.D. D.M.A).
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