Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 12-11-15 Edition

National
2 Rochester College Students Rescued After Being Kidnapped
ME: Freddie Gray’s Spinal Cord ‘Kinked’
Instagram’s Newest Weave Model Is.....
If you’re a user of Instagram, you’ll come across companies using everyday people to model or promote their products. Es- pecially in the area of beauty and fashion. From makeup to diet teas and boutique fash- ions, Instagram can be a cesspool of cheap clothing, health nightmares and weaves.
One weave company seems to have found its perfect spokesperson when it comes to highlighting ethnic—or, as it calls it, “boho exotic curl”— hair.
Of course, that person is
Rachel Dolezal, the woman who has posed as a Black per- son until her parents outed her.
none other than Rachel Dolezal. Yes, the former NAACP-chapter leader who was passing as black until her lily-white parents outed her.
Ani Okeke Ewo and Nicholas Kollias
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Two Upstate New York college stu- dents who had been declared missing were found safe late Sunday after they were ab- ducted and held hostage, police said
A SWAT team rescued the two University of Rochester students, Rochester police said.
Nicholas Kollias of North- brook, Illinois, and Ani Okeke Ewo, of Aurora, Illinois, were last seen around 2 a.m. Satur- day near the school. They were reported missing Saturday evening and police issued an alert Sunday evening.
Police said the two college seniors had been forcibly ab- ducted and held against their will about four miles from the university campus.
Both students were taken to the hospital, where one is re- covering from a gunshot wound. Police said the student was shot in the leg before they began their rescue operation. His injury is non-life-threaten- ing.
Four people have been taken into custody. Police said the suspects, whose names were not immediately released, will likely face kidnapping and as- sault charges.
The investigation is ongo- ing, and more arrests are pos- sible, police said.
Police declined to provide a motive for the alleged abduc- tions, but they said there was no indication anyone else was at risk.
Freddie Gray died after being arrested by Baltimore police.
William Porter is the first Baltimore police officer to go on trial for his death.
Owner Of Dogs That Fatally Mauled Child Charged With Murder
A Detroit dog owner, whose four dogs fatally mauled a 4- year-old who was walking with his mother, has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, prosecutors revealed on Monday, Reuters reports.
Geneke Antonio Lyons,
41, was also charged with poss- esing dangerous animals that caused a death, after Xavier Strickland was dragged from his mother and killed by the pack of four dogs that were identified as "pitbulls," last week.
"That will never leave my eyes,” Lucillie Strickland, said last week. “Never leave my mind.”
“My life is just torment right now because he’s gone,” she added.
According to Reuters, prose-
XAVIER STRICKLAND
cutors tagged Lyons as the owner of the dogs, which terri- fied people in the community and have escaped their fenced area before.
Officers responding to the scene killed three of the dogs to get them off of Xavier, while the fourth dog was captured, but later euthanized.
An assistant state medical examiner who examined Fred- die Gray's body says his spinal cord was "kinked" by the injury he suffered while riding in the back of a police van.
Dr. Carol Allan testified Friday in Baltimore during the manslaughter trial of city police officer William Porter. Prose- cutors say Porter could have prevented Gray's death by buckling him into a seat in the van, as required by department policy, or calling an ambulance at some point during Gray's 45- minute trip.
Allan says the initial injury to Gray's spine would have been made worse by movement.
She says, "Any kind of move- ment after the primary injury occurred was going to cause more injury."
Allan also testified Friday that Gray's spinal cord was swollen, with contusions and bruising. She also said Gray's spinal cord had suffered a se- vere compression, meaning that it was effectively pinched to such an extent that "function- ally it was cut through, but anatomically not."
Allan said Gray also had head injuries, including cuts and bruises.
A detective who investigated Gray's arrest and injury says Porter called for medical atten- tion as soon as he observed that Gray was injured.
Detective Syreeta Teel's testimony under cross-exami- nation is important because prosecutors and defense attor- neys disagree over exactly when and how Gray was injured.
No Charges Against Chicago Police Officer That Fatally Shot Man 8 Days Before Laquan McDonald Shooting
There will be no criminal charges filed against the Chicago police officer who fa- tally shot Ronald Johnson III, Cook County State's Attor- ney Anita Alvarez an- nounced Monday, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Citing dash-cam footage, which Alvarez played at a news conference announcing her decision, along with a sam- ple of 911 recordings, the state's attorney called Police Officer George Hernan- dez's actions "reasonable and permissible," adding that the footage shows Johnson with a gun.
According to the Tribune, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyne McCarthy said that the office sent the footage to an FBI lab- oratory to try to secure visual proof that Johnson was armed before he was shot.
After Johnson went down, officers reported observing a weapon in his hand, Mc- Carthy said, a weapon that was loaded with 12 live rounds and connected to a 2013 shooting. Alvarez added that the FBI decided against step- ping in with the investigation
RONALD JOHNSON, III
after viewing the footage twice. Johnson's shooting death has been compared to that of Laquan McDonald, who was gunned down by an officer just eight days after Johnson. However, one big difference in the two cases had been the al- legations that Johnson was
armed with a gun.
Johnson, who was also
known as "Ronnieman," was in a car with friends when the back window was shot out by an unknown assailant. Offi- cers contended that Johnson resisted arrest on the night of his death, reportedly running from officers who were re- sponding to a call of shots fired.
Activist’s K-3 Reading Program Has Changed Lives
WASHINGTON, D. C. ---Say- mendy Lloyd is many things, but ask anyone who knows her and the simple answer will be savior.
Now, the Maryland mom and activist– well-known in circles for advocating for domestic abuse victims, the formerly in- carcerated and community youth – is being celebrated for her selfless efforts by Carmax in a documentary set to air this month.
The documentary will ex- plore Lloyd’s two largest ef- forts – rehabilitating former inmates and changing the land- scape of education as the founder of the Reading Voy- age Program at Washington D.C.’s John Burrough’s Ele- mentary School. She is well- known for her work in local jails, helping to reintegrate for- mer inmates into society through classes on life skills and job preparation.
But it’s her Reading Voyage initiative, aimed at students at- tending pre-k through third grade, which will likely make
SAYMENDY LLOYD
all the difference. The critical juncture of reading proficiency by the end of third grade has served as a key predictor of high school graduation and ca- reer success. Studies have shown the lack of proficiency at that level correlates with high school dropout and incarcera- tion.
In the midst of a national conversation about both the school-to-prison pipeline and criminal justice reform, Lloyd’s inspiration story is proof that communities are not sitting idly by while policy makers de- bate their future.
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