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Florida High School Football Star's Death Highlights Rising Suicide Rates Among Black Youth
Officers Falsely Portrayed People As Gang Members, Falsified Records, LAPD Says
“An officer’s integrity must be absolute,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said.
“An officer’s integrity must be absolute. There is no place in the Department for any in- dividual who would pur- posely falsify information on a Department report,” Moore said in a statement.
The LAPD issued a lengthy statement on Monday ex- plaining that the investiga- tion began after a San
LAPD
Fernando Valley mother re- ceived a written correspon- dence from the department in early 2019 informing her
that her son had been identi- fied as a gang member. She believed her son was misidentified and reported the mistake to a supervisor at a nearby police station.
According to the LAPD, the supervisor immediately reviewed the circumstances, including “body worn video and other information, find- ing inaccuracies in the docu- mentation completed by an officer.”
A 17-year-old Florida high school football star died by suicide on Monday, days be- fore he was to enroll at Geor- gia Tech on an athletic scholarship.
The death of Bryce Gowdy rocked his family and the local sports world. It also highlighted the rising suicide rates among black youth and the difficulties they often face in getting help.
Bryce died on Dec. 30 shortly after 4 a.m. in Deer- field Beach, about 17 miles north of Fort Lauderdale. The medical examiner’s office ruled the death a suicide.
In addition to his talents at football, his uncle, Thomas Gowdy, said Bryce had planned on studying engi- neering. He called his nephew a “borderline genius.”
Bryce's uncle said his nephew had been under a lot of pressure and taking care of his mother and younger sib- lings. His mother, Shibbon Winelle, said in a since- deleted Facebook Live video that Bryce had been strug- gling and became paranoid in the days before he died.
The family had fallen upon financial hardship and was dealing with homelessness.
Homeless youth are at a greater risk of emotional dis- tress and suicide attempts than their peers, said a 2018 study published by the Amer- ican Academy of Pediatrics.
But suicide rates are up for all youth. From 2007 to 2017, the suicide rate for adoles- cents and young adults be- tween the ages of 10 and 24 rose 56 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Con-
Bryce Gowdy wearing a cap announcing his intention to play football at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
trol and Prevention.
Among black youth in par-
ticular, the rates of those tak- ing their own lives are soaring.
'Urgent call to action'
In a study last year, the Journal of Community Health found that suicide rates are disproportionately higher among black adolescents. From 2001 to 2017, the rate for black teen boys rose 60 percent, according to the study. Among black teen girls, rates nearly tripled, rising by an astounding 182 percent.
The Congressional Black Caucus in a report last month, "Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in Amer- ica," found that African Amer- ican adolescents are less likely than any other racial or ethnic group to receive proper men- tal health care.
"An urgent call to action for all Americans" is needed, said the report, done by a task force for the caucus.
Hospital Ordered To Keep 11-Month-Old In Texas On Life Support, Appeals Court Says
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas appeals court on Fri- day agreed to delay a judge’s ruling that would have al- lowed a hospital to end life- sustaining treatment for an 11-month-old girl who doc- tors say is in pain and will not get better.
The Second Court of Ap- peals in Fort Worth ordered Cook Children's Medical Cen- ter to not remove Tinslee Lewis from life support until it makes a final ruling in the case. The appeals court did not immediately schedule any hearings in the case.
On Thursday, a judge in Tarrant County denied a re- quest by Tinslee’s mother, Trinity Lewis, to issue an injunction that would have stopped the hospital from re- moving her daughter from
Tinslee Lewis was born pre- mature and hasn't been off a ventilator since going into res- piratory arrest in early July.
life support.
Doctors at the Fort Worth
hospital had planned to re- move Tinslee from life sup- port Nov. 10 after invoking
Texas’ "10-day rule," which can be employed when a fam- ily disagrees with doctors who say life-sustaining treat- ment should be stopped. The law stipulates that if the hos- pital's ethics committee agrees with doctors, treat- ment can be withdrawn after 10 days if a new provider can’t be found to take the pa- tient.
Efforts to find another fa- cility to take the girl have been unsuccessful. The hos- pital said it has reached out to more than 20 facilities.
Kimberlyn Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Texas Right to Life, an anti-abor- tion group that's advocating for Tinslee, said her organi- zation was “grateful and re- lieved” the appeals court had granted the emergency stay.
Burger King Employee Arrested For Pulling Gun On Customer Over An Incorrect Order
A Burger King worker started her 2020 behind bars after getting arrested for al- legedly pulling a gun on a customer who complained about her drive-thru order in Tennessee.
According to police, Oder- rial Moore-Williams, 38, began cursing and yelling at the customer after she en- tered the restaurant to in- quire about her food order being wrong. A witness told police Moore-Williams then took out a gun and pointed it at the customer.
She was then reportedly
ODERRIAL MOORE- WILLIAMS
seen putting the gun in a bag
and handing it to an uniden- tified person in the parking lot of the restaurant.
Shortly after, Moore- Williams was taken into custody and charged with ag- gravated assault.
A Burger King spokesman said in a statement, “We take the safety and security of everyone at our restaurants very seriously. This behavior does not reflect our expecta- tions for Burger King restau- rants. The franchisee is fully cooperating with the author- ities and has terminated the employee.”
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