Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 9-6-16 Online Edition

National
Chicago Police Supt. Motions To Fire 5 Officers In 2014 Shooting Of Teen
Florida State Attorney In Trayvon Martin Case Loses Bid For Re-Election
Sabrina Fulton and a por- trait of her son, Trayvon Mar- tin.
ANGELA COREY
JACKSONVILLE, FL --- What many believed would be a shoe in for her re-election, turned out to be a crushing blow. Florida State Attorney Angela Corey lost the Repub- lican primary Tuesday (August 30) for the fourth circuit judi- cial state attorney.
Former prosecutor and cor- porate lawyer Melissa Nel- son earned 64% of the vote compared to Corey’s 26% in the fourth circuit which over- sees Jacksonville, Fla. Nelson will now go up against write-in candidate Kenny Leigh, in the general election.
Corey’s loss comes as sweet revenge to many who believe she failed to to convince a jury to convict George Zimmer- man of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17- year-old Trayvon Martin.
Corey’s notoriety later gained momentum when she prosecuted Alexander. Alexander alleged she fired a warning shot to scare her abu- sive husband during a dispute. Alexander invoked the “stand your ground” defense, the same as Zimmerman, but a judge threw out her claim and sided with Corey, stating Alexan- der didn’t shoot out of fear but out of rage.
The Internet pulled out some of its best memes and gif to cel- ebrate Corey’s loss.
High Lead Levels Found In Housing Complex Soil Means Families Have To Move
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson has motioned for the firing of 5 police officers in the death of Laquan McDonald.
CHICAGO, IL -- On October 20, 2014, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was left helpless on the streets of Chicago after being fatally shot 16 times in 13 seconds by officer Jason Van Dyke, who pleaded not guilty to first degree murder charges last year.
Wednesday (Aug. 31), Chicago Police Superintend- ent, Eddie Johnson motioned for the firing of five police offi-
LAQUAN MCDONALD
cers involved in the incident, including Van Dyke and offi- cers Janet Mondragon, Daphne Sebastian, Ri- cardo Viramontes and Sgt. Stephen Franko for giving false reports about what hap- pened.
This comes two weeks after Johnson filed for the termina- tion of seven officers at the scene responsible for lying about what they witnessed. Two of the officers have since resigned from the Chicago Po- lice Department, according to NPR.
EAST CHICAGO, IND -- - An eerie scene reminiscent of the Flint crisis is currently playing itself out in East Chicago, Indiana.
With their soil being 6 times higher than safe lead levels, residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex are cur- rently being tested for lead poisoning.
The complex was built next to old factories that left dan- gerous levels of lead in the soil. The roughly 1,110 residents, including 670 children, are all at risk of having lead poison- ing.
Some of those tested already have alarmingly high levels of lead in their blood. From chil- dren to adults, this community is currently living in their own version of a nightmare.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sought su- perfund status for the site in 2008.
"Superfund status" is for any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identi- fied by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment.
They tested the soil again and removed more from hot spots in 2011. In depth testing to determine
what soil needed to be re- moved started later in 2014. The EPA has suggested that they just remove the soil with- out disturbing the residents since 2012, but it's too late for that.
After telling children that they could no longer play in the soil or spend much time on it, the Mayor made an execu- tive decision. In a letter to res- idents Mayor Anthony Copeland stated: "Now that we know the levels of lead in the ground in the West Calumet Housing Complex, we feel it is in your best interest to temporarily relocate your household to safer conditions. Even though this may be a great inconvenience to you, it’s necessary to protect you and your children from possible harm."
HUD who built the com- plex, has allocated $1.9 million to pay for new rentals for the residents and the state has al- located $100,000 for moving expenses. Not all of the vouch- ers provided for moving are recognized and provide an extra burden for residents.
As families try to gain access to this money and figure out how to uproot their entire lives, mothers try to keep their children safe inside their homes.
Stephanie King with her daughter Ivianna Prater, 8, at their home in the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, Ind. Soil at the complex has been found to contain high levels of lead, and Ms. King’s 3-year-old son, Josiah, has a worrisome amount of lead in his blood, test results show.
Oklahoma Police Under Investigation For Pepper Spraying Woman, 84
Dash-cam shows police pepper spraying grandmother, 84.
MUSKOGEE, OK --- Musko- gee, Okla police are being in- vestigated for pepper-spraying an 84-year-old grandmother as they were searching for her grandson. Relatives of Geneva Smith say they want an apology from the depart- ment because their handling of the case landed Smith in the hospital.
The incident occurred last week when law enforcement was looking for Smith’s grandson who was later found in his home. Per dash cam
footage that was released by the department, Smith came out to see what the commotion was about. One of the five po- lice officers then asked her to turn around, when she refused she was then pepper-sprayed.
Muskogee Police Chief Rex Eskridge said the investiga- tion is on going and the dash- cam footage was released to the public to showcase full transparency. There is a lot of missing information out there. There is a lot of prejudgment out there and a lot of concern.
PAGE 18 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016