Page 23 - Florida Sentinel 1-8-16 Edition

National
S.C. Officer Who Fatally Shot Black Motorist In The Back Released On Bail
Child Accidentally Shoots Toddler
Vice Principal Donates Kidney To Former Student
LaGRANGE, GA — A child in west Georgia shot a 2-year-old girl Monday, police said.
When LaGrange Police re- sponded to a call at about 4:20 p.m. ET, they found Calvinyanna Sanders shot in the torso. She was flown to Chil- dren’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston.
Two women, including Calvinyanna's mother, and three children in addition to the toddler were in the apartment at the time of the shooting, police said. An initial investigation de- termined that one of the other three children — ages 1, 3 and 10 — had found a handgun and ac- cidentally fired a single shot.
Police found the gun in the apartment about 70 miles south- west of Atlanta, but did not re- lease which child fired the gun.
Their investigation, which will look into the supervision of the children and how they were able to get the handgun, is ongoing and no charges have been filed.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA --- This isn’t just the celebration of a new year, but an opportunity to celebrate the generosity of the season.
The Washington Post reports Christine Buell, 45, and Kelvin Sanders III, 20, went into surgery Tuesday after the mother of two decided to do- nate one of her kidneys to Sanders, who is battling renal kidney disease.
Buell, Sanders’ former teacher-now-vice principal at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School in San Francisco, says she found out about Sanders’ health prob- lems on Facebook. While browsing the social site, she saw a post from Sanders’ family looking for a donor. After he started dialysis, sev- eral other family members and friends signed up to donate their kidneys, but were not a match. Buell underwent months of testing and found
Christine Buell former stu- dent, Kelvin Sanders, III.
out she was the one.
The surgery was scheduled
to happen before the holidays at The University of California- San Francisco (UCSF), but after a donor died following their surgery, it was changed to another hospital.
UCSF has suspended kidney surgeries until they determined what happened in the fatal sur- gery.
Sanders’ mother was fright- ened to hear about the tragedy and feared Buell would back out, but she didn’t.
Illinois Gov. Says He Would Support Chicago Mayor’s Recall
CHICAGO, IL --- Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said Monday that if the state legis- lature passed a bill that would allow the recall of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, he would sign it into law. Rauner, a Republican, also said he was “very disap- pointed” with Emanuel for his handling of police-brutality is- sues in Chicago. Though some have called for his departure from office, Emanuel has said he will not resign.
According to then Chicago Sun Times, Rauner did noth- ing Monday to quell the shift- ing sands beneath Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Rauner told reporters he would sign a bill allowing Chicago voters to recall their mayor from office if it reaches his desk.
The governor also said he was “very disappointed” in Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez over their han- dling of Chicago police miscon- duct cases.
City Attorney Resigns
In other news, veteran attor- ney in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration re- signed hours after a federal judge ruled Monday that he in- tentionally concealed crucial evidence in a trial over a fatal Chicago police shooting in 2011 and then lied about his reasons for doing so.
The abrupt departure of Sen- ior Corporation Counsel Jor- dan Marsh, who has worked for the city since 1997, was the latest black eye for the mayor's office in the continuing fallout over the city's handling of po- lice shootings. Monday's 72- page opinion from U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang was part of a civil lawsuit brought by relatives of Darius Pinex, a black man, who was shot and
Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel is underfire for po- lice brutality issues in his city. Republican governor Bruce Rauner says he will support ousting Emanuel.
City attorney Jordan Marsh concealed evidence in trial over a police shooting in 2011. Marsh has been an attorney for city for almost 20 years, long before Mayor was elected. He concealed evidence in the police shooting of Darius Penix.
killed by police during a 2011 traffic stop in Chicago.
The officers, Raoul Mosqueda and Gildardo Sierra, said they opened fire as Pinex refused orders and put his car in reverse. The offi- cers had said they stopped Pinex because his car matched a description they heard on their police radio of a car sus- pected of involvement in an earlier shooting. But records emerged after the trial began that officers weren't listening to the channel broadcasting the radio traffic about the suspect's car. The judge said a city lawyer "intentionally concealed" that evidence.
Former Charleston, S.C. officer Michael Slager was released from jail on Monday. Walter Scott was shot 8 times by Slager.
CHARLESTON, S.C. --- A for- mer South Carolina police offi- cer charged in the videotaped killing of an unarmed black mo- torist last April is free on bond after a judge ruled that he shouldn't remain jailed until his planned October trial.
Michael Slager is charged with murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott. Slager is shown on cellphone video fir- ing eight times as Scott ran from a traffic stop in North Charleston, S.C.
Slager, 34, had been jailed in isolation for more than eight months since his arrest, The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported last month. His de- fense team in December asked Circuit Judge Clifton New- man to set his trial for the spring.
But prosecutor Scarlett Wil- son is also prosecuting the case of Dylann Roof, the white suspect in the killings of nine black parishoners at a Charleston church said a state Supreme Court order prevents her from trying other cases be-
fore that one. She had asked for a November trial date for Slager.
His attorneys asked the judge to free him, saying he would otherwise face 11 more months of incarceration, The Post and Courier reported. Wilson op- posed the release.
Walter Scott, the father of the slain man, also addressed the judge, saying he often goes to the cemetery to visit his son's flower-bedecked grave.
But Newman on Monday ruled that the trial delay was a change in circumstance that al- lowed him to reconsider bail. He ordered Slager freed on a $500,000 surety bond, saying the ex-cop would have to re- main in South Carolina once re- leased. Slager was released Monday, the county sheriff said.
Slager’s trial date was then set for October 31.
Slager faces 30 years to life without parole if convicted. In October, the city of North Charleston approved a $6.5 million civil settlement with Scott's family.
Militiamen Still Occupying Federal Building In Oregon; Residents Want Them To ‘Go Away’
BURNS, OR --- Burns, Ore- gon residents want the so-called ‘militiamen, a group of armed men occupying federal buildings at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to go away.
The occupiers, who are mainly from Nevada and Arizona, are outsiders, a local diner owner said, Terry Williams, 73, and a lifelong resident of Burns, said the militiamen don't represent the locals.
About a dozen or so men led by Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy have mounted a would- be insurrection against the fed- eral government. Bundy and other men with him say they're not leaving until Dwight and Steven Hammond are freed from federal prison. The father and son reported to prison again Monday to serve a five year sen- tence for arson.
It's about defending rights within the Constitution, Bundy said Monday. The group broke in to a Bureau of Land Manage- ment bunk house last weekend to begin their takeover. Now, the militia patrols the area on ATVs and takes shifts in a watch tower, waiting to see if authori- ties arrive. So far nothing much has happened.
The police have said little ex- cept "Go home’.
The cause behind the take over is over mandatory minimum sentencing laws. The Ham- monds were subject to mini- mum sentences for their arson convictions. Part of the contro- versy is that the Hammonds were given a lenient sentence, which they served. In a rare move, the federal government appealed the sentence, and the Hammonds were sentenced again for the mandatory five years. That double sentencing, many residents say, is unjust, but taking up arms against the government is another thing al- together.
Pastor Disarms Gunman Who Entered Church During Watch Night Service
FAYETTEVILLE, N. C. -- A man with a semi-automatic as- sault rifle walked into a down- town Fayetteville church during a New Year’s Eve prayer service.
The church’s pastor is City Councilman Larry Wright. The incident at Heal the Land Outreach Ministries, off Camp- bell Avenue, ended peacefully, although many of the 60 mem- bers in attendance were star- tled, and at least one person — a pregnant woman — slipped out of the service.
Wright said he was able to calm the armed stranger, take away his weapon and then pray for him before Fayetteville po- lice officers arrived.
The man then said to the au- dience that the Lord had told him he needed to go to church before he did something bad.
Rev. Wright said the man, who has not been identified by police yet, was carrying the rifle without a clip in one hand and a loaded ammunition clip in the other hand. But, Wright said, he didn’t know if the rifle had a round of ammunition in it.
Wright stepped down quickly from the pulpit when he saw the man, who appeared to be in his late 20s. The man con- tinued moving toward the front of the church, pointing the rifle into the air.
The two met, near the front of the sanctuary. “Can I help you?’’ the pastor asked the man. Wright, who is a 57-year-old retired soldier, said the man’s answer determined his next ac- tion.
“If he was belligerent, I was going to tackle him,” said Wright, who is 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds. But the stranger was calm, and Wright took the weapon from him. He then pat-
Rev. Larry Wright took the gun away from the gunman during service.
ted him down, and the pastor summoned four strong deacons to embrace the disarmed man, in an effort to make him feel welcome.
Wright then prayed for the man, who fell to his knees and began crying. The man was then invited to sit on the front pew, and Wright resumed the Watch Night service. During the altar call at the conclusion, the man came forward and asked for sal- vation.
“He gave his life to Christ,” Wright said in an interview Saturday with The Fayetteville Observer.
Someone had called 911, and before the service had ended, police had arrived. But Wright said he asked the police to re- main outside.
One of the church deacons, 67-year-old Sylvester Loving, said the congregation had been talking that evening about vio- lence in other churches around the United States, before the man entered with the rifle.
Police Department spokes- man Lt. David McLaurin said the incident was noted as a “Call for Service.’’ Notes regard- ing the call, McLaurin said, in- dicated the man was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Cen- ter at his request as a voluntary commitment.
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