Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 1-15-16 Edition

National
LAPD Chief Recommends Charges Be Filed Against Black Officer Who Shot Homeless Man
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck recommended charges be filed against Officer Clifford Proctor in the death of Brendon Glenn.
Teens In Custody For Gang Rape In Brooklyn Park
The teen suspects were capture on a surveillance camera a little while before the attack.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- Four teenagers have been taken into police custody in connec- tion with an alleged group rape of an 18-year-old woman at a Brooklyn playground.
Police said Sunday two teens surrendered and two were ap- prehended. Charges are pend- ing against a 14-year-old, 17-year-old and two 15-year- olds.
A fifth suspect is still being sought.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday said he is "disgusted and deeply sad- dened" by accusations of a group rape a woman at a Brooklyn playground, and that every possible step will be taken to find the suspects.
Authorities said the woman was accosted just after 9 p.m. Thursday as she and her father walked inside Osborn Play- ground in the Brownsville sec- tion of Brooklyn.
Police said there were five suspects, and one pointed a gun at the father and told him to leave. Each one raped the woman, police said. The father returned with two police offi- cers, but the attackers fled.
The woman was treated at Kings County Hospital and re- leased.
"I am disgusted and deeply saddened by the horrific at- tack," de Blasio said.
Earlier on Sunday, furious Brooklyn politicians blasted the NYPD for waiting two days be- fore telling anyone about the rape.
Borough President Eric Adams charged the public would have been immediately notified had the rape occurred in Manhattan’s Central Park in- stead of Osborn Playground in crime-ridden Brownsville.
“For community leaders and the community to find out about this horrific crime from the tabloids is not acceptable,” Adams said.
“The imperative to catch those people shouldn’t matter if the park is Osborn [Play- ground] or Central Park,” he said. “The same level of urgency must be followed.”
An NYPD rep said in a state- ment Sunday that police offi- cers responded to the scene immediately and were quickly able to track down surveillance footage.
Appeals Court Delays Second Trial Against Baltimore Officer In Death Of Freddie Gray
Baltimore police officer Ceasar Goodson, Jr., heading to court on Monday. He is being charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Los Angeles last May, they found Brendon Glenn, a 29-year- old homeless Black man. After they spoke to him briefly, Glenn walked away from the officers—but they returned to the scene after observing from afar as he physically struggled with a bouncer, according to police reports.
The rest of the incident, captured by surveillance footage from a nearby store that hasn’t been made public, left Glenn dead—shot three times, twice in the back, by Officer Clifford Proctor.
Community uproar fol- lowed, as did a surprising re- sponse from LAPD Chief
Charlie Beck, who had his- torically sided with his offi- cers in response to shooting incidents. On Monday, Beck recommended criminal charges be sought against the LAPD officer responsible for the shooting. Officer Proc- tor is also Black.
Proctor's attorney, Larry Hanna, accused LAPD brass of making a "po- litical decision," saying the chief spoke too early about the case last year.
Although a security cam- era captured the events lead- ing up to the shooting, Hanna said, both of Glenn's hands could not be seen for the entirety of the recording.
BALTIMORE, MD -- Maryland's second-highest court intervened Monday and postponed the trial of a Baltimore police officer in the death of Freddie Gray, potentially delaying for months the trials of all the officers charged in the case.
The Court of Special Ap- peals issued its last-minute order to halt the proceed- ings Monday morning, when jury selection was set to begin in the second-degree murder trial of fellow Offi- cer Caesar R. Goodson Jr.
The appellate court said it needs time to consider whether Officer William G. Porter can be forced to testify at Goodson's trial.
The postponement of Goodson's trial could
throw off the schedule for all of the trials in the case, which were scheduled to occur consecutively over the next several months.
Goodson, a 17-year vet- eran of the force, was the driver of the van that trans- ported Gray from the site of his arrest April 12, 2015, to the Western District police station. In the 45-minute trip, he made six stops. Gray was handcuffed, shackled, but not restrained by a seat belt. By the time the 25-year-old Gray ar- rived at the station, he had already stopped breathing.
Goodson is considered the most accountable, as Gray was technically in his custody after being pursued and dragged into his van by two other police officers.
Poison Water In Flint, Michigan Finally Getting National Attention
FLINT, MI --- Starting on Tuesday, Police officers in Flint, Michigan will begin de- livering bottled water and water filters door-to-door in response to the city’s water crisis. Residents there have been dependent on filtered and bottled water since it was announced the city’s drinking water is contaminated with extremely high levels of lead.
Michigan officials have yet to ask the federal government for emergency assistance, but the White House’s chief of staff told Meet the Press they are keeping a close eye on the situation.
On Monday, Pastor Bobby Jackson with the Mission of Hope joined Roland Martin on News- One Now to discuss the latest developments in the crisis that has left the city’s water undrinkable.
When asked if he was sur- prised that city officials have not requested federal help, Pastor Jackson explained, “We just got a new mayor elected and she filed a peti- tion to declare it an emer- gency and the governor just did and he said that before we can receive help, they have to do an assessment.”
The assessment would allow FEMA to determine just how extensive the dam- age is and what it would take to rectify the disaster.
Flint, Michigan’s newly elected mayor Karen Weaver at a press confer- ence with Michigan gover- nor, Rick Snyder.
Pastor Jackson is help- ing people within the Flint, MI community obtain safe drinking water. He started passing out water to those in need back in September of 2014, and has been doing so every day since.
Jackson also said the water in Flint “was so toxic that they put so many differ- ent chemicals in it to try to make it actually drinkable — they forgot to put in a chemi- cal that would stop it from corroding the infrastructure.”
Flint was a big General Motors town back in the day, and many believe that due to their dumping and the old in- frastructure, the poisoning has been going on for a while.
If you or your organization are interested in helping the people of Flint during this trying time, please email Pastor Jackson at bobby@hope4flint.org.
Armed Militia In Oregon Asking For Supplies
The armed men stand guard at the Oregon national wildlife area they have taken over.
BURNS, OR -- As the oc- cupation of an Oregon na- tional wildlife area enters its second week, the armed mil- itants are recognizing that if they are really going to stay there forever, they are going to need some supplies. And whenever an armed group of adult men with a hell-bent drive against the government needs supplies, it asks the leader's mom.
Ammon Bundy's
mother has asked supporters to send supplies to the grown men and women who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The list has some 80 items. According to AP, Bundy has refused to cooperate with the request by local law enforce-
ment, residents and Oregon's governor that the group leave the federal property. Bundy, "the son of rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a 2014 Nevada standoff with the government over grazing rights," says the militia will only leave the wildlife refuge after a plan is in place to transfer the property to lo- cals, AP reports.
State Rep. Dallas Heard met with the group Saturday even though local officials asked that he not meet with them. On Saturday, occupa- tion leaders turned away sev- eral armed men who were looking to join the group.
The militant group has oc- cupied the building since Jan. 2.
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