Thursday, March 31, 2016

Woman Records Surgeon Talking About Her During Surgery!

You know how you suspect something. But then you think that you might be paranoid. But then you think maybe you're not. But then you think, naw, I probably am. Well, guess what? They probably were talking about you.....

Ethel Easter of Houston was suffering from a hernia when she went to see a doctor about scheduling a surgery. She broke down crying when she learned that the earliest appointment would not be until two months later.

"I was like, 'I can’t wait for two months. I’m terribly ill,' and he said, 'Listen.' He got very abrupt. He said, 'Who do you think you are? You have to wait just like everybody else,'" Easter said.

Sensing that something might be amiss, Easter hid a tape recorder in her hair while she went into surgery.

"This is my natural hair," she told the news station. "I had a weave at the time, which is braid extensions, and when I put my hair up, I put the recorder right in my hair."

Shortly after Easter is sedated, the surgeon can be heard on the recording telling others in the operating room what he thinks of Easter: "She’s a handful; she had some choice words for us in the clinic when we didn’t book her case in two weeks."

Other male voice on tape: "Really?"

Surgeon: "I'm going to call a lawyer and file a complaint." (Laughter.)

Other male voice: "That doesn’t seem like the thing to say to the person who's going to do your surgery."

Easter told the news station that others inside the operating room made negative remarks about her body.

"Did you see her belly button?” says a female voice on the tape, a remark that is followed by laughter.

A male staff member can be heard referring to Easter as "Precious."

"Precious, as though I was this big, fat black woman," Easter said.

Easter said that she was also referred to as "always the queen" and that the surgeon reportedly said he feels sorry for her husband.

"When I heard the comments on the tape and listened to them, I was shocked,” community activist Quanell X told Fox 26. "I had no idea that doctors, anesthesiologists and nurses would carry themselves in this manner in an operating room."

A spokesperson for the Harris Health System, which oversees the county-operated hospital where Easter had her surgery, declined to comment.

Yes, I know what you're thinking, and no, nobody said the n-word!

PR

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

College Student Pays Off Grandparents House

Stefun Darts, 24, of Houston, is a full-time college student who holds down a full-time job and runs a small nonprofit organization. When he was just a second grader, he made a promise to God that he would pay off his grandparents' Texas home and help them retire.

"A promise I would never break," Darts, 24, wrote on Facebook. "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched ... but are felt by the heart.

"Even with this, I could never repay you for what you've done for me," the San Jacinto College student continued. "I sacrificed my teenage and early adulthood of not having fun for this moment. I couldn't stand you going to work at night, some nights I didn't even sleep knowing it shouldn't be like this. Never have I wrote a check wanting this to be the first one. To all my friends that stood by me over these last 6 years I appreciate you."

Darts, who founded the Caring Youth mentoring program, says that he saved money wherever he could.

"I've been eating pizza, microwave pizza for all my life," Darts told the news station. "My friends will tell you, I never did go out. They didn't know, but this was the reason why."

On March 20, Darts presented his grandparents, Marilyn and Cecil Roberts, with a $15,000 check, and although the Robertses had been making mortgage payments for over 20 years on time, they were still stunned by their grandson's generosity.

"I couldn't believe it," Marilyn Roberts told KHOU. "To have a grandson like that is a blessing."

Darts wasn't finished; in addition to paying off their mortgage, he also gifted them with a trip to the Bahamas.

"He's a very special kid, and I just love having him in my life," Cecil Roberts told the news station.

Darts told the news station that he didn't do this for praise.

"To see tears of joy, to experience that in a lifetime; it's like how many people can say that?" he said.

PR

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Just When You Thought You Heard It All News (3-26-2016)


In Fayetteville, NC, Bruno has a message for the thief who ruined Easter for his special-needs grandchildren.

"There is going to come a day when you are older, and have kids, grandkids, somebody is going to do it to you, then you will see it's just not right," said Bruno.

Bruno said Sunday night someone idiot snatched a 7-foot inflatable Easter Bunny ornament from his front yard. It was right next to the porch where other decorations were also vandalized.

Bruno said the inflatable bunny was the grandchildren's favorite.

"They like to come and hug him," he explained.

Bruno said he got the bunny at a yard sale a couple of years ago. It's only worth about $50, but to his grandchildren it's priceless.

"I don't make a lot of money. I am disabled and what little bit we have my wife tries to make it pretty out here for the kids," he said.

Bruno said police told him the likely culprits were neighborhood teens, but a search hasn't turned up the bunny. He went around local stores trying to find a replacement, but had no luck. Ordering one online won't get it here fast enough.
"It's the sentimental value, and we see the little grandkids eyes light up like Christmas morning and Easter Morning," he said.

Now, he's not sure how he'll tell the kids their bunny is gone.

"We just do what we have to do. I can't make them cry. That's not right," he said.

ABC11 has heard from viewers who may be able to help out Bruno. We'll let you know what happens.

It’s going from one bad joke to another.

A North Carolina man is speaking out after he says he was slapped in handcuffs for not returning a VHS rental more than 14 years ago — and now the movie’s star, Tom Green, is coming to his rescue.

James Meyers, 37, says he was driving his daughter to school Tuesday morning when he was pulled over by Concord police for a broken taillight.

It was that moment he was informed that there was a warrant out for his arrest, specifically for not returning the 2001 flop, "Freddy Got Fingered". One of the most important films known to man, said no one ever.

“I thought he was joking,” Meyers said, recalling his arrest.

The flick’s comedian apparently did too.

“I just saw this and I am struggling to believe it is real,” Green tweeted Wednesday night.

Meyers said he vaguely remembers renting the comedy — which has a 4.5/10 rating on IMDb.com and won five Razzie Awards in 2002, including Worst Picture. Apparently when he failed to return it, a warrant was issued in late 2001.

After he was informed of the warrant, Meyers said he was allowed to continue on to his daughter’s school under the promise that he’d turn himself into the police department later that day.

He thought he’d arrive and it’d all get sorted out. Instead, he found himself booked for a class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable with a fine up to $200.

He has a court appearance scheduled for April 27.

“For the first time, I got put in handcuffs,” he said.

Concord Police Sgt. Jonathan Hathcock confirmed Meyers’ arrest to the Huffington Post Thursday, saying, “It doesn’t matter what kind of warrant it is, if it’s a warrant we’re going to serve it.”

Green, who was reached by the NY Daily News while doing a stand-up comedy tour in Australia, said he’s since spoken with Meyers about the incident and has offered to do what he can to help.

“If it’s 200 bucks, of course I’ll pay it for him, just for the principle of the thing,” he told the paper.

Police in Canada caught a masked armed robber after he unfriended his victim on Facebook.......

Ryle Smith 20, stole about US $750 when he held up a Subway sandwich store in Moncton, New Brunswick, on Nov. 12, 2014.

But the employee that he threatened at knifepoint was actually a “friend” of his on the social networking site.

Smith’s disguise masked his identity, but the robber’s victim became suspicious after he deleted him as a friend after the heist.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police matched Smith's DNA to a sample taken from a bandana found dumped in the restaurant’s parking lot.

Authorities issued a country-wide warrant for Smith’s arrest and he was eventually detained in Calgary, Alberta, in November 2015.

He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery at a court in Moncton on Wednesday.

PR


Friday, March 25, 2016

100 Years For Giving His 14 Year Old Niece A Gun


Donnell Flora, 27, has had numerous run-ins with the law, but none of them has been so serious enough to earn him decades behind bars. He was previously found guilty of shoplifting and possession of stolen property. 

While those were enough to give him a bad name, they weren’t bad enough to earn him a century behind bars. That is until he committed this heinous offense.

During an April 28, 2014, Flora was accused of giving a gun to his 14-year-old niece to attack her peers on Chicago’s South Side. His niece fired shots, ending in the death of 14-year-old Enid Martin and injuring a 16-year-old, although the victim has since recovered.

After the hearing of his case, the presiding judge found Flora guilty of the murder of Martin and attempted murder of the other girl. The murder conviction earned him 65 years, while the attempted murder earned him 35 years.

According to authorities, the girls had disputes over a boy, when Flora did what he thought was a good idea in helping his niece. Now, his niece is awaiting trial in a murder case in a juvenile court.

Investigators revealed that the gun used in the killing wasn’t legally acquired by Flora as it had been falsely reported as missing before it ended up in Flora’s hand.

“There is no excuse or rationalization for giving a child a gun to take to a ridiculous fight about a boy — none,” Judge Thaddeus Wilson said in court on Monday during the ruling.

Police reported that Mr. Flora even went as far as escorting his niece to the scene of the confrontation while riding in his wheelchair!!!!!  He had been shot and paralyzed some time back in Chicago. Yet, he still thought that giving his 14 year old niece a gun was a good idea.

Another 16-year-old was also placed on probation by the court after it was found that she took the gun from the shooter and handed it back to Flora. The teen has also been placed on probation over the action.

The prosecution was happy with the verdict, saying, “We are pleased with this sentence for a man who gave a deadly weapon to a 14-year-old girl, which she used to end the life of another 14-year-old child,” Anita Alvarez, the state’s attorney for Cook County, said in a statement. “We hope that this sentence brings some measure of justice to the families of both victims as they continue on their path to healing.”

Flora’s lawyer, however, thought that his client’s sentence was exaggerated since Flora’s intention wasn’t that “anybody be killed or hurt.”

This assertion is rediculous. Anytime someone knowingly chooses to use a weapon the intentions are to hurt and kill.

While much of the commentary that I've read on this story suggests that Flora got sentenced to an excessive amount of jail time. I believe that he got exactly what he deserved. As an adult our job is to build children up, not tear them down and ruin their lives. He has done irreparable damage to this young girls life, and 100 years isn't nearly enough. SHE'S HIS NIECE!!

PR

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Handcuffed For Candy!!!!


Marlena Wordlaw, the mother of a 6-year-old girl, is up in arms after she says her daughter was handcuffed like a criminal and put under a flight of stairs in her school after she was caught stealing candy from her teacher's desk.

Her daughter, Madisyn Moore, recounted what happened when she was cuffed. "They hurted," she said. "He snatched me out of my class. He made me get out in my handcuffs."

Wordlaw said that she arrived 50 minutes after she was told about her daughter taking the candy and was shocked to find out that her daughter had been handcuffed. She confronted the security guard responsible. "I said, 'Why you have my baby in 'cuffs?' He said, 'Because I'm trying to teach them to stop taking stuff that don't belong to them.'" Wordlaw said that what made the situation even worse was the fact that her daughter was put under the stairs.

“I’m more angry than anything, because she's my only daughter. I feel like anything could have happened to her. Somebody could have touched her. She’s in the dark under the stairs."

Chicago Public Schools has yet to make a statement about the incident, but Wordlaw says that the school's priniciple has apologized. Still, the angry mother says she plans to sue over the incident. 

There has always been a level of disdain an disrespect for African-Americans across the board. But there is something that is exceptionally disturbing about dehumanizing a child. The innocent among us, who make mistakes simply because they're children. But what is even more disturbing is the fact that I have never heard of a narrative in which a white child has been treated this way. It's one thing to protect ourselves in the present. But we need to start protecting our future. Which is exactly what our children are.

PR

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Just When You Thought You Heard It All News (3-19-2016)

A waitress in Des Moines, Iowa, was stiffed on a tip by a customer who had a beef with her pink hair. 

Taelor May Beeck was working at Zombie Burger on Tuesday when one of her customers came to settle a $17.26 tab.

But the customer didn’t leave a gratuity — just a gratuitous insult, according to the Des Moines Register.

The receipt read: "Tips are only for normal looking people."

"At first I felt really upset I felt attacked, I almost felt like I was back in middle school all over again, like being bullied,” she told WHO-TV. “I felt like a burning anger inside of me.”

Beeck didn’t confront the customer because she decided it’s not worth it.

“When someone puts hate out there, you know to respond in a hateful way will do no good,” she told the station.

Still, she did post the receipt on Facebook, although it’s since been removed.

Beeck has worked at Zombie Burger for five years, and her employer say nothing but good things to say about her.

Orchestrate Hospitality, which owns Zombie Burger, issued a statement singing her praises, according to the Associated Press.

“We believe that zombie burger is a place that celebrates individuality. We are in 100% support of our staff and we’re confident that our customers will be as well. She is an example of a great team member and we are standing by her.”

Beeck is going public with her experience in hopes of turning it into a teachable moment.

“I would tell them to not judge someone based on what they look like,” she told KWWL TV. “I mean, I may look like a weirdo but I’m actually a very nice, decent person. It’s the way that I can express myself artistically and it’s really important for me that I’m allowed to do that, and it’s OK if people don’t understand it because it’s just who I am.”

This is what happens when you have a sign board and way too much time on your hands.

British police had just one word for a drug dealer after finding a secret cannabis stash — “unlucky.”

Officers Discovered $60 of the drug hidden inside a hole by the Grand Union canal towpath in Camden, north London, on Wednesday.

They then trolled the pusher with this single-worded note on headed paper in place of the bags:

Metropolitan Police Sgt. Paul Taylor posted a photograph of the message on Twitter that is nowgoing viral.

“This note left in the place of the early seizure from the canal towpath,” he wrote. Taylor added the perhaps optimistic hashtag #GetInTouch.

Earlier, he’d tweeted this image of the drugs discovered in what he described as a “sneaky hidey-hole.”

Friday, March 18, 2016

Hurting Children, Hurting Ourselves


Sometimes as black people in America, we focus so much on the enemy outside that we fail to focus on the enemy inside. As a result we can end up damaging each other to the point where the most innocent among us end up hurt and broken.

Cathy Wright and her teenage daughter, Shaniaya Hunter, are taking legal action against Green County High School in Greenboro, Georgia following a reportedly traumatic interaction between Hunter and one of her teachers.

Last December, Hunter, a junior, began recording audio during class using a school-issued iPad, capturing what she says is the voice of her history teacher lobbing a number of abusive insults at her in front of other students.

https://m.soundcloud.com/user-374496507/shaniaya-hunter

"I have been around for 37 years and clearly, you are the dumbest girl that I have ever met,” the Hunter allegedly said after being asked who Sojourner Truth was. “You know what your purpose going to be? To have sex and have children, because you ain’t gonna never be smart.”

Hunter, who has a chronic eye condition that sometimes makes it difficult for her to see, was using the iPad to help her work through the day’s lesson.

She says that as awful as the teachers remarks were, they weren’t at all out of the ordinary for him, but she’s the only student willing to come forward with her story.

“It really hurt me inside,” she said before breaking down in tears. “I don’t think it’s OK. I don’t think he should be here.”

When Hunter’s mother heard the recording, she immediately got in contact with officials from the high school inquiring as to whether the teacher would be reprimanded. When the school stonewalled her, she contacted local attorney Ben Windham, who agreed to represent her and her daughter pro bono.

“This man does not need to be teaching young children,” Windham told WSB-TV. “It’s not a gray area. End of story.”


PR

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Lynching At Joe’s Crab Shack

This quote is not one of Dr. Kings most popular words of wisdom. But it is one of my favorites. The poignancy of this statement speaks volumes.
 
This place used to be one of my favorite restaurants. USED TO BE!!!

At Joe’s Crab Shack in Minnesota a couple was shocked and offended as soon as they entered the establishment.

Tyrone Williams and Chauntyll Allen walked into the Roseville location and noticed a picture of a 1896 lynching on their table.

The photo was captioned, “All I said was ‘I don’t like gumbo!’”As you can imagine, seeing that image ruined my appetite and my pre-birthday dinner. It is hard to believe that this type of racism is still going on in 2016,” Allen said in a statement. 

I can almost guarantee you that some foolish decorator thought that they were being clever when they designed this decor and probably didn't give it a second thought. But the fact of the matter is, even if that is the case. Not being conscious enough to realize, recognize, and understand the impact of such a photo is racist.

In a March 9 Facebook post, Williams shared the picture with friends:

This is on our table at Joe’s Crab shack in Roseville, MN it’s the lynching of two black men in Groesbeck, Texas in 1895 they we’re accused of robbing and murdering a white man with a rock it’s sad this is the image we have to look at in a Crab shack that has nothing to do with Texas it’s crazy how a brother can’t get a break me and Chanyrll Allen can’t get a break lol we just wanted some all you can eat Crab legs smh and now we got to go,” he wrote.

The photograph was of Richard Burleson, a man convicted of killing a man with a rock in the 19th century. The customers partnered with the NAACP to demand an apology and insist that the table be removed promptly.

Ignite Restaurant Group released a statement explaining:

“We understand one of the photos used in our table décor at our Joe’s Crab Shack location in Roseville, MN was offensive. We take this matter very seriously, and the photo in question was immediately removed,” said David Catalano, chief operating officer of Ignite Restaurant Group. “We sincerely apologize to our guests who were disturbed by the image and we look forward to continuing to serve the Roseville community.”

The restaurant also offered the couple a free meal, though they turned it down.

PR


Saturday, March 12, 2016

Just When You Thought You Heard It All News (3-12-2016)

Somebody, anybody, somebody please snatch her license!!!!!!

Unbelievable dashcam footage shows an Illinois woman driving down the street with a 15-foot tree lodged in her car's front grille.

Roselle police officers pulled over Maryann Christy at 11:10 p.m. on Jan. 23 after receiving reports of her unusual hood accessory from other horrified drivers.

The 54-year-old woman from the nearby suburb of Schaumburg claimed she'd driven a few miles and "didn't remember where" she'd hit the tree, the Chicago Tribune reported. The airbags on Christy's 2004 Lincoln were also deployed.

Officers said the suspect smelled of alcohol and failed a sobriety test. Christy was arrested for driving under the influence and is scheduled to appear in court in April.

A former security worker for Brink's Company has been accused of stealing $196,000 while on the job.......all in quarters.

Stephen Dennis was charged on Monday with one count of bank theft by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Dennis, 49, was working as a money processing manager for Brink’s at its Birmingham branch in early 2014, when the robberies took place, according to a Justice Department press release. 

His job gave him access to the Federal Reserve Coin Inventory. The coins he is accused of stealing were stored in ballistic bags, each containing $50,000 and place on skids inside Brink’s Coin Room.

Dennis' last day on the job was Feb. 20, 2014. An April 2014 audit of the Federal Reserve Coin Inventory discovered four ballistic bags containing a large amount of beads and just $1,000 in quarters, placed so they were visible  the neck of each bag.

A subsequent investigation revealed that on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014, Dennis came to Brink's on his day off and collected four empty skids and four empty ballistic bags, which he filled with beads. The skids and the bead-filled bags were placed back inside the coin room.

The money that Brink's was holding belonged to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the company refunded the missing coins to the bank.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Dennis has agreed to plead guilty to the charge and to repay his former employers.

Dennis also faces up to 10 years in prison and an additional $250,000 fine.

The arrest was a victory for people who enjoy it when government officials include puns in their official statements.

U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance said the defendant "may have thought he had quite a haul when he took nearly $200,000 in quarters from the Federal Reserve’s coin storage at Brink’s, but now he carries a heavier load."

FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton also showed he knows how to coin a phrase...........

“What Mr. Dennis may have thought was a nickel and dime theft was, in the end, the equivalent of a major bank heist,” Stanton said. “Now, he will be a convicted felon who must repay all the stolen money.”

It's a shame when superheroes use their powers for evil.

Authorities in Texas are seeking a suspect who concealed his true identity by wearing a Captain America costume during a recent beauty store burglary, police said in a statement on Facebook.

Security footage shows the suspect and his accomplice taking merchandise from the ULTA Salon in Plano. Police said several additional burglary incidents at ULTA Salons could be related.

There is no word as to why nobody sent up the bat signal!

Investigators described the suspects as follows:

Suspect #1 – Unknown male, black hooded sweatshirt with yellow lettering, black pants, and black gloves.

Suspect #2 – Unknown male, Captain America hooded sweatshirt, camo cap, and red gloves.

The wanted men fled in what police believe was a silver 4-door SUV, possibly Dodge Durango.


PR

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

She Hate Who She Is.



I wish I could say that I'm shocked. But the fact is, I am not. From the time Africans were kidnapped, brought to America, and bought in America there have always been those of us who have hated ourselves. Of course this a learned behavior reinforced by stereotypes, false standards of beauty and mass marketing nonsense. But the fact of the matter is being black is a blessing. People spend hours in the sun for a season trying to get what God has given us for a lifetime, and they spend thousands to reshape their bodies into curves of perfection. Why? Because even they don't believe in their own ideal or ideas of what it means to be beautiful. 

The fact of the matter is this young lady can use all of the bleaching creams in the world to change the way she looks on the outside. But she will never be able to whitewash the ugliness that she has on the inside. 


PR

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Just When You Thought You Heard It All News (3-5-2016)

Aaliyah Ryan shouldn't have called 911 just because she couldn't put on her pants, but the Greenville County Sheriff's Department in South Carolina is willing to let it slide this time..........

Aaliyah is just 2 and didn't see any other options when she decided to call the man.

“Dispatch actually gave us a call and they said it sounded like a baby on the phone and it was basically a 911 hang up call,” Deputy Martha Lohnes says.

Lohnes was sent out to investigate the situation just to be safe.

When she got there, an elderly man answered the door, completely bewildered and unaware of any call to the police.

“I show up, and her grandfather opens the door, and she just comes up around the side of him and is like, ‘Hey!’’ Lohnes told GreenvilleOnline.com. “Then I look down, and she's only got one pant leg on".

Aaliyah had somehow gotten one of her pant legs flipped over and inside out.

“There was like no way she was going to figure it out,” Lohnes told the website.

Lohnes, who has two younger sisters, knew what to do.

"So I sit down on the stairs and help her put her pants on." she said. "And then she proceeds to ask me to pick her up and hug her…and that would be the best part of my shift today."

Meanwhile, Grandpa had the unenviable task of explaining the situation to Aaliyah's mother, Pebbles, who was at work when the call was made.

"My dad gave me a call and was just like, "Your daughter just called the police on me." Ryan told ABC News. "Then he said Aaliyah wouldn't let the cop leave and was too busy hugging her."

Ryan said she had taught Aaliyah to call 911 for emergencies. Apparently, she didn't differentiate between real emergencies and fashion emergencies.

"I'm just grateful for the deputy and her kind, wonderful heart, though," she told ABC News.. "She really took the time out of her day to make sure everything was OK even though she knew it was just a little baby calling. That means a lot to me."

Dianne Pimpinello said she heard an echoing meowing sound outside her house and saw a cat stuck in the storm drain. She called animal control, but grew anxious waiting, and that's when she made the asinine decision to crawl into the storm drain and follow after it.

Pimpinello crawled through the drain, which she describes as a tunnel maze, only a couple of feet tall. She was afraid the cat was hurt, or stuck, but she, not the little feline would be the one stuck in the pipes below.

"I said 'well I got to get him, I got to get him. He's hurt,'" Pimpinello said. "So I started crawling through all the tunnels and it's like a great big maze down there, and I don't know where I was going but I was determined I was going to do everything to save this little guy."

A neighbor called 911 after Pimpinello ended up stuck in the neighborhood outside her cul-de-sac, unable to lift the heavy lid off the drain.

"I got a few little bumps and bruises but I'm OK," she said. " I know that the firemen I came to get me out of the drain they said don't ever do that again."

Pimpinello said she couldn't stand the thought of sitting by if an animal might be hurt.

"I would save every animal on this earth if I could," she said.

Even though she was not able to get to the cat in her attempt to rescue it, neighbors tell us the cat has since been rescued by its owners.

If you're about to sign a contract it's always a good idea to read it first!

That's the takeaway after two tenants made a sneaky alteration to their rental agreement, which was then signed by the unsuspecting landlord.

A Reddit user said the duo were sent the lease in an editable Word document rather than a locked PDF. So the pair made a sly addition to the text before sending it back:

"Lessor shall provide birthday cake for Lessee(s) in the weekend closest to their birthdays, which are June 7 and February 17," clause 16 stated. 

An extra stipulation was also made: "Vanilla cake is not acceptable."

Obviously these whitty idiots have nothing better to do with their time.

It's unknown where GloriousGherkins lives, but an image of the added clause was posted to Reddit and the picture sharing community Imgur on Thursday, and has since gone viral, with more than 1.8 million views.

Some commenters questioned whether the alteration was actually legal.

"……can.... can you do this? I'm seriously asking," asked one.

GloriousGherkins replied that the landlord had signed the document following its alteration, and was now going to be held to the agreement.

PR

Friday, March 4, 2016

How To Be Black & Dodge Bullets....

It has become so common in the news that it's no longer a matter of if it happens again. But when. Being Black in America means that you can be shot just for......being black in America. Age, or socio-economic background has nothing to do with it. But before I comment further, here are the details of the latest police shooting.

A preliminary report on Monday's shooting involving a Raleigh, North Carolina police officer was released Thursday afternoon, and while it shed some light on the case, many questions remain unanswered.

The so-called 5-day report says 24-year-old Akiel Denkins and Raleigh Police Senior Officer D.C. Twiddy struggled before the shooting. A preliminary autopsy report shows Denkins was shot 4 times, in the chest, both arms, and shoulder.

The autopsy does not say if the wounds outside of the chest area were to the front or back.


Speaking to reporters Thursday evening, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said: "that is not information that the state medical examiner has authorized to be released yet."

The report states: There was a wound of his right chest with injuries of his heart and both lungs, and there wounds of his left forearm, right upper arm, and right shoulder."

Freeman said the medical examiner still has more work to do looking at the wounds before saying more.

"We too very much want that report I assure you," said Freeman.

In a statement released with the autopsy, Freeman said: "A thorough investigation takes time and I continue to urge the community for its patience as we continue."

Denkins' mother, Rolanda Byrd, has said her son was shot in the back while running away from police near Bragg and East streets just after noon Monday.

The 5-day report lays out what investigators say happened step by step.

The report says Officer Twiddy spotted Denkins on Bragg Street near Mangum Street and recognized that he was wanted on an outstanding drug warrant. He got out of his car and approached Denkins who ran off when Twiddy told him to stop.

Twiddy ran after Denkins. The chase went over one fence and Denkins tried to climb a second when Twiddy caught up to him. Denkins stopped climbing and approached Twiddy.

"Officer Twiddy ran to and grabbed Mr. Denkins, in an effort to take him into custody. While the two struggled, Officer Twiddy felt Mr. Denkins reaching for an object in the front of his waistband. As the struggle continued, Officer Twiddy observed Mr. Denkins start to pull a handgun from the front of his waistband and begin to move it toward Officer Twiddy," reads the report.

"While still struggling with Mr. Denkins, Officer Twiddy drew his duty weapon and fired multiple shots as Mr. Denkins continued to move the firearm in his direction. After the first shots were fired, Officer Twiddy felt Mr. Denkins' hand or arm make contact with his duty weapon. Officer Twiddy, fearing that Mr. Denkins was either going to shoot him or attempt to take his duty weapon, stepped back and fired additional shots at Mr. Denkins, who still had the firearm in his hand. Mr. Denkins collapsed to the ground, dropping the firearm in the process. Officer Twiddy then used his police radio to call for assistance," the report continues.

Raleigh's police union has said Officer Twiddy fired in self-defense. In a statement to the local news the union said "on Monday, officer Twiddy had to do the hardest thing that is sometimes required as a police officer... We believe that officers don't leave their rights at home when they put on their uniform... Police officers have the right to self-defense."

While Twiddy's car was equipped with a dash camera, the 5-day report says he did not turn on his blue lights before getting out of his car. The camera is only activated when the lights are on.

The SBI and Raleigh detectives have canvassed the area for anyone who may have seen the shooting, but no eyewitnesses have come forward. Multiple people reported seeing the beginning of the foot pursuit and to hearing the shots. Police are asking any witnesses who may have seen anything - and who have not spoken with investigators - to come forward.

Twitty suffered "minor abrasions during the encounter, but was not seriously injured," according to the 5-day report.

The handgun found at the scene was reported stolen Jan. 31.

"Any fingerprints, DNA, or other evidence recovered from the weapon will be reported directly to the District Attorney by the SBI as a part of their criminal investigation," reads the report.

Officer Twitty is on administrative leave pending the result of the investigation, which is standard procedure. And while there is no full proof way to avoid being the victim of a police shootings, there is a sensible way to dodge the bullets.

When completed, the SBI investigation will be presented directly to the Wake County District Attorney. Freeman will review the findings before determining any potential criminal charges.

The funeral for Denkins is set for Today at 1 p.m. at Bible Way Temple on Holmes Street in southeast, Raleigh.

Here's the bottom line. Knowing the way the world is, especially our world in particular. The best way to dodge a bullet is to avoid putting yourself in positions that increase your chances of getting shot. Yes, I said it.
Things like having an open drug warrant, and fighting police officers are more likely to get you shot or shot at, whether you deserve it or not. This young man did not deserve to die. But he deserved to know the truth.

PR