Category Archives: Blacks in America

All 6 Baltimore officers indicted

Posted on by

From WFSB.com:

Baltimore officers indicted for the death of Freddie Gray

by Zach Winslett

(RNN) – All six officers charged for the death of Freddie Gray have been indicted by a grand jury. 

“As our investigation has continued, additional info has been discovered, and, as is often the case, additional charges can be added,” Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby said.

In the meantime, the Mayor Hyphenate says Baltimore crime is off the charts.

And that hurts her.

Baltimore’s mayor: Spike in crime ‘disheartening’

by Yvonne Wenger

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called the city’s recent spike in violence “disheartening” Thursday as police work to address a dramatic increase in homicides and nonfatal shootings.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” the mayor told reporters at a news conference. “It is disheartening, but I am still resolved to continue to reduce violent crime in our city.”

The city has experienced 100 homicides this year, compared with 71 at this time last year, the police department said. It’s the fastest the city has reached 100 homicides since 2007. Last year, the city reached the mark on July 4. Nonfatal shootings are up more than 70 percent with at least 19 people shot on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I wonder: are Baltimore police hedging their arrest bets?

BZ

 

 Share

Oakland schools: blacks can’t be suspended

Posted on by

Because that would be, clearly, racist.

First, from KRON Channel 4, in the San Francisco bay area:

Oakland Schools: Students who act up, mouth off won’t be suspended

by Mario Sevilla

OAKLAND (KRON) — The Oakland Unified School District has approved a controversial move to eliminate kicking students out of school for swearing at teachers and ignoring instructions.

The school board voted unanimously on Wednesday to no longer allow teachers and administrators to suspend students out of class for non-violent offenses.

Why?

Civil and child rights advocates have been lobbying for such changes based on statistics showing that minority students are disproportionately punished for disobedience.

One commenter in this article indicated: “Future BART employees.”  Nicely done.

SFGate.com also weighed in:

Oakland to halt school suspensions for willful defiance

by Jill Tucker

Mouthing off in class or failing to follow a teacher’s instructions will no longer lead to suspension in Oakland schools, a ban that will be phased in and be fully in effect just over a year from now, the school board unanimously decided Wednesday night.

Oakland has been criticized for the disproportionate suspensions, leading to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and a 2012 voluntary agreement that required the district to employ a range of practices that reduced suspensions. Among them are the district’s Manhood Development classes for African American males as well as restorative justice, which requires victims and offenders to talk about the behavior and ways to address it.

Community activists from the Black Organizing Project, Public Counsel and Californians for Justice, among others, applauded the school board vote, but said more was needed to address the needs of disadvantaged students in the district.

Gosh, I wonder just how many Caucasoids there are in the Oakland School District, vs the number of blacks?

Further, could it possibly be that a “disproportionate” number of blacks are suspended because a higher number of blacks actually misbehave?

All this does is reinforce to persons who don’t need this kind of reinforcement that there are no consequences to actions.  This is the same school district that validated “Ebonics” in 1996.

The clear bigotry of low expectations.

BZ

 

 Share

Baltimore officers charged with manslaughter

Posted on by

From the NYTimes.com:

Prosecutors Charge 6 Baltimore Officers in Freddie Gray Death

by Alan Blinder and Richard Perez-Pena

BALTIMORE — Prosecutors here, in an unexpected announcement, said Friday they had probable cause to file homicide, manslaughter and misconduct charges against police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a spinal cord injury while in police custody.

In a news conference, the state’s attorney in Baltimore, Marilyn J. Mosby, described repeated mistreatment of Mr. Gray. Time and again, she said, officers abused him, arresting him without grounds and violating police procedure by putting him in handcuffs and leg restraints in the van without putting a seatbelt on him.

Ms. Mosby also said the officers had repeatedly failed to seek medical attention for Mr. Gray after he was injured. By the time he was removed from the van, she said, “Mr. Gray was no longer breathing at all.”

“We have probable cause to file criminal charges,” Ms. Mosby said.

I sense this is going to be a long, hot summer.

More to follow.

BZ

 

 Share

But wait, there’s more:

Posted on by

From the WashingtonPost.com:

Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document says

by Peter Hermann

BALTIMORE — A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington Post.

The prisoner, who is currently in jail, was separated from Gray by a metal partition and could not see him. His statement is contained in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the court. The Post was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the inmate’s safety.

The document, written by a Baltimore police investigator, offers the first glimpse of what might have happened inside the van. It is not clear whether any additional evidence backs up the prisoner’s version, which is just one piece of a much larger probe.

Is this perchance another replay of Ferguson, where persons who told the truth were targeted for violence because it flew in the face of the embraced meme?

BZ

UPDATE:

From WJLA.com:

Law enforcement sources say Freddie Gray suffered head injury in police transport van

by Brad Bell

BALTIMORE, Md. (WJLA) — An investigation into the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray has found no evidence that his fatal injuries were caused during the videotaped arrest and interaction with police officers, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

The sources spoke to ABC7 News after being briefed on the findings of a police report turned over to prosecutors on Thursday.

Sources said the medical examiner found Gray’s catastrophic injury was caused when he slammed into the back of the police transport van, apparently breaking his neck; a head injury he sustained matches a bolt in the back of the van.

Details surrounding exactly what caused Gray to slam into the back of the van was unclear. The officer driving the van has yet to give a statement to authorities. It’s also unclear whether Gray’s head injury was voluntary or was a result of some other action.

 

 Share

Ferguson out of control:

Posted on by

FERGUSON BLUE LIVES MATTERThe Ferguson Police Department is the last department that officers throughout this nation would want to belong to.

Despite the fact that Officer Darren Wilson was completely exonerated, two officers were shot on Thursday.

From CNN.com:

State, county police take over Ferguson protest security after shooting

by Greg Botelho and Catherine E. Shoichet

(CNN)  With tensions running high after the shooting of two officers in Ferguson, Missouri, state and county police took over protest security in the St. Louis suburb Thursday.

St. Louis County Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are assuming “command of the security detail regarding protests,” St. Louis County Police said, while Ferguson Police will remain responsible for “routine policing services” in the city.

Meaning: the city was “taken over” by outside forces.

Ferguson DecisionThe officers who remain are there because they cannot readily leave, and they can do nothing right — at this point — in the eyes of the nation.

Ferguson Cops SensitiveThey are caught between belief and physicality.

And they are caught up in the lie that apparently won’t stop.

#BLACK LIVES MATTER

#HANDS UP DON’T SHOOT

BZ

 

 Share