Not the same as the murder of Trayvon but it bears looking into

[DaBownca]

and this has not been given as much attention ........
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/n...0,624384.story

Like Trayvon Martin? Unarmed teen shot, killed by New York police

By Tina SusmanMarch 30, 2012, 6:43 a.m.


Reporting from New York —
In a protest reminiscent of those surrounding the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida, marchers in New York City held a demonstration to demand the arrest of a New York police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed teenager after chasing him into his family's apartment.
The march Thursday night in the Bronx, where 18-year-old Ramarley Graham lived, was the latest rally in what protesters say will be a relentless campaign on behalf of the teenager. "We will get justice, because I'm not going to stop. A mother never lays down," Graham's mother, Constance Malcolm, told the crowd.
A grand jury will decide whether to file charges in the Feb. 2 shooting of Graham, who was killed in the apartment's bathroom. His grandmother and 6-year-old brother were in the apartment at the time. Graham had gone inside after being pursued by police, who said they suspected him of carrying drugs and of being armed. A bag of marijuana was found in the bathroom.
Surveillance videos from the police officers' pursuit showed Graham walking into the building, then police officers running up to the door and trying to kick it down. Eventually, they entered the apartment, ran upstairs and found Graham. One of them shot him once in the chest.
The shooting prompted angry protests that drew attention from activists such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has also led marches in Sanford, Fla., to protest the shooting death there on Feb. 26 of Martin. Martin was unarmed when he was killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain. Zimmerman, who hasn't been arrested, told police he acted in self-defense.
The officers involved in Graham's shooting initially said they fired in self-defense, but his grandmother denied that Graham attacked the officers. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has put the officer who shot Graham, Richard Haste, on modified duties pending the outcome of an investigation. Haste also was stripped of his gun and badge, as was a second officer who pursued Graham, Sgt. Scott Morris.
Hundreds of people attended Graham's funeral in February, and rallies held after his death attracted local lawmakers, as well as William Bell, the father of another unarmed man shot to death by police,Sean Bell. Last week, Kelly fired four police officers involved in Bell's 2006 shooting after the department concluded they had acted improperly when they opened fire on him the night before his wedding.

[DaBownca]

also.........

Rekia Boyd Lawsuit: Family Of Unarmed Woman Killed By Off-Duty Chicago Cop Sues City (VIDEO)

Posted: 04/ 6/2012 6:44 pm Updated: 04/ 7/2012 12:30 pm







It was an unseasonably warm March night when 22-year-old

Rekia Boyd was gunned down by an off-duty police officer in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood.





Boyd was with a group of friends around 1 a.m. near 15th Place and Albany Avenue when off-duty Chicago Police Det. Dante Servin pulled up in an unmarked vehicle and told the group to "shut up," according to her family.
What happened next, according to an attorney for Boyd's family, was truly shocking: After a verbal altercation with one person in the group, Servin allegedly opened fire. As the friends ran away, 39-year-old Antonio Cross was shot in his hand and Boyd was shot in the head, according to the attorney, James D. Montgomery. She died nearly 24 hours after the shooting.
"Rekia Boyd was shot and killed on March 21, 2012, without any legal justification," Montgomery said during a Friday press conference. "Her young life was snuffed out by an aggressive, intimidating police officer who provoked the confrontation and when met with a verbal rejoinder took the life of an innocent young woman."
"The police spokesperson publicly claimed that the officer fired in defense of his life when a man approached his vehicle and pointed a gun at him," Montgomery said. "Incidentally, no gun was ever found."
Initially, the police department claimed that Cross approached Servin with a weapon. Allegedly fearing for his life, Servin opened fire. But the Independent Police Review Authority has since stated that no weapon was found on the scene.
In an intense interview with WGN News, Cross said that he was talking on the phone when the officer began shooting into the crowd. Cross asked the station how the officer could have thought his phone was a weapon when he was holding it to his ear and talking.

Montgomery said the shooting happened simply because someone "mouthed off" to the officer.
Darian Boyd, the victim's older brother, told the Huffington Post that Servin lived in the Lawndale area, and had made a comment prior to the incident about wanting some "respect" from the community.
"He basically said, 'What do I have to do to get some peace, quiet and respect ... shoot someone?'" Darian Boyd told The Huffington Post, adding that there is a possibility that Cross exchanged words with the officer but that a weapon was never involved.
Boyd's family is now suing the city of Chicago and the detective in connection with her murder.
Darian Boyd and Martinez Sutton, another brother of the victim, started a websiteand petition hoping to find justice for their sister. Darian Boyd said that several witnesses believe that Servin was intoxicated when the shooting occurred. He added that his family has been canvassing the neighborhood looking for answers.
Ilana Rosenzweig, the review authority's chief administrator, said in a statement that it has identified several witnesses and also gathered physical evidence from the scene. The authority has passed on its findings to the Cook County State's Attorney's office and that the investigation is ongoing, she added.
"I couldn't believe it," Sutton said during the Friday press conference. "I saw a news story about a 22-year-old woman who had been shot in the head. I was like, I feel sorry for that family. I come to find out, we were the family."
(Watch video from the conference above.)
According to a community news site, Servin is still working on duty with the Chicago Police Department while the investigation into his actions continues.
The police would not comment on his status or the lawsuit against the department.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office did not return calls for comment.
The lawsuit against the city comes one day after 61-year-old Howard Morgan was sentenced to 40 years in prison for allegedly attempting to kill four white Chicago police officers. Morgan, an off-duty detective for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, was pulled over by Chicago police on Feb. 21, 2005, and shot 28 times. He survived, and his family maintains that police are not telling the truth about what happened that night.
"He never fired his weapon," Morgan's wife Rosalind told CBS. "There was no gun residue on his hand, and he didn’t fire his weapon."
"They shot him 21 times in the back parts of his body and seven times in the front, and left him there in a puddle of blood," she added. "He made it then, and God will allow him to make it again."
Joseph Erbentraut contributed to this report.

[Mike Johnson]

How convenient that the shooters in all of these incidents are using "self defense" as a justifiable cause for shooting innocent and unarmed people. If the level of protest and outrage for Trayvon's cause can be replicated in every incident where there is a shooting of an innocent and unarmed person of color by someone who is either or claims to be in a position of authority, police departments are going to have to feel at some point that they are going to have to clean up their act or have their assess handed to them in a court of public opinion, and possibly in civil court.

[DaBownca]

How convenient that the shooters in all of these incidents are using "self defense" as a justifiable cause for shooting innocent and unarmed people. If the level of protest and outrage for Trayvon's cause can be replicated in every incident where there is a shooting of an innocent and unarmed person of color by someone who is either or claims to be in a position of authority, police departments are going to have to feel at some point that they are going to have to clean up their act or have their assess handed to them in a court of public opinion, and possibly in civil court.

Preach

[Mike Barnes]

Chuck, We both remember how the Black Liberation Army(New York Chapter), Used to give NYPD, 'Dirt Naps', Because of blatantly recist acts of violence towards Black folks in the community during the 70's in New York, My man, Chuck, I'm not advocating cats to take it to the streets to wet-up law enforcement(Though, I would most definitely understand why, My man/LOL).

Much Respect
Mike Barnes

[djmarbll]

How convenient that the shooters in all of these incidents are using "self defense" as a justifiable cause for shooting innocent and unarmed people. If the level of protest and outrage for Trayvon's cause can be replicated in every incident where there is a shooting of an innocent and unarmed person of color by someone who is either or claims to be in a position of authority, police departments are going to have to feel at some point that they are going to have to clean up their act or have their assess handed to them in a court of public opinion, and possibly in civil court.

In America, if you're approached by or see a black person you don't know, the idea of having to defend yourself is ingrained in the culture. That indoctrination must be destroyed but throughout America's history, its been promoted, even among our own people.