Black Lives Matter-Ugliness of Racism.
- Thread starter Ocean Breeze
- Start date
I think if the public would choose a name "Gordon Lightfoot" Square or "Donald Sutherland" Square would be front-runners.
Why ? And will they be erased in the future for some contrived offence ?
Here's hoping enough councillors flip their vote on Sankofa Square decision
Council's 19-2 vote in December based on limited info, false claims
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jun 26, 2024 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read
Yonge-Dundas Square.
The vote by full Toronto council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday, June 27, 2024.
The vote by full council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday. Last week, the city’s executive committee voted unanimously to proceed with this historically illiterate decision, but on Wednesday the full council vote was deferred.
The reality is this vote, based on poor research, ignorance and outright lies, is likely to pass, but hopefully a few of the 19 councillors who voted to start this process change sides on Thursday.
Renaming Yonge-Dundas Square was the compromise position that Mayor Olivia Chow agreed to when she backed off renaming all of Dundas St. last December. The costs had grown to more than $13 million, the public was no longer on side and Chow needed an exit strategy.
On Dec. 13, with no public consultation on the new name, Sankofa Square was unveiled by Councillor Chris Moise, who represents the Toronto Centre ward that includes the square. In a late-in-the-day vote, council agreed to Moise’s new name in a 19-2 vote that some are now reconsidering.
The name Sankofa comes from the Twi language of the Akan people of Ghana in Africa and loosely translated means “to go back and get it.” It seems those choosing the name didn’t go back and get the history because the Akan people were deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade by selling their neighbours, their rivals and others to white slave traders who showed up on what was then called the Gold Coast.
The reason for renaming Yonge-Dundas Square is the false assertion that Henry Dundas, the 18th-century Scottish politician who the street and the square get their names from, helped prolong the slave trade. It’s well documented that Dundas was a committed abolitionist who worked hard to end the slave trade and slavery itself at a time when that was not a popular position.
Dundas has been smeared by people who either have an agenda or don’t understand history or politics. Real historians like Lynn McDonald, a former NDP MP and professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, have said the folks at city hall got the whole story wrong.
So now we are renaming a square named for a man who opposed the slave trade with a word from one of the ethnic groups in Ghana who participated in the slave trade.
Last week at the executive committee, it was stated that even mentioning that the Akan people participated in the slave trade was racist and akin to residential school denialism.
Of course, accusations of racism were flying freely at the executive committee last week. Moise accused Daniel Tate, a resident of Moise’s ward who showed up to oppose the renaming, of being a racist.
Moise made the accusation only after his microphone was turned off and didn’t dispute it when Tate raised the issue. In fact, Moise repeated his accusation on Global News Radio the next morning while speaking with host Greg Brady, who asked him what had happened.
“Well, you know what,” Moise said, “the way he was behaving to me, there was an element of that and I was disgusted by it.”
Moise admitted that he didn’t know Tate and didn’t want to know him, but felt he was a racist. Tate had just finished saying that if the square was going to be renamed and if the issue was to make Black Torontonians feel they have a space, the square could be renamed Herb Carnegie Square.
Carnegie was a Toronto native who helped break the colour barrier in professional hockey in this country. If Tate’s opposition to Sankofa Square was motivated by race, he wouldn’t be likely to offer up the name of a Black man as an alternative to Sankofa.
The renaming of a public square, and a significant one at that, shouldn’t happen based on shoddy research, political agendas or false accusations of racism, but this is where we are in Toronto in 2024.
When this comes to full council on Thursday, let’s hope the majority side with sanity and vote this name change down.
torontosun.com
Council's 19-2 vote in December based on limited info, false claims
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jun 26, 2024 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read
Yonge-Dundas Square.
The vote by full Toronto council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday, June 27, 2024.
The vote by full council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday. Last week, the city’s executive committee voted unanimously to proceed with this historically illiterate decision, but on Wednesday the full council vote was deferred.
The reality is this vote, based on poor research, ignorance and outright lies, is likely to pass, but hopefully a few of the 19 councillors who voted to start this process change sides on Thursday.
Renaming Yonge-Dundas Square was the compromise position that Mayor Olivia Chow agreed to when she backed off renaming all of Dundas St. last December. The costs had grown to more than $13 million, the public was no longer on side and Chow needed an exit strategy.
On Dec. 13, with no public consultation on the new name, Sankofa Square was unveiled by Councillor Chris Moise, who represents the Toronto Centre ward that includes the square. In a late-in-the-day vote, council agreed to Moise’s new name in a 19-2 vote that some are now reconsidering.
The name Sankofa comes from the Twi language of the Akan people of Ghana in Africa and loosely translated means “to go back and get it.” It seems those choosing the name didn’t go back and get the history because the Akan people were deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade by selling their neighbours, their rivals and others to white slave traders who showed up on what was then called the Gold Coast.
The reason for renaming Yonge-Dundas Square is the false assertion that Henry Dundas, the 18th-century Scottish politician who the street and the square get their names from, helped prolong the slave trade. It’s well documented that Dundas was a committed abolitionist who worked hard to end the slave trade and slavery itself at a time when that was not a popular position.
Dundas has been smeared by people who either have an agenda or don’t understand history or politics. Real historians like Lynn McDonald, a former NDP MP and professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, have said the folks at city hall got the whole story wrong.
So now we are renaming a square named for a man who opposed the slave trade with a word from one of the ethnic groups in Ghana who participated in the slave trade.
Last week at the executive committee, it was stated that even mentioning that the Akan people participated in the slave trade was racist and akin to residential school denialism.
Of course, accusations of racism were flying freely at the executive committee last week. Moise accused Daniel Tate, a resident of Moise’s ward who showed up to oppose the renaming, of being a racist.
Moise made the accusation only after his microphone was turned off and didn’t dispute it when Tate raised the issue. In fact, Moise repeated his accusation on Global News Radio the next morning while speaking with host Greg Brady, who asked him what had happened.
“Well, you know what,” Moise said, “the way he was behaving to me, there was an element of that and I was disgusted by it.”
Moise admitted that he didn’t know Tate and didn’t want to know him, but felt he was a racist. Tate had just finished saying that if the square was going to be renamed and if the issue was to make Black Torontonians feel they have a space, the square could be renamed Herb Carnegie Square.
Carnegie was a Toronto native who helped break the colour barrier in professional hockey in this country. If Tate’s opposition to Sankofa Square was motivated by race, he wouldn’t be likely to offer up the name of a Black man as an alternative to Sankofa.
The renaming of a public square, and a significant one at that, shouldn’t happen based on shoddy research, political agendas or false accusations of racism, but this is where we are in Toronto in 2024.
When this comes to full council on Thursday, let’s hope the majority side with sanity and vote this name change down.
LILLEY: Here's hoping enough councillors flip their vote on Sankofa Square decision
The vote by full Toronto council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday.
Shot in 1.6 seconds: Video raises questions about how trooper avoided charges in Black man’s death
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Russ Bynum And Jim Mustian
Published Jun 25, 2024 • 6 minute read
Georgia-Trooper-Driver Slain
This image from a dashboard-mounted video camera on a Georgia State Patrol cruiser shows Trooper 1st Class Jake Thompson at the scene of an Aug. 7, 2020, shooting in which the trooper killed motorist Julian Lewis in Screven County, Ga. Thompson knocked Lewis' car into a ditch and shot him after trying to pull over the 60-year-old Black man for a broken taillight. Thompson was fired and charged with murder, but walked free after a grand jury declined to indict him. The newly released video raises new questions about the shooting. (Georgia Department of Public Safety/Ebony Reed, Louise Story via AP)
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Julian Lewis didn’t pull over for the Georgia State Patrol cruiser flashing its blue lights behind him on a rural highway. He still didn’t stop after pointing a hand out the window and turning onto a darkened dirt road as the trooper sounded his siren.
Five minutes into a pursuit that began over a broken taillight, the 60-year-old Black man was dead — shot in the forehead by the white trooper who fired a single bullet mere seconds after forcing Lewis to crash into a ditch. Trooper Jake Thompson insisted he pulled the trigger as Lewis revved the engine of his Nissan Sentra and jerked his steering wheel as if trying to mow him down.
“I had to shoot this man,” Thompson can be heard telling a supervisor on video recorded by his dash-mounted camera at the shooting scene in rural Screven County, midway between Savannah and Augusta. “And I’m just scared.”
But new investigative details obtained by The Associated Press and the never-before-released dashcam video of the August 2020 shooting have raised fresh questions about how the trooper avoided prosecution with nothing more than a signed promise never to work in law enforcement again. Use-of-force experts who reviewed the footage for AP said the shooting appeared to be unjustified.
An investigative file obtained by AP offers the most detailed account yet of the case, including documents that spell out why the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the 27-year-old trooper’s version of events did not match the evidence. For instance, an inspection of Lewis’ car indicated the crash had disconnected the vehicle’s battery and rendered it immobile.
Footage of the pursuit has never been made public. It was first obtained by the authors of a new book about race and economic inequality titled “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.” Louise Story and Ebony Reed shared the video with AP, which verified its authenticity and obtained additional documents under Georgia’s open-records law.
The footage does not include visuals of the actual shooting, which happened outside the camera’s view. But it shows the crucial final moments in which Thompson uses a police maneuver to send Lewis’ car spinning into a ditch. Then the trooper’s cruiser stops parallel to Lewis’ vehicle and Thompson’s voice barks, “Hey, get your hands up!” The gunshot rings out before he can finish the warning.
The documents show Thompson fired just 1.6 seconds after his cruiser stopped.
“This guy just came out shooting” and did not give Lewis “remotely sufficient time to respond” to his order, said Andrew Scott, a former Boca Raton, Florida, police chief who wrote a dissertation about police chases.
“This goes beyond a stupid mistake,” added Charles “Joe” Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant and use-of-force expert who has consulted on thousands of such cases.
Key also took issue with the maneuver to disable Lewis’ vehicle, saying that, too, was unwarranted. And he deemed Thompson’s claim that he fired because of the revving engine “total garbage.”
“I’m not in favor of people running from the police,” Key said. “But it doesn’t put him in the category of people deserving to be shot by the police.”
Thompson was fired and arrested on a murder charge a week after the Aug. 7, 2020, shooting, which came amid a summer of protests in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and other Black people. The trooper was denied bail and spent more than 100 days in jail.
But in the end, Thompson walked free without a trial. A state grand jury in 2021 declined to bring an indictment. The district attorney overseeing the case closed it last fall, when federal prosecutors also ruled out civil rights charges.
At the same time, the U.S. Justice Department quietly entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Thompson forbidding him from ever working in law enforcement again — a highly unusual deal that brought little solace to Lewis’ family.
“It’s inadequate,” said Lewis’ son, Brook Bacon. “I thought the shortcomings that occurred at the state level would be more thoroughly examined at the federal level, but that’s apparently not the case.”
The state of Georgia in 2022 paid Lewis’ family a $4.8 million settlement to avoid a lawsuit.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Georgia’s Southern District, which reached the non-prosecution deal with Thompson, declined to discuss it except to say the Justice Department communicated with the Lewis family “consistent with the law and DOJ policy.”
District Attorney Daphne Totten did not respond to requests for comment. Neither Thompson nor his attorney, Keith Barber, would discuss the case.
Because Georgia law doesn’t require troopers to use body cameras, the dashcam footage is the only video of the shooting.
“It’s a heartbreaking case and sheds light on the complexities and difficulties Black families face when intersecting with the justice system,” said Reed, a former AP journalist and one of the authors who first obtained the footage.
Lewis worked odd jobs as a carpenter and handyman. He helped put a new roof and siding on a local church, relatives said, and repaired plumbing and electrical wiring in people’s homes. He would often charge friends and family only for materials.
“He was just a good, kind-hearted person,” said Tonia Moore, one of Lewis’ sisters. “Everybody has flaws.”
Lewis also struggled with drugs and alcohol. He served prison time for cocaine possession and multiple DUI violations. After the shooting, blood tests found alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.
Thompson, who policed Georgia highways for six years before the shooting, was described in a performance evaluation as “hard working and aggressive.” He led his post in DUI arrests, according to his personnel file, and preferred working nights to improve his chances of catching intoxicated drivers.
Days after the shooting, Thompson told GBI investigators he used the tactical maneuver to end the chase — which he estimated reached top speeds of 65 mph (105 kph) — out of concern that the pursuit was approaching a more populated area. He acted right after Lewis’ car rolled without stopping through an intersection with a stop sign.
Thompson said that after getting out of his cruiser beside Lewis’ car in the ditch, he heard the Nissan’s engine “revving up at a high rate of speed.”
“It appeared to me that the violator was trying to use his vehicle to injure me,” Thompson said in an audio recording of the GBI interview obtained by the AP. He said he fired “in fear for my life and safety.”
On the dashcam footage, a brief noise resembling a revving engine can be heard just before Thompson shouts his warning and fires. Less than two minutes later, the trooper can be heard saying: “Jesus Christ! He almost ran over me.”
According to the GBI case file, Thompson fired facing the open driver’s side window of Lewis’ car less than 10 feet (3 meters) away.
Agents at the scene found Lewis’ front tires pointing away from the trooper’s cruiser. They also determined Lewis’ car had no power after the Nissan struck the ditch. Raising the hood, they discovered the battery had tipped onto its side after its mounting broke. One of the battery cables had been pulled loose, and the engine’s air filter housing had come partially open.
Investigators later performed a field test on Lewis’ car in which they connected the battery and started the engine. When an agent disconnected one of the cables from the battery, the car’s engine immediately stopped. Likewise, opening the air filter cover caused the engine to die.
Because grand jury proceedings are generally secret, it’s unknown why the panel declined to indict Thompson in June 2021. Georgia affords law enforcement officers the chance to defend themselves before a grand jury, a privilege not given to any other defendants.
Totten, the district attorney, decided not to try again, saying in a Sept. 28 letter to the GBI that “there has been no new evidence developed in this case.”
For Bacon, Lewis’ son, the lack of charges is an open wound. He worries no one will remember what happened given the passage of almost four years — and the number of others killed by police under questionable circumstances.
“It’s hard for anybody to even reach back that far, especially if they didn’t hear about it initially,” he said. “But these issues haven’t gone away.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Russ Bynum And Jim Mustian
Published Jun 25, 2024 • 6 minute read
Georgia-Trooper-Driver Slain
This image from a dashboard-mounted video camera on a Georgia State Patrol cruiser shows Trooper 1st Class Jake Thompson at the scene of an Aug. 7, 2020, shooting in which the trooper killed motorist Julian Lewis in Screven County, Ga. Thompson knocked Lewis' car into a ditch and shot him after trying to pull over the 60-year-old Black man for a broken taillight. Thompson was fired and charged with murder, but walked free after a grand jury declined to indict him. The newly released video raises new questions about the shooting. (Georgia Department of Public Safety/Ebony Reed, Louise Story via AP)
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Julian Lewis didn’t pull over for the Georgia State Patrol cruiser flashing its blue lights behind him on a rural highway. He still didn’t stop after pointing a hand out the window and turning onto a darkened dirt road as the trooper sounded his siren.
Five minutes into a pursuit that began over a broken taillight, the 60-year-old Black man was dead — shot in the forehead by the white trooper who fired a single bullet mere seconds after forcing Lewis to crash into a ditch. Trooper Jake Thompson insisted he pulled the trigger as Lewis revved the engine of his Nissan Sentra and jerked his steering wheel as if trying to mow him down.
“I had to shoot this man,” Thompson can be heard telling a supervisor on video recorded by his dash-mounted camera at the shooting scene in rural Screven County, midway between Savannah and Augusta. “And I’m just scared.”
But new investigative details obtained by The Associated Press and the never-before-released dashcam video of the August 2020 shooting have raised fresh questions about how the trooper avoided prosecution with nothing more than a signed promise never to work in law enforcement again. Use-of-force experts who reviewed the footage for AP said the shooting appeared to be unjustified.
An investigative file obtained by AP offers the most detailed account yet of the case, including documents that spell out why the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the 27-year-old trooper’s version of events did not match the evidence. For instance, an inspection of Lewis’ car indicated the crash had disconnected the vehicle’s battery and rendered it immobile.
Footage of the pursuit has never been made public. It was first obtained by the authors of a new book about race and economic inequality titled “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.” Louise Story and Ebony Reed shared the video with AP, which verified its authenticity and obtained additional documents under Georgia’s open-records law.
The footage does not include visuals of the actual shooting, which happened outside the camera’s view. But it shows the crucial final moments in which Thompson uses a police maneuver to send Lewis’ car spinning into a ditch. Then the trooper’s cruiser stops parallel to Lewis’ vehicle and Thompson’s voice barks, “Hey, get your hands up!” The gunshot rings out before he can finish the warning.
The documents show Thompson fired just 1.6 seconds after his cruiser stopped.
“This guy just came out shooting” and did not give Lewis “remotely sufficient time to respond” to his order, said Andrew Scott, a former Boca Raton, Florida, police chief who wrote a dissertation about police chases.
“This goes beyond a stupid mistake,” added Charles “Joe” Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant and use-of-force expert who has consulted on thousands of such cases.
Key also took issue with the maneuver to disable Lewis’ vehicle, saying that, too, was unwarranted. And he deemed Thompson’s claim that he fired because of the revving engine “total garbage.”
“I’m not in favor of people running from the police,” Key said. “But it doesn’t put him in the category of people deserving to be shot by the police.”
Thompson was fired and arrested on a murder charge a week after the Aug. 7, 2020, shooting, which came amid a summer of protests in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and other Black people. The trooper was denied bail and spent more than 100 days in jail.
But in the end, Thompson walked free without a trial. A state grand jury in 2021 declined to bring an indictment. The district attorney overseeing the case closed it last fall, when federal prosecutors also ruled out civil rights charges.
At the same time, the U.S. Justice Department quietly entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Thompson forbidding him from ever working in law enforcement again — a highly unusual deal that brought little solace to Lewis’ family.
“It’s inadequate,” said Lewis’ son, Brook Bacon. “I thought the shortcomings that occurred at the state level would be more thoroughly examined at the federal level, but that’s apparently not the case.”
The state of Georgia in 2022 paid Lewis’ family a $4.8 million settlement to avoid a lawsuit.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Georgia’s Southern District, which reached the non-prosecution deal with Thompson, declined to discuss it except to say the Justice Department communicated with the Lewis family “consistent with the law and DOJ policy.”
District Attorney Daphne Totten did not respond to requests for comment. Neither Thompson nor his attorney, Keith Barber, would discuss the case.
Because Georgia law doesn’t require troopers to use body cameras, the dashcam footage is the only video of the shooting.
“It’s a heartbreaking case and sheds light on the complexities and difficulties Black families face when intersecting with the justice system,” said Reed, a former AP journalist and one of the authors who first obtained the footage.
Lewis worked odd jobs as a carpenter and handyman. He helped put a new roof and siding on a local church, relatives said, and repaired plumbing and electrical wiring in people’s homes. He would often charge friends and family only for materials.
“He was just a good, kind-hearted person,” said Tonia Moore, one of Lewis’ sisters. “Everybody has flaws.”
Lewis also struggled with drugs and alcohol. He served prison time for cocaine possession and multiple DUI violations. After the shooting, blood tests found alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.
Thompson, who policed Georgia highways for six years before the shooting, was described in a performance evaluation as “hard working and aggressive.” He led his post in DUI arrests, according to his personnel file, and preferred working nights to improve his chances of catching intoxicated drivers.
Days after the shooting, Thompson told GBI investigators he used the tactical maneuver to end the chase — which he estimated reached top speeds of 65 mph (105 kph) — out of concern that the pursuit was approaching a more populated area. He acted right after Lewis’ car rolled without stopping through an intersection with a stop sign.
Thompson said that after getting out of his cruiser beside Lewis’ car in the ditch, he heard the Nissan’s engine “revving up at a high rate of speed.”
“It appeared to me that the violator was trying to use his vehicle to injure me,” Thompson said in an audio recording of the GBI interview obtained by the AP. He said he fired “in fear for my life and safety.”
On the dashcam footage, a brief noise resembling a revving engine can be heard just before Thompson shouts his warning and fires. Less than two minutes later, the trooper can be heard saying: “Jesus Christ! He almost ran over me.”
According to the GBI case file, Thompson fired facing the open driver’s side window of Lewis’ car less than 10 feet (3 meters) away.
Agents at the scene found Lewis’ front tires pointing away from the trooper’s cruiser. They also determined Lewis’ car had no power after the Nissan struck the ditch. Raising the hood, they discovered the battery had tipped onto its side after its mounting broke. One of the battery cables had been pulled loose, and the engine’s air filter housing had come partially open.
Investigators later performed a field test on Lewis’ car in which they connected the battery and started the engine. When an agent disconnected one of the cables from the battery, the car’s engine immediately stopped. Likewise, opening the air filter cover caused the engine to die.
Because grand jury proceedings are generally secret, it’s unknown why the panel declined to indict Thompson in June 2021. Georgia affords law enforcement officers the chance to defend themselves before a grand jury, a privilege not given to any other defendants.
Totten, the district attorney, decided not to try again, saying in a Sept. 28 letter to the GBI that “there has been no new evidence developed in this case.”
For Bacon, Lewis’ son, the lack of charges is an open wound. He worries no one will remember what happened given the passage of almost four years — and the number of others killed by police under questionable circumstances.
“It’s hard for anybody to even reach back that far, especially if they didn’t hear about it initially,” he said. “But these issues haven’t gone away.”
Shot in 1.6 seconds: Video raises questions about how trooper avoided charges in Black man’s death
The state of Georgia in 2022 paid Lewis' family a $4.8 million settlement to avoid a lawsuit.
Indictment alleges West Virginia couple used adopted Black children as 'slaves,' judge says
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John Raby
Published Jun 26, 2024 • 3 minute read
A couple arrested after some of their adopted children were found locked in a shed at their West Virginia home are set for trial later this year on charges that a judge said involved their use as “slaves.”
Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather face trial later this year after they were arraigned on 16 counts each accusing them of civil rights violations, human trafficking, forced labor, gross child neglect and falsifying an application seeking a public defender. All but one of the counts are felonies.
Lantz and Whitefeather are white. Four children whose initials are in the indictment are Black.
The indictment said Lantz and Whitefeather forced, threatened and interfered with “the free exercise and enjoyment of any right and privilege” of the four children.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck said Wednesday that while she couldn’t answer questions about specific details, “I would just say that because the indictment includes a civil rights violation, that there’s definitely a racial element to the case.”
The couple’s trial is set for Sept. 9. They remain held at the South Central Regional Jail.
Circuit Judge MaryClaire Akers expressed shock after a grand jury indicted the couple in May, saying at a June 11 arraignment that “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an indictment like this in all of my time,” according to WCHS-TV.
Akers said the indictment alleged the children’s “use as, basically, slaves.”
Authorities began investigating after they received a call to the home last October in Sissonville, near Charleston, from someone expressing concern about the children’s welfare. Sheriff’s deputies forced their way into a shed next to the home where a teenage boy and girl were locked inside. The children had been deprived of adequate food and hygienic care, and the room had no running water or bathroom facilities, according to a criminal complaint.
Inside the main residence, a 9-year-old girl was found alone crying in a loft about 15 feet (4.6 meters) high with no protection from falling. No adults were present at the home. A fourth child was with Lantz when he eventually returned. Deputies were later led to the couple’s 6-year-old adopted Black daughter who had been with acquaintances from the couple’s church.
The couple was arrested and the children were placed under the care of Child Protective Services.
Akers ruled the bonds for each of the defendants was insufficient and ordered them increased from $200,000 to $500,000 cash only.
Lantz’s attorney, Ed Bullman, said at the June 11 hearing that the charges were full of “square pegs and very round holes.”
Whitefeather’s brother, Mark Hughes of Chesapeake, Ohio, testified during a bond hearing in October that the home in Sissonville was unfurnished because the family was in the process of moving to a larger home in Beckley, according to WCHS-TV. At the hearing, Whitefeather’s attorney, Mark Plants, referred to the shed as a “teenage clubhouse,” said there was a key inside the shed and that there was “just a plain and simple misunderstanding about what is going on here.”
But in a criminal complaint, Deputy H.K. Burdette said he knocked on the shed’s door on Oct. 2 and that the teenage girl inside indicated she was unable to open it. After deputies forced their way in, the girl said the defendants had brought food to her and her brother early that morning and that they had been inside for about 12 hours with no contact from the couple. The girl also said she and her brother were not allowed inside the house and were “locked in the shed for long periods of time daily.”
The children were in dirty clothes and smelled of body odor, and the boy was barefoot and had what appeared to be sores on his feet, Burdette said.
In a court filing, Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Krivonyak said the couple had sold an 80-acre ranch for $725,000 in Tonasket, Washington. Whitefeather’s brother posted two $200,000 bonds to secure the defendants’ initial jail release three days later. In March, the couple sold the Sissonville home for $295,000, Krivonyak said.
Separately, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled in February that Child Protective Services failed to adequately investigate what happened with the children, who were left to “suffer at the hands of their adoptive parents for months.” The judge ordered Child Protective Services to provide information in the case as part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit that accuses the state of failing to protect children and fix its overwhelmed foster care system.
— Associated Press writer Leah Willingham contributed to this report.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John Raby
Published Jun 26, 2024 • 3 minute read
A couple arrested after some of their adopted children were found locked in a shed at their West Virginia home are set for trial later this year on charges that a judge said involved their use as “slaves.”
Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather face trial later this year after they were arraigned on 16 counts each accusing them of civil rights violations, human trafficking, forced labor, gross child neglect and falsifying an application seeking a public defender. All but one of the counts are felonies.
Lantz and Whitefeather are white. Four children whose initials are in the indictment are Black.
The indictment said Lantz and Whitefeather forced, threatened and interfered with “the free exercise and enjoyment of any right and privilege” of the four children.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck said Wednesday that while she couldn’t answer questions about specific details, “I would just say that because the indictment includes a civil rights violation, that there’s definitely a racial element to the case.”
The couple’s trial is set for Sept. 9. They remain held at the South Central Regional Jail.
Circuit Judge MaryClaire Akers expressed shock after a grand jury indicted the couple in May, saying at a June 11 arraignment that “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an indictment like this in all of my time,” according to WCHS-TV.
Akers said the indictment alleged the children’s “use as, basically, slaves.”
Authorities began investigating after they received a call to the home last October in Sissonville, near Charleston, from someone expressing concern about the children’s welfare. Sheriff’s deputies forced their way into a shed next to the home where a teenage boy and girl were locked inside. The children had been deprived of adequate food and hygienic care, and the room had no running water or bathroom facilities, according to a criminal complaint.
Inside the main residence, a 9-year-old girl was found alone crying in a loft about 15 feet (4.6 meters) high with no protection from falling. No adults were present at the home. A fourth child was with Lantz when he eventually returned. Deputies were later led to the couple’s 6-year-old adopted Black daughter who had been with acquaintances from the couple’s church.
The couple was arrested and the children were placed under the care of Child Protective Services.
Akers ruled the bonds for each of the defendants was insufficient and ordered them increased from $200,000 to $500,000 cash only.
Lantz’s attorney, Ed Bullman, said at the June 11 hearing that the charges were full of “square pegs and very round holes.”
Whitefeather’s brother, Mark Hughes of Chesapeake, Ohio, testified during a bond hearing in October that the home in Sissonville was unfurnished because the family was in the process of moving to a larger home in Beckley, according to WCHS-TV. At the hearing, Whitefeather’s attorney, Mark Plants, referred to the shed as a “teenage clubhouse,” said there was a key inside the shed and that there was “just a plain and simple misunderstanding about what is going on here.”
But in a criminal complaint, Deputy H.K. Burdette said he knocked on the shed’s door on Oct. 2 and that the teenage girl inside indicated she was unable to open it. After deputies forced their way in, the girl said the defendants had brought food to her and her brother early that morning and that they had been inside for about 12 hours with no contact from the couple. The girl also said she and her brother were not allowed inside the house and were “locked in the shed for long periods of time daily.”
The children were in dirty clothes and smelled of body odor, and the boy was barefoot and had what appeared to be sores on his feet, Burdette said.
In a court filing, Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Krivonyak said the couple had sold an 80-acre ranch for $725,000 in Tonasket, Washington. Whitefeather’s brother posted two $200,000 bonds to secure the defendants’ initial jail release three days later. In March, the couple sold the Sissonville home for $295,000, Krivonyak said.
Separately, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled in February that Child Protective Services failed to adequately investigate what happened with the children, who were left to “suffer at the hands of their adoptive parents for months.” The judge ordered Child Protective Services to provide information in the case as part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit that accuses the state of failing to protect children and fix its overwhelmed foster care system.
— Associated Press writer Leah Willingham contributed to this report.
Indictment alleges West Virginia couple used adopted Black children as 'slaves,' judge says
A couple arrested after some of their adopted children were found in a shed at their West Virginia home are set for trial later this year.
Sankofa Square gets green light at Toronto City Council meeting
Author of the article
ostmedia News
Published Jun 27, 2024 • Last updated 4 days ago • 1 minute read
Yonge-Dundas Square.
The vote by full Toronto council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday, June 27, 2024.
It’s full steam ahead for Sankofa Square.
Toronto city councillors on Thursday voted 17-6 in favour of proceeding with a plan to rename and rebrand Yonge-Dundas Square.
Changes approved Thursday include formally replacing all City of Toronto references to Yonge-Dundas Square with Sankofa Square; the square’s board of management will oversee establishing a new multi-year strategic and business plan; and that plan will include ways to “enhance revenue stream” and increase programming and safety at the square.
The name “Sankofa” was proposed after a committee involving Black and Indigenous leaders studied options to replace Dundas. Sankofa originates in Ghana. It represents the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past.
The process to rename the square was triggered by a petition that claimed Henry Dundas was involved in delaying the abolition of the Transatlantic slave trade.
Critics had stepped up to try to reverse council’s course, including a petition against the renaming with some 30,000 signatures submitted.
The cost of renaming Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was pegged at around $335,000 by Mayor Olivia Chow and Coun. Chris Moise, who stated that any costs beyond the budget would be covered by the square’s board of management through third-party financial partners and in-kind support.
torontosun.com
Author of the article
ostmedia NewsPublished Jun 27, 2024 • Last updated 4 days ago • 1 minute read
Yonge-Dundas Square.
The vote by full Toronto council on whether to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was put off until Thursday, June 27, 2024.
It’s full steam ahead for Sankofa Square.
Toronto city councillors on Thursday voted 17-6 in favour of proceeding with a plan to rename and rebrand Yonge-Dundas Square.
Changes approved Thursday include formally replacing all City of Toronto references to Yonge-Dundas Square with Sankofa Square; the square’s board of management will oversee establishing a new multi-year strategic and business plan; and that plan will include ways to “enhance revenue stream” and increase programming and safety at the square.
The name “Sankofa” was proposed after a committee involving Black and Indigenous leaders studied options to replace Dundas. Sankofa originates in Ghana. It represents the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past.
The process to rename the square was triggered by a petition that claimed Henry Dundas was involved in delaying the abolition of the Transatlantic slave trade.
Critics had stepped up to try to reverse council’s course, including a petition against the renaming with some 30,000 signatures submitted.
The cost of renaming Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square was pegged at around $335,000 by Mayor Olivia Chow and Coun. Chris Moise, who stated that any costs beyond the budget would be covered by the square’s board of management through third-party financial partners and in-kind support.
Sankofa Square gets green light at Toronto City Council meeting
It’s full steam ahead for Sankofa Square.
Milwaukee hotel employees fired after death of Black man pinned to ground
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Corey Williams
Published Jul 11, 2024 • 2 minute read
Several employees involved in the death of a Black man who was pinned to the ground outside a Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee have been fired, the company that manages the hotel said.
Family members of D’Vontaye Mitchell and their lawyers reviewed hotel surveillance video provided Wednesday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office and described seeing Mitchell being chased inside the hotel by security guards and then dragged outside where he was beaten.
“The conduct we saw from several associates on June 30 violated our policies and procedures, and does not reflect our values as an organization or the behaviors we expect from our associates,” a spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality said in an email. “Following review of their actions, their employment has been terminated. We will continue our independent investigation and do everything we can to support law enforcement with their investigation into this tragic incident.”
The spokesperson did not say how many employees had been fired or what their positions were.
Mitchell, 43, was held down on his stomach outside the hotel, media outlets have reported. Police have said he entered the hotel, caused a disturbance and fought with the guards as they were escorting him out.
The medical examiner’s office has said the preliminary cause of death was homicide, but the cause remains under investigation. No one has been criminally charged so far.
The district attorney’s office said Wednesday that it and police investigators were awaiting full autopsy results and that the case was being reviewed as a homicide.
Funeral services for Mitchell were scheduled for Thursday. The Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to deliver a eulogy. Sharpton is a longtime activist and leader who serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
It is unclear why Mitchell was at the hotel or what happened before the guards pinned him down.
DeAsia Harmon, Mitchell’s widow, described what she saw on the surveillance videos as “disgusting.” Harmon said video showed a bleeding Mitchell being dragged outside the hotel.
“It makes me sick to my stomach,” Harmon said during a news conference Wednesday. “He ran for his life. He was trying to leave. He said ‘I’ll go,’ and they didn’t let him go.”
Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump is part of the legal team representing Mitchell’s family. Crump said Wednesday that they have a signed affidavit from a hotel employee who said a security guard was striking Mitchell with a baton and that Mitchell posed no threat when he was on the ground. The worker said a security guard ordered him and a bellman to help hold Mitchell down, Crump said.
Crump also represented the family of George Floyd, who was slain in May 2020 by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death spurred worldwide protests against racial violence and police brutality.
Mitchell’s death comes as Milwaukee is preparing for Monday’s start of the Republican National Convention and amid heightened security concerns around political protests.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Corey Williams
Published Jul 11, 2024 • 2 minute read
Several employees involved in the death of a Black man who was pinned to the ground outside a Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee have been fired, the company that manages the hotel said.
Family members of D’Vontaye Mitchell and their lawyers reviewed hotel surveillance video provided Wednesday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office and described seeing Mitchell being chased inside the hotel by security guards and then dragged outside where he was beaten.
“The conduct we saw from several associates on June 30 violated our policies and procedures, and does not reflect our values as an organization or the behaviors we expect from our associates,” a spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality said in an email. “Following review of their actions, their employment has been terminated. We will continue our independent investigation and do everything we can to support law enforcement with their investigation into this tragic incident.”
The spokesperson did not say how many employees had been fired or what their positions were.
Mitchell, 43, was held down on his stomach outside the hotel, media outlets have reported. Police have said he entered the hotel, caused a disturbance and fought with the guards as they were escorting him out.
The medical examiner’s office has said the preliminary cause of death was homicide, but the cause remains under investigation. No one has been criminally charged so far.
The district attorney’s office said Wednesday that it and police investigators were awaiting full autopsy results and that the case was being reviewed as a homicide.
Funeral services for Mitchell were scheduled for Thursday. The Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to deliver a eulogy. Sharpton is a longtime activist and leader who serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
It is unclear why Mitchell was at the hotel or what happened before the guards pinned him down.
DeAsia Harmon, Mitchell’s widow, described what she saw on the surveillance videos as “disgusting.” Harmon said video showed a bleeding Mitchell being dragged outside the hotel.
“It makes me sick to my stomach,” Harmon said during a news conference Wednesday. “He ran for his life. He was trying to leave. He said ‘I’ll go,’ and they didn’t let him go.”
Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump is part of the legal team representing Mitchell’s family. Crump said Wednesday that they have a signed affidavit from a hotel employee who said a security guard was striking Mitchell with a baton and that Mitchell posed no threat when he was on the ground. The worker said a security guard ordered him and a bellman to help hold Mitchell down, Crump said.
Crump also represented the family of George Floyd, who was slain in May 2020 by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death spurred worldwide protests against racial violence and police brutality.
Mitchell’s death comes as Milwaukee is preparing for Monday’s start of the Republican National Convention and amid heightened security concerns around political protests.
Milwaukee hotel employees fired after death of Black man pinned to ground
Several employees involved in the death of a Black man who was pinned to the ground outside a Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee have been fired
Illinois cop charged with murder shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Melissa Perez Winder, John O'connor And Ed White
Published Jul 18, 2024 • 3 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home and then discouraged his partner from trying to save her, authorities said Thursday.
The details were in a court document filed in support of keeping fired Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bond. County Circuit Judge Ryan M. Cadagin agreed, denying Grayson pretrial release at a hearing Thursday in Springfield.
In a courtroom guarded by a dozen sheriff’s deputies with three more patrolling the hall, Cadagin described the actions the former deputy is accused of as “such a departure from the expectations of a civil society.”
Sonya Massey, 36, was killed at her home in Illinois’ capital city, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after deputies responded to her 911 call about a possible prowler early on July 6.
Prosecutors alleged that after Grayson allowed Massey to move a pot of water heating on the stove and she set it on a counter, Grayson then “aggressively yelled” at Massey over the pot and pulled his 9 mm pistol. Massey then put her hands in the air, declared “I’m sorry” and ducked for cover before being shot in the face. Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit, prosecutors said.
“The other deputy still rendered aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived,” First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote. Grayson “at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey.”
The 30-year-old Grayson, who is white, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday.
More than 30 of Massey’s family members and their supporters filled the seats of the courtroom Thursday, several of whom declined to comment afterward.
No one argued with the state’s contention that body camera footage of the incident upheld the first requirement in ordering Grayson detained — that there is a strong presumption that the actions alleged in the indictment occurred. Authorities said they plan to release the body camera footage publicly Monday.
“At no point did this defendant show anything but callousness to human life,” Rodgers said.
Defense attorney Dan Fultz argued for Grayson’s release, contending the state’s arguments fell short on other arguments. Fultz said Grayson is not a threat to the community because was compliant and turned himself in within a half-hour after his arrest warrant was issued.
He said the Army veteran owns a home in Riverton, a community just east of Springfield, with his fiancee, whom he plans to marry this fall. His detention would pose a burden on the county, he said, because of Stage 3 colon cancer diagnosed last fall that requires special medical treatment.
Fultz asked for Grayson’s release on condition that weapons be removed from his home, that he undergo a mental health evaluation and the be put on around-the-clock electronic monitoring.
Cadagin decreed that Massey, weighing about 110 pounds (50 kilograms), posed no threat to the 6-foot-3 (190-centimeter), 228-pound (103-kilogram) Grayson, who was armed and accompanied by another deputy, and after shooting her refused to render aid.
Sheriff Jack Campbell said Wednesday that Grayson was fired because it is evident that the deputy “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. … With our badge we accept enormous responsibility, and if that responsibility is abused, there should be consequences.”
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the charges were a “step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy.”
As many as 200 people gathered Wednesday at the Springfield NAACP building to express support for Massey and her family.
“I am enraged that another innocent Black woman had her life taken from her at the hands of a police officer,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said after the indictment.
Grayson is due back in court Aug. 26. He has been with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department about 18 months, Fultz said, after serving as an officer with several other police agencies in central Illinois for about seven years before that.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Melissa Perez Winder, John O'connor And Ed White
Published Jul 18, 2024 • 3 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home and then discouraged his partner from trying to save her, authorities said Thursday.
The details were in a court document filed in support of keeping fired Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bond. County Circuit Judge Ryan M. Cadagin agreed, denying Grayson pretrial release at a hearing Thursday in Springfield.
In a courtroom guarded by a dozen sheriff’s deputies with three more patrolling the hall, Cadagin described the actions the former deputy is accused of as “such a departure from the expectations of a civil society.”
Sonya Massey, 36, was killed at her home in Illinois’ capital city, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after deputies responded to her 911 call about a possible prowler early on July 6.
Prosecutors alleged that after Grayson allowed Massey to move a pot of water heating on the stove and she set it on a counter, Grayson then “aggressively yelled” at Massey over the pot and pulled his 9 mm pistol. Massey then put her hands in the air, declared “I’m sorry” and ducked for cover before being shot in the face. Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit, prosecutors said.
“The other deputy still rendered aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived,” First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote. Grayson “at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey.”
The 30-year-old Grayson, who is white, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday.
More than 30 of Massey’s family members and their supporters filled the seats of the courtroom Thursday, several of whom declined to comment afterward.
No one argued with the state’s contention that body camera footage of the incident upheld the first requirement in ordering Grayson detained — that there is a strong presumption that the actions alleged in the indictment occurred. Authorities said they plan to release the body camera footage publicly Monday.
“At no point did this defendant show anything but callousness to human life,” Rodgers said.
Defense attorney Dan Fultz argued for Grayson’s release, contending the state’s arguments fell short on other arguments. Fultz said Grayson is not a threat to the community because was compliant and turned himself in within a half-hour after his arrest warrant was issued.
He said the Army veteran owns a home in Riverton, a community just east of Springfield, with his fiancee, whom he plans to marry this fall. His detention would pose a burden on the county, he said, because of Stage 3 colon cancer diagnosed last fall that requires special medical treatment.
Fultz asked for Grayson’s release on condition that weapons be removed from his home, that he undergo a mental health evaluation and the be put on around-the-clock electronic monitoring.
Cadagin decreed that Massey, weighing about 110 pounds (50 kilograms), posed no threat to the 6-foot-3 (190-centimeter), 228-pound (103-kilogram) Grayson, who was armed and accompanied by another deputy, and after shooting her refused to render aid.
Sheriff Jack Campbell said Wednesday that Grayson was fired because it is evident that the deputy “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. … With our badge we accept enormous responsibility, and if that responsibility is abused, there should be consequences.”
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the charges were a “step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy.”
As many as 200 people gathered Wednesday at the Springfield NAACP building to express support for Massey and her family.
“I am enraged that another innocent Black woman had her life taken from her at the hands of a police officer,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said after the indictment.
Grayson is due back in court Aug. 26. He has been with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department about 18 months, Fultz said, after serving as an officer with several other police agencies in central Illinois for about seven years before that.
Illinois cop charged with murder shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water
Illinois sheriff's deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water
Illinois cop charged with murder shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Melissa Perez Winder, John O'connor And Ed White
Published Jul 18, 2024 • 3 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home and then discouraged his partner from trying to save her, authorities said Thursday.
The details were in a court document filed in support of keeping fired Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bond. County Circuit Judge Ryan M. Cadagin agreed, denying Grayson pretrial release at a hearing Thursday in Springfield.
In a courtroom guarded by a dozen sheriff’s deputies with three more patrolling the hall, Cadagin described the actions the former deputy is accused of as “such a departure from the expectations of a civil society.”
Sonya Massey, 36, was killed at her home in Illinois’ capital city, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after deputies responded to her 911 call about a possible prowler early on July 6.
Prosecutors alleged that after Grayson allowed Massey to move a pot of water heating on the stove and she set it on a counter, Grayson then “aggressively yelled” at Massey over the pot and pulled his 9 mm pistol. Massey then put her hands in the air, declared “I’m sorry” and ducked for cover before being shot in the face. Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit, prosecutors said.
“The other deputy still rendered aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived,” First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote. Grayson “at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey.”
The 30-year-old Grayson, who is white, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday.
More than 30 of Massey’s family members and their supporters filled the seats of the courtroom Thursday, several of whom declined to comment afterward.
No one argued with the state’s contention that body camera footage of the incident upheld the first requirement in ordering Grayson detained — that there is a strong presumption that the actions alleged in the indictment occurred. Authorities said they plan to release the body camera footage publicly Monday.
“At no point did this defendant show anything but callousness to human life,” Rodgers said.
Defense attorney Dan Fultz argued for Grayson’s release, contending the state’s arguments fell short on other arguments. Fultz said Grayson is not a threat to the community because was compliant and turned himself in within a half-hour after his arrest warrant was issued.
He said the Army veteran owns a home in Riverton, a community just east of Springfield, with his fiancee, whom he plans to marry this fall. His detention would pose a burden on the county, he said, because of Stage 3 colon cancer diagnosed last fall that requires special medical treatment.
Fultz asked for Grayson’s release on condition that weapons be removed from his home, that he undergo a mental health evaluation and the be put on around-the-clock electronic monitoring.
Cadagin decreed that Massey, weighing about 110 pounds (50 kilograms), posed no threat to the 6-foot-3 (190-centimeter), 228-pound (103-kilogram) Grayson, who was armed and accompanied by another deputy, and after shooting her refused to render aid.
Sheriff Jack Campbell said Wednesday that Grayson was fired because it is evident that the deputy “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. … With our badge we accept enormous responsibility, and if that responsibility is abused, there should be consequences.”
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the charges were a “step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy.”
As many as 200 people gathered Wednesday at the Springfield NAACP building to express support for Massey and her family.
“I am enraged that another innocent Black woman had her life taken from her at the hands of a police officer,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said after the indictment.
Grayson is due back in court Aug. 26. He has been with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department about 18 months, Fultz said, after serving as an officer with several other police agencies in central Illinois for about seven years before that.
Illinois cop charged with murder shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water
Illinois sheriff's deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water
I'm sure - without looking into it beyond this article - that the defence is arguing possible PTSD reaction, since he served in the military.
Right?
Not that it matters; if anything, that makes this not just on him but on the people who hired him, and allowed him to work as a LEO instead of suggesting he get help for his PTSD.
I said. . . BLUE. . . LIVES. . . MATTER!
That's an end to it. Heroes in blue. Keepin' us safe. 99.9% are good cops. Lawn order. We're all human. When the scary bad guys come for you, you'll be happy to see them. He was in FEAR o' his LAF!
Missouri judge overturns murder conviction of man imprisoned for more than 30 years
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jim Salter
Published Jul 22, 2024 • 3 minute read
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri judge on Monday overturned the conviction of Christopher Dunn, who has spent more than 30 years in prison for a killing he has long contended he didn’t commit.
The ruling is likely to free Dunn from prison, but it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen. He has been serving a sentence of life without parole.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser’s ruling came several weeks after he presided over a three-day hearing on Dunn’s fate.
Dunn, now 52, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1990 shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion in February seeking to vacate the guilty verdict. A hearing was in May.
Sengheiser, in his ruling, wrote that the “Circuit Attorney has made a clear and convincing showing of ‘actual innocence’ that undermines the basis for Dunn’s convictions because in light of new evidence, no juror, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Dunn’s attorney, Midwest Innocence Project Executive Director Tricia Rojo Bushnell, said she was “overjoyed” by the judge’s ruling.
“Now, Chris looks forward to spending time with his wife and family as a free man,” Bushnell said in a statement.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office opposed the effort to vacate Dunn’s conviction. Lawyers for the state said at the May hearing that initial testimony from two boys at the scene who identified Dunn as the shooter was correct, even though they later recanted as adults.
“That verdict was accurate, and that verdict should stand,” Assistant Attorney General Tristin Estep said at the hearing.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the state would appeal. Messages left with the office of Attorney General Andrew Bailey were not immediately returned.
The decision in Dunn’s case came days after Sandra Hemme was freed from a western Missouri prison after serving 43 years for a murder that a judge determined she didn’t commit. Bailey’s office also opposed Hemme’s release.
A Missouri law adopted in 2021 lets prosecutors request hearings when they see evidence of a wrongful conviction. While Bailey’s office is not required to oppose such efforts, he also opposed another effort in St. Louis that resulted in Lamar Johnson being freed last year after serving 28 years for a murder case in which a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted.
Rogers was shot May 18, 1990, when a gunman opened fire while he was with a group of other teenage boys outside a home. DeMorris Stepp, 14, and Michael Davis Jr., 12, both initially identified Dunn as the shooter.
In a recorded interview played at the hearing, Davis said he lied because he thought Dunn was affiliated with a rival gang.
Stepp’s story has changed a few times over the years, Gore said at the hearing. Most recently he has said he did not see Dunn as the shooter. Gore said another judge previously found Stepp to be a “completely unreliable witness” and urged Sengheiser to discount him altogether.
Dunn has said he was at his mother’s home at the time of the shooting. Childhood friend Nicole Bailey testified that she spoke with him by phone that night and he was on a phone at his mother’s house.
Estep, the assistant attorney general, said that alibi could not be trusted and Dunn’s story has shifted multiple times over the years. Dunn did not testify at the hearing.
The 2021 law has resulted in the the release of two men who each spent decades in prison. In addition to Johnson, Kevin Strickland was freed in 2021 after more than 40 years for three killings in Kansas City after a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted in 1979.
Another hearing is next month for Marcellus Williams, who narrowly escaped lethal injection and is now facing another execution date.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate the conviction of Williams, who was convicted in the fatal stabbing of Lisha Gayle in 1998. Bell’s motion said three experts determined that Williams’ DNA was not on the handle of the butcher knife used in the killing.
Williams was hours from execution in 2017 when then-Gov. Eric Greitens halted it and appointed a board of inquiry to examine his innocence claim. The board never issued a ruling, and Gov. Mike Parson, like Greitens a Republican, dissolved it last year.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this month that Parson had the authority to dissolve the board and set a new execution date of Sept. 24.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jim Salter
Published Jul 22, 2024 • 3 minute read
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri judge on Monday overturned the conviction of Christopher Dunn, who has spent more than 30 years in prison for a killing he has long contended he didn’t commit.
The ruling is likely to free Dunn from prison, but it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen. He has been serving a sentence of life without parole.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser’s ruling came several weeks after he presided over a three-day hearing on Dunn’s fate.
Dunn, now 52, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1990 shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion in February seeking to vacate the guilty verdict. A hearing was in May.
Sengheiser, in his ruling, wrote that the “Circuit Attorney has made a clear and convincing showing of ‘actual innocence’ that undermines the basis for Dunn’s convictions because in light of new evidence, no juror, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Dunn’s attorney, Midwest Innocence Project Executive Director Tricia Rojo Bushnell, said she was “overjoyed” by the judge’s ruling.
“Now, Chris looks forward to spending time with his wife and family as a free man,” Bushnell said in a statement.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office opposed the effort to vacate Dunn’s conviction. Lawyers for the state said at the May hearing that initial testimony from two boys at the scene who identified Dunn as the shooter was correct, even though they later recanted as adults.
“That verdict was accurate, and that verdict should stand,” Assistant Attorney General Tristin Estep said at the hearing.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the state would appeal. Messages left with the office of Attorney General Andrew Bailey were not immediately returned.
The decision in Dunn’s case came days after Sandra Hemme was freed from a western Missouri prison after serving 43 years for a murder that a judge determined she didn’t commit. Bailey’s office also opposed Hemme’s release.
A Missouri law adopted in 2021 lets prosecutors request hearings when they see evidence of a wrongful conviction. While Bailey’s office is not required to oppose such efforts, he also opposed another effort in St. Louis that resulted in Lamar Johnson being freed last year after serving 28 years for a murder case in which a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted.
Rogers was shot May 18, 1990, when a gunman opened fire while he was with a group of other teenage boys outside a home. DeMorris Stepp, 14, and Michael Davis Jr., 12, both initially identified Dunn as the shooter.
In a recorded interview played at the hearing, Davis said he lied because he thought Dunn was affiliated with a rival gang.
Stepp’s story has changed a few times over the years, Gore said at the hearing. Most recently he has said he did not see Dunn as the shooter. Gore said another judge previously found Stepp to be a “completely unreliable witness” and urged Sengheiser to discount him altogether.
Dunn has said he was at his mother’s home at the time of the shooting. Childhood friend Nicole Bailey testified that she spoke with him by phone that night and he was on a phone at his mother’s house.
Estep, the assistant attorney general, said that alibi could not be trusted and Dunn’s story has shifted multiple times over the years. Dunn did not testify at the hearing.
The 2021 law has resulted in the the release of two men who each spent decades in prison. In addition to Johnson, Kevin Strickland was freed in 2021 after more than 40 years for three killings in Kansas City after a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted in 1979.
Another hearing is next month for Marcellus Williams, who narrowly escaped lethal injection and is now facing another execution date.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate the conviction of Williams, who was convicted in the fatal stabbing of Lisha Gayle in 1998. Bell’s motion said three experts determined that Williams’ DNA was not on the handle of the butcher knife used in the killing.
Williams was hours from execution in 2017 when then-Gov. Eric Greitens halted it and appointed a board of inquiry to examine his innocence claim. The board never issued a ruling, and Gov. Mike Parson, like Greitens a Republican, dissolved it last year.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this month that Parson had the authority to dissolve the board and set a new execution date of Sept. 24.
Missouri judge overturns murder conviction of man imprisoned for more than 30 years
A Missouri judge on Monday overturned the conviction of Christopher Dunn, who has spent more than 30 years in prison
Bodycam video reveals chaotic scene of deputy shooting Black woman who called 911 for help
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John O'connor
Published Jul 22, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy only seconds before he shot her three times in her home, with one fatal blow to the head, as seen in body camera video released Monday.
The video’s release came days after an Illinois grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson. Officials said Massey’s family viewed the footage on Wednesday.
The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled from across a counter at 36-year-old Massey to set down a pot from the stove just seconds after she started pouring the water into the sink and the two chuckled over the “hot steaming water.”
He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose and Grayson fired his pistol at her.
Authorities said Massey had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. The video said the two deputies responded just before 1 a.m. on July 6, first walking around the house and finding a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.
It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the deputies knock, and she immediately said “Don’t hurt me.”
She seemed confused as they spoke at her front door, and repeated that she needed help, referenced God and told them she didn’t know who owned the car.
The video doesn’t show what led Massey and Grayson to walk inside her house, followed by the other unidentified deputy. The deputies seemed exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse as they asked for identification. Then Grayson pointed out a pot sitting on a visible flame on the stove.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he said.
Massey immediately got up and went to the stove, moving the pot over near a sink. She and Grayson seemed to share a laugh before she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better (expletive) not or I swear to God I’ll (expletive) shoot you in your (expletive) face.” He then pulled his 9mm pistol and said “Drop the (expletive) pot.”
Massey said, “OK, I’m sorry.” In Grayson’s bodycam footage, he pointed his weapon at her. She ducked and raised her hands while still holding two oven mitts.
Grayson was still in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter dividing the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson both “distance and relative cover” from Massey.
After Grayson shot her, the other deputy said “I’m gonna go get my kit.”
Grayson said, “No, it’s a headshot. She done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot … there’s nothing you can do, man.”
He added: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water to the (expletive) face”
Noting that Massey was still breathing despite losing a lot of blood, he relented and said he would get his kit too. The other deputy responded, “We can at least try to stop the bleeding.”
Speaking to responding police, Grayson told them “she had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water. … She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”
Grayson, who was fired last week, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bond.
If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct. His lawyer, Daniel Fultz, declined comment on Monday.
“The body camera footage is horrific, and I offer my deepest sympathy to Sonya Massey’s family as they relive a moment no family should experience,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement. “As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for Massey’s family “as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”
“When we call for help, all of us as Americans — regardless of who we are or where we live — should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”
Ben Crump, the noted civil rights attorney who is representing Massey’s family, told the crowd at her funeral in Springfield on Friday that the video would reveal a crime as startling as the 1955 lynching of Chicago teenager Emmitt Till in Mississippi, the Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald and the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
“It is going to shock the conscience of America. It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional,” Crump said.
Massey’s death is the latest example of Black people killed in recent years by police in their homes.
In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson, when the Air Force senior airman opened the door of his home in Fort Walton Beach armed with a handgun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.
In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for her own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for the killings of Black people at the hands of police.
Massey’s death prompted subsequent protests demanding justice in Springfield, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Speaking at her funeral Friday, Massey’s father, James Wilburn, said he’s encouraged by the speed with which the Illinois State Police investigated the incident.
“In 10 days, they convened a grand jury. They completed their investigation. They arrested, they got him fired,” Wilburn said. “That’s unheard of.”
Crump also represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face-down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John O'connor
Published Jul 22, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy only seconds before he shot her three times in her home, with one fatal blow to the head, as seen in body camera video released Monday.
The video’s release came days after an Illinois grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson. Officials said Massey’s family viewed the footage on Wednesday.
The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled from across a counter at 36-year-old Massey to set down a pot from the stove just seconds after she started pouring the water into the sink and the two chuckled over the “hot steaming water.”
He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose and Grayson fired his pistol at her.
Authorities said Massey had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. The video said the two deputies responded just before 1 a.m. on July 6, first walking around the house and finding a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.
It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the deputies knock, and she immediately said “Don’t hurt me.”
She seemed confused as they spoke at her front door, and repeated that she needed help, referenced God and told them she didn’t know who owned the car.
The video doesn’t show what led Massey and Grayson to walk inside her house, followed by the other unidentified deputy. The deputies seemed exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse as they asked for identification. Then Grayson pointed out a pot sitting on a visible flame on the stove.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he said.
Massey immediately got up and went to the stove, moving the pot over near a sink. She and Grayson seemed to share a laugh before she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better (expletive) not or I swear to God I’ll (expletive) shoot you in your (expletive) face.” He then pulled his 9mm pistol and said “Drop the (expletive) pot.”
Massey said, “OK, I’m sorry.” In Grayson’s bodycam footage, he pointed his weapon at her. She ducked and raised her hands while still holding two oven mitts.
Grayson was still in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter dividing the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson both “distance and relative cover” from Massey.
After Grayson shot her, the other deputy said “I’m gonna go get my kit.”
Grayson said, “No, it’s a headshot. She done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot … there’s nothing you can do, man.”
He added: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water to the (expletive) face”
Noting that Massey was still breathing despite losing a lot of blood, he relented and said he would get his kit too. The other deputy responded, “We can at least try to stop the bleeding.”
Speaking to responding police, Grayson told them “she had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water. … She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”
Grayson, who was fired last week, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bond.
If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct. His lawyer, Daniel Fultz, declined comment on Monday.
“The body camera footage is horrific, and I offer my deepest sympathy to Sonya Massey’s family as they relive a moment no family should experience,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement. “As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for Massey’s family “as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”
“When we call for help, all of us as Americans — regardless of who we are or where we live — should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”
Ben Crump, the noted civil rights attorney who is representing Massey’s family, told the crowd at her funeral in Springfield on Friday that the video would reveal a crime as startling as the 1955 lynching of Chicago teenager Emmitt Till in Mississippi, the Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald and the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
“It is going to shock the conscience of America. It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional,” Crump said.
Massey’s death is the latest example of Black people killed in recent years by police in their homes.
In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson, when the Air Force senior airman opened the door of his home in Fort Walton Beach armed with a handgun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.
In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for her own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for the killings of Black people at the hands of police.
Massey’s death prompted subsequent protests demanding justice in Springfield, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Speaking at her funeral Friday, Massey’s father, James Wilburn, said he’s encouraged by the speed with which the Illinois State Police investigated the incident.
“In 10 days, they convened a grand jury. They completed their investigation. They arrested, they got him fired,” Wilburn said. “That’s unheard of.”
Crump also represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face-down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.
Bodycam video reveals chaotic scene of deputy shooting Black woman who called 911 for help
Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy only seconds before he shot her three times in her home
Autopsy confirms Sonya Massey, Black woman shot by deputy, died from gunshot wound to head
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 26, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Autopsy findings released Friday on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, denounced the killing by ex-sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson as senseless, unnecessary and excessive.
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon had previously disclosed initial findings on Massey’s July 6 death in Springfield and the full autopsy report released Friday confirmed those conclusions, including that her death was a homicide.
In addition to the bullet striking her just beneath her left eye, Massey had “minor blunt force injuries” to her right leg, the autopsy said.
Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges in Massey’s killing. He was fired last week by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and has been jailed without bond.
Crump, at his third news conference this week since the body camera video was released Monday, used an enlarged diagram from the autopsy that showed the bullet exited on her lower neck in a downward trajectory. That, he said, emphasizes the physical mismatch between Massey and the much larger Grayson, who fired on her because he said he felt threatened by a pan of hot water she was moving from her stove.
“When Sonya Massey was staring at the barrel of his gun, she stooped down, said, ‘Sorry, sir, Sorry,’ and the bullet was shot while she was in this stooped position, coming up,” Crump said. “The autopsy confirms what everybody already knows, that this was just a senseless, unnecessary, excessive use of force.”
Grayson is 6-foot-3 (191 centimeters) and 228 pounds (103 kilograms). The autopsy lists Massey at 5-foot-4 (163 centimeters) and 112 pounds (51 kilograms). Prosecutors have added that the distance between shooter and victim and a counter between them gave Grayson “distance and relative cover” from the hot water.
Authorities said Massey had called 911 to report a suspected prowler. Two deputies eventually showed up at her house in Springfield, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water, aiming his 9mm pistol at her and threatening to shoot her in the face. He fired three times.
The unidentified deputy with Grayson then said he would get his medical kit, but Grayson said, “She done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot. There’s nothing you can do, man.”
He later relented while the second deputy held towels to Massey’s head to try to stem the bleeding, but by the time Grayson returned with his kit, emergency medical professionals had arrived and when they told Grayson his help wasn’t needed, he threw his kit on the floor and said, “I’m not even gonna waste my med stuff then.”
Massey struggled with mental illness, according to her family. Her son, 17-year-old Malachi Hill Massey, said Friday that he and his 15-year-old sister had moved in with their fathers because Sonya Massey had admitted herself to a 30-day inpatient program in St. Louis sometime during the week before her death, but returned two days later without explanation.
Malachi Massey also said that on July 5, the day before the early morning shooting, law enforcement officers whom he thought were from Sangamon County were called to the house and were there when he arrived. By then, his mother had called him to say she was driving herself to a local hospital, apparently for mental health treatment. He said he doesn’t know who called police or what help she was seeking that day.
The Associated Press has asked local law enforcement agencies for records of the July 5 call.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 26, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Autopsy findings released Friday on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, denounced the killing by ex-sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson as senseless, unnecessary and excessive.
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon had previously disclosed initial findings on Massey’s July 6 death in Springfield and the full autopsy report released Friday confirmed those conclusions, including that her death was a homicide.
In addition to the bullet striking her just beneath her left eye, Massey had “minor blunt force injuries” to her right leg, the autopsy said.
Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges in Massey’s killing. He was fired last week by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and has been jailed without bond.
Crump, at his third news conference this week since the body camera video was released Monday, used an enlarged diagram from the autopsy that showed the bullet exited on her lower neck in a downward trajectory. That, he said, emphasizes the physical mismatch between Massey and the much larger Grayson, who fired on her because he said he felt threatened by a pan of hot water she was moving from her stove.
“When Sonya Massey was staring at the barrel of his gun, she stooped down, said, ‘Sorry, sir, Sorry,’ and the bullet was shot while she was in this stooped position, coming up,” Crump said. “The autopsy confirms what everybody already knows, that this was just a senseless, unnecessary, excessive use of force.”
Grayson is 6-foot-3 (191 centimeters) and 228 pounds (103 kilograms). The autopsy lists Massey at 5-foot-4 (163 centimeters) and 112 pounds (51 kilograms). Prosecutors have added that the distance between shooter and victim and a counter between them gave Grayson “distance and relative cover” from the hot water.
Authorities said Massey had called 911 to report a suspected prowler. Two deputies eventually showed up at her house in Springfield, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water, aiming his 9mm pistol at her and threatening to shoot her in the face. He fired three times.
The unidentified deputy with Grayson then said he would get his medical kit, but Grayson said, “She done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot. There’s nothing you can do, man.”
He later relented while the second deputy held towels to Massey’s head to try to stem the bleeding, but by the time Grayson returned with his kit, emergency medical professionals had arrived and when they told Grayson his help wasn’t needed, he threw his kit on the floor and said, “I’m not even gonna waste my med stuff then.”
Massey struggled with mental illness, according to her family. Her son, 17-year-old Malachi Hill Massey, said Friday that he and his 15-year-old sister had moved in with their fathers because Sonya Massey had admitted herself to a 30-day inpatient program in St. Louis sometime during the week before her death, but returned two days later without explanation.
Malachi Massey also said that on July 5, the day before the early morning shooting, law enforcement officers whom he thought were from Sangamon County were called to the house and were there when he arrived. By then, his mother had called him to say she was driving herself to a local hospital, apparently for mental health treatment. He said he doesn’t know who called police or what help she was seeking that day.
The Associated Press has asked local law enforcement agencies for records of the July 5 call.
Autopsy confirms Sonya Massey, Black woman shot by deputy, died from gunshot wound to head
The report states that in addition to the bullet striking her just beneath her left eye, Massey had "minor blunt force injuries" to her leg
With DUI-related ejection from Army, deputy who killed Massey should have raised flags, experts say
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John O'Connor and Lolita Baldor
Published Jul 29, 2024 • Last updated 12 hours ago • 5 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged in the shooting death of Sonya Massey was kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken driving convictions in which he had a weapon in his car, authorities said, but that didn’t stop multiple law enforcement agencies from giving him a badge.
Before his policing career began with six jobs in four years _ the first three of which were part time — 30-year-old Sean Grayson was convicted twice within a year of driving under the influence, which cost him his hitch in the military.
The convictions plus his previous employment record should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department hired him in May 2023, law enforcement experts say.
Grayson, who has since been fired, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in the death of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 about a suspected prowler at her home in Springfield, 320 kilometres southwest of Chicago. Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty.
“Six jobs in four years should have raised a red flag. And you would ask why he wasn’t hired full time in any of those (part-time) jobs,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “Combined with a track record of DUIs, it would be enough to do further examination as to whether or not he would be a good fit.”
Grayson, who enlisted in the Army in 2014, was charged with DUI in Macoupin County, just south of Sangamon County, after traffic stops on Aug. 10, 2015, and again on July 26, 2016.
The first DUI led to his discharge from the military in February 2016 for “serious misconduct,” according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel information, adding that Grayson had an unregistered gun in his vehicle.
Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison confirmed that police found a gun in the centre console, but Grayson did not face a weapons charge because he was a resident of Fort Riley, Kansas. Kansas has an open-carry firearms law.
Grayson received a general discharge under honorable conditions _ rather than an honorable discharge — because he was charged by a civilian law enforcement agency and his military service otherwise was good.
His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.
A misdemeanor DUI charge doesn’t by law preclude someone from serving in law enforcement, said Sean Smoot, chairman of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, but a hiring agency can certainly consider it.
“Some police departments would not have hired someone with one DUI,” Smoot said. “I am shocked an agency would hire someone with two DUIs, but multiple agencies apparently did.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, has demanded the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. “He does not intend to step down,” Campbell spokesman Jeff Wilhite said.
A statement from Campbell’s office indicated that the county merit commission and state law enforcement board recommended Grayson’s certification as an officer despite the DUIs, and he passed a drug test, criminal background check, psychological evaluation and 16-week academy course.
Before he came to Springfield, Grayson worked for a year as a deputy sheriff in Logan County, just to the northeast. According to a report obtained under a public records request, he was told he needed more training, including “high-stress decision-making classes,” in November 2022 after he failed to follow an order to halt a high-speed pursuit, reaching speeds of 110 mph (177 kph) before colliding with a deer.
When he applied at Logan, an employment report from Auburn, south of Springfield, where he had worked previously, showed that while Grayson was always early for work, eager for training, receptive to criticism and had not faced disciplinary action, he struggled with report writing, was “not great with evidence — left items laying around office” and was “a bragger.”
The Logan County records also include complaints of misconduct from two people Grayson arrested, including one in which a woman who admitted having drugs in a body cavity claimed Grayson gave her a glove and told her to remove the contraband in front of him and another male officer. She later was taken to a hospital to have it removed and claimed Grayson burst through the curtain during the procedure. He denied both complaints and resigned from Logan County before the investigation was complete.
In the body camera video from the night of the shooting, Grayson and another officer find no evidence of a prowler and wait several minutes for Massey to answer, during which time Grayson makes a comment that she’s dead inside and calls impatiently for her.
Massey, who had suffered mental health issues, appears confused and says, “Don’t hurt me.” Grayson responds at times in a condescending or impatient manner.
“His conduct before, during and after suggests that this guy was a loose cannon, and that’s being polite,” said Kalfani Ture, a former police officer, now assistant professor of criminal justice at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and an instructor in the New York Police Department’s academy.
Inside Massey’s home, video shows Grayson directing that a pan of water be removed from a flame on the stove. Massey appears to set it near the sink. The two joke about Grayson moving away from her “hot, steaming water” and Massey inexplicably says, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
That prompts Grayson to pull his gun. Massey apologizes and ducks behind a counter, but when Grayson yells at her to drop the pot, she appears to pick it up again. Grayson fires three times, striking her in the face, and makes no immediate effort to provide medical aid because “That’s a headshot.”
“That’s not characteristic of an officer. That is characteristic of someone who has a depraved indifference to human life,” Ture said. “And this incident is not an aberration. Someone like this is pretty consistent in in their display of this type of profile.”
Ture said Massey probably picked the pan up again because she was confused by the shouted orders. He moved too quickly to lethal force _ he had other options, including using a stun gun, chemical spray or easily overpowering the diminutive woman, Ture said.
Pulling his weapon escalated the incident, Wexler said.
“He should have slowed things down, communicate, have a plan B and know where the door is to get out of the house, not put himself in a position where he had no alternative but to use deadly force by standing still, pulling out his gun and barking orders,” Wexler said.
— Baldor reported from Washington, D.C.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John O'Connor and Lolita Baldor
Published Jul 29, 2024 • Last updated 12 hours ago • 5 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged in the shooting death of Sonya Massey was kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken driving convictions in which he had a weapon in his car, authorities said, but that didn’t stop multiple law enforcement agencies from giving him a badge.
Before his policing career began with six jobs in four years _ the first three of which were part time — 30-year-old Sean Grayson was convicted twice within a year of driving under the influence, which cost him his hitch in the military.
The convictions plus his previous employment record should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department hired him in May 2023, law enforcement experts say.
Grayson, who has since been fired, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in the death of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 about a suspected prowler at her home in Springfield, 320 kilometres southwest of Chicago. Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty.
“Six jobs in four years should have raised a red flag. And you would ask why he wasn’t hired full time in any of those (part-time) jobs,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “Combined with a track record of DUIs, it would be enough to do further examination as to whether or not he would be a good fit.”
Grayson, who enlisted in the Army in 2014, was charged with DUI in Macoupin County, just south of Sangamon County, after traffic stops on Aug. 10, 2015, and again on July 26, 2016.
The first DUI led to his discharge from the military in February 2016 for “serious misconduct,” according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel information, adding that Grayson had an unregistered gun in his vehicle.
Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison confirmed that police found a gun in the centre console, but Grayson did not face a weapons charge because he was a resident of Fort Riley, Kansas. Kansas has an open-carry firearms law.
Grayson received a general discharge under honorable conditions _ rather than an honorable discharge — because he was charged by a civilian law enforcement agency and his military service otherwise was good.
His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.
A misdemeanor DUI charge doesn’t by law preclude someone from serving in law enforcement, said Sean Smoot, chairman of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, but a hiring agency can certainly consider it.
“Some police departments would not have hired someone with one DUI,” Smoot said. “I am shocked an agency would hire someone with two DUIs, but multiple agencies apparently did.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, has demanded the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. “He does not intend to step down,” Campbell spokesman Jeff Wilhite said.
A statement from Campbell’s office indicated that the county merit commission and state law enforcement board recommended Grayson’s certification as an officer despite the DUIs, and he passed a drug test, criminal background check, psychological evaluation and 16-week academy course.
Before he came to Springfield, Grayson worked for a year as a deputy sheriff in Logan County, just to the northeast. According to a report obtained under a public records request, he was told he needed more training, including “high-stress decision-making classes,” in November 2022 after he failed to follow an order to halt a high-speed pursuit, reaching speeds of 110 mph (177 kph) before colliding with a deer.
When he applied at Logan, an employment report from Auburn, south of Springfield, where he had worked previously, showed that while Grayson was always early for work, eager for training, receptive to criticism and had not faced disciplinary action, he struggled with report writing, was “not great with evidence — left items laying around office” and was “a bragger.”
The Logan County records also include complaints of misconduct from two people Grayson arrested, including one in which a woman who admitted having drugs in a body cavity claimed Grayson gave her a glove and told her to remove the contraband in front of him and another male officer. She later was taken to a hospital to have it removed and claimed Grayson burst through the curtain during the procedure. He denied both complaints and resigned from Logan County before the investigation was complete.
In the body camera video from the night of the shooting, Grayson and another officer find no evidence of a prowler and wait several minutes for Massey to answer, during which time Grayson makes a comment that she’s dead inside and calls impatiently for her.
Massey, who had suffered mental health issues, appears confused and says, “Don’t hurt me.” Grayson responds at times in a condescending or impatient manner.
“His conduct before, during and after suggests that this guy was a loose cannon, and that’s being polite,” said Kalfani Ture, a former police officer, now assistant professor of criminal justice at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and an instructor in the New York Police Department’s academy.
Inside Massey’s home, video shows Grayson directing that a pan of water be removed from a flame on the stove. Massey appears to set it near the sink. The two joke about Grayson moving away from her “hot, steaming water” and Massey inexplicably says, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
That prompts Grayson to pull his gun. Massey apologizes and ducks behind a counter, but when Grayson yells at her to drop the pot, she appears to pick it up again. Grayson fires three times, striking her in the face, and makes no immediate effort to provide medical aid because “That’s a headshot.”
“That’s not characteristic of an officer. That is characteristic of someone who has a depraved indifference to human life,” Ture said. “And this incident is not an aberration. Someone like this is pretty consistent in in their display of this type of profile.”
Ture said Massey probably picked the pan up again because she was confused by the shouted orders. He moved too quickly to lethal force _ he had other options, including using a stun gun, chemical spray or easily overpowering the diminutive woman, Ture said.
Pulling his weapon escalated the incident, Wexler said.
“He should have slowed things down, communicate, have a plan B and know where the door is to get out of the house, not put himself in a position where he had no alternative but to use deadly force by standing still, pulling out his gun and barking orders,” Wexler said.
— Baldor reported from Washington, D.C.
With DUI-related ejection from Army, deputy who killed Massey should have raised flags, experts say
The Illinois cop charged in the shooting death of Sonya Massey was kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken driving convictions
Why is race mentioned? Im sick and fucking tired of this race baiting bullshit. Its 100% irrelevant. Urinalists have no fucking problem putting out BOLOs that say be on the look out for a 6 foot 175lb man wearing a black Raiders hoodie (sheisty if from New Yawk), jeans, Air Jordans and a Lakers cap which 95% of the time is black person street attire unless a drugged up wigger but they absolutely need to mention white cop and black woman. Does it really "matter" unless they are race baiting. If it was a Sikh and an Esquimaux would she still be alive?