Black Lives Matter-Ugliness of Racism.
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what a fvcking maroonA hateful, racial tirade against a black female TTC driver has man on charges
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Sep 13, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read
In a video circulating on social media, a man can be seen harassing a female TTC driver.
A verbal attack on a TTC bus driver in which slavery was referenced is now being looked at by Toronto Police as a possible hate crime.
“The Hate Crimes Unit is aware of the incident and the investigation is ongoing,” said Toronto Police spokesperson Const. Victor Kwong.
It’s a shocking video, that has already seen Toronto Police lay three criminal charges, showing a man claiming he comes from European background calling a black female TTC bus driver an “ex-slave whore” while pounding on the window of her bus she would not open the door to let him on.
Who could blame her? What went on there is disturbing.
The driver’s union boss, ATU Local 113 President Marvin Alfred calls it a “racist” attack on his member worthy of it being investigated as a hate crime.
It was gross! It was hateful as hateful can get.
This rude, crude loud-mouth jerk said the female bus driver at the wheel would lose her job for not letting him board. Ironically, it turns out he’s now arrested and charged by Toronto Police and facing a court appearance Wednesday. Calling it a verbal assault with “racist and misogynist language” Alfred said his driver was “traumatized” by the terrifying interaction.
If you think your job is difficult, try driving a TTC bus for a shift. The only difference this time is the outrageous, profane and belittling attack was caught on camera – shot and posted to social media by the accused himself. It shows a man berating a driver for half an hour for not allowing him on the bus.
Toronto Police say this occurred Wednesday, Sept. 6th at 10:45 a.m., at Drewry Ave. and Bathurst St. Police allege the driver was “attempting to reposition the bus before allowing passengers to get on” when “a man ran across the intersection and started to punch the bus and began yelling and swearing at the driver to open the doors.”
While other passengers tried to reason with the accused, he was relentless with his antics and insults which included referencing slavery, using the term “whore” and “bitch” and saying she was a “welfare” recipient while calling himself a “taxpayer” for 25 years.
At one point in the video, the man made it onto the bus where he said the driver was a “gangster” who was “going to count some drug money” later.
Six days after the incident, Toronto Police Tuesday charged Paul Sampalean, 38, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with “Mischief, Intimidation and Causing a Disturbance.” The charges against him have not yet been tested in court. But this accused has been introduced to Sun readers before in a 2016 story by reporter Maryam Shah telling about getting “a row of stitches” in his forehead in a Cuban hospital after what he said was a mugging and robbery in his hotel.
There are also other video rants circulating on social media. If there are mitigating medical factors in his background they should be addressed by the system but there is no denying this video shows concerning conduct in which a minority woman just doing her job was allegedly victimized and terrorized. Toronto Police is correct to probe this further as a potential hate-motivated incident.
No one should be subjected to what that woman was subjected to.
“Like everyone, we are shocked by what this video shows,” said TTC spokesperson Stuart Green. “TTC operators in the field are performing a vital public service. So to see one being subjected to this sort of vile abuse is appalling.”
He’s right. It’s beyond the pale deplorable. And with so many stabbings on the TTC this year, it was also extra horrifying for those involved.
“The operator has been offered all available peer and counselling resources” and in response to Alfred’s complaint that neither TTC security nor Toronto Police did not get there fast enough, Green added, “we are also looking into our response after she contacted our Transit Control Centre.”
This is a big problem for law enforcement now. Whether it’s the TTC or the police. They are spread thin and don’t always have the number of officers on shift needed in a city when many things happen at once. They are all working hard on this now and taking it very seriously. There are few bigger targets in this era than TTC drivers, who take a tonne of flack, even when behind protective security shields.
If anybody took on the role of a bus driver for a day, it would definitely be an eye-opener and a test of one’s patience, temper and resolve. In this case, the bus driver not only passes with an A-plus but also sets the standard of how to not lose your cool when being horribly abused.
WARMINGTON: A hateful, racial tirade against a black female TTC driver has man on charges
It was gross! It was hateful as hateful can get.torontosun.com
Bumping BP in the MB 🔥🔥🔥
www.youtube.com
A Black student was suspended for his hairstyle. The school says it wasn’t discrimination
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Cheyanne Mumphrey
Published Sep 18, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 6 minute read
Education Hair Discrimination
In this photo provided by Darresha George, her son Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, sits for a photo showing his locs, at the family's home, Sept. 10, 2023. The same week a state law went into effect prohibiting discrimination on the basis of hair, George was suspended because his locs did not comply with the district's dress code. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Darresha George via AP
MONT BELVIEU, Texas (AP) — A Black high school student in Texas has been punished with an in-school suspension over his hairstyle for over two weeks. The family has argued he is not violating the dress code, but when he arrived Monday wearing his hair still in twisted dreadlocks tied on top of his head, he was suspended again, his mother said.
Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, was initially suspended the same week his state outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyles. School officials said his dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violated the district’s dress code.
George, 17, has been suspended since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. He was in tears when he was suspended Monday despite the family’s appeals, his mother Darresha George said.
“He has to sit on a stool for eight hours in a cubicle,” she said. “That’s very uncomfortable. Every day he’d come home, he’d say his back hurts because he has to sit on a stool.”
The incident recalls debates over hair discrimination in schools and the workplace and is already testing the state’s newly enacted CROWN Act, which took effect Sept. 1.
The law, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots. Texas is one of 24 states that have enacted a version of the CROWN Act.
A federal version of the CROWN Act passed in the House of Representatives last year, but was not successful in the Senate.
For Black people, hairstyles are more than just a fashion statement. Hair has always played an important role across the Black diaspora, said Candice Matthews, national minister of politics for the New Black Panther Nation. (Her group is not affiliated with another New Black Panther organization widely considered antisemitic.)
“Dreadlocks are perceived as a connection to wisdom,” Matthews said. “This is not a fad, and this is not about getting attention. Hair is our connection to our soul, our heritage and our connection to God.”
In George’s family, all the men have dreadlocks, going back generations. To them, the hairstyle has cultural and religious importance, his mother said.
“Our hair is where our strength is, that’s our roots,” Darresha George said. “He has his ancestors locked into his hair, and he knows that.”
Historians say braids and other hairstyles served as methods of communication across African societies, including to identify tribal affiliation or marriage status, and as clues to safety and freedom for those who were captured and enslaved.
After slavery was abolished, Black American hair became political. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin, Black people continued to face professional and social stigma for not adopting grooming habits that fit white, European beauty standards and norms.
The issue of race-based hair discrimination in the workplace has long existed alongside concerns in public and private schools. In 2018, a white referee in New Jersey told a Black high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a match. Viral video of the wrestler having his hair cut with scissors as the crowd watched prompted the referee’s suspension and spurred passage of the state’s CROWN Act.
Darresha George said her son has been growing his dreadlocks for nearly 10 years and the family never received pushback or complaints until now. When let down, his dreadlocks hang above his shoulders but she said he has not worn his hair down since school started in mid-August. George said she couldn’t understand how he violated the dress code when his hair was up.
“I even had a discussion about the CROWN Act with the principal and vice principal,” she said. “They said the act does not cover the length of his hair.”
Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of a t-shirt collar, according to the student handbook. Additionally, hair on all students must be clean, well-groomed, geometrical and not an unnatural color or variation. The school does not require uniforms.
The school previously clashed with another Black male student over the dress code. Barbers Hill officials told a student he had to cut his dreadlocks to return to school or participate in graduation in 2020, which garnered national attention.
Greg Poole, who has been district superintendent since 2006, said the policy is legal and teaches students to conform as a sacrifice benefitting everyone.
“When you are asked to conform … and give up something for the betterment of the whole, there is a psychological benefit,” Poole said. “We need more teaching (of) sacrifice.”
Nearby districts have less stringent policies in place. For example, Poole noted others allow students to wear jeans with holes in them, while Barbers Hill does not. He said parents come to the district because of its strict standards and high expectations, which he credits for the district’s academic success.
Attorney Allie Booker, who represents the family, said the school’s argument doesn’t hold up because length is considered part of a hairstyle, which is protected under the law.
“We are going to continue to fight, because you can’t tell someone that hairstyles are protected and then be restrictive. If style is protected, then style is protected,” she said.
Darresha George said she and her son refuse to conform to a standard set by someone who is uncomfortable or ignorant.
“My son is well-groomed, and his hair is not distracting from anyone’s education,” Darresha George said. “This has everything to do with the administration being prejudiced toward Black hairstyles, toward Black culture.”
The district defends its dress code, which says its policies are meant to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards and teach respect for authority.”
George’s situation has drawn solidarity from young Black people around the nation, who say they have long dealt with discriminatory dress codes and comments from adults about their hair.
“When I was in fifth grade, I had a teacher tell me that my blue hair, my pink hair, was unnatural and too distracting for the other students in the class,” said Victoria Bradley, 19, who lives in Detroit. Michigan passed the CROWN Act into law this year.
Bradley, whose hair is braided and currently dyed multiple colors, said she attributes a lot of her hair confidence to her mother, Bernita Bradley, a longtime hair stylist and director of parent voice for the National Parents Union.
Bernita Bradley said her first introduction to the CROWN Act was in 2021, when a biracial, 7-year-old girl in Michigan had her hair cut by a school worker without her parents’ permission. The girl’s father, Jimmy Hoffmeyer, filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, alleging racial discrimination and ethnic intimidation. The lawsuit was settled earlier this year.
“That was modern-day scalping of this Black child,” Bradley said.
This is Darryl George’s first year at Barbers Hill High School. Last year, he went to a school in nearby Baytown, Texas, where he had no problems wearing the same hairstyle, his mother said. Darresha George said they recently moved to the Mont Belvieu area for personal reasons.
The family was told they need to schedule a meeting with the principal, Darresha George said.
After the suspension, “his grades are suffering, which also means he is not able to play football or participate in any extracurriculars,” Darresha George said. “He was on track to graduate early, and now he is falling behind and will have to work double time just so he can still graduate.”
![CP168351416-scaled-e1695038006124[1].jpg](https://forums.canadiancontent.net/data/attachments/17/17630-ad2903e7ee32900fc4b744ce5d58d214.jpg "CP168351416-scaled-e1695038006124[1].jpg")
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Cheyanne Mumphrey
Published Sep 18, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 6 minute read
Education Hair Discrimination
In this photo provided by Darresha George, her son Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, sits for a photo showing his locs, at the family's home, Sept. 10, 2023. The same week a state law went into effect prohibiting discrimination on the basis of hair, George was suspended because his locs did not comply with the district's dress code. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Darresha George via AP
MONT BELVIEU, Texas (AP) — A Black high school student in Texas has been punished with an in-school suspension over his hairstyle for over two weeks. The family has argued he is not violating the dress code, but when he arrived Monday wearing his hair still in twisted dreadlocks tied on top of his head, he was suspended again, his mother said.
Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, was initially suspended the same week his state outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyles. School officials said his dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violated the district’s dress code.
George, 17, has been suspended since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. He was in tears when he was suspended Monday despite the family’s appeals, his mother Darresha George said.
“He has to sit on a stool for eight hours in a cubicle,” she said. “That’s very uncomfortable. Every day he’d come home, he’d say his back hurts because he has to sit on a stool.”
The incident recalls debates over hair discrimination in schools and the workplace and is already testing the state’s newly enacted CROWN Act, which took effect Sept. 1.
The law, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots. Texas is one of 24 states that have enacted a version of the CROWN Act.
A federal version of the CROWN Act passed in the House of Representatives last year, but was not successful in the Senate.
For Black people, hairstyles are more than just a fashion statement. Hair has always played an important role across the Black diaspora, said Candice Matthews, national minister of politics for the New Black Panther Nation. (Her group is not affiliated with another New Black Panther organization widely considered antisemitic.)
“Dreadlocks are perceived as a connection to wisdom,” Matthews said. “This is not a fad, and this is not about getting attention. Hair is our connection to our soul, our heritage and our connection to God.”
In George’s family, all the men have dreadlocks, going back generations. To them, the hairstyle has cultural and religious importance, his mother said.
“Our hair is where our strength is, that’s our roots,” Darresha George said. “He has his ancestors locked into his hair, and he knows that.”
Historians say braids and other hairstyles served as methods of communication across African societies, including to identify tribal affiliation or marriage status, and as clues to safety and freedom for those who were captured and enslaved.
After slavery was abolished, Black American hair became political. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin, Black people continued to face professional and social stigma for not adopting grooming habits that fit white, European beauty standards and norms.
The issue of race-based hair discrimination in the workplace has long existed alongside concerns in public and private schools. In 2018, a white referee in New Jersey told a Black high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a match. Viral video of the wrestler having his hair cut with scissors as the crowd watched prompted the referee’s suspension and spurred passage of the state’s CROWN Act.
Darresha George said her son has been growing his dreadlocks for nearly 10 years and the family never received pushback or complaints until now. When let down, his dreadlocks hang above his shoulders but she said he has not worn his hair down since school started in mid-August. George said she couldn’t understand how he violated the dress code when his hair was up.
“I even had a discussion about the CROWN Act with the principal and vice principal,” she said. “They said the act does not cover the length of his hair.”
Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of a t-shirt collar, according to the student handbook. Additionally, hair on all students must be clean, well-groomed, geometrical and not an unnatural color or variation. The school does not require uniforms.
The school previously clashed with another Black male student over the dress code. Barbers Hill officials told a student he had to cut his dreadlocks to return to school or participate in graduation in 2020, which garnered national attention.
Greg Poole, who has been district superintendent since 2006, said the policy is legal and teaches students to conform as a sacrifice benefitting everyone.
“When you are asked to conform … and give up something for the betterment of the whole, there is a psychological benefit,” Poole said. “We need more teaching (of) sacrifice.”
Nearby districts have less stringent policies in place. For example, Poole noted others allow students to wear jeans with holes in them, while Barbers Hill does not. He said parents come to the district because of its strict standards and high expectations, which he credits for the district’s academic success.
Attorney Allie Booker, who represents the family, said the school’s argument doesn’t hold up because length is considered part of a hairstyle, which is protected under the law.
“We are going to continue to fight, because you can’t tell someone that hairstyles are protected and then be restrictive. If style is protected, then style is protected,” she said.
Darresha George said she and her son refuse to conform to a standard set by someone who is uncomfortable or ignorant.
“My son is well-groomed, and his hair is not distracting from anyone’s education,” Darresha George said. “This has everything to do with the administration being prejudiced toward Black hairstyles, toward Black culture.”
The district defends its dress code, which says its policies are meant to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards and teach respect for authority.”
George’s situation has drawn solidarity from young Black people around the nation, who say they have long dealt with discriminatory dress codes and comments from adults about their hair.
“When I was in fifth grade, I had a teacher tell me that my blue hair, my pink hair, was unnatural and too distracting for the other students in the class,” said Victoria Bradley, 19, who lives in Detroit. Michigan passed the CROWN Act into law this year.
Bradley, whose hair is braided and currently dyed multiple colors, said she attributes a lot of her hair confidence to her mother, Bernita Bradley, a longtime hair stylist and director of parent voice for the National Parents Union.
Bernita Bradley said her first introduction to the CROWN Act was in 2021, when a biracial, 7-year-old girl in Michigan had her hair cut by a school worker without her parents’ permission. The girl’s father, Jimmy Hoffmeyer, filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, alleging racial discrimination and ethnic intimidation. The lawsuit was settled earlier this year.
“That was modern-day scalping of this Black child,” Bradley said.
This is Darryl George’s first year at Barbers Hill High School. Last year, he went to a school in nearby Baytown, Texas, where he had no problems wearing the same hairstyle, his mother said. Darresha George said they recently moved to the Mont Belvieu area for personal reasons.
The family was told they need to schedule a meeting with the principal, Darresha George said.
After the suspension, “his grades are suffering, which also means he is not able to play football or participate in any extracurriculars,” Darresha George said. “He was on track to graduate early, and now he is falling behind and will have to work double time just so he can still graduate.”
A Black student was suspended for his hairstyle. The school says it wasn’t discrimination
The school says it wasn’t discrimination.
Dove needs to rethink new 'fat liberation' spokesperson after backlash
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Sep 15, 2023 • Last updated 4 days ago • 2 minute read
No amount of woke Dove soap could wash away the sins of their new poster girl — a Black Lives Matter activist who admitted destroying a fellow student’s life.
Now, conservative activists are enraged that Zyahna Bryant is the new face of the popular soap brand owned by giant Unilever.
Carole Thorpe was none too pleased and shared a photo of three bars of Dove resting in a trash can. In its latest inclusivity gambit, Dove inked Bryant to push a so-called “fat liberation” campaign.
“After hearing that Dove Beauty chose Zyahna Bryant — who ruined Morgan Bettinger’s life — for their ‘fat acceptance ambassador,’ THIS lifelong large lady & now former Dove customer tossed out the last three bars of Dove product she will EVER buy. I have written to Unilever too,” Thorpe wrote on Thursday.
Social media users took to a multitude of platforms to complain and say they were done with Dove. Elon Musk called the move “messed up.”
Bryant, 22, claimed in July 2020 that she overheard white student Morgan Bettinger threatening Black Lives Matter protesters in Charlottesville.
After Bettinger’s life was obliterated, the fat fink admitted that maybe she “misheard” Bettinger, who was bombarded with abuse and endured a campaign to have her booted from UVA.
The latest corporate misstep threatens to scupper Dove sales ala Bud Light whose sales went into freefall after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Now, the hashtag #BoycottDove is catching fire.
Bryant, 22, seems oblivious to the brouhaha and took to Instagram about her “fat liberation” campaign to end the stigma about being overweight.
She wrote: “#DovePartner Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about! That’s why I am partnering with Dove, to support the work of @naafaofficial, @flareforjustice in the Campaign for Size Freedom.
“Tell us what Fat Liberation means to you using the hashtag #sizefreedom and tagging @dove to share your story.”
She added: “My belief is that we should be centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized people and communities at all times. So when I think about what fat liberation looks like to me, I think about centering the voices of those who live in and who maneuver through spaces and institutions in a fat body.”
But one commentator wrote: “This woman put another UVA student through hell, and it was all a woke lie.”.
Indeed. Bryant demanded via an email campaign that Bettinger be expelled.
She tweeted: “EMAIL these UVA deans now to demand that Morgan face consequences for her actions and that UVA stop graduating racists.”
Bettinger faced a star chamber of academics who — even though they couldn’t prove Bryant’s allegation — found her guilty. Bryant then piled on with more complaints about Bettinger. Three of the five allegations could not be corroborated.
The activist later admitted she may have misheard Bettinger. Later, it emerged she heard the controversial comments secondhand.
It emerged that no one could corroborate Bryant’s claim.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Sep 15, 2023 • Last updated 4 days ago • 2 minute read
No amount of woke Dove soap could wash away the sins of their new poster girl — a Black Lives Matter activist who admitted destroying a fellow student’s life.
Now, conservative activists are enraged that Zyahna Bryant is the new face of the popular soap brand owned by giant Unilever.
Carole Thorpe was none too pleased and shared a photo of three bars of Dove resting in a trash can. In its latest inclusivity gambit, Dove inked Bryant to push a so-called “fat liberation” campaign.
“After hearing that Dove Beauty chose Zyahna Bryant — who ruined Morgan Bettinger’s life — for their ‘fat acceptance ambassador,’ THIS lifelong large lady & now former Dove customer tossed out the last three bars of Dove product she will EVER buy. I have written to Unilever too,” Thorpe wrote on Thursday.
Social media users took to a multitude of platforms to complain and say they were done with Dove. Elon Musk called the move “messed up.”
Bryant, 22, claimed in July 2020 that she overheard white student Morgan Bettinger threatening Black Lives Matter protesters in Charlottesville.
After Bettinger’s life was obliterated, the fat fink admitted that maybe she “misheard” Bettinger, who was bombarded with abuse and endured a campaign to have her booted from UVA.
The latest corporate misstep threatens to scupper Dove sales ala Bud Light whose sales went into freefall after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Now, the hashtag #BoycottDove is catching fire.
Bryant, 22, seems oblivious to the brouhaha and took to Instagram about her “fat liberation” campaign to end the stigma about being overweight.
She wrote: “#DovePartner Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about! That’s why I am partnering with Dove, to support the work of @naafaofficial, @flareforjustice in the Campaign for Size Freedom.
“Tell us what Fat Liberation means to you using the hashtag #sizefreedom and tagging @dove to share your story.”
She added: “My belief is that we should be centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized people and communities at all times. So when I think about what fat liberation looks like to me, I think about centering the voices of those who live in and who maneuver through spaces and institutions in a fat body.”
But one commentator wrote: “This woman put another UVA student through hell, and it was all a woke lie.”.
Indeed. Bryant demanded via an email campaign that Bettinger be expelled.
She tweeted: “EMAIL these UVA deans now to demand that Morgan face consequences for her actions and that UVA stop graduating racists.”
Bettinger faced a star chamber of academics who — even though they couldn’t prove Bryant’s allegation — found her guilty. Bryant then piled on with more complaints about Bettinger. Three of the five allegations could not be corroborated.
The activist later admitted she may have misheard Bettinger. Later, it emerged she heard the controversial comments secondhand.
It emerged that no one could corroborate Bryant’s claim.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
Dove needs to rethink new 'fat liberation' spokesperson after backlash
No amount of woke Dove soap could wash away the sins of their new poster girl — a BLM activist who admitted destroying a fellow student's life.
BLM activist, who once backed defunding police, calls cops on reporter
Author of the article
enette Wilford
Published Sep 18, 2023 • 2 minute read
A Black Lives Matter activist who previously called for the defunding of police called cops over a reporter’s interview request.
Zyahna Bryant, 22, was recently hired by Dove to promote “fat liberation” in the brand’s new campaign.
However, in 2020, Bryant, a University of Virginia student, was accused of ruining a white student’s life over a remark she later said she “misheard.”
The partnership between Dove and Bryant has resulted in many boycotting the brand.
A reporter with the Daily Mail visited Bryant on Friday after getting the activist’s contact details from a woman claiming to be Bryant’s sister, the publication reported.
Bryant’s manager Sean Lawton reached out after the reporter did not connect with Bryant and claimed the activist felt threatened, comments which were backed by Charlottesville police Chief Mike Kochis.
Kochis explained that Bryant reached out to him, saying she “was feeling uncomfortable” and wanted to “get ahead of any situation.”
He acknowledged that the Mail had done nothing wrong and the reporter was on a public street and had simply asked for an interview and left.
Kochis added that the family is “good people,” adding that he was not aware of any threats having been made to Bryant.
Lawton had called right before the Kochis call, explaining, “Zyahna feels threatened right now. The biggest concern right now is about her security and her safety.”
Earlier this month, Dove hired Bryant as a “fat acceptance ambassador,” but many on social media have been calling for the brand’s cancellation due to the controversial partnership.
Three years ago, Bryant falsely accused fellow student Morgan Bettinger of threatening BLM protesters after she accidentally drove into a group protesting the death of George Floyd.
Bryant claimed she overheard Bettinger saying they would make “good speedbumps,” a horrific comment she denied and got the white student bullied, threatened and cancelled, the Mail reported.
However, Bryant later admitted she may have “misheard” what Bettinger said.
Around the same time, Bryant was advocating to defund the police, even writing those very words in an Instagram post that appears to be more about people of colour more likely to be suspended and expelled from school and Black girls “being pushed out of school simply for existing.”
The boycott, which has picked up steam, has been likened to Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
One woman, Carole Thorpe, shared a photo of three bars of Dove soap in the garbage, declaring she was done with the brand and its parent company, Unilever.
“After hearing that Dove Beauty chose Zyahna Bryant — who ruined Morgan Bettinger’s life — for their “fat acceptance ambassador”, THIS lifelong large lady & now former Dove customer tossed out the last three bars of Dove product she will EVER buy,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“I have written to Unilever too.”
instagram.com
dailymail.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
torontosun.com
Author of the article
enette WilfordPublished Sep 18, 2023 • 2 minute read
A Black Lives Matter activist who previously called for the defunding of police called cops over a reporter’s interview request.
Zyahna Bryant, 22, was recently hired by Dove to promote “fat liberation” in the brand’s new campaign.
However, in 2020, Bryant, a University of Virginia student, was accused of ruining a white student’s life over a remark she later said she “misheard.”
The partnership between Dove and Bryant has resulted in many boycotting the brand.
A reporter with the Daily Mail visited Bryant on Friday after getting the activist’s contact details from a woman claiming to be Bryant’s sister, the publication reported.
Bryant’s manager Sean Lawton reached out after the reporter did not connect with Bryant and claimed the activist felt threatened, comments which were backed by Charlottesville police Chief Mike Kochis.
Kochis explained that Bryant reached out to him, saying she “was feeling uncomfortable” and wanted to “get ahead of any situation.”
He acknowledged that the Mail had done nothing wrong and the reporter was on a public street and had simply asked for an interview and left.
Kochis added that the family is “good people,” adding that he was not aware of any threats having been made to Bryant.
Lawton had called right before the Kochis call, explaining, “Zyahna feels threatened right now. The biggest concern right now is about her security and her safety.”
Earlier this month, Dove hired Bryant as a “fat acceptance ambassador,” but many on social media have been calling for the brand’s cancellation due to the controversial partnership.
Three years ago, Bryant falsely accused fellow student Morgan Bettinger of threatening BLM protesters after she accidentally drove into a group protesting the death of George Floyd.
Bryant claimed she overheard Bettinger saying they would make “good speedbumps,” a horrific comment she denied and got the white student bullied, threatened and cancelled, the Mail reported.
However, Bryant later admitted she may have “misheard” what Bettinger said.
Around the same time, Bryant was advocating to defund the police, even writing those very words in an Instagram post that appears to be more about people of colour more likely to be suspended and expelled from school and Black girls “being pushed out of school simply for existing.”
The boycott, which has picked up steam, has been likened to Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
One woman, Carole Thorpe, shared a photo of three bars of Dove soap in the garbage, declaring she was done with the brand and its parent company, Unilever.
“After hearing that Dove Beauty chose Zyahna Bryant — who ruined Morgan Bettinger’s life — for their “fat acceptance ambassador”, THIS lifelong large lady & now former Dove customer tossed out the last three bars of Dove product she will EVER buy,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“I have written to Unilever too.”
zyahna bryant. on Instagram: "#DovePartner Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about! That’s why I am partnering with Dove, to support the work of @naafaofficial , @flareforjustice in the Campaign for Size Freedom. Tell us what Fat L
zysaidso on August 31, 2023: "#DovePartner Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about! That’s why I am partnering with Dove, to support the work of @naafaofficial , @flareforjustice in the Campaign for Size Freedom. Tell us what Fat Liberation means to you using the hashtag...
instagram.com
BLM activist ruined student's life with flimsy racism allegation
Zyahna Bryant, 22, claimed she heard fellow UVA student Morgan Bettinger threaten protesters by saying they'd 'make good speed bumps' - then changed her story.
BLM activist Dove ambassador Zyahna Bryant has meltdown
The BLM activist at the center of a furious backlash after Dove announced a partnership with her complained she felt 'threatened,' by a simple knock on the door and interview request.
BLM activist, who once backed defunding police, calls cops on reporter
A Black Lives Matter activist who previously called for the defunding of police called cops over a reporter’s interview request.
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Israel DEPORTS African Refugees?! Aboriginal LIES! + More!
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu wants to DEPORT African refugees!? The MEDIA LIES about Indigenous MASS GRAVES beneath Catholic residential schools! And the trucker Freedom Convey and January 6th trials m
rumble.com
Their stock of exclamation marks must be getting to the use-by date.Israel DEPORTS African Refugees?! Aboriginal LIES! + More!
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu wants to DEPORT African refugees!? The MEDIA LIES about Indigenous MASS GRAVES beneath Catholic residential schools! And the trucker Freedom Convey and January 6th trials m
I can't exclaim enough about whatsherface!
rumble.com
G20 nations in INDIA!? Influencers PUSH aspartame! + More!
Justin Trudeau and other G20 members gather in INDIA to discuss gender neutral language!? Social media influencer MARKETING aspartame!? And a woman gets PAID $500K to go on a “business trip”? Welcome
rumble.com
Try "Dearie me!" Or maybe "Lawsa mercy!" Or even "Waaaal, I will be dipped in shit!"I can't exclaim enough about whatsherface!
G20 nations in INDIA!? Influencers PUSH aspartame! + More!
Justin Trudeau and other G20 members gather in INDIA to discuss gender neutral language!? Social media influencer MARKETING aspartame!? And a woman gets PAID $500K to go on a “business trip”? Welcome
Bless your heart.
Man who shot Black teen who mistakenly went to his door enters not guilty plea; trial is scheduled
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Heather Hollingsworth
Published Sep 20, 2023 • 2 minute read
Andrew Lester appears in court
Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 in Liberty, Mo.
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A white 84-year-old homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager after the high-schooler mistakenly came to his Kansas City home entered a not guilty plea Wednesday, and the judge scheduled his trial for next year.
Andrew Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13 shooting of Ralph Yarl. The trial in the case, which shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America, was scheduled to begin on Oct. 7, 2024.
Some supporters joined Yarl’s mother in the courtroom, their T-shirts reading “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime” were turned inside out. Family friend Philip Barrolle said they wore the shirts that way Wednesday after being told by the court the shirts were a problem. Supporters have worn them in the past, but an order issued Monday barred “outbreaks, signs, or displays of any kind.”
“It is up to us to have our presence felt,” Barrolle complained afterward.
The not guilty plea, entered by Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, is largely a procedural step, and the hearing lasted just five minutes. Lester also pleaded not guilty soon after he was charged, but this is his first court appearance since a judge found sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Salmon said at the preliminary hearing that Lester was acting in self-defense, terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night.
Yarl testified at the hearing that he was sent to pick up his twin siblings but had no phone — he’d lost it at school. The house he intended to go to was just blocks from his own home, but he had the street wrong.
Yarl testified that he rang the bell and the wait for someone to answer for what seemed “longer than normal.” As the inner door opened, Yarl said he reached out to grab the storm door, assuming his brother’s friend’s parents were there.
Instead, it was Lester, who told him, “Don’t come here ever again,” Yarl recalled. He said he was shot in the head, the impact knocking him to the ground, and was then shot in the arm.
The shot to his head left a bullet embedded in his skull, testified Dr. Jo Ling Goh, a pediatric neurosurgeon who treated Yarl. It did not penetrate his brain, however, and he was able to go back to high school. He is now a senior and is making plans to major in engineering in college.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Heather Hollingsworth
Published Sep 20, 2023 • 2 minute read
Andrew Lester appears in court
Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 in Liberty, Mo.
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A white 84-year-old homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager after the high-schooler mistakenly came to his Kansas City home entered a not guilty plea Wednesday, and the judge scheduled his trial for next year.
Andrew Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13 shooting of Ralph Yarl. The trial in the case, which shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America, was scheduled to begin on Oct. 7, 2024.
Some supporters joined Yarl’s mother in the courtroom, their T-shirts reading “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime” were turned inside out. Family friend Philip Barrolle said they wore the shirts that way Wednesday after being told by the court the shirts were a problem. Supporters have worn them in the past, but an order issued Monday barred “outbreaks, signs, or displays of any kind.”
“It is up to us to have our presence felt,” Barrolle complained afterward.
The not guilty plea, entered by Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, is largely a procedural step, and the hearing lasted just five minutes. Lester also pleaded not guilty soon after he was charged, but this is his first court appearance since a judge found sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Salmon said at the preliminary hearing that Lester was acting in self-defense, terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night.
Yarl testified at the hearing that he was sent to pick up his twin siblings but had no phone — he’d lost it at school. The house he intended to go to was just blocks from his own home, but he had the street wrong.
Yarl testified that he rang the bell and the wait for someone to answer for what seemed “longer than normal.” As the inner door opened, Yarl said he reached out to grab the storm door, assuming his brother’s friend’s parents were there.
Instead, it was Lester, who told him, “Don’t come here ever again,” Yarl recalled. He said he was shot in the head, the impact knocking him to the ground, and was then shot in the arm.
The shot to his head left a bullet embedded in his skull, testified Dr. Jo Ling Goh, a pediatric neurosurgeon who treated Yarl. It did not penetrate his brain, however, and he was able to go back to high school. He is now a senior and is making plans to major in engineering in college.
Man who shot Black teen who mistakenly went to his door enters not guilty plea; trial is scheduled
Judge scheduled his trial for next year.
9 deputies charged in death of man beaten in Memphis jail, including 2 for second-degree murder
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Adrian Sainz And Kimberlee Kruesi
Published Sep 21, 2023 • 3 minute read
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two Memphis jail deputies have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man who was having a psychotic episode and died in custody last fall after jailers punched, kicked and kneeled on his back during a confrontation, according to court documents released Thursday.
University of Regina gets boost from U.S. company for its NFL-backed cannabis research
The indictments show that Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham have also been charged with aggravated assault while acting in concert with others in the death of 33-year-old Gershun Freeman. Jones faces an additional count of assault.
Meanwhile, seven other deputies have been charged with aggravated assault resulting in the death of another. Those officers include: Jeffrey Gibson, Anthony Howell, Damian Cooper, Ebonee Davis, Lareko Donwel Elliot and Chelsey Duckett. One officer’s name was redacted.
The grand jury made the indictments Tuesday and warrants were issued Wednesday.
All of the deputies have been placed on administrative leave. Online records do not show if the eight deputies named in the indictment have lawyers.
A hearing for the deputies will take place Oct. 27.
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner first disclosed the existence of the indictments Wednesday evening, but refused to give any more information at the time. Instead, he accused the investigation of being political and vowed to help raise money for the deputies’ legal fees.
Bonner is running for mayor of Memphis. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy threw his support behind a different candidate, Van Turner, before Freeman’s death and before Bonner announced his candidacy.
Mulroy has recused himself from Freeman’s case and Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk has since been tapped to oversee the investigation.
“I did everything I could to take politics out of it and I hope the public doesn’t buy the narrative that there was anything untoward about that,” Mulroy told reporters Thursday.
Earlier this year, Funk released video of Freeman at the Shelby County Jail.
The video shows Freeman was beaten by at least 10 corrections officers Oct. 5 after he ran naked from his cell.
According to the video, officers wrestle Freeman to the ground and begin to punch, kick and pepper-spray him. They are joined by additional officers. The deputies move with Freeman out of the hallway. From another camera’s view, Freeman is seen wrapping himself around an officer’s legs in a different hallway.
The video shifts to a bank of escalators and Freeman, still naked, runs up one of them. In another hallway, a struggle continues with officers attempting to restrain him before getting him face-down on the ground. They can be seen stepping and kneeling on his back before he becomes still. One officer remained on Freeman’s back for several minutes before he was lifted.
He appears limp when officers do lift him up, with his head falling forward between his knees and his hands cuffed behind his back. He remains in that position until medical employees arrive, and the video ends.
Freeman had “psychosis and cardiovascular disease and died of a heart attack while being restrained,” Bonner said in a March statement, citing a medical examiner’s report.
Freeman’s manner of death is listed as a homicide in the autopsy report from the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center, although the report says that this “is not meant to definitively indicate criminal intent.”
Brice Timmons, a lawyer for Freeman’s family, said Wednesday that Bonner is to blame for Freeman’s death.
— Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Adrian Sainz And Kimberlee Kruesi
Published Sep 21, 2023 • 3 minute read
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two Memphis jail deputies have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man who was having a psychotic episode and died in custody last fall after jailers punched, kicked and kneeled on his back during a confrontation, according to court documents released Thursday.
University of Regina gets boost from U.S. company for its NFL-backed cannabis research
The indictments show that Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham have also been charged with aggravated assault while acting in concert with others in the death of 33-year-old Gershun Freeman. Jones faces an additional count of assault.
Meanwhile, seven other deputies have been charged with aggravated assault resulting in the death of another. Those officers include: Jeffrey Gibson, Anthony Howell, Damian Cooper, Ebonee Davis, Lareko Donwel Elliot and Chelsey Duckett. One officer’s name was redacted.
The grand jury made the indictments Tuesday and warrants were issued Wednesday.
All of the deputies have been placed on administrative leave. Online records do not show if the eight deputies named in the indictment have lawyers.
A hearing for the deputies will take place Oct. 27.
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner first disclosed the existence of the indictments Wednesday evening, but refused to give any more information at the time. Instead, he accused the investigation of being political and vowed to help raise money for the deputies’ legal fees.
Bonner is running for mayor of Memphis. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy threw his support behind a different candidate, Van Turner, before Freeman’s death and before Bonner announced his candidacy.
Mulroy has recused himself from Freeman’s case and Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk has since been tapped to oversee the investigation.
“I did everything I could to take politics out of it and I hope the public doesn’t buy the narrative that there was anything untoward about that,” Mulroy told reporters Thursday.
Earlier this year, Funk released video of Freeman at the Shelby County Jail.
The video shows Freeman was beaten by at least 10 corrections officers Oct. 5 after he ran naked from his cell.
According to the video, officers wrestle Freeman to the ground and begin to punch, kick and pepper-spray him. They are joined by additional officers. The deputies move with Freeman out of the hallway. From another camera’s view, Freeman is seen wrapping himself around an officer’s legs in a different hallway.
The video shifts to a bank of escalators and Freeman, still naked, runs up one of them. In another hallway, a struggle continues with officers attempting to restrain him before getting him face-down on the ground. They can be seen stepping and kneeling on his back before he becomes still. One officer remained on Freeman’s back for several minutes before he was lifted.
He appears limp when officers do lift him up, with his head falling forward between his knees and his hands cuffed behind his back. He remains in that position until medical employees arrive, and the video ends.
Freeman had “psychosis and cardiovascular disease and died of a heart attack while being restrained,” Bonner said in a March statement, citing a medical examiner’s report.
Freeman’s manner of death is listed as a homicide in the autopsy report from the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center, although the report says that this “is not meant to definitively indicate criminal intent.”
Brice Timmons, a lawyer for Freeman’s family, said Wednesday that Bonner is to blame for Freeman’s death.
— Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee.
9 deputies charged in death of man beaten in Memphis jail, including 2 for second-degree murder
Two Memphis jail deputies have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man who was having a psychotic episode.
FBI is investigating alleged abuse in Baton Rouge police warehouse known as the ’Brave Cave’
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jim Mustian And Lea Skene
Published Sep 22, 2023 • 3 minute read
Baton Rouge Police Warehouse
In this image from Baton Rouge Police Department body camera video, officers interact with Jeremy Lee inside a warehouse in Baton Rouge on Jan. 9, 2023. Lee sued the department in August 2023 alleging officers abused him in the police warehouse nicknamed the “Brave Cave.” PHOTO BY SCREENSHOT /Baton Rouge Police Department via AP
The FBI said Friday it has opened a civil rights investigation into allegations in recent lawsuits that police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, assaulted drug suspects they detained in an obscure warehouse known as the “Brave Cave.”
In one case, a man says he was taken to the warehouse and beaten so severely he needed hospital care before being booked into jail. In another, a woman claims she was strip-searched, with an officer using a flashlight to scan her body.
Since the first complaint was filed last month, the city’s mayor has ordered the facility closed, the police department has disbanded its street crimes unit and an officer at the center of the allegations — the son of a current deputy chief — resigned and was arrested on a simple battery charge.
FBI officials confirmed Friday that the agency has opened an investigation based on “allegations that members of the department may have abused their authority.”
This latest scandal adds to a long list of corruption and misconduct allegations plaguing the Baton Rouge Police Department, which came under significant scrutiny following the 2016 fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man. In 2021, a corruption probe into the department’s narcotics division led to criminal charges and internal discipline against officers accused of stealing drugs from evidence and lying on police reports.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul, who was hired to lead the agency in the wake of Sterling’s killing, said he was so concerned over the recent warehouse claims that he drove to the FBI’s New Orleans field division and asked them to review the allegations.
“There were some mistakes made,” Paul told The Associated Press, acknowledging that his internal affairs division initially failed to investigate. “I promise you we will get to the bottom of this.”
The most recent lawsuit, which attorneys filed earlier this week on behalf of Ternell Brown, alleges officers pulled her over in June, took her to the same “black site” and strip-searched her for “contraband.” She was released without charges when officers concluded the prescription drugs in her possession were legal.
Baton Rouge Police Warehouse
In this image from Baton Rouge Police Department body camera video, officers interact with Jeremy Lee in Baton Rouge on Jan. 9, 2023. Lee sued the department in August 2023 alleging officers abused him in a police warehouse nicknamed the “Brave Cave.” (Baton Rouge Police Department via AP)
Her attorneys wrote in the lawsuit that they are still learning “the full horror of what the street crimes unit did there. … Even those who were not beaten at the torture warehouse, we now know, were still sexually humiliated.”
The officer who resigned, Troy Lawrence Jr., has been the subject of several civil rights lawsuits and excessive force complaints in recent years. His father, Troy Lawrence Sr., was promoted to deputy chief in 2020 after commanding the street crimes unit, which went by the acronym BRAVE, for Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination.
It was not clear late Friday whether Lawrence Jr. had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. An email sent to the police union seeking comment late Friday wasn’t immediately answered.
According to a lawsuit filed last month, he repeatedly turned off and muted his body camera during his interactions with Jeremy Lee, the suspect who ended up hospitalized with broken bones and other injuries. Inside the warehouse, officers punched and kicked him while he screamed for help, the lawsuit alleges. After he was violently interrogated and arrested, the only criminal charge prosecutors pursued against Lee was resisting arrest.
Shortly after Lee’s lawsuit, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome ordered the warehouse closed, saying she was previously unaware of the facility’s existence.
“The severity of these allegations deeply concerns me, especially given the potential impact on the trust our community places in us,” Broome said.
Thomas Frampton, an attorney representing both Lee and Brown, said his team has heard from dozens more people alleging abuse inside the warehouse and they plan to file additional lawsuits.
“This kind of misconduct is so entrenched that people had little reason to expect any kind of positive change,” he said, praising the FBI’s decision to launch an investigation.
![CP168422871-e1695429710998[1].jpg](https://forums.canadiancontent.net/data/attachments/17/17660-b1c967df6c499aca6a8dc0c0c22e2be8.jpg "CP168422871-e1695429710998[1].jpg")
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jim Mustian And Lea Skene
Published Sep 22, 2023 • 3 minute read
Baton Rouge Police Warehouse
In this image from Baton Rouge Police Department body camera video, officers interact with Jeremy Lee inside a warehouse in Baton Rouge on Jan. 9, 2023. Lee sued the department in August 2023 alleging officers abused him in the police warehouse nicknamed the “Brave Cave.” PHOTO BY SCREENSHOT /Baton Rouge Police Department via AP
The FBI said Friday it has opened a civil rights investigation into allegations in recent lawsuits that police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, assaulted drug suspects they detained in an obscure warehouse known as the “Brave Cave.”
In one case, a man says he was taken to the warehouse and beaten so severely he needed hospital care before being booked into jail. In another, a woman claims she was strip-searched, with an officer using a flashlight to scan her body.
Since the first complaint was filed last month, the city’s mayor has ordered the facility closed, the police department has disbanded its street crimes unit and an officer at the center of the allegations — the son of a current deputy chief — resigned and was arrested on a simple battery charge.
FBI officials confirmed Friday that the agency has opened an investigation based on “allegations that members of the department may have abused their authority.”
This latest scandal adds to a long list of corruption and misconduct allegations plaguing the Baton Rouge Police Department, which came under significant scrutiny following the 2016 fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man. In 2021, a corruption probe into the department’s narcotics division led to criminal charges and internal discipline against officers accused of stealing drugs from evidence and lying on police reports.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul, who was hired to lead the agency in the wake of Sterling’s killing, said he was so concerned over the recent warehouse claims that he drove to the FBI’s New Orleans field division and asked them to review the allegations.
“There were some mistakes made,” Paul told The Associated Press, acknowledging that his internal affairs division initially failed to investigate. “I promise you we will get to the bottom of this.”
The most recent lawsuit, which attorneys filed earlier this week on behalf of Ternell Brown, alleges officers pulled her over in June, took her to the same “black site” and strip-searched her for “contraband.” She was released without charges when officers concluded the prescription drugs in her possession were legal.
Baton Rouge Police Warehouse
In this image from Baton Rouge Police Department body camera video, officers interact with Jeremy Lee in Baton Rouge on Jan. 9, 2023. Lee sued the department in August 2023 alleging officers abused him in a police warehouse nicknamed the “Brave Cave.” (Baton Rouge Police Department via AP)
Her attorneys wrote in the lawsuit that they are still learning “the full horror of what the street crimes unit did there. … Even those who were not beaten at the torture warehouse, we now know, were still sexually humiliated.”
The officer who resigned, Troy Lawrence Jr., has been the subject of several civil rights lawsuits and excessive force complaints in recent years. His father, Troy Lawrence Sr., was promoted to deputy chief in 2020 after commanding the street crimes unit, which went by the acronym BRAVE, for Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination.
It was not clear late Friday whether Lawrence Jr. had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. An email sent to the police union seeking comment late Friday wasn’t immediately answered.
According to a lawsuit filed last month, he repeatedly turned off and muted his body camera during his interactions with Jeremy Lee, the suspect who ended up hospitalized with broken bones and other injuries. Inside the warehouse, officers punched and kicked him while he screamed for help, the lawsuit alleges. After he was violently interrogated and arrested, the only criminal charge prosecutors pursued against Lee was resisting arrest.
Shortly after Lee’s lawsuit, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome ordered the warehouse closed, saying she was previously unaware of the facility’s existence.
“The severity of these allegations deeply concerns me, especially given the potential impact on the trust our community places in us,” Broome said.
Thomas Frampton, an attorney representing both Lee and Brown, said his team has heard from dozens more people alleging abuse inside the warehouse and they plan to file additional lawsuits.
“This kind of misconduct is so entrenched that people had little reason to expect any kind of positive change,” he said, praising the FBI’s decision to launch an investigation.
FBI is investigating alleged abuse in Baton Rouge police warehouse known as the ’Brave Cave’
Warehouse is known as the ’Brave Cave’.
Attachments
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![CP168422854-e1695429673405[1].jpg](/data/attachments/17/17659-432c99fbd1e9c7b90f575d6eaa49aef3.jpg)
CP168422854-e1695429673405[1].jpg
Support the police! Tough, dangerous job. Keeping us safe. Heroes in blue. Blue Lives Matter!
Some U.K. police put down guns after an officer is charged with murder in the shooting of a Black man
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jill Lawless
Published Sep 24, 2023 • 2 minute read
London's police force says some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a police marksman was charged with murder over the shooting of an unarmed Black man. An officer was charged with murder on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 over the September 2022 shooting of Chris Kaba, 24.
London's police force says some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a police marksman was charged with murder over the shooting of an unarmed Black man. An officer was charged with murder on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 over the September 2022 shooting of Chris Kaba, 24.
LONDON (AP) — London’s police force said Sunday that some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a colleague was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man.
A Metropolitan Police marksman was charged Wednesday over the September 2022 death of Chris Kaba, 24. Kaba was killed after officers in an unmarked vehicle pursued and stopped the car he was driving. He was struck by a single bullet fired through the windshield as he sat in the Audi car.
The case renewed allegations of institutional racism within the London police department. Kaba’s family welcomed the murder charge against the officer, who has not been publicly named. He was granted conditional bail and is expected to stand trial next year.
Only about one in 10 of London’s police officers carry firearms, and the ones that do undergo special training.
The Metropolitan Police force said Sunday that “a number of officers have taken the decision to step back from armed duties while they consider their position.” It said officers were concerned that the murder charge “signals a shift in the way the decisions they make in the most challenging circumstances will be judged.”
The BBC said more than 100 officers had turned in their firearm permits and that police from neighboring forces were called in to help patrol London on Saturday night.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is in charge of policing for the U.K.’s Conservative government, said she would review armed policing to ensure that armed officers “have the confidence to do their jobs.”
“In the interest of public safety, they have to make split-second decisions under extraordinary pressures,” Braverman posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “They mustn’t fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties. Officers risking their lives to keep us safe have my full backing, and I will do everything in my power to support them.”
Fatal shootings by police in the U.K. are rare. In the year to March 2022, armed officers in England and Wales fired weapons at people four times, according to official statistics.
It is also extremely rare for British police officers to be charged with murder or manslaughter over actions performed while they were on duty.
In one of the few cases in recent years, a police constable was sentenced in 2021 to eight years in prison for the killing of Dalian Atkinson, a former professional soccer player who died after being shot by a stun gun and kicked in the head during an altercation. The officer, Benjamin Monk, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jill Lawless
Published Sep 24, 2023 • 2 minute read
London's police force says some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a police marksman was charged with murder over the shooting of an unarmed Black man. An officer was charged with murder on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 over the September 2022 shooting of Chris Kaba, 24.
London's police force says some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a police marksman was charged with murder over the shooting of an unarmed Black man. An officer was charged with murder on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 over the September 2022 shooting of Chris Kaba, 24.
LONDON (AP) — London’s police force said Sunday that some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a colleague was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man.
A Metropolitan Police marksman was charged Wednesday over the September 2022 death of Chris Kaba, 24. Kaba was killed after officers in an unmarked vehicle pursued and stopped the car he was driving. He was struck by a single bullet fired through the windshield as he sat in the Audi car.
The case renewed allegations of institutional racism within the London police department. Kaba’s family welcomed the murder charge against the officer, who has not been publicly named. He was granted conditional bail and is expected to stand trial next year.
Only about one in 10 of London’s police officers carry firearms, and the ones that do undergo special training.
The Metropolitan Police force said Sunday that “a number of officers have taken the decision to step back from armed duties while they consider their position.” It said officers were concerned that the murder charge “signals a shift in the way the decisions they make in the most challenging circumstances will be judged.”
The BBC said more than 100 officers had turned in their firearm permits and that police from neighboring forces were called in to help patrol London on Saturday night.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is in charge of policing for the U.K.’s Conservative government, said she would review armed policing to ensure that armed officers “have the confidence to do their jobs.”
“In the interest of public safety, they have to make split-second decisions under extraordinary pressures,” Braverman posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “They mustn’t fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties. Officers risking their lives to keep us safe have my full backing, and I will do everything in my power to support them.”
Fatal shootings by police in the U.K. are rare. In the year to March 2022, armed officers in England and Wales fired weapons at people four times, according to official statistics.
It is also extremely rare for British police officers to be charged with murder or manslaughter over actions performed while they were on duty.
In one of the few cases in recent years, a police constable was sentenced in 2021 to eight years in prison for the killing of Dalian Atkinson, a former professional soccer player who died after being shot by a stun gun and kicked in the head during an altercation. The officer, Benjamin Monk, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Some U.K. police put down guns after an officer is charged with murder in the shooting of a Black man
The case renewed allegations of institutional racism within the London police department.
Questioning their actions isn't wrong, second guessing is. This much like how we do accident investigations. The goal is to prevent similar circumstances from happening again.
What does need to be questioned and investigated is how the victims got themselves into this situation in the first place.
Likewise how well the officer was trained.