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Jacob Blake shooting – arrest and charge police now

24 August 2020, Kenosha, Wisconsin – Three police officers caught on video are alleged to have tased and beaten a man, who moments later they shot in the back – seven times. Their victim is in stable condition; his children who witnesses the attack are obviously traumatized.  The police are facing nothing more serious than suspension at present.

With no arrests, the officers have been at liberty to do as they please, perhaps even ‘get their stories straight’? – as the family and community suffers.

Kenosha police do not have to wear video cams; they go by audio recordings only.  Two of the officers shouted ‘drop the knife’ at Mr  Blake although the witness who filmed the shooting say he did not see a knife.  In the video it looks as if there was no knife but car keys.

There is no need to wait for an investigation before there are arrests: they shot a man in the back seven times at point blank range.

The level of force was wholly disproportionate.

Sadly, this is Wisconsin.

The Kenosha District Attorney is Michael D Graveley, here he is pictured n 2016 after winning an award.

Gina Barton of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote an article in May of this year, highlighting 18 deaths at the hands of Wisconsin police:  many of these deaths saw no charges brought, such as Larry Jenkins, shot while fleeing in 2002.

Let’s demand charges are brought immediately against police who shot Mr Blake.

ACTION:

Please contact Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D Graveley through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

The police officers who were involved in assaulting and then shooting Jacob Blake in the back – seven times at point blank range – are not under arrest:  why not?

Surely anyone with or without a badge who has acted in such a manner needs to be immediately arrested and charged appropriately.  As it stands, there are three officers who were seen to assault Mr Blake, who allegedly tased him, and then shot him in the back using lethal force when not necessary.  If he was tased, it is also possible he was in great pain and disorientated – the officers seem to have taken no account of this at all.

There is an allegation he had a knife – it looks as if he only had car keys.  With immediate effect I want to see the relevant officers arrested and charged to ensure they do not get a chance more than they have already enjoyed to ‘get their story straight,’ and I call on you to ensure that there is no attempt to in any way intimidate or interfere with the witness who captured the sickening events on tape.

It looks like Mr Blake may just have been trying to break up an argument – which would be even more damning for the police.  In any event, there was never any call to shoot him in the back at point blank range a massive seven times – and the person who did this needs to be behind bars:  not arresting them is an affront to justice.

Support including financial support must be made immediately to ensure the welfare of Mr Blake’s family, and going forward I want to see:  1 only competent, highly-trained police who have been screened to ensure no racists are given badges and guns; 2 immediate roll-out of mandatory body cam for all officers; 3 an independent inquiry into the operations of the Kenosha Police Department’s procedures and past controversial shootings.

Even a brief visit to the Kenosha County DA’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenosha-County-District-Attorney/168227209859507 paints a very damning picture of how the police and your office operate, and this has to end today.

Phone:  262-653-2400

Email:  (form) https://www.kenoshacounty.org/forms.aspx?fid=73  and/ or Michael.Graveley@da.wi.gov

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenosha-County-District-Attorney/168227209859507

Twitter:  @KenoshaCounty

 

And if you want to, please copy in the FBI:  they have a remit to investigate police corruption and racism, and sadly Kenosha looks like it would be fertile ground for such investigations:

Phone:  (202) 324-3000

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FBI/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/FBI 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

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Detroit: Stop shooting dogs & start taking dog shootings seriously

Detroit’s police seem too jaded by gun crime to care that two dogs were shot in their own backyard by neighbours – who then shot at the owners.  In fact, Detroit police seem to think shooting dogs is their right if not their sport:  they shot 54 dogs in 2017.  This has to stop.

On Monday night 15 July, a Detroit woman reported her dogs Samson and Sadie were shot by their neighbors. The dogs had been let out in their fully fenced in backyard – where they were both shot by the next door neighbor.

Samson’s and Sadie’s owners went running outside and they were also allegedly shot at. They called 911: but nobody came.  They rushed both dogs to 5 Mile Veterinary hospital for care.  After paying thousands of dollars to save their dogs, the victims went to make a report at Detroit’s 8th Precinct and the couple alleges some of the officers laughed at them.

A police report was filed and a Detective Robinsonn was assigned to the case, but nothing has apparently been done to help this family. One Pulse was told that  Samson, Sadie and their owners are staying in a Motel because they are understandably too afraid to return home.

One Pulse for America has tried repeatedly to contact Detroit Police’s media arm – all phone numbers we called go to voicemail but one, and the main number is not in service; we sent two emails and messaged on Facebook.

If you are wondering why we should care about dogs being shot (if you don’t already care), these shootings frequently happen in the presence of families and children; bullets have been known to go stray and injure people.  The trigger-happy willingness to inflict unnecessary suffering or death does not belong in someone meant to protect and serve.  In allowing violence against animals, many of which have not displayed any violence whatsoever, we are allowing police to intimidate, to inflict needless emotional pain, and to show that in effect they are above the law.

A damning  investigation by Reason in 2016 found: “… the Detroit Police Department’s Major Violators Unit, which conducts hundreds of drug raids a year in the city, had a nasty habit of leaving dead dogs in its wake.

“One officer had killed 69 dogs over the course of his career, public records showed. That officer has now shot 80 dogs, according to “destruction of animal” reports filed by Detroit police officers in 2017 and obtained by Reason.”

ACTION

Please contact Detroit Police and/or the  through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:


I am revolted by the institutional, brutal shooting of dogs by Detroit’s police which has gone unchecked for years.  I can only conclude the department either turns a blind eye or approves of it.

It is bad enough that your police officers are shooting dogs with virtually no real provocation – puppies, miniature dogs, lost dogs – all shot on your watch in enormous numbers.  What are you doing to stop this?

In a recent case (Police Report Number is 1907150330), it is alleged police disregarded the 911 call made when two dogs were shot in their yard, and then their owners were also shot at.  It is alleged that your officers laughed when the owners were able to get to a station to file their complaint – and given the lack of empathy you show to animals, I can well believe it.  When did you respond to the 911 call?  Did anyone at all laugh at the couple’s plight when they came to report the shootings?  Who has been arrested?

I am a member of One Pulse for America, which has been so far ignored by your media arm despite sending emails and making calls.  We want to know what is being done to stop your officers shooting animals.  There are many non-lethal ways to deal with violent dogs – but all the evidence shows you are killing non-violent, innocent animals without a care in the world.  This has to stop. You are traumatizing people, killing animals, and teaching people who see you do so that you are above the law, and enjoy killing.  How else can you explain for one instance that you have a single officer who has killed over 80 dogs in their career? 

I expect a reply and I definitely expect action –  and I will be watching.

Police Chief James Craig
Phone:    or Detroit’s 8th Precinct at (313) 596-5800
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/detroitpolice/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CityofDetroit

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan
Phone:  (313) 224-3400
Email:  emailmayorduggan@detroitmi.gov
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MayorMikeDuggan/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MayorMikeDuggan

Detective Robinson
Email:  Robinsonn108@detroitmi.gov

Once you have contacted Instagram, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

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Capital Gazette Shooting Anniversary: Show your support

One year ago, a gunman murdered five members of Maryland’s Capital Gazette newspaper.

CNN reports that Maryland designated today, Friday 28 June, Friday Freedom of the Press Day in the state of Maryland. Staffers from the Capital Gazette and other Tribune Publishing papers dedicated a memorial garden in Annapolis on Friday morning.

The newspaper has run tributes to those killed in today’s edition.  Those who were killed were:

 

  • Rob Hiaasen, age 59, assistant editor and weekend columnist
  • Gerald Fischman, age 61, columnist and editorial page editor 
  • John McNamara, age 56, sports reporter 
  • Rebecca Smith, age 34, sales assistant 
  • Wendi Winters, age 65, community reporter

ACTION:

Please contact the Capital Gazette through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

My sincere condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the journalists and staff members who were the victims of senseless gun crime one year ago.  I will remember them and continue to fight for sensible gun laws.  A free, responsible press is essential to democracy, and I appreciate what the Capital Gazette does to uphold this tradition.

Capital Gazette
Phone: (410) 268-5000
Email: tips@capgaznews.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalgazette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/capgaznews 

Once you have contacted The Capital Gazette, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

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Demand freedom for shot woman who lost baby

In a scene echoing something from dystopian Margaret Atwood novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman is grieving her lost unborn child which died after she was shot several times in the stomach.  She’s grieving in prison, waiting to be put on trial for allegedly starting the fight which proved fatal to her unborn child, and ‘not getting out of harm’s way soon enough’:  This Is America.

Pleasant Grove, Alabama police have charged her with manslaughter.  Atwood could not have made this up.

According to USA Today, “Pleasant Grove, Alabama, police Lt. Danny Reid said: ‘The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby… It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby..”

The woman was shot in the stomach:  this makes her the victim of a crime – even in Alabama.  The callous misogyny of this state must be stopped now; it is clearly alien to the most basic of American and international rights.

The state recently passed draconian anti-abortion laws too, and according to civil liberties groups, this is no place to be black, poor, or a woman.

ACTION:

Please contact Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the Pleasant Grove PD, The Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey, through one of the channels below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking, copying if you wish the ACLU and/or the business which has just bragged online about investing in Alabama right in the middle of this case:

Dear All

I write to demand you free Marshae Jones immediately and drop all charges against her.

One Pulse for America has covered many shocking situations, but rarely have we seen institutionalised bias and misogyny such as Pleasant Grove has shown to Marshae Jones, 27, gunshot victim who lost a child.

Jones was five months pregnant when 23-year-old Ebony Jemison shot her in the stomach during a December 2018 altercation regarding the unborn child’s father, Alabama news station WBMA-LD reported.

Her assailant is walking free after shooting her five times in the stomach, as somehow a state grand jury failed to indict her.  Ms Jones however, according to your unacceptable position, ‘didn’t get out of the way of harm fast enough,’ ‘recklessly endangered her unborn child’ and ‘started the argument’.  Starting an argument is still legal.

People – including police – start fights daily; they neither expect nor deserve to be shot five times for doing so, and in this case no justice can be served by Ms Jones’ prosecution and continued custody:  she is a grieving victim of a shooting which took her unborn child’s life – no one is responsible for her injuries or the fetus’ death except the person who pulled the trigger.  Getting out of harm’s way with speed when five months pregnant no less is something no man persecuting this woman can possibly understand.

The state seems to be blaming the person shot as reckless, not the shooter:  this is wholly unacceptable.

As a member of One Pulse, I demand the following:

  • Ms Jones should be getting counselling not getting charged; she should be free with no charges against her, and her assailant should be charged with the shooting which undeniably took place. Release her immediately;
  • If your state’s grand jury was unable to indict the shooter, that is some indictment against Alabama and its prosecution team. Re-mount a proper investigation, present evidence (with five shots and a subsequently deceased fetus this should be an easy thing to do), and get justice for Ms Jones and her unborn child and acknowledge they are the two victims here;
  • The governor must issue a full and unconditional pardon immediately – it is clearly not in the public interest to pursue this woman.
  • Alabama prosecutors and police must release the precise points of law they rely on to justify her arrest and custody (‘starting an argument’ and ‘not getting out of harm’s way quickly’ are not points of law);
  • The wildly inaccurate position which police Lt Danny Reid takes means he is incapable of any empathy and is unfit to Protect and Serve. He is quoted as saying: “The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby… It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.” If Ltd Reid is unable to recognize a woman shot in the stomach five times who lost a baby as a victim, then he needs to apologize and leave the force immediately.  I also note that the email, Facebook and Twitter accounts for the force do not seem to be working and/or are not visible:  please advise the correct Facebook and Twitter account details so I can interact with the force publicly;
  • It’s time to strike down your historic behaviour against the poor, against women, and against people of colour; set up a task force to compare Alabama’s legislation and record to that of other states;
  • The conduct, record, and training of anyone responsible for this prosecution needs to be examined and corrected.

One Pulse is not alone in advising its members to vote every single person who permitted this gross situation out of office unless there is immediate redress.  It is not an understatement to say The Whole World Is Watching:  One Pulse will continue to monitor this situation and lobby for Ms Jones’ freedom.

Finally, I note from  Governor Ivey’s website the state is bragging about inward investment from Ben E. Keith Foods .  I will certainly be writing to them, asking them to invest instead in a state where a woman losing a baby for any reason – least of all for being shot – is not treated like a criminal.

Governor Kay Ivey
Website:  https://governor.alabama.gov/
Phone:  334.242.7100
Email:  https://contact.governor.alabama.gov/contact.aspx (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KayIveyAL/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GovernorKayIvey

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall
Phone: (334) 242-7300
Email: steve@stevemarshall.gop or press@stevemarshall.gop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AGSteveMarshall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/agstevemarshall

Pleasant Grove PD
Phone:  (205) 744 1735
Email: (seems down)
Facebook: (seems down)
Twitter:  (seems down)

Copy your message to:

ACLU of Alabama
Phone:  (334) 265-2754
Email:  info@aclualabama.org
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ACLUofAlabama/
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/ACLUAlabama

and if you wish, to:

Ben E King Foods (Note:  I would not normally target a business:  but they just posted this week how happy they are to be opening up in Alabama – in the middle of this rights violation situation.  With the government in AL bragging about the investment and clearly interested in attracting business, copying this company into your communications may bring much-needed pressure:  use your discretion)

Phone: (817) 759-6800
Email: https://www.benekeith.com/contact (form)
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/BenEKeithFoods/posts/?ref=page_internal
Twitter:  @benekeithfoods

Once you have contacted Alabama officials, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

 

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Demand better training following Costco family shooting

18 June 2019 – A family relation says fatal shooting victim was non-verbal – and was not capable of starting a fight with an off-duty police officer at a Costco in Corona, California in which he lost his life.

Kenneth French, 32, was killed by an unnamed Los Angeles police officer following an argument of some kind. Police have somehow already concluded the non-verbal man was the instigator.

Rick Shureih, Mr French’s cousin told reporters: “This is a family that was unarmed and was just grocery shopping,” Shureih said on Facebook. “I’m sure this was a misunderstanding that got escalated for no reason!”

The unnamed officer also critically injured Mr French’s parents who were with him.  The officer is said to have had a child with him, and was treated at hospital for minor injuries; the child was unharmed.

Disability Rights California is one of many organisations that have been working to improve the situation for disabled people.  Their website says: “Many times, DRC has to investigate incidents involving police officers who encounter people who have mental health disabilities. Law enforcement officers are overwhelmingly the first responders to incidents involving persons with mental health disabilities who are in crisis. Despite the frequent interaction between law enforcement and individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, there are minimal training mandates to address these situations.”

One Pulse will be watching the case very closely, and has quite a number of questions; many of which point to police training issues:

*  How precisely did a trained officer not de-escalate the situation – particularly one involving two older people and a man with disabilities?

*The officer’s identity is crucial:  have they been involved in previous shooting incidents?

*The officer was said to be holding a child:  where was his loaded gun – in a belt?  holster?  Anywhere where the child could have been endangered?  Wouldn’t the officer’s best course of action have been to immediately remove themselves and their child from the situation?

*  What does Costco’s security footage show?

*  Do any witnesses have footage to either support or dispute the officer’s claim he was the victim of an unprovoked attack?

*  What precisely were the injuries the officer had to have hospital treatment for – or is there perhaps a standard procedure that when a police officer is involved in a contentious shooting that they are automatically sent to hospital – which, however minor the injuries – would be likely to impress a judge or jury?  As we know very often people wounded by police asking for medical treatment or hospitalisation are denied it.

*  How have the police concluded already that the fault lies with the French family?

And crucially:

*What kind of training has this officer received about recognising a disabled person, and how to deal with them?

ACTION:

While the trial is pending, there is not much we can do about this specific case. However, we can demand that training is improved.

Please contact LAPD’s  Commanding Officer of Police Training and Education  Luann P. Pannell through one of the channels below and give her the following message, personalized to your liking:

I am dismayed that another disabled person has been killed by a police officer, a member of the LAPD.

It is alleged that Mr Kenneth French, out grocery shopping at a Costco in Riverside, California with his family started a fight which your unnamed officer somehow, inexplicably, could only end by shooting French dead and critically shooting his parents.   Mr French, according to a relative, was non-verbal.

This is far from the first time a disabled person has lost their lives or been seriously injured –  avoidably in a situation involving police.  I want it to be the last time.

 You are in charge of training for the LAPD, and it is time that you step up and improve training for police who have to deal with disabled people.  There are a number of organisations lobbying for better treatment by police of people with special needs – you are in a key position to improve things and save lives.

 I want to hear from you as to what initiatives you have or are working on in this area.  I will also be watching closely how the officer’s trial goes ahead.  I understand you may not be able to comment on a live case, but I want to know at the end of it whether this officer acted according to all regulations, whether there was security footage, whether they endangered others including the child they had with them, and whether they were involved in any previous shootings.  I have many questions, and if they are not addressed by any trial, I will demand answers.  The ignorance shown by police nationwide towards the disabled is staggering and is costing lives; you can help prevent further such incidents in your area, and spread best practice.

LAPD Commanding Officer of Police Training and Education  Luann P. Pannell, Ph.D
Phone: (213) 847-3000
Email: pannelll@lapd.lacity.org
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lapdhq/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LAPDHQ

Once you have contacted Luann Pannel, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

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Ask White House to explain President’s snub to Pulse victims

June 18 2019 – President Trump arrives in Orlando, and to a throng of followers he announces he will run for the presidency again in 2020.  Not far away, others have been commemorating the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub three years ago.  The president failed to even acknowledge the anniversary when he addressed his Orlando crowd.

Buzz Feed quoted one of those present at the Pulse gathering:  “We just had our anniversary, we just had a memorial mourning the fact that we lost all those lives. He barely even acknowledged the fact that we lost those 49 lives,” said Rocky Rivera. “It wracked the country, it wracked the globe. We’ve been thinking about it ever since … We’ve been scared, and ironically the people we’re scared of support him.”

President Trump CSpan image from Orlando Weekly

Trump claimed at the time that if one person present had a gun and knew how to use it, the Pulse tragedy would not have been so extensive.

In fact, the automatic weapon used on the 300-strong crowd did its devastating work in a matter of seconds.

 

 

The Orlando Weekly has called Trump out on his ignorance in this article,  reminding him how quickly the event happened and that a trained, gun-carrying person at the scene could not have reacted fast enough.  The paper said: “…OPD estimated from listening to 911 calls that Mateen fired about 200 rounds in less than five minutes and only stopped to reload.”

ACTION:

Write to president and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

You visited Orlando to announce your bid for the 2020 presidential race, while at the same time mourners and supporters gathered at the scene of Orlando’s horrific Pulse shooting to commemorate the third anniversary of this American tragedy.  I call on you to rectify this huge insult by making a comment on Pulse massacre now – and to work to stop the sale of automatic and semi-automatic weapons.  You can and must take action to stop further wholly avoidable tragedies.

At the time of the massacre, you said that one person with a gun could have stopped or mitigated the casualties at Pulse.  Now that we know that the killer had an weapon that fired 200 rounds in under five minutes, and that there was a trained, competent gun-carrier at the event, I call on you to put the blame squarely where it belongs:  on the NRA and all those who want automatic and semi-automatic weapons to be available for sale, and I expect you to make a statement and take action accordingly.

I also call on you to reflect on the hatred the gunman had for the LGBTQ community, and how hate speech around him helped fuel his actions; I call on you to recognise the gravity and influence of your office, and to curb your own homophobic speech and actions.  There is no reason a LGBTQ member of the armed forces should experience anything but your thanks and the country’s thanks.

Finally, I expect you to take seriously the increase in gun-related deaths in 2018 in the US  – nearly 40,000 people according to the New York Times.  I expect you to take this epidemic seriously, and to end your ties to the National Rifle Association, now forever tainted with accepting funds from Russia:  something of course the American president must never be linked to.

I await your answer both by return and in your next address to the nation.

The White House  
Phone: (202) 456 1111
Email: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/WhiteHouse/posts/?ref=page_internal 
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/POTUS 

And importantly, please consider copying your Senator what you send to the White House:

Your State Senators
Phone: (202) 224-3121 
Click here for a list of all senators and their contact information 

Once you have contacted The White House and/or your own senators, fill in the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!