One Pulse for America Archives - Page 13 of 13

June 22, 2019

Demand freedom for wife who took husband’s guns for her safety

On Thursday 20 June 2019, Courtney Irby left a divorce court where she was trying to separate from husband Joseph Irby: he then allegedly tried to run her off the road with his car hitting hers, terrifying her (he’s in custody for it). Fearing for her life, she reported the incident to the police. The next day, still in fear (and apparently having no domestic abuse support from the authorities), she entered her estranged husband’s flat while he was in custody, and took his guns in order to protect her life and presumably their child’s life.

While trying to hand the guns into Lakeland police, she was asked to say taking the guns to turn in was a crime by a police officer – and now she’s in jail.

In this mind-boggling case of an understandably distraught woman in fear for her life, Lakeland PD have denied her her rights, failed to help her, and need to immediately release her, drop all charges, seize the guns, and offer her support as a victim of assault and domestic abuse.

According to various news sources, when she phoned to explain about the guns, an officer asked her: “So, you are telling me you committed an armed burglary?”

This questioning wholly disregarded basic procedure, and denied Mrs Irby her Miranda rights. If she were asked to confess to a crime – which there quite probably was no crime (in Florida, a couple have rights to each other’s property until divorced) – she needed to be read her rights, told she could remain silent, cautioned that anything she said could be used against her, and told she could have an attorney present. The officer in question was way out of order.

This is not the first time Lakeland PD have shown themselves to operate outside of the law and with utter contempt for women and rights. A sex scandal in 2013 saw the force accused of forcing women to have sex. It’s time the department was fully overhauled, and it’s time Mrs Irby is released and exonerated.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani said this case illustrates the need to better support domestic violence survivors.

“The case of Courtney Taylor Irby demonstrates once more the dangerous linkage between intimate partner violence and access to firearms. Court records show that Irby applied for a temporary injunction against her husband and the two were in the process of a divorce. She was actively protecting herself and her family from an estranged husband who had not turned over his firearms to law enforcement, and was arrested for it. We should be outraged by her arrest, and Irby should not be prosecuted by the local State Attorney’s office,”

ACTIONS:

Please contact Lakeland Chief of Police through one of the channels listed below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

I am absolutely outraged to learn your officer arrested a victim of domestic assault: a woman you failed to protect from an abusive spouse, and a woman whose Miranda rights were completely disregarded. I demand you release her immediately, drop any charges against her, seize her husband’s guns, and offer her a professional domestic abuse counselling service – today.

It is bad enough that Joseph Irby reportedly used his car in an assault on his wife Courtney: can you imagine how terrifying, intimidating and shaking such an event is? Please do tell me what your force did to help her in the aftermath. I understand she came to you for help before: please tell me what you did to protect and serve her.

When she entered her husband’s property and removed guns, no doubt fearing for her life and that of the couple’s child, she was likely acting legally under Florida law: the couple are not yet divorced, and she may well have been legally entitled to enter the premises and take property. That she took property in order to turn it over to Lakeland Police who were failing to protect her safety clearly is in her favour should the state cruelly go forward with any legal action – but here’s why you can’t:

What happened next is unacceptable. Your officer apparently said to her: “So, you are telling me you committed an armed burglary?” – wholly disregarding procedure, and denying her her Miranda rights. If she were asked to confess to a crime, she had an unassailable legal right to be read her rights, told she could remain silent, cautioned that anything she said could be used against her, and told she could have an attorney present. Your officer has some serious explaining to do. Even if she had been read her rights – the confession of a person who is under duress (which you would be if someone tried to injure you with a car), is inadmissible. Don’t your officers know any better?

I want to hear from you within the next three days maximum to be told you have done as I asked: 1. immediately released Mrs Irby; 2. dropped all charges against her; 3. retained the guns she rightfully feared would be used against her; 4. offered her professional domestic abuse counselling; 5. will re-train or release any officers who do not know what Miranda rights are, who will not give a domestic abuse victim appropriate care and consideration; and 6. will undertake training of your staff so they can operate like a professional organisation recognizing abuse victims and protect – not criminalize them.

I will be watching what you do next, and will not hesitate to demand elected authorities take action if you fail to uphold the law.

Lakeland Police Department, Ruben Garcia – Chief
Phone: (863) 834 6907
Email: mailto: Carol.Ratcliff@Lakelandgov.net (for some reason this name comes up under the email link on the Lakeland PD site for the Chief – I will look for his personal Email, which may well just be Ruben.Garcia@Lakelandgov.net)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakelandPD/
Twitter for assistant chief of police : https://twitter.com/drmikereik

2. After you take the action above, if you feel like copying the message you sent to supportive State Rep. Anna Eskamani, and/or the Governor, here’s the contact information:

State Rep. Anna Eskamani
Phone: (407) 228-1451
Email: Anna.Eskamani@myfloridahouse.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaForFlorida/ – she’s just done a media call to ask for Mrs Irby’s release
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaForFlorida

Governor Ron Desantis
Phone (850) 717-9337
Email (form): https://www.flgov.com/email-the-governor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonDeSantisFlorida/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis

After you contact Lakeland Police Chief Garcia, click the orange banner at the top of this page to report your action!

June 20, 2019

Oregon State Senator threatens to shoot troopers

An Oregon state senator has threatened to shoot state troopers if they try to enforce the law and stop the stonewalling plaguing the senate.

Senator Brian Boquist (R) threatened that any attempt to force him to attend the state senate and vote on a climate change package will see him resort to violence.

“Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple.” he said according to Oregon Live.

Governor Brown claims, with legal expert backing, that state troopers can be used to make elected officials attend the current legislature session and stop the stonewalling crippling the senate.

No stranger to either controversy or guns, the senator’s questionable activities are covered in an article raising questions over how he made money, his campaign donations and his company, ICI. It is allegedly a humanitarian company, but a journalist in 2012 said it is in effect a paramilitary group.

Elected to a high office, Boquist is showing contempt for life, for his constituents, for law enforcement officers and law.

Please contact Oregon State Senator Floyd Prozanski, Chair of the Special Committee on Conduct through one of the channels listed below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

I was shocked to learn that Senator Brian Boquist is getting away with threatening to shoot and kill Oregon state troopers if they try to enforce the law on him.

On hearing that the governor might invoke powers to stop stonewalling and legally use state troopers to make elected officials actually vote rather than stall, Boquist said: “Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple.”

I want the Oregon Senate to censure Boquist, and for the Conduct Committee you chair to investigate his statements and taking appropriate action. The people of Oregon deserve an elected representative who strives to uphold the law, not one who says he will kill if troopers try to enforce it. Should Boquist remain a senator at all if he won’t uphold the law and threatens lives? I don’t think so, and I will be watching to see what actions the Senate takes.

Oregon State Legislature, Senator Floyd Prozanski
Phone: (503) 986-1704
Email: Sen.FloydProzanski@OregonLegislature.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlatteCountyR3/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SenProzanski

After you contact Senator Prozanski, click the orange banner at the top of this page to report your action!

June 19, 2019

Gun-threat police must be fired and charged

On May 27, 2019, Phoenix Arizona police threatened to shoot, assaulted, and endangered the lives of a family including small children. We call for these police officers to be fully removed from the force immediately without pay; for law enforcement to arrest them promptly; and for prosecutors to prepare a robust case against the officers on a number of charges – as well as making some form of substantial financial compensation to the family.

Phoenix police responding to a prior dollar store theft were allegedly told by staff that Dravon Ames, 22, Iesha Harper, 24, were in possession of stolen goods (allegedly a doll taken by a 4 year old). The family and an unidentified woman are alleged to have driven away while police asked them to stop. The unidentified woman apparently exited the car and was arrested before the unacceptable, violent drama unfolded.

One video circulating in mainstream press including ABC shows officers with guns drawn yelling ‘you’re going to get f**king shot’ at pregnant Harper, two small children, and demanding that she put her hands up – while she was holding a child – which she was forced to hand over to a complete stranger. The police were at the scene about a previous earlier theft, but apparently on the say-so of the dollar store personnel, they decided drawing guns on a family, assaulting, shouting and threatening them was the way to deal with an alleged shoplifting misdemeanor. Why the store staff didn’t confront the family before they left the store has not been explained, but One Pulse will be asking.

Police Chief Jeri Williams and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego both offered apologies after a fashion, but with Williams undoing her statement by saying ‘… but there is more to the story…’ it is far from an acceptable situation. One Pulse will be asking what precisely that story is that required guns drawn on a family with officers threatening to shoot them over alleged petty theft.

As it stands the police involved seem to have only been put on desk duty. According to the family’s attorney, Tom Horne, said: “The police officers committed battery, unlawful imprisonment, false arrest, infliction of emotional distress, and violation of civil rights…” Jay-z is funding the legal fees for the family.

From the video
Images from ABC News video; top shows police kicking Mr Ames’ legs out from under him; image below shows Ms Harper forced to hand her child over to a complete stranger as she is cuffed.

TAKE ACTION:

Please watch the video on this link and read the article, or read other related articles to be familiar with the case.

Next, please contact the following individuals through one of the channels listed below and give the following message, personalized to your liking:

I was absolutely furious to learn that Arizona police officers pulled a gun on two children, a pregnant woman and her fiance over what apparently amounted to resisting arrest.

Whether or not a third woman who may or may not have been with the couple, Dravon Ames, 22 and Iesha Harper, 24, earlier was wanted by the police, the video footage being watched around the world shows two white officers threatening to ‘f***king shoot’ the adults, assaulting Ames, threatening a pregnant woman and terrorizing children: allegedly over a petty theft.

Without any delay, we demand the police involved be arrested and charged with what surely seems, as defence council claims, committed battery, unlawful imprisonment, false arrest, infliction of emotional distress, and violation of civil rights: presuming the State of Arizona finds these as serious as its officers finds alleged dollar-store theft. We also want without delay any and all charges dropped against the couple, an investigation into how the officers were trained, an explanation from the store staff as to what they did to confront the family before they left the store about any alleged shoplifting. We also want Police Chief Williams to explain what ‘more there is to the story’ that warranted assault, firearms drawn, and a pregnant woman forced to hand over a small child to a stranger. We’re waiting.

The state owes more than a half-hearted, partially retracted apology to this family, and we want a minimum of a five figure sum, to be agreed with their lawyer, to be paid to them forthwith. We also want assurances that none of those who filmed the outrageous behaviour of your police to have any action whatsoever taken against them. We demand assurances from Arizona that any such approaches to threaten, jail, intimidate or in any way interfere with the video filmers will not happen whatsoever.

Finally, one reason that your officers claim to have drawn weapons is that they feared the couple might have been armed. We now demand that your state legislature re-think your cavalier gun laws as they clearly have been shown to escalate officer responses – to an alleged petty theft – before any more tragic shootings by your officers, who obviously need re-training, occurs.

We will demand your answers and your actions; we will follow-up on this campaign and we hold all officials involved responsible for this life-threatening attack. If you don’t act, you will be responsible for any subsequent deaths; if you don’t act, we will campaign until there is justice for this family, and we will campaign to oust anyone from office who is not working for justice for this family and to prevent further such illegal, violent, deadly police acts.

Phoenix Police / Police Chief Williams
Email: Chief of Police (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phoenixazpolice/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhxPDChief

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego
Phone: 602-262-6011
Email: Mayor (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityofPhoenixAZ/

After you contact Williams or Gallego, click the orange banner at the top of this page to report your action!