Dying while Black: The guilty pleas in Atlanta
A public forum centered on the Ward One city council race was held at the public library in downtown Riverside and although the Press Enterprise published an article about it in today's edition, apparently there was more to it than what appeared in print.
Four candidates showed up and took their respective corners. They were incumbent councilman, Dom Betro and his challengers, Michael Gardner, Letitia Pepper and Derek Thesier.
Though it was not included in the article, apparently one of the candidates, Betro left the forum after another, Pepper, made an analogy comparing him and how he represented his ward to Benito Mussolini and his fascist regime in Italy.
From what has been circulated and related by those who attended the event, it doesn't appear that Pepper intended to make a direct comparison to a dictator of the brutal regime but was referring to a common phrase about Mussolini ensuring the trains were running on time(which is erroneous by the way).
However, it's probably better just to not make comparisons to dictators who were responsible for the deaths of millions of people like was the case with Mussolini and his ally in Germany, Adolf Hitler or Idi Amin in Uganda, for example. Especially when making a reference to someone who is of Italian ancestry in the case of Mussolini. There are better ways to make a similar point as several members of the Italian branch of my family would say.
Still, it's not entirely clear what happened or what the actual text of the statement was though I'm sure it's an issue that will receive more coverage if it's true that the Betro camp is pursuing it. Unclear also is what happened in regards to another rumor that had Betro accusing Councilman Art Gage and Betro's political rival, Gardner of conspiring together to get Gardner elected in the first ward. Well, given that Betro has actually endorsed Gage's rival, William "Rusty" Bailey, one can argue that he and Bailey have already been doing the same thing against Gage.
When in reality, what you have is what's called an election year and candidates representing a cross-section of their respective wards trying to win the brass ring and get elected to city council. There's still probably a long season ahead, as it seems a certainty that at least one election will head off into the runoff round later this year.
Betro has shown at earlier forums that he is feeling the strain of having to face off against three candidates in his reelection campaign. Even though he's got the backing of two of the city's major employment unions and likely is getting financial support from some of the development firms that knock down his door on a regular basis, he still appears a bundle of nerves, especially in comparison to his opposition, several of whom seem to be having the time of their lives.
That's the life of an incumbent who has a fair number of disillusioned constituents in his ward including those who live outside the downtown area like in the Northside, the Wood Streets and the University neighborhood. It's been said that more and more people are calling for those "Anyone but Betro" signs that have been made by the new "Save Riverside" group that's been meeting regularly.
Having been on the receiving end of a Betro tantrum, I'm not surprised that others have been seeing that side of him from the dais at city council meetings or at meetings. And the election process in Ward One is always a contentious one, given that what's at stake is what the city government calls its jewel, the downtown area.
Still, it's his to lose and most likely, he won't.
In the third ward, it appears that Councilman Art Gage will probably be reelected. Even though his rivals are running their campaigns and one has been endorsed by five other sitting city officials, Gage's constituents for the most part like his responsiveness and even if others in the city don't like him, only Ward Three residents get to ultimately decide who represents them through the vote.
And given the current political climate, being endorsed by so many people currently on the dais might actually be detrimental in some respects to Bailey and not helpful given the anti-incumbent feeling out there. While Gage himself is an incumbent, voters in his ward tend to not hold that against him.
The contest for Gage's seat will truly show whether or not city council members are elected based on ward representation or how they engage themselves in terms of city-wide issues.
Ward Five is never an easy one to call and this time four opponents are fighting for an open seat. Donna Doty-Michalka appears to be heading off with Chris MacArthur close behind. Harry Kurani is getting some support but probably enough to force the other two candidates into a runoff election at the polls in November.
Councilman Steve Adams for many reasons is the most vulnerable incumbent up for election in the seventh ward. His ill-advised and ill-fated run for higher office in the middle of his council term left his constituents with a bad taste in their mouths and his abandonment by the Riverside Police Officers Association(though apparently, there were signs spotted in La Sierra stating that he has the support of police officers and fire fighters) mean he's probably going to be out of a job.
Though given the competition between up and coming candidate, Roy Saldanha and former mayor, Terry Frizzel, this election almost certainly will keep Adams employed at City Hall until at least after November.
Ballots will be mailed out to the relevant wards in the first week of May and must be signed and postmarked by June 5 to be counted.
One of the hottest topics was in relation to the restrictions that city council members have voted to place on members of the public at their weekly meetings.
(excerpt)
In response to a question about how to make council meetings more meaningful to the community, Thesier, Gardner and Pepper all slammed council members for failing to allow residents more interaction on issues facing the community.
"Let the citizens participate," Gardner said. "They are ignored and treated with disrespect."
Thesier said the council needs to make itself more accessible to the community, particularly when there is an issue of concern to residents.
"If that means more town hall meetings, then so be it," he said.
Pepper said residents are not given enough time to study the City Council agenda before meetings.
"We need to make things available earlier so people can study and interact with their council person," Pepper said.
Betro said he disagreed with the premise of the question.
"I'm not so sure council meetings aren't well attended," Betro said, noting that there had been a full house at the meeting Tuesday during which council members discussed the proposed $25 million expansion of the Main Library and the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.
Two officers who shot and killed a 92 year old Black woman in Atlanta appeared in court to plead guilty to manslaughter charges in connection with her death, before entering guilty pleas in federal court as well. A third officer also faces similar charges.
(excerpt)
"I'm sorry," the 35-year-old said, his voice barely audible.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation, making false statements and perjury, which was based on claims in a warrant.
Former Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the Atlanta police in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Both men are expected to face more than 10 years in prison.
In a hearing later in federal court, both pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to violate a person's civil rights, resulting in death. Their state and federal sentences would run concurrently.
The charges followed a Nov. 21 "no-knock" drug raid on the home of Kathryn Johnston, 92. An informant had described buying drugs from a dealer there, police said. When the officers burst in without warning, Johnston fired at them, and they fired back, killing her.
The investigation showed that Johnston had fired her gun only once and the bullet had penetrated the door before the plain-clothed officers had even broken through. Shots that hit other officers were attributed not to Johnston but "friendly fire".
And although there was a small amount of marijuana uncovered in Johnston's house, Smith later admitted to planting the drugs.
The three men originally faced a murder indictment which would have put them in prison for life. But what they did to Johnston an elderly poor woman with a gun given to her by a family member to protect her in a high-crime neighborhood was not only murder, but a violation of her civil rights. And how these officers conducted themselves especially afterwards by making false statements and planting evidence to cover their crime is truly a disgrace to the profession of policing and no doubt, it will stain that profession in Atlanta, Georgia as well as elsewhere.
Searches by the Los Angeles Police Department's officers were found by a federal judge to be unconstitutional according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.
United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson ordered the police department to change its search procedures after he evaluated searches done by officers of people in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles.
(excerpt)
It's an important decision," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. "It sort of resolves an argument percolating out there, that … the LAPD would have permission to stop anybody."
The ruling, she said, reaffirms "the right of the homeless not to be subjected to unwarranted, suspicionless searches. Even if they don't have much to their name, they still have their constitutional rights."
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit that Pregerson ruled on, maintained that police officers routinely stopped people and questioned them about their parole or probation status. Officers often handcuffed them and searched them without any reasonable suspicion of a crime, the organization charged in court papers.
The ACLU in 2003 won an injunction that barred the LAPD from stopping or searching skid row residents without reasonable suspicion that they had committed a crime or were violating parole or probation. But after the crackdown began last year — with the LAPD adding 50 officers to patrol downtown — the ACLU and some homeless rights advocates charged that officers again were violating the rights of skid row residents by searching people improperly.
"These aren't just isolated instances where an officer was overzealous and crossed the line and searched in a situation where he or she shouldn't have," ACLU attorney Peter Bibring said.
City officials said that the arrests were part of a crackdown in the area around Skid Row and that the searches were legally conducted. It does plan to appeal the ruling.
Four candidates showed up and took their respective corners. They were incumbent councilman, Dom Betro and his challengers, Michael Gardner, Letitia Pepper and Derek Thesier.
Though it was not included in the article, apparently one of the candidates, Betro left the forum after another, Pepper, made an analogy comparing him and how he represented his ward to Benito Mussolini and his fascist regime in Italy.
From what has been circulated and related by those who attended the event, it doesn't appear that Pepper intended to make a direct comparison to a dictator of the brutal regime but was referring to a common phrase about Mussolini ensuring the trains were running on time(which is erroneous by the way).
However, it's probably better just to not make comparisons to dictators who were responsible for the deaths of millions of people like was the case with Mussolini and his ally in Germany, Adolf Hitler or Idi Amin in Uganda, for example. Especially when making a reference to someone who is of Italian ancestry in the case of Mussolini. There are better ways to make a similar point as several members of the Italian branch of my family would say.
Still, it's not entirely clear what happened or what the actual text of the statement was though I'm sure it's an issue that will receive more coverage if it's true that the Betro camp is pursuing it. Unclear also is what happened in regards to another rumor that had Betro accusing Councilman Art Gage and Betro's political rival, Gardner of conspiring together to get Gardner elected in the first ward. Well, given that Betro has actually endorsed Gage's rival, William "Rusty" Bailey, one can argue that he and Bailey have already been doing the same thing against Gage.
When in reality, what you have is what's called an election year and candidates representing a cross-section of their respective wards trying to win the brass ring and get elected to city council. There's still probably a long season ahead, as it seems a certainty that at least one election will head off into the runoff round later this year.
Betro has shown at earlier forums that he is feeling the strain of having to face off against three candidates in his reelection campaign. Even though he's got the backing of two of the city's major employment unions and likely is getting financial support from some of the development firms that knock down his door on a regular basis, he still appears a bundle of nerves, especially in comparison to his opposition, several of whom seem to be having the time of their lives.
That's the life of an incumbent who has a fair number of disillusioned constituents in his ward including those who live outside the downtown area like in the Northside, the Wood Streets and the University neighborhood. It's been said that more and more people are calling for those "Anyone but Betro" signs that have been made by the new "Save Riverside" group that's been meeting regularly.
Having been on the receiving end of a Betro tantrum, I'm not surprised that others have been seeing that side of him from the dais at city council meetings or at meetings. And the election process in Ward One is always a contentious one, given that what's at stake is what the city government calls its jewel, the downtown area.
Still, it's his to lose and most likely, he won't.
In the third ward, it appears that Councilman Art Gage will probably be reelected. Even though his rivals are running their campaigns and one has been endorsed by five other sitting city officials, Gage's constituents for the most part like his responsiveness and even if others in the city don't like him, only Ward Three residents get to ultimately decide who represents them through the vote.
And given the current political climate, being endorsed by so many people currently on the dais might actually be detrimental in some respects to Bailey and not helpful given the anti-incumbent feeling out there. While Gage himself is an incumbent, voters in his ward tend to not hold that against him.
The contest for Gage's seat will truly show whether or not city council members are elected based on ward representation or how they engage themselves in terms of city-wide issues.
Ward Five is never an easy one to call and this time four opponents are fighting for an open seat. Donna Doty-Michalka appears to be heading off with Chris MacArthur close behind. Harry Kurani is getting some support but probably enough to force the other two candidates into a runoff election at the polls in November.
Councilman Steve Adams for many reasons is the most vulnerable incumbent up for election in the seventh ward. His ill-advised and ill-fated run for higher office in the middle of his council term left his constituents with a bad taste in their mouths and his abandonment by the Riverside Police Officers Association(though apparently, there were signs spotted in La Sierra stating that he has the support of police officers and fire fighters) mean he's probably going to be out of a job.
Though given the competition between up and coming candidate, Roy Saldanha and former mayor, Terry Frizzel, this election almost certainly will keep Adams employed at City Hall until at least after November.
Ballots will be mailed out to the relevant wards in the first week of May and must be signed and postmarked by June 5 to be counted.
One of the hottest topics was in relation to the restrictions that city council members have voted to place on members of the public at their weekly meetings.
(excerpt)
In response to a question about how to make council meetings more meaningful to the community, Thesier, Gardner and Pepper all slammed council members for failing to allow residents more interaction on issues facing the community.
"Let the citizens participate," Gardner said. "They are ignored and treated with disrespect."
Thesier said the council needs to make itself more accessible to the community, particularly when there is an issue of concern to residents.
"If that means more town hall meetings, then so be it," he said.
Pepper said residents are not given enough time to study the City Council agenda before meetings.
"We need to make things available earlier so people can study and interact with their council person," Pepper said.
Betro said he disagreed with the premise of the question.
"I'm not so sure council meetings aren't well attended," Betro said, noting that there had been a full house at the meeting Tuesday during which council members discussed the proposed $25 million expansion of the Main Library and the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.
Two officers who shot and killed a 92 year old Black woman in Atlanta appeared in court to plead guilty to manslaughter charges in connection with her death, before entering guilty pleas in federal court as well. A third officer also faces similar charges.
(excerpt)
"I'm sorry," the 35-year-old said, his voice barely audible.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation, making false statements and perjury, which was based on claims in a warrant.
Former Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the Atlanta police in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Both men are expected to face more than 10 years in prison.
In a hearing later in federal court, both pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to violate a person's civil rights, resulting in death. Their state and federal sentences would run concurrently.
The charges followed a Nov. 21 "no-knock" drug raid on the home of Kathryn Johnston, 92. An informant had described buying drugs from a dealer there, police said. When the officers burst in without warning, Johnston fired at them, and they fired back, killing her.
The investigation showed that Johnston had fired her gun only once and the bullet had penetrated the door before the plain-clothed officers had even broken through. Shots that hit other officers were attributed not to Johnston but "friendly fire".
And although there was a small amount of marijuana uncovered in Johnston's house, Smith later admitted to planting the drugs.
The three men originally faced a murder indictment which would have put them in prison for life. But what they did to Johnston an elderly poor woman with a gun given to her by a family member to protect her in a high-crime neighborhood was not only murder, but a violation of her civil rights. And how these officers conducted themselves especially afterwards by making false statements and planting evidence to cover their crime is truly a disgrace to the profession of policing and no doubt, it will stain that profession in Atlanta, Georgia as well as elsewhere.
Searches by the Los Angeles Police Department's officers were found by a federal judge to be unconstitutional according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.
United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson ordered the police department to change its search procedures after he evaluated searches done by officers of people in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles.
(excerpt)
It's an important decision," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. "It sort of resolves an argument percolating out there, that … the LAPD would have permission to stop anybody."
The ruling, she said, reaffirms "the right of the homeless not to be subjected to unwarranted, suspicionless searches. Even if they don't have much to their name, they still have their constitutional rights."
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit that Pregerson ruled on, maintained that police officers routinely stopped people and questioned them about their parole or probation status. Officers often handcuffed them and searched them without any reasonable suspicion of a crime, the organization charged in court papers.
The ACLU in 2003 won an injunction that barred the LAPD from stopping or searching skid row residents without reasonable suspicion that they had committed a crime or were violating parole or probation. But after the crackdown began last year — with the LAPD adding 50 officers to patrol downtown — the ACLU and some homeless rights advocates charged that officers again were violating the rights of skid row residents by searching people improperly.
"These aren't just isolated instances where an officer was overzealous and crossed the line and searched in a situation where he or she shouldn't have," ACLU attorney Peter Bibring said.
City officials said that the arrests were part of a crackdown in the area around Skid Row and that the searches were legally conducted. It does plan to appeal the ruling.
Labels: City elections, officer-involved shootings, public forums in all places
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