Breaking News for Black America » Georgia

Georgia Cop Being Investigated After Kicking Pregnant Woman in Stomach

Newsone Staff — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:15:59 +0000

Georgia police officer Jerad Wheeler is under criminal investigation for kicking the stomach of 9-months pregnant Raven Dozier, then charging her with obstruction of justice, reports the Huffington Post.

According to the December 12, 2011 incident report, the Dekalb County cop claims that after using a taser on her brother, Darius Usher, he gave Dozier “three verbal commands to ‘Get back.’” When she didn’t he kicked her stomach “just as he was taught in police academy.”

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The Huffington Post reports:

“This officer is just another loose cannon,” Dozier’s attorney, Mark Bullman, told The Huffington Post. “And I don’t know how a 180-pound pregnant woman comes at you aggressively.”

Bullman says that Wheeler, at the advice of his supervisor, arrested Dozier because he would “need to be justified” for kicking a pregnant woman if “something were to happen to the baby.”

“At the time of the altercation it was very dark and Ms. Dozier had a larger shirt on,” Wheeler wrote in his report. “I could not tell by the sight of her at the time that she was pregnant.”

Wheeler placed Dozier in the back seat of his vehicle and brought her to the police station. Authorities gave her a choice.

“They asked me did I want to go to jail or to the hospital,” Dozier later wrote in a complaint filed with the Dakalb County Police. “I said I wanted to go to the hospital.”

Doctors could already see contusions and spotting, according to Bullman. The attorney says that the infant became ill within the womb as a result of defecation from the impact.

According to a WSBTV report, Dozier filed a complaint after the incident and Wheeler’s actions were ruled to have met policy by four supervisors and internal affairs.

Dozier’s son, Levi, was born prematurely by emergency C-section 2 weeks later.

Is The Welfare Drug Test Fair?

D.L. Chandler — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:45:16 +0000

Several states have been deliberating for months over the passage of a mandate that would require welfare recipients to pass a drug test to receive benefits. Although the controversial measure would no doubt impact a number of African Americans, Georgia’s Gov. Nathan Deal (pictured) signed the proposal and raised another debate over the fairness of the new law. The question that needs to be raised is this: Does this new law violate the civil rights of poor Blacks and other welfare recipients?

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The stats and figures all point to a low number of welfare recipients testing positive for drug use.

Lawmakers in various states claim that a low-tolerance policy of using funds for drugs is necessary to help curb budgets control a wayward welfare system. But what doesn’t seem to strike a chord with state officials is that an invasive drug-testing system further adds to the humiliation and struggles of recipients who already have to humble themselves in a variety of ways to get assistance. Further, the tests are a violation of Constitutional 4th Amendment rights that citizens should not have to endure unreasonable search and seizure.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott was one of the more vocal supporters of the mandate, after erroneously stating live on CNN last summer that “studies show that people on welfare are using drugs much higher than other people in the population.” What ended up happening in Florida in August is telling: only 2 percent of the population on welfare tested positive for drugs — well more than half of the reported statewide 7.7 percent drug use. According to state law, all those recipients who had to pay for the drug tests upfront (with costs averaging $30 per test) were reimbursed by the state.

Federal statistics report that 8 percent of the population reported illegal drug use, which should be noted when taking this topic into consideration. In Michigan, 8 percent of welfare recipients tested positive for drugs, and while it is indeed an outrage that some would use their funds in such a way, the punishment shouldn’t be levied to all. Republicans, such as Scott and Presidential nomination frontrunner Mitt Romney find that testing is a good idea despite the findings that drug purchase isn’t necessarily linked to receiving welfare assistance.

It comes across as political theater to viciously go after welfare recipients, depicting them as immoral cads who wish to blatantly abuse their funds for drugs. States aren’t exactly handing out whopping amounts of cash either, and recipients are subjected to screening and questioning of a high level to even be considered for assistance. While the debate over drug testing has cooled considerably after state lawmakers faced insurmountable roadblocks in passing the measure, the fight will undoubtedly continue to gain traction and the biggest victims are law-abiding poor people who simply need an opportunity to get ahead.

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Georgia House Passes Controversial Abortion Bill

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:01:26 +0000

After contentious debate, the Georgia House of Representatives has passed House Bill 954, which would require that abortions done after 20 weeks gestation be performed in a way that the fetus could potentially be removed alive, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Quoting statistics from the Department of Community Health, the bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Doug McKillip, R-Athens contends that “in the past five reporting periods, between 568 and 1,541″ abortions were performed after 20 weeks gestation. “We are going to save 1,000 to 1,500 lives,” he said.

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Many people are not so enthusiastic, pointing to potentially dangerous problems for doctor, mother and child if this bill were to take effect:

“The language of the bill has clauses of limited exceptions, but this interpretation can require days, months or years of legal review,” said Dr. Ruth Cline of Athens, an obstetrician.

“This is not a realistic option when caring for a patient when every minute is critical for optimal care. No physician could afford to risk that his or her care would be examined after the fact to confirm that the law had been followed if criminal penalties were a probability,” she said.

“It is time for the government to get out of my examination room in my office,” she said. “If you legislators want to practice medicine, go to medical school!”

The bill still has to pass through the senate.

Read more at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

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Triple Shooting In Georgia Leaves Two Dead, One Critically Injured

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:20:27 +0000

A triple shooting in Gwinnett County, Georgia, has left two men dead and one critically injured, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The Gwinnett County Police Homicide Unit is currently on the scene investigating the apparent murders of one White male and one Black male in the unincorporated area of Buford, Georgia.

The two men were discovered at a residence on Ivy Crest Drive and the third man, located at a nearby home, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, reports the AJC.

Neighbor Whitney Patrick called 911 after one of the victims knocked on her door, according to Channel 2 Action News:

He was just banging on the door, yelling, ‘Help me! Help me! I’ve been shot! We were in the living room. We came to the door and called 911.”

According to Patrick. the man appeared to be shot multiple times:

He had a couple in his neck. He had one in his forearm. So I think he was shot about four or five times.”

Police spokesman, Cpl. Edwin Ritter, said police are working diligently to get more details in this case:

Homicide investigators are interviewing witnesses and CSI is on scene collecting evidence.”

This is a developing story. At this point, no suspects nor motives have been identified.

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Ga. Official Predicts “Peril” For Obama If He Spurns Birther Hearing

Smokey D. Fontaine — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:43:55 +0000

Republican officials across the country continue their campaign to delegitimize the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama.

Yesterday, the Georgia Secretary of State, Republican Brian Kemp, wrote a strongly-worded letter to President Barack Obama’s lawyer, Michael Jablonski, warning him that “if you and your client choose to suspend your participation in the… proceedings, please understand that you do so at your own peril.”

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Kemp’s letter comes in response to Jablonski’s refusal to further participate in court hearings on the subject. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jablonski wrote, in part:

The Administrative Law Judge has exercised no control whatsoever over this proceeding, and it threatens to degenerate into a pure forum for political posturing to the detriment of the reputation of the State and your Office. Rather than bring this matter to a rapid conclusion, the ALJ has insisted on agreeing to a day of hearings, and on the full participation of the President in his capacity as a candidate. Only last week, he denied a Motion to Quash a subpoena he approved on the request of plaintiff’s counsel for the personal appearance of the President at the hearing, now scheduled for January 26.

For these reasons, and as discussed briefly below, you should bring an end to this baseless, costly and unproductive hearing by withdrawing the original hearing request as improvidently issued.

It is well established that there is no legitimate issue here—a conclusion validated time and again by courts around the country. The State of Hawaii produced official records documenting birth there; the President made documents available to the general public by placing them on his website.

Read more about this story here and read Kemp’s letter to the President’s attorney here.

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Students Claim Teacher Organized Slave And Slave Catcher Game

cganemccalla — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:08:10 +0000

ATLANTA-Students at Camp Creek Elementary School in Lilburn, Georgia claim that a teacher organized a tag like slave and slave catcher game.

While school officials admit that students did play a slavery-based game at recess, they deny that a teacher organized the activity.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Ericka Lasley told Channel 2 that her 8-year-old daughter said she was a slave and other students were slave catchers during a game similar to tag. The third-grade student said the teacher proposed the game based on what the class is learning.

“She would sit on the bench and the slave catchers would come up to the door and ask did she have any slaves,” the girl said.

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Former Georgia State Senator Found Dead In Apparent Suicide

NewsOne Staff — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:05:34 +0000

MACON, Ga. — Former Georgia state Sen. Robert Brown, who led the chamber’s Democrats from 2005 until this year, has been found dead at his home.

Macon Police Department spokeswoman Jami Gaudet says the 61-year-old Brown died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Police said it was an apparent suicide.

The 19-year senator from Macon was first elected in a special election in 1991 to fill an unexpired term. He was elected Democratic Leader in 2005. He left the Senate this year to launch a failed bid for Macon mayor, finishing third in the Democratic primary in July.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle says he admired Brown’s “passionate public service and unwavering commitment to his constituents” and called him “one of the sharpest political minds in the Senate.”

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Body Of Missing 7-Year-Old Found In Trash Container

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:38:22 +0000

CANTON, Ga.— A body found in a trash container is believed to be that of a 7-year-old girl who went missing last week from an apartment complex playground north of Atlanta, authorities said Monday.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said Monday that “everything points to it being” 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera of Canton. Bankhead said officials were awaiting results of an autopsy to confirm the identity and a cause of death.

Bankhead told The Associated Press the body appeared to have been severely beaten and sexually assaulted. He said the girl’s mother had been notified.

No suspects were in custody, Canton Police Lt. Jeff Hall said Monday afternoon.

Hall said authorities had not searched the trash container until Monday because it was a large garbage compacting bin that needed to be moved offsite so they could search it.

Counselors were on hand at the girl’s school, Canton Elementary, for students and staff. School officials were cooperating with investigators, Cherokee County School District spokeswoman Barbara P. Jacoby said in an email.

The child was last seen around 5 p.m. Friday at the River Ridge apartments in Canton, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, Canton police Detective Candy Worthy said. Authorities had said they believed the girl was abducted and brought in a specialized team of law officers trained to handle child abductions.

Maria Rodriguez works with Rivera’s mother at a nearby poultry plant and used to live in the same apartment complex as the family.

“She was a very sweet girl,” Rodriguez said, crying as she held her 4-year-old daughter. “She was the type of little girl who likes her presence to be known. It’s just so sad.”

Maria Faustino, who also used to live in the apartment complex, said she always felt safe there.

“This place is small and everybody knows everybody,” said Faustino, who has a young son. “You wouldn’t have thought something like this would have happened there.”

A schoolmate who lived in a neighboring complex, 8-year-old Ashley Rosalez, said Rivera was a grade below her at Canton Elementary. She described Rivera as very talkative and said Rivera would play on all the playgrounds in nearby apartment complexes.

Searchers had been combing the nearby apartment buildings and surrounding woods as they looked for Rivera over the weekend.

Officers were also checking with sex offenders in the area, an effort that will be ongoing and possibly broadened as the investigation continues, Bankhead said earlier in the day.

There are 73 registered sex offenders living in Canton, according to state records online.

Authorities did not issue a Levi’s Call — the state’s version of an amber alert — because officers didn’t have any information about the girl’s abductor, which is a requirement for issuing such an alert.

Michelle Mercier, who lives across the street from the apartment complex, brought a bouquet of yellow, pink and purple flowers to the playground where the little girl was last seen.

“I wanted everybody to know I’m thinking of her, this precious little girl who is no longer with us,” Mercier said.

ATL: The Great Migration Down South

NewsOne Staff — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 20:17:46 +0000

At one time, the state of Georgia was known as one of the easiest states for a Black man in which to get lynched. Between 1915 to 1970 a wave of Black Americans left the deep South to find new opportunities in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit and Chicago. A new story in the New York Times is reporting that Black folks from up North are moving back down to Atlanta, Georgia:

“It seems like everything is happening here now,” said Dave Hollister, an R&B singer who spends a lot of time in Atlanta. “It feels like New York used to feel with a little more nicety.”

Atlanta has evolved over the past few decades into an amazing source of art and opportunity for Black entrepreneurs in various fields of industry. At the same time, so much home grown talent has exploded from the ATL, its easy to see the attraction.

“Atlanta area is now home to such a critical mass of successful actors, rappers and entertainment executives that few would argue its position as the center of black culture. Tyler Perry and his movie and television empire are based here. Sean Combs has a house in a suburb north of the city. The musicians Cee Lo Green, Ludacris and members of OutKast call it home. So does the music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri.”

Read the full story in the New York Times

Innocent Teen Has Teeth Knocked Out During Walmart Brawl

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:04:42 +0000

SNELLVILLE, Ga. — A teenage girl’s teeth were shattered when a large porcelain bowl struck her in the face during a brawl inside a suburban Atlanta nail salon that may have been touched off by a dispute over pricing.

Gail Dudley tells WSB-TV that her 17-year-old daughter Ashley Corbett was waiting to have her nails done when others began fighting in the Regal Nails inside a Walmart store in Snellville on Monday night. Someone threw a bowl used by customers to soak their nails, and it shattered as it struck the girl in her face.

VIDEO:

According to the girl and her mother, the incident started when a woman came in and complained about the prices.

Dudley says her daughter, who was treated at a hospital, was an innocent bystander. Police are investigating.

Four Black Nurses Called “Too Ghetto” To Take Care Of Whites

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:04:20 +0000

Four Georgia women are suing a nursing company because they say their management wouldn’t send Black nurses to take care of white patients.

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The women claim Accord Services violated their civil rights by screening the nurses based on their race. The nurses claim that their leaders said that they were “too ghetto,” or “too Black,” for their clients.

“Before placing someone in a position, I was blatantly asked in front of a group of people what color is she or how old is she,” Tracee Goodman said, who is a former Accord Services Human Resources employee.

Crazy! Innocent Woman Spent Two Months In Jail Because Of Name

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:41:06 +0000

ATLANTA — An Atlanta television station is reporting that Atlanta police have launched an investigation into the case of a woman who was arrested by mistake and held in jail for nearly two months.

WSB-TV reports police are trying to determine the facts involving Teresa Culpepper, who spent 53 days in the Fulton County Jail.

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The woman called police on Aug. 21 to report her truck had been taken. She was arrested on an aggravated assault charge for which another woman named Teresa was wanted.

Culpepper’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, says Culpepper’s birth date, address and description did not match the woman being sought.

Culpepper was released last week when her attorney got the woman who says she’s the victim to tell a judge the woman in custody was not her attacker.

A Shame! Thieves Steal Wheelchair Of Girl With Cerebral Palsy

NewsOne Staff — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:53:31 +0000

A 9-year-old girl’s wheelchair was stolen from a Georgia family’s van last weekend, and the family is asking their community to return it.

Aysia Clements requires a wheelchair because of her medical condition, cerebral palsy.

Without her custom made wheelchair, Aysia Clements is homebound and unable to attend school.

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County Considers Using Inmates As Firefighters Due To Budget

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:15:46 +0000

ATLANTA-Camden County officials are considering a money-saving program that would put inmates in fire stations.

The program would put two inmates in each of three existing firehouses in the south Georgia county, The Florida Times-Union reported.

Inmates would respond to all emergencies — including residential fires — alongside traditional firefighters, authorities said.

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The inmates would have no guard, but would be monitored by a surveillance system and by the traditional firefighters, who would undergo training to guard the inmates. One traditional firefighter with correctional training can supervise up to three inmates, officials said.

The inmate firefighter program could save the county more than $500,000 a year by some estimates, authorities said.

The program would be open to inmates charged with crimes such as drug offenses and thefts. Inmates would also need to have a record of good behavior and pass an interview process.

The idea has been met with controversy in the county.

There’s “a lot of contention” among local firefighters about working alongside inmates, Camden County Public Safety Director Dennis Gailey said.

“If you vote to bring these inmates into our working environment, you jeopardize not only the employees’ well-being, but the safety of our citizens,” firefighter Stuart Sullivan told county commissioners during a recent meeting.

Commissioner Jimmy Starline said it might be a positive experience for the prisoners.

“I’ve been told these inmates are very enthusiastic about being a firefighter,” Starline said.

“It’s an opportunity to break that cycle,” he added. “This is not like a chain gang. Life at a fire station could be a whole lot more pleasant than life in jail.”

Michael Moore Calls For Boycott Of Georgia Over Troy Davis Execution

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:53:49 +0000

Filmmaker Michael Moore is calling for an economic boycott of Georgia over last week’s execution of Troy Anthony Davis.

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“I encourage everyone I know to never travel to Georgia, never buy anything made in Georgia, [and] to never do business in Georgia,” Moore said on his website this week.

The award winning filmmaker and author is even threatening to pull all his books from stores in Georgia.

Double Standard? Georgia Saved White Man From Execution In 2008

cganemccalla — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:19:02 +0000

ATLANTA — After the Georgia Parole Board refused to grant a pardon for Troy Davis this past Thursday, they spared the life of a convicted killer and changed his sentence to life in prison hours before his scheduled execution.

Samuel David Crowe was convicted of beating a store owner to death in 1988 and was sentenced to death the following year.

In 2008, the Georgia Pardons Board prevented Crowe from being executed due to his work in jail with other inmates, and for being remorseful for the crime.

The family members of the victim that Crowe killed were appalled by the decision.

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Reuters reports:

“David (Crowe) takes full responsibility for his crime and experiences profound remorse,” according to Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, an advocacy group, who welcomed the board’s decision.

At Thursday’s hearing, his lawyers presented a dossier of evidence attesting to his remorse and good behavior in jail, according to local media reports. The lawyers also said he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms from a cocaine addiction at the time of the crime.

Yes! Georgia Pardons Board Considers Troy Davis Execution Case

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:38:41 +0000

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ATLANTA— Supporters of a high-profile death row inmate were making a last-ditch effort Monday to stop his execution for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer, asking the Georgia pardons board to grant clemency the 42-year-old who insists, along with others, that he is innocent.

The five-member Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has the power to change death sentences but rarely does. It was considering arguments surrounding Troy Davis, who claims he is innocent of killing Mark MacPhail. He’s set to be put to death by injection Wednesday, the fourth time in four years the state has tried to execute him.

Dozens of Davis’ supporters rallied outside the government building where the parole board met. They hoisted a massive “Save Troy Davis” sign and formed a makeshift drum line at one entrance to the building. At another entrance, other supporters were holding a somber prayer vigil on his behalf.

Davis has captured worldwide attention because of the doubt his supporters have raised over whether he killed MacPhail, who was shot to death while rushing to help a homeless man who had been attacked. Several of the witnesses who helped convict him at his 1991 trial have backed off their testimony or recanted. Others who did not testify say another man at the scene admitted to the shooting.

The U.S. Supreme Court even granted Davis a hearing to prove his innocence, the first time it had done so for a death row inmate in at least 50 years, but he couldn’t convince a judge to grant him a new trial.

The pardons board in 2007 decided to delay Davis’ execution for 90 days to grant the courts more time to review the case. A year later, it denied clemency and allowed his execution to go forward. Since then, though, three new members have been appointed to the panel.

“We are hopeful this tremendous outpouring of support will demonstrate there’s such a huge concern about this case, and that this message will resonate with them,” said Laura Moye of Amnesty International, who delivered thousands of petitions in support of Davis to the board last week. “The very reputation and faith that this public has in its justice system is on the line.”

Among those who support Davis’ clemency request are former president Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI. A host of conservative figures have also advocated on his behalf, including former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, ex-Justice Department official Larry Thompson and one-time FBI Director William Sessions.

The board, which meets in a closed-door session, first heard hours of testimony from Davis’ legal team and its witnesses, although Davis himself is not scheduled to appear. The panel will then hear from prosecutors, MacPhail’s family and their witnesses.

Davis’ attorneys and supporters packed the pardons board for their session. Among the people expected to speak were Quiana Glover, who said she was at a friend’s house in June 2009 when another man told her he killed MacPhail, and Brenda Forrest, a juror who helped convict him in 1991 but is now having second thoughts.

“I feel, emphatically, that Mr. Davis cannot be executed under these circumstances,” Forrest said in an affidavit presented to the board by Davis’ attorneys.

Two of the panel’s five members have already reviewed the case several times: Gale Buckner, a former Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, and Robert Keller, the ex-chair of a Georgia prosecutors group. The other three have been appointed to the board since 2009. They are: James Donald, the former head of the Georgia Department of Corrections, Albert Murray, who led the state’s juvenile justice program, and Terry Barnard, a former Republican state lawmaker.

MacPhail was shot to death on Aug. 19, 1989 after rushing to help Larry Young, a homeless man who was pistol-whipped in a Burger King parking lot. Prosecutors say Davis was with another man who was demanding that Young give him a beer when Davis pulled out a handgun and bashed Young with it. When MacPhail arrived to help, they say Davis had a smirk on his face when he shot the officer to death.

Concerns about his case prompted the Supreme Court to order the nearly unprecedented innocence hearing. In June 2010, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. heard from two witnesses who said they falsely incriminated Davis and from two others who said another man had confessed to being the actual killer.

Moore said the evidence cast some additional doubt on Davis’ conviction, but that it was “largely smoke and mirrors” and not enough to vindicate Davis or grant him a new trial. When the appeals courts refused to review the judge’s decision, Davis’ attorneys set their hopes on persuading the pardons board to grant clemency.

In a 60-page petition to the board, Davis’ legal team contends that several witnesses who testified at his trial have disputed all or parts of their testimony, and that several others who did not testify say another man was to blame for the shooting. They say the evidence creates too much doubt to allow the execution to go forward. And they argue that a string of court rulings that upheld his conviction largely failed to address his innocence claims.

“The courts have determined that Mr. Davis’s conviction was constitutional,” the petition said. “That does not mean it was correct.”

Prosecutors have stood by their case through the years. They say ballistics evidence links Davis to the shooting and that many of the concerns about witness testimony were raised during the trial. The allegations that someone else later confessed to the shooting, they say, are inconsistent and inadmissible in court.

And MacPhail’s relatives say there’s no question that prosecutors charged the right person with the officer’s killing.

“There’s no doubt,” said Anneliese MacPhail, the slain officer’s mother. “Not after I went through that trial and saw what I saw.”

Self Defense? Georgia Cop Shoots, Kills Unarmed Man After Scuffle

NewsOne Staff — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:09:44 +0000

EAST DUBLIN, Ga. — Video from a police cruiser in this rural Georgia town shows just how quickly a traffic stop can turn deadly.

In the recording, officer Jason Deal jumps out of his patrol car and runs toward Melvin Williams, who has gotten out of his vehicle. The two begin fighting. Williams punches the officer in the head and takes a couple of steps toward Deal, who draws his gun and fires, killing the unarmed Williams.

Police encounter similar split-second decisions each day and rely on their intensive training and “shoot or don’t shoot” scenarios to guide them. Yet in this case, Deal had gone more than a year without a mandatory training on the use of deadly force. He should have lost his arrest powers several months before the May 2010 shooting, according to a report from state investigators.

“Shooting him in the stomach should have been the last resort. But it was the first thing he did,” said Williams’ mother, Lena. “And that tells you he hadn’t been trained.”

Williams’ family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer, the police department and the town of East Dublin, seeking unspecified damages. They claim East Dublin didn’t have a written use of force policy.

Town attorney Ted Freeman has disputed the excessive force allegations and said the 26-year-old Deal was properly trained. The state investigation, however, found that more than half of the eight-man force in East Dublin, including the chief, missed the training in 2009. Freeman declined further comment.

State investigators are looking into the shooting a second time and the district attorney said he will launch a grand jury investigation next month.

“There’s a lot of controversy about the arrests powers, I can tell you that,” District Attorney Craig Fraser said.

It’s not clear exactly why Deal pulled Williams, 33, over at a friend’s house in a neighborhood filled with ramshackle cinderblock houses and overgrown lawns on the edge of town. Authorities have refused to talk about the traffic stop.

Williams also seems initially confused about why he was pulled over.

“What is wrong with you? Man, what is wrong with you?” Williams said to the officer in the video. Much of the scuffle takes place outside of the camera’s view, but the audio makes clear there is a struggle. After a few more seconds of fighting, Deal fires and Williams crumples to the ground.

“I just shot one,” Deal, struggling to catch his breath, said to a dispatcher. “… I had one try to take my gun.”

Williams was no stranger to law enforcement. He served a few stints in prison in the 1990s on cocaine and shoplifting charges and was sentenced to more than eight years in 1999 for a robbery. He was released in March 2008.

The dash-cam video was provided to The Associated Press by the Williams family. Their attorney, Mario Williams, verified the recording was the same as the one he received from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The attorney, who is not related to the Williams family, declined comment on the case.

States require extensive use of force training, though it is not uniformly administered. In Georgia, officers must complete an annual course that teaches them when to draw their weapons and how to defuse dangerous situations. Courses vary by instructor, but officials said many require officers to go through case studies and scenarios where decisions are made in an instant.

Officers in Georgia who don’t complete the training each year or obtain a waiver lose their power of arrest, said Mitch Jones, the director of the training division of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.

An initial Georgia Bureau of Investigation report concluded that Deal didn’t do either in 2009 and should have lost his arrest power in January 2010. Deal, who became an officer in 2007, did complete the annual course in 2008, records show.

In a brief interview, Chief Bill Luecke said the department has changed its training protocol, but did not elaborate. He also said officers who had failed to meet the requirement have either made up the course or are doing so.

“Everything’s cool,” he said, before declining to answer additional questions.

East Dublin is a town of about 2,800 people perhaps best known for hosting the Summer Redneck Games, an annual competition that involves watermelon-seed spitting, bobbing for pigs’ feet and the ever-popular mud pit belly flop contest. There’s no city center, but a handful of restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores line the main drag. The police station and mayor’s office share a building that was formerly a bank at one of the town’s main intersections.

The shooting, in a rundown neighborhood within a mile of the police station, incensed activists and others.

“It is so appalling to me that some law enforcement will not uphold the law,” said Kenneth Glasgow, who directs the human rights group The Ordinary People Society. “The hypocrisy is unbearable.”

Experts said an officer is generally allowed to fire a weapon if there’s an immediate threat of death or serious injury to him or others. But they differ on whether Deal should have been allowed to carry a firearm without the training.

Fred G. Robinette III, a retired FBI agent who now works as a consultant on use of force, said the officer should have been required by the department to give up his weapon until he had the proper training.

“When he lost his lawful certification, he should have been placed on administrative duty, the same as officers who are similarly taken out of active service while shootings involving those officers are being investigated,” said Robinette, a 26-year FBI veteran. “This not a new concept. It is done routinely, all of the time.”

He said both the department and the officer could be liable.

“If he had been minding his own business, and was accosted, he would have been as justified as any citizen to defend himself,” he said. “However, it appears that he was acting assertively in his official law enforcement capacity here, and created the confrontation that ultimately resulted in his use of deadly force.”

Others said Deal could have fired his weapon regardless as long as he felt he was in serious danger.

“A police officer does not lose his inherent right to self-defense just because he didn’t attend an annual refresher training course on his department’s use of force policy,” said Gregory D. Lee, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent who has written three textbooks on criminal justice procedure.

Miami Beach Police Department Comes Under Scrutiny

Georgia Pastor Arrested After Molestation Allegations

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:17:47 +0000

CLAYTON COUNTY, GA. — A Decatur, Ga., pastor is being held without bond on molestation charges.

Samuel Walsham Chapman, 58, a pastor at Riverdale Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Jonesboro, was arrested after a 15-year-old boy alleged that Chapman took him to a parking lot and performed a sexual act in front of him.

Excessive! Georgia Town To Fine Those Wearing “Saggy Pants” $50

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:30:04 +0000

A small Georgia town has passed a law in which they will fine men who wear “saggy pants” $50 for their first offense.

The amounts that come with repeated offenses are what have many critics up in arms.

The Georgia town of Hampton will fine repeat offenders $100, and third-time offenders $200.

Justice! Georgia Mom Spared Jail Time After Driver Kills Son

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:19:18 +0000

GEORGIA — Raquel Nelson, the Georgia mother who was convicted with a misdemeanor after her son was struck and killed by a truck, will not serve jail time, according to CNN.

Nelson, 30, pleaded for sympathy after she broke a state law when jaywalking with her three children. Her story attracted national attention from media agencies, the NAACP and transportation advocates, who all said the charges were unfairly pursued.

CNN Reports:

Dozens of the suburban Atlanta woman’s supporters crowded the courtroom Tuesday and applauded as Judge Kathryn Tanksley sentenced her to 12 months of probation and 40 hours of community service.

She also said Nelson could seek a new trial.

Caught On Video! Georgia Videotapes Execution Of Inmate

NewsOne Staff — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:56:19 +0000

ATLANTA — The video camera that recorded the execution of a Georgia death row inmate did more than give attorneys an account of the man’s reaction to a new lethal injection drug. Death penalty experts say it could also lead to a flurry of new legal moves seeking more public access to secretive death chambers.

Thursday’s execution of Andrew Grant DeYoung for the 1993 murders of his parents and sister was believed to be the first in the U.S. in almost two decades recorded on video. It came at the urging of defense attorneys who want to document the effects of the sedative pentobarbital.

The Georgia Attorney General’s office warned the move could set a troubling precedent and lead to the “potential for sensationalism and abuse,” and the state worried that it could encourage a rash of similar filings. The execution was pushed back a day to buy prosecutors more time to block the taping, but a second legal challenge was also rejected.

Fordham Law School professor Deborah Denno said she expects other attorneys in Georgia and elsewhere to start demanding that executions be recorded on video now that Georgia has done so.

“This development would help immensely in detecting the many problems with the lethal injection process, especially if the videotaping included all of the procedure from start to finish,” she said.

The legal fight over the video recording unfolded amid a larger debate about Georgia’s lethal injection procedure.

DeYoung’s attorney argued that using pentobarbital would cause his client to suffer based partly on an Associated Press account of the June 23 execution of Roy Blankenship, who was seen jerking his head several times during the procedure, looking at the injection sites in his arms and appearing to mutter.

State and federal courts rejected DeYoung’s requests to stay the execution. But a Georgia judge granted a request by another inmate who sought the recording as evidence for his own case about the effects of pentobarbital. The judge ordered the video be kept under seal.

The Georgia Supreme Court let the judge’s ruling stand late Wednesday, concluding that prosecutors didn’t properly appeal the decision. The court rejected a second appeal Thursday, clearing the way for the recording to happen.

On Thursday night, a videographer with a camera on a tripod stood inside the execution chamber about 5 feet away from the gurney where DeYoung lay.

When asked to make a final statement, DeYoung said he was “sorry to everyone I hurt.”

When the three-drug injection began, DeYoung blinked his eyes and swallowed for about two minutes, then his eyes closed and he became still. He was pronounced dead at 8:04 p.m.

Authorities said DeYoung cut the telephone wires of his family’s home in the middle of the night in 1993. He then stabbed his mother repeatedly while she was sleeping upstairs, and then stabbed his father and sister, prosecutors said. A brother sleeping downstairs escaped after hearing the commotion and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

The last time an execution was recorded took place in California in 1992, when attorneys challenged the use of gas as a method of execution, said defense attorney Brian Kammer, who filed the video motion.

Timothy McVeigh’s 2001 execution at a federal prison in Indiana was broadcast on closed-circuit TV to a gathering of survivors and victims’ family members in Oklahoma City, but there was no indication it was taped.

Georgia attorneys argued the courts don’t have the power to order a video crew to monitor an execution, and warned the recording could leak out into the public despite the judge’s order to seal the tape. The state also warned that allowing the recording would interfere with the strict security measures in place for executions.

But defense lawyers said the security concerns were overblown. Kammer said in the filing that the corrections department has routinely let school tours within the prison and allowed a PBS show in 2006 to film the execution chamber, although it did not tape an execution.

“It is simply disingenuous to assert that video recording of Mr. DeYoung’s execution constitutes a fundamental threat to the security of the institution,” he said in the filing.

While death penalty attorneys applaud the judge’s order, they say additional steps are needed to ensure lethal injections are proper.

“It is always better to have more transparency in what has been an exceptionally secretive execution process,” said Ty Alper, an attorney who works with the death penalty clinic at the University of California-Berkeley. “But videotaping an upcoming execution is no substitute for conducting a real investigation into what actually happened.”

Stay Of Execution! Illinois Shuts Down Death Row

First Black Lesbian Lawmaker To Speak At Women’s Pride Brunch

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:12:09 +0000

SAN DIEGO— Georgia state Congresswoman Simone Bell, the first Black lesbian to serve in the U.S. state legislature, will speak at the 11th annual San Diego Women’s Pride Brunch, Saturday July 16.

Bell has spent her entire career fighting for equality as a community organizer, including working for affordable housing, elderly issues and youth empowerment.

The San Diego Women’s Pride Brunch will kick off the Pride Parade for 150 guests at Saigon on Fifth at 9 am Saturday, July 16. The annual brunch will be raising money for the Victory Fund, a non-profit group that assists in getting LGBT officials elected to public office throughout the country.

Shame: Georgia Home Association Blocks Home Of Disabled Black Vet

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:28:08 +0000

The Knob Hill Property Owners Association of Augusta, Georgia has blocked a paralyzed, African-American veteran from receiving a new home that would have been specialized for his health needs. Homes For Our Troops has built over 100 homes for severely disabled vets like Sgt. 1st Class Sean Gittens, which would otherwise be unaffordable for these heroes. Leaders of Homes For Our Troops are saddened by the opposition of the subdivision leaders, and tried to negotiate to keep the family in the area where they are already renting a house. Despite these efforts, the Gittens clan announced at a recent press conference that moving is preferable to staying someplace they are not wanted. The Augusta Chronicle reports:

The association had blocked construction of the Gittens home after months of negotiations because it believed the house would lower neighboring property values. Homes for Our Troops said it would continue to work to get a design approved, but ultimately left the decision up to the Gittens family, which currently rents a home in the subdivision. [...]

Sharon Gittens, Sean’s wife, told news media Monday the family decided not to stay in Knob Hill because they did not feel they would be welcome. At the press conference, she said was ready to put the situation behind her and thanked neighbors who had supported her family. She asked them to encourage the association to embrace the veterans and not worry so much about property values.

The president of the Knob Hill Property Owners Association sent his regrets via email, but did not attend the press conference at which the final decision was announced. To this treatment, Sharon Gittens responded: “I think if this was important to them, a least one representative from the board would have been here today.” Every member was probably too ashamed.

The actions of this board are appalling, but in the end Sgt. 1st Class Sean Gittens will likely continue to work with Homes For Our Troops until they find a community willing to reward a wounded warrior. In fact, a Homes For Our Troops representative “said it’s the first time a build has been blocked by a homeowners association,” according to The Augusta Chronicle. Hopefully, if shame is catching, it will be the last.

When Homes For Our Troops develops homes with wider doors, ramps and other unusual fittings, disabled veteran like Sean Gittens are empowered to function more easily in life, a costly gift but one that is deserved. It is beyond comprehension that a group like The Knob Hill Property Owners Association would be more concerned with the appearance of a newly constructed house and how it might impact a neighborhood than the well being of a person who willingly made such a large sacrifice.

A home that makes life easier for a disabled veteran might not match the cookie-cutter specifications of neighboring domiciles. But rather than having a neighborhood that looks “nice,” sharing a street with a paralyzed soldier is an opportunity for true neighbors to demonstrate love in a community. The Knob Hill Property Owners Association missed out on this chance, in fact revealing the chilly hearts that must permeate their hollow houses.

Let’s hope Sgt. 1st Class Sean Gittens and his family are able to successfully work with Homes For Our Troops to find a place where his condition won’t be considered a stigma. Once they build that house, the right community will help them make it a perfect home.

Justice Clarence Thomas Faces Ethics Investigation By NY Times

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:21:38 +0000

GEORGIA — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is the target of an ethics examination, investigated by The NY Times, as to whether he misused his “prestige of office” to persuade his friend Harlan Crow to fund a museum in Pin Point, Georgia.

Thomas, who is from Pin Point, introduced residents to Crow, who the Times confirmed is the anonymous donor behind $1.3 million to the museum project set to open this fall.

According to The Huffington Post, this isn’t the first time Crow donated money to projects directly or indirectly honoring Thomas. The Times unraveled a list of gifts and donations given to Thomas, including a $15,000 bust of Abraham Lincoln from a group affiliated with Crow.

Georgia Using Ex-Cons To Harvest Crops Due To Immigration Law

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:47:29 +0000

LESLIE, Ga. — It’s 3:25 p.m. in a dusty cucumber field in south Georgia. A knot of criminal offenders who spent seven hours in the sun harvesting buckets of vegetables by hand have decided they’re calling it quits – exactly as crew leader Benito Mendez predicted in the morning.

Unless the cucumbers come off the vine soon, they will become engorged with seeds, making them unsellable. Mendez’s crew of Mexican and Guatemalan workers will keep harvesting until 6 p.m., maybe longer. Not so for the men participating in a new state-run program aimed at replacing the Latino migrants Georgia farmers say they’ve lost to a new immigration crackdown with unemployed probationers.

“Tired. The heat,” said 33-year-old Tavares Jones, who left early and was walking down a dirt road toward a ride home. He promised Mendez he’d return the next morning. “It’s hard work out here.”

Mendez urged another man to stay. “I need you today,” he said. “These cucumbers not going to wait until tomorrow.”

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal started the experiment after farmers publicly complained they couldn’t find enough workers to harvest labor-intensive crops such as cucumbers and berries because Latino workers – including many illegal immigrants – refused to show up, even when offered one-time or weekly bonuses. One crew who previously worked for Mendez told him they wouldn’t come to Georgia for fear of risking deportation.

Farmers told state authorities in an unscientific survey that they had more than 11,000 unfilled agriculture jobs, although it’s not clear how that compares to prior years or whether the shortage can be blamed on the new law.

For more than a week, the state’s probation officers have encouraged their unemployed offenders to consider taking field jobs. While most offenders are required to work while on probation, statistics show they have a hard time finding jobs. Georgia’s unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, but correction officials say among the state’s 103,000 probationers, it’s about 15 percent. Still, offenders can turn down jobs they consider unsuitable, and harvesting is physically demanding.

CBC Accuses GOP Of Pitting Blacks Against Immigrants At Hearing

Georgia Supreme Court On Verge Of Closing 16 Charter Schools

Charles Dixon — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:58:47 +0000

The Georgia Supreme Court stood by an earlier decision which deemed the Georgia Charter Schools Commission unconstitutional, a move which could potentially close the doors of at least 16 of the state’s charter schools.

The Huffington Post reports:

Supporters say charter schools provide more choices to families that feel underserved by local schools. Critics assert that charter schools sap local districts’ resources, outsource education into the hands of external organizations and do not serve high-needs populations.

Several protests are set to take place on Thursday, organized by local advocacy groups and parents. The Supreme Court’s decision could force thousands of charter school students to find an alternative by the time school starts again in August.

RELATED:

Why Charter Schools Are Not The Answer

Tragic! Firefighter Dies While Saving Three Young Children

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:02:04 +0000

MACON — Authorities say a 24-year-old man drowned in Lake Tobesofkee outside of Macon while trying to save three children.

Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones says the body of Michael Dewayne Jones was pulled from the lake Saturday about an hour after he disappeared. The coroner is not related to the victim.

Leon Jones says the man was rescuing children ages 5, 7 and 8 who were having trouble swimming. Leon Jones says the children were saved but Michael Jones drowned.

Authorities say the children did not belong to Michael Jones.

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Substitute Teacher Busted For Urinating In Classroom Trash Bin

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:06:07 +0000

GEORGIA– Coleman Eaton, a 60-year-old substitute teacher, is accused of exposing himself to 30 students as he allegedly urinated in a classroom trash bin at Riverdale Elementary School.

“It was alleged that he walked to the back of the class, told the class not to turn around and allegedly urinated in one of the garbage cans,” Riverdale police Major Greg Barney told the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“A couple of students turned around and observed him”