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Posts tagged as “police shooting”

Protests Over Killing of Duante Wright in MN Help Lead to Resignations of Brooklyn Center Police Chief and Officer

Protests Over Killing of Duante Wright in MN Help Lead to Resignations of Brooklyn Center Police Chief and Officer

By goodblacknews on April 13, 2021

Police officer Kim Potter resigned yesterday after shooting and killing Daunte Wright, 20, at a traffic stop on Sunday, officials in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, announced. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also submitted his resignation, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced at a press conference.

As the Derek Chauvin trial over the police killing of George Floyd proceeds only 10 miles away in Minneapolis, hundreds of people showed up for a memorial protest at the police department in Brooklyn Center in spite of a 7 p.m. curfew that had been called across much of the Twin Cities area.

Protests also spread across the country Monday night after police officials in Brooklyn Center, Minn., said they believed Potter, who shot and killed Wright, had intended to use her Taser but accidentally fired her handgun instead.

Wright’s parents Katie and Aubrey Wright and their attorneys Ben Crump and Jeff Storms discuss the death of their unarmed son during a traffic stop and how they are seeking justice with ABC‘s Robin Roberts below:

Commander Tony Gruenig has been named acting police chief as the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension continues to investigate the homicide.

Mayor Elliott is asking for the attorney general to be assigned the case:

https://twitter.com/mayor_elliott/status/1382034692170514436

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-officer-shot-killed-daunte-wright-resigns/story?id=77048421

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/986764183/protests-grow-in-minnesota-and-around-u-s-over-death-of-daunte-wright

Samaria Rice to Open Tamir Rice Cultural Center in Cleveland in 2019

By goodblacknews on May 20, 2018

Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice (photo via ohio.com)

by Angela Helm via theroot.com
Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who was gunned down on a playground by an erratic “officer of the law” in 2014, is mending her heartbreak by opening a cultural center in the name of her son.
The Tamir Rice Afrocentric Cultural Center will honor Tamir’s legacy by operating as a place of refuge for black children in Cleveland, a space where they can participate in visual art, drama, music, as well as teaching them civics as well. “Nobody is talking about Tamir anymore in Cleveland,” said Samaria. “And that’s sad.”
Through the Tamir Rice Foundation, Samaria has already purchased a building for the center, and, in addition to serving the children’s artistic ambitions (Tamir, she said, loved to draw cartoons and make pottery), the young people who come through its doors will be mentored on how to “dissect and participate in political systems,” something the 41-year-old mother of three says she had to learn, after her son was killed as he played.
Rice has already faced opposition to opening the center, a baffling notion, given what she has been through, but according to a recent profile by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, someone recently put superglue in all of the locks on the 3,500-square-foot former newspaper building.
“I don’t pay no attention to them,” she said. “They can’t beat me for the simple fact that their child wasn’t killed by the state. I’m going to do it through the grace of God and I’m going to do it because the city of Cleveland gave me no choice but to do it as far as building my son’s legacy and keeping his legacy alive.”
Next month, Rice is throwing a “Sweet Sixteen” party for the birthday Tamir will never see. She seeks to raise $21,000 to help renovate the space, including new windows, and a stage for performances. She purchased the building in March for $162,680, using part of the $6 million settlement of the wrongful death suit she’d filed against the city and the two officers involved (none of whom faced a day in jail). The Plain Dealer reports that after lawyer’s fees and costs and payments to other relatives, Tamir’s estate was left with about $1.8 million.
Samaria Rice hopes to complete work and open the center in 2019.
Tickets for June 14 fundraiser at the Cleveland Museum of Art are $55  and contributions to the renovation are also being collected online.
To read full article, go to: https://www.theroot.com/samaria-rice-to-open-tamir-rice-cultural-center-for-cle-1826177821

Issa Rae's GoFundMe for Alton Sterling's Children Reaches Over $660,000

By goodblacknews on July 9, 2016

Issa Rae (photo via Facebook.com))
Issa Rae (photo via Facebook.com)

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to theurbandaily.com, Issa Rae, star and creator of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and the upcoming HBO series Insecure, in an effort to take positive action after the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana earlier this week, started a scholarship fund for his children.  t not only exceeded its $200,000 goal within hours, it is currently at over three times that amount, at $664,986.
“Can we get a scholarship fund going 4 #AltonSterling’s son/kids?” she tweeted Wednesday (July 6). “Some of us feel helpless when these things happen, but that’s a small step.”

Sterling, a 37-year-old father of five, was fatally shot by police outside of a Louisiana convenience store on Tuesday. A graphic video of the altercation shows Sterling being held on the ground before being shot multiple times in the chest and back. The incident has sparked national protest, and a civil rights investigation has been opened by the Justice Department, the New York Times reports.
If you would still like to donate, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/2d3eze7g

It's Something: U.S. Department of Justice Launches Investigation into Alton Sterling Shooting

By goodblacknews on July 6, 2016

Police shooting victim Alton Sterling (photo via nydailynews.com)
Police shooting victim Alton Sterling (photo via nydailynews.com)

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
By now, most have heard about the latest in the incredibly disturbing string of homicides of black citizens at the hands of local police.  Alton Sterling was shot and killed after two police officers approached him on Tuesday evening for selling CDs near a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
According to CNN, the state’s governor, John Bel Edwards, announced that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will investigate the shooting.  Edwards added that the Middle District of Louisiana’s U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI will also assist in the investigation.
Officers say they arrived at the scene when an anonymous 911 caller reported a man threatening him with a gun. A struggle ensued between Sterling and the two officers. Sterling was pinned down, then shot multiple times in the head and chest, eventually succumbing to his injuries.
The encounter was caught on camera and went viral yesterday evening, sparking protests and national media attention.  After observing video of the encounter, Edwards said he had “very serious concerns.”
“The video is disturbing to say the least,” he added.
Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden said he is also committed to working with federal investigators.
At a morning press conference, Sterling’s family tearfully condemned the actions of the BRPD officers involved in the shooting, asking for justice while visually broken and dismayed.
You can find more information on this story here.

Amandla Stenberg to Star in ‘Black Lives Matter’ Film at Fox 2000 Based on Angela Thomas Novel "The Hate You Gave"

By goodblacknews on March 24, 2016

Amanda Stenberg attends the Marc Jacobs Fall 2016 fashion show during New York Fashion Week at Park Avenue Armory on February 18, 2016 in New York City.
Amanda Stenberg attends the Marc Jacobs Fall 2016 fashion show during New York Fashion Week at Park Avenue Armory on February 18, 2016 in New York City. (photo by Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for Marc Jacobs)

article via thegrio.com
After a heated bidding war over the rights to Angela Thomas’ “The Hate U Gave” novel, Fox 2000 is now set to begin work on a film inspired by the Black Lives Matter book.
The film will see Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg as its star, playing the role of a 16-year-old girl named Starr who grew up in the slums but now attends a prep school. When Starr sees her unarmed best friend shot by a police officer, Starr must find a way to speak truth to what she knows even as she walks the balance of two very different worlds.
George Tillman Jr. is set to direct the film, with Audrey Wells writing the script for the film adaptation.  Stenberg, 17, has been extremely outspoken about cultural appropriation and also police violence on social media.
When protests broke out in Baltimore last year in response to the death of Freddie Gray, Stenberg tweeted, “My prayers go out to all my brothers & sisters in Baltimore. This battle is hard but crucial. The revolutionary youth will change the world.”
“Don’t condemn our anger. Don’t denounce our pain as savage. What’s savage is the cruel inhumanity and brutality of the police. Condemn that,” she added.
To read more, go to: http://thegrio.com/2016/03/24/hunger-games-amandla-stenberg-black-lives-matter/