I found this on story uprisingradio.org.
I'll add an excerpt and if you're interested in the on going story of
young Black men that are being gunned down by police without any consequence do go read the whole article or you may alternately listen to the podcast available on the site.Read more at..
In the early morning hours of October 28th 2008, a 20 year old named Julian Alexander was fatally shot by an Anaheim police officer. Alexander’s crime: he was standing in his own front yard, attempting to protect himself and his pregnant wife with a stick in hand. Oh, and he happened to be black. The white officer, Kevin Flanagan had been chasing a group of juveniles who allegedly broke into a department store when he encountered Alexander. The newly married Anaheim resident had come out of his house to investigate the ruckus. After shooting him twice in the chest, Flanagan handcuffed him to the ground. Julian Alexander, who had just gotten married 9 days earlier, died after being taken to UCI Medical Center - his family claims he was delayed medical treatment as a result of being handcuffed. Within hours of the shooting, the Anaheim Police department issued an apology for the shooting, calling it a “tragic situation,” and clearing the victim of any wrong doing. Now, the Orange County District Attorney’s office has decided not to press charges against the police officer. Kevin Flanagan has been back on routine patrol duty since mid-December. There are currently two federal civil-rights lawsuits, filed by separate family members set to begin next month.
I read about this incident while scanning the news groups and
I thought why is it still open season on Black Men by police?
The powers that be don't seem to be overly concerned over the wave of police killings of unarmed or defenseless Black folks. They (the police) don't appear to generally suffer any severe consequences for their actions. It seems to me that the attitude is that it's all in the line of duty. While these shootings and killings ans tasings are getting some publicity, what about the beatings and wrongful detainments and verbal abuse that never gets reported. IMO this is where it all begins. For each time one of these abuses are carried out with impunity, the police will be emboldened to simply escalate to the next more violent step, to the point that they feel it's their right to gun down any Black person they feel like. Sadly this is where we find ourselves today.
If the authorities won't take action because it's the right thing to do, then we will have to come up with a way to bring about REAL CHANGES ourselves. For this we're going to have to start with internal changes. Apparently everyone is talking YES WE CAN but not many are getting in on the action. I don't doubt that there are folks out there who are actively taking on the role of bring justice to the Black Man, it's time we find them and help out with the program, the life of someone you love may depend on it.
"If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names," said Mills, who is white. "I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested."
Source: Russell Mills, Police Chief, Homer, LA.
link: African American Political Pundit: 73-year-old black man shot by police in Homer, La.
AAPP has covered the story of the shooting of Bernard Monroe in more detail see the above link.
When I first saw this I thought it wasn't true but alas I was sorely mistaken.
Cynthia McKinney was right on the case, the sister didn't miss a beat.
she said,
"When Eric Holder, the new U.S. Attorney General called the nation to account for its historic reluctance to honestly talk about race and racism, its manifestations and consequences, he could have been talking about his boss the president. By withdrawing from the UN Conference on Racism he is leading backwards, in the direction of Clinton and Bush rather than forward into the 21st century. The fact that the President of Change wan't bring himself -- or us --- to an honest discussion about race says a lot for his willingness to lead on the subject."
She also said,
"But Obama's willingness to cave in the face of white racism and business as usual is no excuse for the Congressional Black Caucus, supposedly among the best and brightest Black America has to offer. It's time for the CBC to step up where the president has stepped back."
Where do we the people stand on this issue? It's time we stand up and be counted and speak up for the changes that we can believe in, these politicians will never get it unless we put our 85 cents in.
Read Cynthia's article on Black Agenda Report
I have always thought that private prisons create a serious conflict of interest.
This case simply reenforces my belief that prison, as a business, has to have as a goal, filling as many places as possible. IMO this case will prove to be just the tip of the iceberg.
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