Deep Politics Forum

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The office of special prosecutor Anglea Corey released a trove of documents late last night revealing new details about the night George Zimmerman shot dead the teenager in Sanford, Florida. The evidence indicates a fight occurred between the two men but police determined the deadly encounter between Zimmerman and Martin was "ultimately avoidable" if Zimmerman had "remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement." The police also concluded, "there is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter." Among the released documents was Trayvon Martin's autopsy. It showed Martin had died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired from intermediate range. In addition, traces of marijuana were found in his blood.
New photos and medical records show Zimmerman suffered a broken nose, bruises and cuts on the back of his head. The new documents also show Sanford police received an anonymous tip less than two full days after the shooting before it became widely known to the public. The caller refused to identify herself but said that Zimmerman "...has a racist ideologies and... is fully capable of instigating a confrontation that could have escalated to the point of him having to use deadly force." The caller was never tracked down. In a few moments we will be joined by NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous, but first, we turn to a chilling recording of the police interviewing Trayvon Martin's girlfriend. She and Trayvon were talking on the phone in the moments leading up to his death.
BEN JEALOUS: It's heartbreaking. It's absolutely heartbreaking to listening to his childhood girlfriend, his childhood friend talk about the experience of listening to him be hunted on the street just before he was killed. I think it dramatizes for people the experience of millions of young people across this country every year when they are racially profiled, whether it's by community watch volunteers or by cops. In New York City, last year, there were more stop and frisks, more racial profiling incidents of young black men in that city than there are young black men in that city. Hopefully, this will help people understand just how our young people feel, how their friends feel when they are humiliated, degraded, mistreated, sometimes even killed simply because of their color.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Ben, the other material that was released last night, again, unusual in these kinds of situations that so much of the investigative work is being released, even before trial occurs. Your response to some of the other material you have heard about?
BEN JEALOUS: From what I have been able to read and go through, the most important thing that was released yesterday was a report that the top law enforcement officer on the scene, the lead investigator that day, said that this killing-said that there was no reason this killing should have happened, if Mr. Zimmerman had stayed in his car. Said that Mr. Zimmerman should have been charged for killing Trayvon and that that lead investigator, that top law enforcement officer on that scene that day, that his judgment was not respected by his superiors. And this gets down to why we need a different chief in Sanford. That his superiors said that we know you think Mr. Zimmerman should be charged, but we say no he should not be charged, and that's absolutely disturbing and outrageous that you would have a dead teenager on the ground, that the lead investigator would say that his killer should be charged, and then the superiors would say no don't charge him, and then they would go on to not even investigate it, not even knock on the door 70 feet away where his father was or call back that phone where his girlfriend had just listened to him be hunted down on the street.
AMY GOODMAN: Following up on these recordings that have been released, we wanted to play a few more. These are the audio recordings the police released last night of three witnesses who gave conflicting accounts of what they heard in the moments before George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin. We're going to begin with two women who were in a house close to the scene of the shooting in Sanford. AMY GOODMAN: While the two women said that Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman were not fighting at the time of the shooting, another local resident gave a conflicting account. AMY GOODMAN: Again, these are recordings that were released by police in this trove of hundreds of audio recordings, photographs and police documents. Ben Jealous is joining us from Miami, Florida, not that far from Sanford where Trayvon Martin was killed. Ben, your response as you listen?
BEN JEALOUS: This and a bunch of information came out yesterday. You go through all of it and what has not changed is the basic facts that we know; that George Zimmerman is somebody about whom there were many complaints, that people thought he treated them in a way that was racist. George Zimmerman is somebody about whom there were many complaints, that people thought said he was a bully. George Zimmerman is somebody who had called the cops multiple times that year, always about a young black man that he thought was suspicious. George Zimmerman was somebody who was told to stay in his truck that day by the cops who he called and he chose to get out with a gun and track down a young man on the street trying to get away from him because he was afraid of him. And that young man is dead as a result.
It's not surprising to hear local residents have different perceptions. We know that many of them knew Mr. Zimmerman because he was their neighbor and some of them indeed might be trying to help with his defense by skew the story this way or that. But the basic facts have not changed. Trayvon Martin is dead. An innocent teenager is dead because a man with a gun who was told by the cops to stay in his car chose to get out with the gun and hunt down that young man on the street.

NY Cop Indicted for Killing Unarmed Black Teen Ramarley Graham

A New York police officer has been indicted on manslaughter charges for the fatal shooting of an unarmed African-American teen. Eighteen-year-old Ramarley Graham was shot at close range in his grandmother's apartment on February 2nd after being chased into the house by narcotics detectives. Graham was trying to empty a bag of marijuana into the toilet before he was killed. The indicted officer has been identified as 30-year-old Richard Haste. He is expected to turn himself in on Wednesday.

Rodney King was found dead in his swimming pool at about 5:30 AM....yet, it was immediately declared as 'not suspicious'. Time will tell...but that does seem a bit early for a swim.....

Yes, does seem rather early for a swim. Do you know what Rodney's life has been like since his encounter with the violent police in Los Angeles Peter?

Magda Hassan Wrote:Yes, does seem rather early for a swim. Do you know what Rodney's life has been like since his encounter with the violent police in Los Angeles Peter?

Not only is the hour of his 'swim' a bit unusual, but it was, almost to the day, the anniversary of the brutal beating he took from four rascist and brutal policemen - who were all acquitted of all charges - even though doctors said King had been almost beaten to death [for speeding in his car - his crime, along with being Black]. Yes, and you can now find all over the internet how his life was. After the riots that followed the acquittals in Los Angeles, he mostly led a quiet life - appearing a few times on TV or at lectures. He wrote one thin book on the events. He seemed confused by the fame it had caused him. He had just married, I believe. He was 47 and nothing wrong with his health. For the police - the same police dept. that almost beat him to death to immediately say there was 'nothing suspicious' about him being found drown in his own pool at sunrise strikes me as 'typical police work' [i.e. those that deserve to be dead in Police eyes never have died suspiciously - no investigation needed]. It is too high profile for there not to be an autopsy, but I'm sure there will be forces [police forces?] that will not want one. We shall see. I, an educated White American have had my own problems with Police in the USA - I can't imagine what it is like to be Black and have to deal with their hate, violence and bigotry. The riots after the Police acquittals [by an all-White jury - already an almost illegal and obscene fact] were the largest and most violent ever in Los Angeles. I just hope the Police or some friend of the Police was not doing 'pay-back' in their eyes. I'm sure in the next days someone good will summarize his life and the events that propelled him to fame. I'll keep my eyes out for it - as well as the autopsy report.

Thanks Peter :thumbsup:

AMY GOODMAN: Today, a Democracy Now! special on the life and death of Ramarley Graham, a teenager who was shot dead by a New York police officer inside his own bathroom in the Bronx. His death occurred on February 2nd, three weeks before Trayvon Martin was shot dead in Florida by George Zimmerman, the self-appointed night watchman. Trayvon was 17 years old, Ramarley 18. While Trayvon Martin's death gained international attention, the Ramarley Graham killing received far less attention.
Police initially said Graham ran into his building fleeing from officers, but surveillance footage showed this to be untrue. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly initially said Graham, quote, "appeared to be armed," but no weapon was ever recovered. Ramarley's grandmother and six-year-old brother were inside the apartment at the time the police killed him.
Last week, a New York police officer was indicted on manslaughter charges for the fatal shooting. The officer, Richard Haste, pleaded not guilty to charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter in a Bronx courtroom. He was released on $50,000 bail.
Last Thursday, Democracy Now! covered a vigil held by the Graham family outside their home in the Bronx. I spoke to Ramarley's older sister, Leona Virgo. I began by asking her to describe her brother Ramarley.
AMY GOODMAN: Ramarley Graham's older sister, Leona Virgo. In the evening, Ramarley's dad, Frank Graham, addressed the crowd who had gathered for the weekly vigil in memory of his son.
AMY GOODMAN: We continue our coverage on the death of Ramarley Graham, the 18-year-old shot dead by a New York police officer in his own home on February 2nd. Yesterday, Democracy Now!'s Juan González and I sat down with Ramarley's mother, Constance Malcolm; also the lawyer for the Graham family, Royce Russell; and Carlton Berkley, known as Chucky, a close friend of the Graham family, a former New York police detective on the force for 20 years. I began by asking Constance Malcolm what happened to her son on the day he was shot dead.
AMY GOODMAN: Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham. He was killed by New York police on February 2nd, 2012, in his own apartment, his family's apartment, in his own bathroom. We were also speaking with the family lawyer, Royce Russell, and Carlton Berkley, known as Chucky, a close friend of the Graham family, a former New York police detective. He was with the department for more than 20 years.

Please! Please! Please!

This is God Damned murder!

Officers of the law only YOU can stop this needless brutality!

Are You:

the protector of the people!

OR

The Shogunate's executioner!


08.21.12 - 11:21 AM
Another "Firing Squad Dressed In Police Uniforms"


by Abby Zimet


Again?! Milton Hall of Saginaw, Michigan died last month when police fired between 30 and 46 shots into him outside a strip mall after Hall argued with a store clerk. He was carrying a small knife. He was black, poor, and mentally ill. He was known to police, having been jailed for minor offenses like vagrancy, but was not violent and everyone in the community evidently knew that. The Justice Department is investigating. Video from a bystander. Warning: graphic. Again.
"It appeared to be a firing squad dressed in police uniforms," said his mother Jewel Hall. "There was another way. They did not have to kill him. He had not done anything."

[video]http://cnn.com/video/?/video/crime/2012/08/16/ac-pkg-carroll-man-shot-by-police-in-saginaw-michigan.cnn[/video]

http://www.commondreams.org/further/2012/08/21

To go with all the good Democracy NOW! transcripts, here is the Frederick Leatherman Law Blog:

[URL="http://frederickleatherman.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/zimmerman-some-questions-to-ponder/"]http://frederickleatherman.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/zimmerman-some-questions-to-ponder/

[/URL]A ton of entries are over here.

One thing, for sure, in my mind, GZ ended his phone call, to SPD, to approach TM, still on the phone, to his gf Dee Dee.

GZ was diagnosed, with ADHD, and he at least had Temazepam, in his system, which he admitted to paramedics he had taken, prior to the murder. GZ also had a scrip, for Schedule II CS Adderall, an amphetamine. Naturally, GZ's blood was not tested, to see if he was tweaking, from something he took or DID NOT take, prior to the murder, of TM.

GZ failed to identify himself, he likely started any conflict, and a witness describes GZ was apparently not injured, with the suspicious, uniformly deep scratches, which leaked blood, in a downward trickle, not in splatters, or with an injured nose, before he fired a gunshot, into TM's chest.

Moreover, witness Mary Cutcher saw and GZ admitted he was on TM's back, with his hands on TM's neck, after the gunshot.

It turns out, GZ intended to finish TM off, since TM was a material witness, to tweaking GZ's assault. SPD tried to blow off Mary Cutcher.

So GZ perped murder 1, but he is only charged, with murder 2, which allows Mark O'Mara to act out and continue a case, which should be decided, with a plea deal, for murder 2, IF murder 1 were only the charge! Now, O'Mara gets to collect, to challenge any judge, which shows a sign, of noticing GZ has been getting over.

Normally, a DA would over-charge, to try to coerce a plea deal, even if that is illegal. I guess when GZ's daddy turned out, to be a former Florida Supreme Court Justice, the SPD let him tweak, with a gun, and he ignored SPD instruction, "We don't need you to do that," to immediately approach TM, shoot him, and make sure TM died, at the scene.

GZ could have updated the 911, to call for paramedics, but he didn't do THAT. His contact with TM indicates dementia, sufficient, to prove murder 2, but hey! GZ did murder ONE, as soon as he sat on the fatally wounded TM, to make sure he died, without speaking, to an investigator. Of course, this will go to trial, risking mistrial, all the way home.

But a capias should have returned a murder 1 charge, by the end of February 2012.

To go with all the good Democracy NOW! transcripts, here is the Frederick Leatherman Law Blog:

[URL="http://frederickleatherman.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/zimmerman-some-questions-to-ponder/"]http://frederickleatherman.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/zimmerman-some-questions-to-ponder/

[/URL]A ton of entries are over here.

One thing, for sure, in my mind, GZ ended his phone call, to SPD, to approach TM, still on the phone, to his gf Dee Dee.

GZ was diagnosed, with ADHD, and he at least had Temazepam, in his system, which he admitted to paramedics he had taken, prior to the murder. GZ also had a scrip, for Schedule II CS Adderall, an amphetamine. Naturally, GZ's blood was not tested, to see if he was tweaking, from something he took or DID NOT take, prior to the murder, of TM.

GZ failed to identify himself, he likely started any conflict, and a witness describes GZ was apparently not injured, with the suspicious, uniformly deep scratches, which leaked blood, in a downward trickle, not in splatters, or with an injured nose, before he fired a gunshot, into TM's chest.

Moreover, witness Mary Cutcher saw and GZ admitted he was on TM's back, with his hands on TM's neck, after the gunshot.

It turns out, GZ intended to finish TM off, since TM was a material witness, to tweaking GZ's assault. SPD tried to blow off Mary Cutcher.

So GZ perped murder 1, but he is only charged, with murder 2, which allows Mark O'Mara to act out and continue a case, which should be decided, with a plea deal, for murder 2, IF murder 1 were only the charge! Now, O'Mara gets to collect, to challenge any judge, which shows a sign, of noticing GZ has been getting over.

Normally, a DA would over-charge, to try to coerce a plea deal, even if that is illegal. I guess when GZ's daddy turned out, to be a former Florida Supreme Court Justice, the SPD let him tweak, with a gun, and he ignored SPD instruction, "We don't need you to do that," to immediately approach TM, shoot him, and make sure TM died, at the scene.

GZ could have updated the 911, to call for paramedics, but he didn't do THAT. His contact with TM indicates dementia, sufficient, to prove murder 2, but hey! GZ did murder ONE, as soon as he sat on the fatally wounded TM, to make sure he died, without speaking, to an investigator. Of course, this will go to trial, risking mistrial, all the way home.

But a capias should have returned a murder 1 charge, by the end of February 2012.