Category: Violence

Racial tension, racial unrest, Violence

Ferguson Black Lives Matter Activist Darren Seals Executed

The ReadyWriter

darren-seals-550x436A prominent Black Lives Matter activist who led the protests in Ferguson, MO. was shot and killed early Tuesday.

Police found the body of 29-year-old Darren Seals in a burned out car near St. Louis.

He was shot to death before the car was torched in a parking lot along the Mississippi River in a northern St. Louis suburb.

Aralyn Jones told KMOV-TV she woke up around 2 a.m. and saw the car fully engulfed in flames after hearing a “big, big boom”.

Police believe the vehicle was set on fire around 1:50 a.m. Tuesday.

Seals was a key leader in the protests over the wrongful police shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson on August 9, 2014.

Seals’ grandmother, Ether Seals, remembered him as a “smart kid”.

“I’m just numb,” she told the NY Daily News.

“I didn’t realize how smart he was until all those things happened in Ferguson where he was living,” she said.

Seals lived just blocks away from where 18-year-old Brown was fatally shot by former Ferguson cop Darren Wilson. Brown had refused Wilson’s orders to get out of the street.

In a 2014 interview Seals said he watched as Brown’s body lay in the street for hours.

“It wasn’t even a protest yet… It was a black boy being shot in the community,” said Seals of his actions that helped inspire the Black Lives Matter activist movement.

“I’m very proud of him,” Ether Seals said.

“I didn’t realize how much he’d been doing until people started calling today. I’m going to miss him so much,” she added.

Violence

Donald Trump to Pay Legal Fees for Man Who Punched Black Protester

The ReadyWriter

trump-mcgraw-550x172Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump continues his divisive and dangerous campaign rhetoric.

On Sunday’s NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump reiterated his promise to pay the legal fees of a man who punched a black protester in the face at a rally in N.C.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Fayetteville, N.C. when 78-year-old John McGraw is clearly seen or caught on camera punching protester Rakeem Jones who was being escorted out of the Crown Coliseum, in the face.

McGraw was later charged with assault and battery after video of the incident surfaced on the news and online.

Chuck Todd asked Trump about an earlier statement in which the Republican presidential candidate promised to pay the legal fees of anyone who punched out protesters at an earlier rally.

After stating he does not condone violence, Trump said he wanted to see more about the incident involving McGraw.

“I want to see,” Trump said. “The man got carried away, he was 78 years old, he obviously loves his country, and maybe he doesn’t like seeing what’s happening to the country.”

Trump said he didn’t rule out paying McGraw’s legal fees.

“Well, I’m going to look at it,” he told Todd. “I’ve actually instructed my people to look into it, yes.”

Civil unrest, Conversations Of A Sistah, Police, Police brutality, Prejudice, President Obama, Racial Profiling, Racial tension, racial unrest, Racially motivated, Tracy L. Bell - Blog Talk Radio, Tragedy, Violence, Wrongful death

Has President Barack Obama failed His People? Tonight on “Conversations Of A Sistah”

The ReadyWriter

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It’s no secret that more black men have been killed under Barack Obama’s presidency than ever before. The uprising and death of African Americans, both men and women at the hands of police have been prevalent in recent years.

The latest victim of causality is Freddie Gray, a Baltimore, Maryland native who was killed this month while in police custody.

Gray was hauled into a police van with a broken spine but exited with a broken spine and severed voice box. It is widely speculated that Gray had several injuries, of which details are being withheld; due to the current tension and violent rioting going on since he was laid to rest.

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But Freddie Gray is just one black man amongst many who have been killed by police.

Last year alone there was the killing of Michael Brown Akai Gurley, Kajieme Powell, Tyree Woodson, Jonathan Ferrelle, Ezelle Ford, John Crawford, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner. The list goes on with many to name but is president Barack Obama really to blame?

Did people of color really expect to receive justice for all and equal share, just because a black man took up residence in the white house?

Join me tonight at 6:30 p.m. on “Conversations Of A Sistah” as we discuss these questions and the recent upset in Baltimore, Maryland.

I will be taking your phone calls at 1-917-889-7872. Please press “1” if you’d like to speak with me the host!

All “Conversation links” in this post make it possible to access tonight’s show.

When you open the link, this Conversation remains, due to this hot topic, the show’s topic was changed!

Violence

‘Junior’ Gotti stabbed in fight, but won’t squeal

The ReadyWriter

‘Junior’ Gotti stabbed in fight, but won’t squeal

John “Junior” Gotti, former Gambino crime family boss walked into a Long Island hospital clutching his bleeding gut Sunday night and calmly asked stunned staffers for a doctor, officials said.

Syosset Hospital employees called Nassau County police at 9:45 p.m. after the former mob star claimed he got stabbed in the stomach after breaking up a fight between strangers in the parking lot of a CVS pharmacy, DA sources said.

But the son of late “Dapper Don” John Gotti quickly clammed up when Nassau County cops interviewed him at the hospital and became politely “uncooperative” sources said.

“He didn’t say anything to us so there was really no lead to track down at that point,” a police source said.

Authorities are privately suspicious of the Good Samaritan story, sources said.

The Nassau district attorney is investigating the stabbing and plans to speak to CVS employees and to check for any surveillance footage of the purported melee.

A source said that Gotti is under no obligation to cough up information about the details of the incident but that a prosecution can still pursue the incident without his assistance.

Gotti’s injuries were not life-threatening and he was released Monday, sources said.

Law Enforcement, Mall shooting, Violence

Gunman opens fire at Garden State Plaza Monday Night

The ReadyWriter

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People fled, dropped their shopping and ran out of the Garden State Plaza in complete pandemonium as a gunman carrying an assault rifle, walked in and fired shots inside of the largest mall in Bergen County.

Clad in a black leather jacket and a biker helmet, the gunman stalked hallways firing at least seven shots before he is believed to have fled the mall leaving law enforcement officers scrambling, officials said.

Numerous witnesses described the scene as frightening and chaotic while people scrambled for safety as the gunman slowly made his way  through the mall, which is located at the intersection of Route 17 and  Route 4, near the Garden State Parkway in Paramus, NJ.

Police in Paramus called in SWAT units, and other local officers from surrounding cities and within minutes of the initial  reports the mall’s parking lot was swarming with police cars and SWAT buses.

So far no reports of anyone being injured and the gunman is still at large.