A2
The Afro-American, November 28, 2015 - November 28, 2015
November 28, 2015 - December 4, 2015, The Afro-American
A3
Protest
Continued from A1
call from The Associated Press. “We are sparing no efforts to bring any and all of those responsible to justice,” Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a written statement. Henry Habu, who said he has been providing security for protesters, said he and others approached four White people who were standing under a “Justice4Jamar” sign to ask what they were doing there. The group was composed of three men and one woman, with three of them wearing masks that left their eyes exposed. “We’re here for Jamar,” one said, according to Habu. Habu said they tried to escort the four from the scene and they took off running. Habu said he did not see the shooting that
followed, but heard it. “It happened so fast,” he said. Oluchi Omeoga witnessed the shooting and said a handful of protesters followed three men in masks to a street corner, where the men pulled out weapons and began firing. Two people were shot in the leg, another in the arm and a fourth in the stomach, said Mica Grimm, an organizer with Black Lives Matter who said she arrived on the scene soon after the shooting. In a statement released on Nov. 24 through U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison’s office, Clark’s family thanked protesters for their “incredible support” but asked, in light of the shootings, that the demonstration outside the precinct offices end and protesters move “onto the
next step.” Demonstrators planned to announce their next step following a meeting with community members about strategy. On Nov. 24, about 50 protesters were outside of the 4th Precinct, and more were trickling in. Some said they planned to stay despite the Clark family’s request. Habu said a crowd gathered around the shooting scene and police used a chemical irritant to push them back. Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder did not immediately respond to a question about the use of any chemical irritant. Authorities have said Clark was shot during a struggle with police after he interfered with paramedics who were trying to
assist an assault victim. But some people who said they saw the shooting allege Clark was handcuffed. Protesters and Clark’s family have called for investigators to release video of the shooting. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it has video from the ambulance, a mobile police camera and other sources, but none of the footage shows the event in its entirety. The agency, which is conducting a state investigation, said releasing the footage now would taint its investigation. A federal criminal civil rights investigation is also underway to determine whether police intentionally violated Clark’s civil rights through excessive force.
Black Teen Continued from A1
outrage at the officer’s conduct and an abrupt announcement Nov. 23 that another officer who’s been the subject of protests for months might now be fired. Activists and journalists have long pressed for the video’s release only to be told that it had to be kept private as long as the shooting was under investigation. After the judge’s order to release it, the investigation was quickly wrapped up and a charge announced. “You had this tape for a year and you are only talking to us now because you need our help keeping things calm,” the Rev. Corey Brooks said of the Nov. 23 community gathering with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Several people who have seen the video say it shows the teenager armed with a small knife and walking away from several officers. They say Van Dyke opened fire from about 15 feet and kept shooting after the teen fell to the ground. An autopsy report says McDonald was shot at least twice in his back. It also said PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, was found in the teen’s system. Police were responding
Courtesy Photo
Laquan McDonald, unarmed but shot 16 times. to complaints about someone breaking into cars and stealing radios. Van Dyke was the only officer on the scene to open fire. He emptied his 9 mm pistol, shooting all 16 rounds from just feet away, Assistant State’s Attorney Bill Delaney said at the Nov. 24 hearing.
He said the shooting lasted 14 to 15 seconds and that McDonald was on the ground for 13 of those seconds. Witnesses said McDonald was moving away from the officer and never threatened him, Delaney said. Police say the teen had a knife, and Delaney said a 3-inch knife
was recovered from the scene. Van Dyke’s attorney, Dan Herbert, maintains his client feared for his life and acted lawfully and that the video about to be released doesn’t tell the whole story. Herbert said the case needs to be tried in a courtroom and “can’t be tried in the streets, can’t be tried on social media and can’t be tried on Facebook.” Chicago police also moved on Nov. 23 to discipline a second officer who had shot and killed an unarmed black woman in 2012 in another incident causing tensions between the department and minority communities. Superintendent Garry McCarthy recommended firing Officer Dante Servin for the shooting of 22-year-old Rekia Boyd, saying Servin showed “incredibly poor judgment.” A judge acquitted Servin of involuntary manslaughter and other charges last April, and State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez was accused of having not prosecuted the case properly. Alvarez’s office is handling the Van Dyke case, but Jackson said a special
prosecutor should oversee the case instead. None of the city’s outreach will be able to stop protests once the video is released, said Jedidiah Brown, another of the pastors who attended the meeting with Emanuel. Emotions are running too high, he added. The Rev. Ira Acree, who described the meeting with Emanuel as “very tense, very contentious,” said the mayor expressed concerns about the prospect of any demonstrations getting out of control. The fears of unrest stem from longstanding tensions between the Chicago police and minority communities, partly due to the department’s dogged reputation for brutality, particularly involving blacks. Dozens of men, mostly Black, said they were subjected to torture at
the hands of a Chicago police squad headed by former commander Jon Burge during the 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s, and many spent years in prison. Burge was eventually convicted of lying about the torture and served 4½ years in prison. Acree and Hatch said Blacks in the city are upset because Van Dyke, though stripped of his police powers, has been assigned to desk duty and not fired. “They had the opportunity to be a good example and a model across the country on how to improve police and community relations and they missed it,” Acree said. The Police Department said placing an officer on desk duty after a shooting is standard procedure and that it is prohibited from doing anything more during the investigations.
Students Struggle Continued from A1
students are opting for new and innovative ways to finance college. Whether from crowdfunding or church collections, students have found that utilizing social media to solicit donations proves quick, easy, and beneficial. According to Kelsea Little, media director for GoFundMe, roughly 130,000 educational accounts have been created this year, raising a total of more than $20 million -- an increase of 280 percent from 2013. Little told NBC News that social crowdsourcing sites like Pave, GoFundMe, and ScholarMatch have become non-traditional financial backers to the nation’s college students. Among the corporate purveyors of social media education funding, Allstate has joined the ranks, having provided more than $1 million distributed to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The donations, part of Allstate’s annual Quotes for Education (QFE) program and its partnership with the Tom Joyner Foundation, allows the general public the opportunity to vote online for their school of choice to win an additional
$50,000 in scholarships. “Cuts to financial aid programs over the past several years are affecting HBCU students all over the country,” said Cheryl Harris, senior vice president at Allstate in a statement. “Allstate and the Tom Joyner Foundation are passionate about helping HBCU students become HBCU alumni and
“Cuts to financial aid programs over the past several years are affecting HBCUstudents all over the country.”
-Cheryl Harris
encourage the larger community to show their school pride by giving back through programs like Quotes for Education.” Quotes for Education encourages the HBCU community to reflect the tradition and pride they have for their HBCU by helping Allstate raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in general scholarship funds to assist students attending HBCUs across the country. “These are hard times for students getting the money they need to attend and complete their college education,” said Tom Joyner, a Tuskegee University alumnus and chairman and founder of the Tom Joyner Foundation, in a statement. “That’s why I’m so proud of the Tom Joyner Foundation and its partnership with Allstate and its Quotes for Education program. It has helped so many students complete their educations at HBCUs.”
BEFORE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF THE BALTIMORE GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO ITS ELECTRIC AND GAS BASE RATES
CASE NO. 9406 NOTICE OF PRE-HEARING CONFERENCE A Pre-Hearing Conference in the above-titled matter is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2015, beginning at 10:00 a.m., at: Maryland Public Service Commission 16th Floor Hearing Room William Donald Schaefer Tower 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland The purpose of the hearing is to set a procedural schedule for this proceeding, consider any petitions to intervene that have been filed, and consider any other preliminary matters requested by the parties. Any persons seeking to intervene in this proceeding should file an original and seventeen (17) paper copies, plus one electronic copy,1 of a petition to intervene with David J. Collins, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 by 5:00 p.m., EST, Thursday, December 3, 2015.
1 The Commission encourages parties to use the Commission’s “e-file” system for filing the electronic copy. Details of the “e-file” system are available on the Commission’s web page, www.psc.state.md.us. Additionally, five of the paper copies of the petition shall be three-hole punched.
Adve
Publi
Insert
Ad Si Title:
If you in err conta at (41