Cicely Tyson Honored with Hand & Footprint Ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre
Judge Allows Five More Accusers to Testify Against Bill Cosby
News Observer FREE!
Los Angeles
Volume 33 Number 22
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Killing of Unarmed Black Man Sacramento Residents are Demanding Answers about Stephon Clark
Neighborhood 20 Miles East of LA to Fill Need for New Housing Stock
LA PUENTE, Calif., March 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brandywine Homes has begun model construction at Bradbury, a new infill community in La Puente that will offer 45 single-family detached homes on 3.87 acres. The new residential neighborhood is expected to open for sale by June 2018. “La Puente is a vibrant, family-friendly place to live in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, yet it hasn’t seen any new homebuilding activity for years,” said Dave Barisic, principal in charge of sales and marketing at Brandywine Homes, a pioneer of infill development in Southern California. “We can’t wait to get these homes on the market, and we expect this community to sell out quickly.” La Puente, with a population of about 40,000, is an urbanized city about 20 miles east of Los Angeles with limited housing stock and excellent access to the Greater Los Angeles job market. It is consistently named one of California’s safest places to live. The gated community will offer two-story homes with three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The stylish Spanish, Craftsman and Farmhouse homes range in size from 1,843 to 2,087 square feet on 2,500-square-foot lots. The homes will include great rooms, lofts, private yards, porches and two-car garages. The gourmet kitchens will feature islands and spacious master suites including large soaking tubs and walk-in closets. The community will also include a private pocket park. Located at 747 Del Valle Avenue, Bradbury is close to Puente Hills Mall, Mt. San Antonio College, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Golf Course and more.
Stephon Clark, 22, was fatally shot by Sacramento police officers last week. This photo of him with his two young sons has been widely circulated on social media by family and friends decrying the shooting and calling for justice. (Twitter)
By Genoa Barrow Sacramento Observer/NNPA Member SACRAMENTO—Angry and frustrated residents are demanding answers after a police-involved shooting left an unarmed, Black man dead last week. Stephon Clark, 22, was fatally shot in his Meadowview area backyard Sunday, March 18 after two Sacramento Police Department (SPD) officers shot at him more than 20 times. Local law enforcement officers were in the area after receiving a 911 call about a man suspected of breaking into vehicles in the area. A Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department helicopter spotted a man they believed to be that suspect, described as being 6’1”, thin, and wearing a black hoodie and dark pants, in a backyard and they directed SPD officers on the ground to that location. Helicopter personnel also communicated to officers that the suspect had picked up a “toolbar” and broke a window to a residence. Officers who had been canvassing other yards, eventually entered the front yard of a home on the 7500 block of 29th Street and observed Clark, along the side of the residence. Officers commanded Clark to stop and show his hands. According to a statement released by the SPD, the officers say Clark turned and advanced towards them while “holding an object which was extended in front of him.” The officers said they believed Clark was pointing a gun at them and, “fearing for their safety,” they fired their duty weapons. Police admit they only found a cellphone, not a gun or a “toolbar,” on the scene. On Wednesday, March 21 the SPD released video footage of the interaction from the body cameras worn by both officers, as well as audio from the initial 911 calls and dispatch. Chief Daniel Hahn, the city’s first African American police chief, has vowed to be transparent in such incidents since he took the position last year. Sacramento City Council policy on Police Use of Force mandates that the SPD release video and audio associated with police-involved shootings to the public within 30 days. The policy was adopted after a mentally ill Black man, Joseph Mann, was shot and killed by SPD officers in Del Paso Heights in 2016. The three-day turn around in the Clark shooting is much quicker than has happened in years past. “SPD acknowledges the seriousness of this incident and the impact it has on our community,” reads one of two statements on the shooting, released by the SPD last week. “We are committed to providing timely information, communicating openly, and working directly with our
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Hundreds converged on Sacramento’s city hall last Thursday in protest of the police-involved shooting of Stephon Clark, 22, who was killed in South Sacramento Sunday, March 18 by two officers who mistook a cell phone he was holding for a gun. Protesters, led by activists with Black Lives Matter Sacramento, left city hall and proceeded to move onto Northbound I-5, shutting down the busy highway just before the evening commute. (Antonio R. Harvey/The Sacramento Observer)
community, so that they have a full understanding of what occurred,” the statement continues. The body camera videos are each about 17 minutes long. While neither officer has been identified, one appears to be White or Hispanic and the other African American. In the graphic video, the officers don’t appear to identify themselves as police officers, but simply say, “Hey, show me your hands, gun” and seconds later “Show me your hands, gun, gun gun,” before one shoots off 10 rounds and the other, at least 11. Officers waited five minutes for backup to arrive and can be heard telling Clark, who was unresponsive, to show his hands. One officer tells another to grab a “non-lethal” from a police vehicle so they can “hit him a couple of times with that” before approaching him. When officers did approach Clark’s body, he was laying face down on the ground. They handcuffed him and began CPR. He was pronounced dead on the scene by the Sacramento Fire Department. The use of non-lethal weapons, such as rifles that shoot bean bags at suspects, were part of reforms fought for by local activists after the Mann incident and the shooting death of another Black man, Dazion Flenaugh; the mandatory use of body cameras was also part of the reforms. “You authorized non-lethal weapons. Why weren’t non-lethal weapons used in this instance?” Richard Owen, co-chair of the Law Enforcement Accountability Directive, asked of the city council during a meeting where the Stephon Clark shooting incident was discussed. Owen continued: “Did Mr. Clark really have to die? It doesn’t seem that way to the community.”
Owen, a retired school principal, also questioned why officers waited before attempting to save Clark’s life. While Owen said he’d hold off for the video to reveal the facts, he addressed some of the most salacious rumors that have been circling in the community regarding the shooting. “If this man was shot in the back and shot 20 times, that’s excessive force without question,” Owen said. Chief Hahn, who was at the meeting to read an official SPD statement, and answer questions, said those elements of the incident are currently under investigation. Family members are also asking why the body cameras were muted for a period of time. Black Lives Sacramento leader Tanya Faison also spoke out at this week’s city council meeting. “I’m sick of seeing people die that look like me,” Ms. Faison said. She called for the firing of the officers involved in the shooting, as others in the audience voiced their agreement. “I know the City Manager doesn’t have the power to convict, but he does have the power to fire,” Ms. Faison said. “You need to start firing these officers when they kill us in the streets. It needs to happen. I’m tired of this.” Also concerning members of the public is how police interacted with Clark’s family after the shooting. The home where the shooting occurred was that of his grandparents, with whom he’d been staying. His grandmother, Sequita Thompson, told local media that the police questioned her for hours about what she’d heard, but was never told that her grandson had been shot. It wasn’t until she looked out of a window that she saw him on the ground, dead. Continued on page A2
Film Details Hidden Figures in
Pro Wrestling Black Women
Ramona Isbell talks about her days as a professional wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s beside a framed collage of mementos including publicity photos and a jacket, on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. A new documentary tells the story of black women professional wrestlers in the 1950s and 1960s, many of them from Columbus. (AP Photo/ Andrew Welsh-Huggins)
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Ramona Isbell is worried. What will people say when they find out? After all, she mostly kept her secret for more than 50 years. The practices. The out-of-town _ and out-of-country _ travel. Her role as a hidden figure in a lesser-known aspect of integration brought on by the civil rights movement. Her life as one of the country's first black female professional wrestlers. “I liked the freedom, I liked the money, I liked the travel, and I had fun,” Isbell said. A new documentary explores the role of black women recruited as professional wrestlers in the 1950s and 1960s. Columbus was an epicenter for the female wrestlers thanks to promoter Billy Wolfe. “Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring” debuts Thursday at Ohio State University's Wexner Center for the Arts. Filmmaker Chris Bournea said people like Isbell wrestled not only before women were deemed capable of athletic accomplishments but before blacks had civil rights in many places. They also didn't talk a lot about what they did, perhaps concerned about others' reactions. And when they were finished, they wanted to move on with their lives. Bournea, who is black, grew up in Columbus without ever hearing the stories. After he learned of them Continued on page A4
LA Clippers to Host Prom Dress Giveaway for LA Highschool Girls The L.A. Clippers Foundation will host a prom dress giveaway for 120 high schoolers from local high schools and community organizations. Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles, 6101 W. Century Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045 The young women, who are from underserved neighborhoods, will be treated to a reception featuring a fashion show by members of the Clippers Spirit dance team and a short program about self-esteem and healthy lifestyles before being able to choose shoes, accessories and a new dress from the hundreds on hand. This event marks the culmination of the Clippers’ Women’s History Month initiatives. Saturday, March 31, 2018 10:00 a.m. – Registration and Reception 11:00 a.m. – Event Introduction 11:20 a.m. – Prom Dress Shopping 2:00 p.m. – Event Concludes Each of the girls will be able to try on prom dresses at the event, as well as enjoy makeup and hair stations. The Clippers have hosted several events geared towards young women during Women’s History Month, including two coding clinics for girls, a girls basketball clinic, a mentorship event giving young women hands-on experience and exposure to medical careers, a movie screening for girls and a women’s breakfast for female employees.
MLK Memorial Tree Grove Dedication in Baldwin Park
Hundreds of people will mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination by dedicating a Memorial Tree Grove in his honor at the highest point of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.Saturday, March 31, 2018 – 10 a.m. Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area 4100 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90056 The event will be held at the east end of Janice’s Green Valley (downtown view) The 15,000-sq. ft. high tree grove features an obelisk that evokes memories of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and is inscribed with some of the legendary civil rights leader’s most inspiring words. With sweeping vistas of downtown Los Angeles, the hilltop location will be an ideal space for peaceful reflection, and a highlight of the 13-mile Park-to-Playa trail currently under construction that’s slated to connect the beach to the Baldwin Hills by 2020.
Turner Classic Movies Honors Cicely Tyson LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Cicely Tyson’s legend is being cemented into film history. Turner Classic Movies says it will honor the 93-year-old actress and activist with an official hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on April 27. Tyson is best known for performances in films like “Sounder” and television films “Roots” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” An Emmy- and Tony Award-winner, Tyson has also been honored by the NAACP and the Kennedy Center and in 2016 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The ceremony will run in conjunction with the 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival. Previous TCM honorees have included Jane Fonda, Frances Ford Coppola, and Carl and Rob Reiner.