Greene County Democrat

Tag: Darren Wilson

  • Newswire : ‘The work that remains’: Ben Crump commemorates Michael Brown’s life 10 years later with call to action

    Brown family attorney, Benjamin L. Crump, speaks to the media along with Lesley McSpadden (L) and Michael Brown Sr. (R) during a press conference outside the St. Louis County Court Building on April 23, 2015. in Clayton, Missouri. Family members announced a civil lawsuit over the death of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri. | Source: Michael B. Thomas / Getty

    By: Editor at NewsOne

     

    Civil rights attorney Ben Crump commemorated the life and death of Michael Brown Jr. on Friday — 10 years since the tragic police shooting death of the 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri — with a call to action in the name of social justice and reforming law enforcement.
    Crump was the attorney representing Brown’s family — Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden — and their fight for justice after now-former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson gunned down their loved one with six fatal shots on Aug. 9, 2014. The shooting led to what’s been called the Ferguson Uprising, a series of protests that began the day after Brown Jr.’s death and also contributed to the rise of the national, powerful and highly influential Black Lives Matter movement.
    Crump, a longtime advocate for consequences for police misconduct who has been retained to work on some of the biggest social justice cases in modern history — including Trayvon Martin’s brutal shooting death by a vigilante in Florida in 2013 and George Floyd’s police murder in Minneapolis in 2020 — on Friday marked the somber anniversary in part by recalling the effect that Brown Jr.’s death had not on just Black America, but also the U.S. at large.
    “Ten years after the tragic death of Michael Brown, we are reminded of the profound impact his loss has had on the fight for justice and the movement for Black lives,” Crump said in a statement that was shared with NewsOne. “Michael’s death was a catalyst for a racial reckoning in our society, particularly relating to law enforcement and their treatment of people of color. His memory compels us to keep fighting against the injustices that have plagued our communities for far too long.”
    Still, Crump added, while much progress has been made, there is still quite a ways to go to ensure that Brown Jr. didn’t die in vain.
    “But while we reflect on the progress made, we must also acknowledge the work that remains,” Crump continued. “Michael’s death, like the deaths of so many others, is a painful reminder of the urgent need for comprehensive reforms that ensure no other family has to endure the heartbreak of losing a loved one to police violence.”
    Crump concluded his statement: “Today, we honor Michael Brown’s legacy by renewing our commitment to justice, equality, and the relentless pursuit of change. His life mattered, and his memory continues to fuel our resolve to build a world where Black lives are valued and protected.”

  • Newswire : Police killings challenge the mental health of Black Americans

    By Frederick H. Lowe, BlackmansStreet.Today

    policearemostlikelytokillblackpeople.png

    Blacks more likely to be killed by police
    Police killings of unarmed African Americans have a deep psychological effect on the entire black community, causing many who weren’t in the line of fire to feel psychically wounded, according to a study published by The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.
    Black people are most likely to be killed by police . Source. Mapping Police Violence
    Police killings of unarmed Black Americans add 1 to 7 additional poor-mental health days per person per year or 55 million excess poor mental-health days among black Americans, resulting in their suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the report titled, “Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans: a population-based, quasi-experimental study.”
    The report focused on the number of days in which the person questioned said his mental health suffered noticeably after learning of deadly police shooting of an unarmed black person in their city or state. Police kill more than 300 blacks each year and at least a quarter of them, or 75, are unarmed.
    The list of unarmed black men killed by police is long and continues to grow. These victims include Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray and Stephon Clark. Most recently, Antwon Rose, Jr., 17, was killed when Michael Rosfeld, an East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officer, shot him three times in the back as he ran from a traffic stop.
    In 2017, 25 percent of the people killed by police were black although blacks comprise only 13 percent of the nation’s population. Some were armed and some were not. There were only 17 days in 2017 when the police did not kill someone.
    Following the police murder of Michael Brown, which set off days of civil unrest and demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, where the shooting occurred, researchers said blacks reported suffering from high rates of depression.
    Dorian Johnson was walking with Brown when the teenager was shot to death by Darren Wilson, a police officer. Johnson said he suffered from depression following the shooting.
    The study did not address how deadly police shooting in other parts of the country affected blacks who read about them in the newspapers, hear about them on the radio, watched television news reports or read news stories about the deadly shooting online.
    The study also did not report how deadly shootings affected blacks when police are assigned to desk duty but are later are acquitted of all the charges related to the killings.
    The website Mapping Police Violence reported that in 2015 99 percent of cases have not resulted in involved officers being convicted of a crime.