Rekia Boyd (c.1989-2012) was shot in the head at one in the morning on March 21st 2012 by an off-duty Chicago policeman who was investigating a “disturbance”. She died at the hospital a day later.
Let us review:
- February 2nd 2012: Ramarley Graham, 18, black, unarmed, shot dead by the police. No arrest made.
- February 26th 2012: Trayvon Martin, 17, black, unarmed, shot dead by the neighbourhood watch. No arrest made.
- March 21st 2012: Rekia Boyd, 22, black, unarmed, shot dead by an off-duty policeman. No arrest made.
If we can make it to April 24th without another one of these that will be a record for the year.
The Rekia Boyd shooting took place on the West Side of Chicago in the gentrifying Lawndale neighbourhood. About 60 to 70 people had gathered at Douglas Park to enjoy one of the first warm nights of the spring.
Here is how the police tell it:
The detective was in his car and stopped as he approached four people on the street who were causing a disturbance. When he told them to quiet down, they approached his car and one of them raised a gun and pointed it at the detective. At that point he fired a couple of shots in fear for his life. He hit two offenders who ran from the scene.
Here is how Antonio Cross, the alleged gunman, tells it:
I turn around I see him sticking his gun out of the window. I said, “Oh my God”, and I put my hand up like this (put his hand over his face to shield himself from the gunshot). I think he tried to shoot me in my face too.
He was constantly fucking shooting his gun. I never had a gun. He told me to sit down and shut the fuck up. I sat down on the pole while I looked over at that young lady’s body motionless. She moved one time and never moved again.
Cross said all that he had in his hand at the time was his mobile phone – something that can be confirmed through telephone records. The friend he called said he heard five shots and then the call dropped. He tried calling back several times but got no answer.
Cross, protecting his face with his hands, nearly lost a thumb. Boyd, who was standing nearby, got shot in the head and lost her life.
There were 60 or so people there. Only the police officer saw Cross with a gun. Police were unable to recover any gun from the scene.
Pulling a gun on a police officer is a serious crime, but because the police cannot find the gun, they are charging Cross with only one count of aggravated assault, a misdemeanour.
And the officer himself? No charge, no arrest. The police have ruled the killing of Rekia Boyd “justified”. They say they are looking into it – but have not even gone door to door to question witnesses.
The officer had just moved to that neighbourhood. A week after the shooting 200 protesters showed up at his door asking for justice.
– Abagond, 2012.
Update (November 25th 2015): Dante Servin, the police officer who killed Rekia Boyd, was charged with involuntary manslaughter. In April 2015, a jury found him not guilty. In November, on the eve of the Laquan McDonald video being made public, the police chief, fearing riots, recommended that Servin be fired, having shown “incredibly poor judgement”.
Update (October 28th 2016): Dante Servin resigned last year when hearings were being held to determine if he should be fired. Now he wants to collect disability, up to $78,000 a year, for the PTSD he claims to suffer due to the shooting. More: News One.
See also:
Ugh, another murder of an innocent person. It’s damn appalling! Wake the hell up America! RIP Rekia Boyd.
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Honestly , as a white American, based on the constant realities we hear about like this, I cant tell black Americans in good faith that they can trust white peoples intentions….
That they can trust the system and the police who are suposed to protect them…
That they should not have their antennas up and be vigilant before they learn to trust a white person…
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Abagond
I just can’t right now…I’m still reeling from Ramarley and Trayvon.
More later.
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B.R.
That’s the reality that all people of color face, blacks in particular. They are constantly told to trust white people, to put their lives in their hands, and that it will be accepted in good faith and returned equally. They are often so shocked when people’s true colors come out and their children wind up paying the price, because it’s 2012 and there’s absolutely no reason they should be treated like second class citizens who’s lives are meaningless. They keep getting burned, but then they are punished for not being hunky dory about it.
So many white people tell them to accept any and all abuse thrown at them, no matter how horrible or psychologically damaging it can be. Then they’re told repeatedly that it’s their “imagination” and it had to be “their fault” somehow. They can’t even defend themselves or walk towards a white person who talks to them without someone claiming that’s grounds for them to be shot.
On Rekia Boyd:
I can understand why black people are upset and angry about this. All people should be upset and angry about this. This was not a athletic teen who was gunned down by a coward with a complex, this was a young black woman who posed no physical threat what so ever, shot to death by someone who should know better. I’d like to see people try to pull that bull again and make up a reason why she deserved to be shot…how she was “harassing” a trained cop, how she “threatened him” and how the way she lived her life proves some bogus “pathology”. Maybe we’ll get a FAQ about how the cop was “justified” and should sue for defamation.
It’s something that should not be going on anymore. We had enough with Emmett Till and the lynchings. We don’t need more black youth being cut down by people who (amazingly never seeming to learn from every time something like this has happened) are too stupid to tell the difference between a threatening criminal and a kid out on a walk.
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Damn… It’s open season on black youth, it seems.
And still no arrest…
I wonder how many more need to get shot before those white folks who are all over the net trying to justify Trayvon’s murder begin to see a pattern.
[Mental note to self, in case I ever travel to the USA (not likely): never ever carry skittles or a mobile phone in the vicinity of white folks. That is if I plan to make it alive…]
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Fuck-all…I’m speechless. I really am.
Co-sign with truthbetold…I’m tired. I’m done. Someone, please, make it stop…
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?
* feels like puking *
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[…] https://abagond.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/rekia-boyd/ […]
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Wow, just wow…2012! What is going on? (thinking of Marvin Gaye’s song)
Devil’s advocate: Well, why are 60-70 people congregating at 1am at night. It’s their own fault. They should know better not to be out late, and being loud-you know that’s a crime too, especilaly if you are young and black-you asked for it.
Rekia Boyd-she looks like someone I know too, so young. So sad!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
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“At the bottom of our news tonight, there’s been a new animal aimed at falling off the face of our Earth. Yes, young Black teenagers are reported to be the oldest, and the newest, creatures added to the Endangered
Species List.
As of now, no efforts have been made to preserve the Blacks. When asked why, a top law Official adds, ‘Because they make good game’.
-Ice Cube – Endangered Species
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Unarmed Black Veteran Kenneth Chamberlain Shot Dead by NY Police, Yet No Officers Charged
Saga continues…
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/unarmed_black_veteran_kenneth_chamberlain_shot
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Thanks for writing about this story. Had heard people mention it, but never knew the details. Another outrage.
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The organization conducting police misconduct investigations should not be an internal committee, but a completely external and independent commission, especially in cases which result in the fatality or permanent disability of unarmed victims. And the associated remedy for such grievous infractions.
We certainly cannot expect that police will police themselves.
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@ Jefe
I agree. The police protect their own. Boyd’s family is calling for a federal investigation.
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In these types of cases victims like Rekia are seen as collateral damage. Some people’s lives aren’t as valuable and if they are killed while the more valuable individuals save themselves, that’s life. This officer was afraid for HIS life and the only thing that mattered was HIS life. No one should ever make make people like him (law enforcement, White people like Zimmerman, etc.) feel threatened lest the consequence be the death or dismemberment of the alleged offender (or some innocent bystander).
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It kind of reminds me of that episode of southpark, where Uncle Jimbo, took the kids hunting, and he tells them since the law only allows you to shoot Animals in self defense, you have to first yell:”He’s comin right for us!!” They would then proceed to shoot defenseless animals while yelling this phrase, as if it actually meant: ” Fire!!!!” So, now, when you want to shoot an unarmed black person, you just yell:” he’s got a gun!!!!” Or “He’s attacking me!!!!”
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Anna Brown wasn’t killed by a bullet, but she was killed because of racists assumptions. This young Black mother died because our lives aren’t seen as valuable, we aren’t seen as humans with actual feelings like Whites. Our complaints of physical and emotional pain are often dismissed and disregarded.
It’s been documented that Black people do not receive the same medical that Whites do for the same medical conditions. In the healthcare system we are left to languish in pain and die from diseases that are more aggressively treated in Whites.
Anna Brown is another victim of racism.
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The sad part of this is that even if the current focus wasn’t on Trayvon Martin and the Sanford Police, I doubt that Rekia Boyd would get the same kind of support and outrage as Trayvon. Unfortunately the Black community as a whole does not give the same attention to Black women victims as it does Black men.
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@ louiejacuzzi:
Perfect analogy…I remember that episode!
@ saadiyah:
Your comment about inequality in medical care is pretty much why I won’t go to a doctor unless I’m at death’s door. Even when I have excellent insurance, the physicians I tend to get have been arrogant, insulting, and a bit bigoted with comments they’ve made. I have medical training myself, so I know the terminology, symptoms, and reasonable, recommended diagnoses, to name a few. I don’t need some asshole telling me that I’m “doomed to contract diabetes” just because a portion of my ethnic ancestry MIGHT be more susceptible to it than the others. Pill-pushers who are in the rear pockets of the insurance industry aren’t practising ‘real medicine’. In many ways, they’re the same jokers who insist that ‘HBD’ is legitimate science, but ‘climate change’ isn’t!
Not trying to stray off topic…the issue of systematic racism in things such as healthcare, the ‘justice’ / prison system, employment numbers, gentrification, politics, and housing (just to name a few) is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ‘state of the Union’.
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Ace, I apreciete you taking my observation and sharing your personal feelings and experiances about it…
Yes , Saadiya…it seems like a black person going for a cell phone is now cronicly mistaken for a gun…
Thank you for giving us your instights with your experiances with doctors, Sepultura 13 . Its these kind of day to day, life little cuts that add to the preasure cooker
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I hate to post this Abagond, but here’s another victim:
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2012/03/shooting-death-of-wisc-youth-draws-comparisons-to-trayvon-martin/
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More on the murder of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. by White Plains, New York police.
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@commentarybyvalentina
I heard the community in Chicago is outraged over Rekia’s death. But you’re right though, if she was a black male, she may have gotten more attention.
Many media outlets don’t want to circulate this as much because they are very selective as to what stories “deserve” coverage. And it’s obvious they too regard black lives as worthless. Ultimately, we have to do what the media doesn’t do, and treat Rekia’s death as vital to the harsh reality of being black in America the same way we do with Trayvon, Oscar, and other black male victims.
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This is sad and depressing. Even when one knows that this goes on, it is still so depressing.
Isn’t this more than enough for any humanbeing to fight against racism everywhere at any time any place, no matter what? I can not understand how any one, randy, dougie, brahms and those guys, can even sleep knowing this.
Ad yet: This is America, USA.
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@brothawolf
You are right, the media is one of the main culprits in all of this. And I hope the folks in Chicago keep the outrage going.
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yo sam you do know more whites are killed by blacks in america then the other way around. What are you hoping for some kind of redemption. It has already taken place I think maybe if you aren’t american you should stay out of this one. I’m afraid some yahoo might take out “justice” on one of my family just for being white You and SPike Lee need to stop.
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This is getting out of hand
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But when it happens the other way around then I get “well more whites kill whites” no crud sherlock but even more blacks kills blacks whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
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For the first time in Ontario, Canada, a police officer was convicted of shooting an unarmed black man dead. Constable David Cavanagh was initially charged with Manslaughter and was told on the morning of the verdict that he’s be acquitted.
Instead, the judge convicted and upgraded the charge from manslaughter to second-degree murder. The victim Eric Osawe was shot IN THE BACK and he was UNARMED.
This was shocking because police usually get away with shooting black men dead here, too.
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And it’s obvious they too regard black lives as worthless.
Not so strange comparison. There has been a backlash against the actress who plays Rue in The Hunger Games. Despite the fact that the author wrote the character as black, many fans were angry that she was played by a black actress.
In the movie, the character’s demise serves as the catalyst for the revolt against the totalitarian state.
One of the racist comments stated that: “now that I know Rue is black, I am not so sad about her death.”
The assumption is that the death of a 12-yr-old black child is not sympathetic.
They go on to say if she were blonde and white she’d look more innocent.
If blacks don’t realize that western society deems them as worthless, then these shootings and the cataloguing of them should be wake up calls.
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Smh. Is it ever going to end??? I’m tired of hearing people die for no damn reason. Black on black crime, black on white, white on black, etc. I’m just through at this point.
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@ Dave,
Now you know that is not true. Let’s not get petty.
@ Mel,
That is a very good comparison. Their opinions of the girl changed (from overwhelmingly positive and sympathetic to negative and apathetic) the minute they saw her face on screen and realized she wasn’t white. If nothing proves that there has been to much of an effort to portray blacks as a “problem” that needs to be written out of their reality, it’s the reaction to this. It’s as if the very visual existence of black people somehow makes them feel victimized or angry.
To them, black people can never be blameless or innocent, and there has to be a “flaw” they can dig up to excuse the foul treatment blacks receive. Even black children deserve to be abused or hurt, it’s nearly impossible for them to see them in a compassionate manner.
They are so much more likely to dehumanize, insult, or agree with the death of black people, even if they are young children, and these people are supposed to be the ones who inherit the future.
I’m frightened by the fact that to certain people, a girls worth is purely based on how white she is.
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Rekia Boyd case is so sad because I am a young Black woman and she is too. Thanks for posting this Abagond! Anyways I always have to be on a lookout to who to trust and who not to trust everywhere because I am part of the ”lesser race”-Black race. White women are lucky that people see them as women first but White second. When they see me, they just see another Black person because Black people and their lives don’t matter to people. They just don’t.I am so upset by the situation. Trayvon now Rekia? So mind goggling and sad! RIP Trayvon Martin and Rekia Boyd and I hope their murderers go to jail for what they did to them!
P.S. When will racism ever end and people learn to get along and realize that no everyone is by the color of their skin? Racism seems to be getting worse and worse.
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I just watched the Kenneth Chamberlain interview – truly heartbreaking. For those who haven’t watched, 68 year old Kenneth Chamberlain Sr’s medical alert pendant goes off while he’s sleeping, automatically summoning the authorities for help. Audio of the entire incident was captured by the pendant: according to his son and lawyer who have heard it, the police arrived, Chamberlain assured them he was okay, but they insisted he open the door. They swore at him, called him the n word, broke the door off the hinges, tasered him, and then shot him. What is wrong with these people??
“The assumption is that the death of a 12-yr-old black child is not sympathetic.” A while ago on another forum I was discussing whether the lack of media coverage of the bombings in Nigeria was due to racism. One commenter said that s/he cared more about white people than black people, but insisted that s/he wasn’t racist. S/he seemed convinced that this was a totally normal and reasonable reaction.
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Petition by Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. here http://signon.org/sign/justice-for-kenneth-chamberl.fb1?source=s.fb
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“One commenter said that s/he cared more about white people than black people, but insisted that s/he wasn’t racist. S/he seemed convinced that this was a totally normal and reasonable reaction.”
And that is the problem. That view point is considered so “normal” and reasonable that it is deemed acceptable. They still consider “racist” to be an anti-white slur on the level of the n-word, and think it means people in klan hoods burning crosses and hanging nooses. They don’t consider the fact that they value someone’s life less if they are black as racist, even though that’s the basic requirement to be a racist. It’s normal to see black people as less than human, just short of deserving that normal level of sympathy or care.
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@ Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.
That is horrifying. When did black become a target on your back? That’s something I’d expect to read out of a history book on 1960’s racial relations.
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Have they released the name or photo of the officer who shot her?
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@ Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.
That’s actually close to where I live and I don’t remember hearing anything about that. Time to hit up News 12.
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400 years in the belly of the beast and besides Nat Turner, there has been nothing but peaceful uprisings, though we are constantly portrayed as “savages” and “subhuman”. Though from slavery, to Jim Crow to modern times, actions point to who the real savages are. It’s times to take up arms against those that would harm us and take away our God given right to live and those within our communities that take up the slack that racist murders give. I’ll tell you one thing, if someone shot MY mother, I would hunt them down like animals. I would spend my time in jail alternating between catching up on my reading and smiling complacently to myself.
Black people, how many times are we going to turn the other cheek before we start demanding an eye for an eye?
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Another messed up news story:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8595345
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[…] “Rekia Boyd” by Abagond […]
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@Abagond
Sorry, I didn’t finish typing my comment. I meant to say, ” . . . And the associated remedy for such grievous infractions should not be a simple slap on the wrist.”
To add, it should not be the responsibility of an ordinary citizen who was not directly involved in the incident to call for a federal investigation. There should be an INDEPENDENT commission which automatically investigates any case involving the police that results in death, disability or any permanent damage to a victim. I guess it could be something like the FBI or a related agency whose primary job is to investigate law enforcement agencies and other local government operations. Other countries have set up independent commissions to do things like this to guard against problems like corruption.
Likewise, there should be an independent organization to investigate such incidents in the military as well. We can not trust them to police themselves either.
I am a former resident of PG county, MD and that jurisdiction used to lead the country in the cases involving police brutality. There is an acute need for an independent body not associated with the local government to investigate these cases and to determine whether or not such resulting actions were “justified”.
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@ Someguy,
Wow. That is messed up. What is wrong with people? I’m sure I’m not the only one who is very disturbed by the current trend of white people with guns gunning down unarmed black people. Now two parents in front of their children because they had the “audacity” to ask that man to stop shooting his gun in a neighborhood where children were playing? And he waltzes over to them, and shoots them? That scares me to death.
The only good thing is that the man was at least arrested for it. A coward who is put away is better than a coward who walks due to connections.
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Does anyone here have a study comparing the number of blacks shot by police versus the general population?
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Click to access ard0309st.pdf
@destructure
I’m not sure if you were serious but this is the closet thing. Bureau of Justice so credible source. From that report more Whites are killed by police during arrest then Blacks. that may be due to Whites having alrger population but the number are still fairly close.
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The study shows disproportionately more black men killed, if you compare the findings to the US population demographics.
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Silentreturn,
Really?
Are they killed by white or black people?
if cops don’t shoot more black men than they statistically should, I’d be shocked.
Incidentally, anyone in any country ever in history who trusts cops and doesn’t fear them is a fool.
In China, Korea and Japan, it’s understood that cops go for expediency – not justice. In almost every case.
I’ll bet it’s been true everywhere and everywhen.
In America, the criminals and cops are just more extreme. Less than in some places.
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Another sad story.
This is America people, right? Why does this sh*t sound like stuff from developing nations. In my country, cops kill. We all know that. In fact there are so trigger happy they can kill you on a highway, unarmed in front of witnesses and get away with it. This story sounds like one of the many I read in Kenyan newspapers. But we are a poor country and our cops are ill-trained. How does this happen in the Super Power of the world?
And from what I can tell, Black people are afraid of the police so the moment a police pulls a gun and identifies himself/herself don’t most Black people in the States assume the least threatening stance? Am I wrong in this?
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deedee
Yes, I was serious. I’m actually surprised. I assumed more blacks would have been killed by police. Silentreturn is right that blacks are still killed at a higher rate. I read a study a while back that said 40% of police officers who are shot are shot by blacks. So the higher rate of blacks being shot by police could be the result of blacks attacking officers at a higher rate. Or vice versa. Either way, I think the two are connected.
Then, of course, someone will take an incident in which a black is wrongfully shot and use it to suggest all blacks shot by officers are wrongfully shot. Personally, I think ~some~ cops are trigger happy and end up shooting a lot more people than they need to. Hell, I think some of them of them get off on it. This one really pissed me off.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/01/boy-15-shot-dead-by-police-in-calumet-city/
But I think it’s an exception rather than the norm. Still, I have as little to do with the cops as I can. And when I do have to deal with cops I keep my mouth shut and my hands where I can see them. It’s just safer.
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Malkia, in a lot of ways, the USA fails to advance to live up to the First World standards, I mean, being a source country for adoption, capital punishment,and all, but exactly as it is the most powerful of the First World countries, it is hard to press into getting civilized, OK, more civilized.
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@ Malkia
Black America is a Third World country inside a First World country, an inner colony that “exports” cheap labour. If you look at the numbers it is not much better off than the Caribbean or the Philippines.
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Here’s another story for you, dear God.
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhN3nds7z7E0Dkn8Cd
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@gorbachev:
Check how finns regard their police. Some 70-80% trusts them and respects them. How this is possible? The finnish cops usually do not shoot people just because they feel like it. They usually go to great lenghts to avoid any injuries even to those they arrest. However, since american collegues have been training together with their finnish counterparts, we have seen much tuffer acts by the police in past few years. So they are bringing their kind of militaristic attitudes over here too. Too bad, because that is crap.
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@abagond: Right once again. That is the Big Picture and once again, just follow the money. Who benefits from all this injustice and institutionalized racism?
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On the other hand, the Finns commit car fewer crimes than Americans, of all races. They do better in school, have relatively relaxed and calm attitudes towards authority – ie, none of the bad boy syndrome – and back down in the face of power.
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Just to answer people who are wondering why people are really upset about some of these shootings when there is so much black on black crime :
It seems a bunch of these shootings are because white people , whether cops or civilians , are cronicly thinking young black males are armed when they are not.
This is behaviour that deserves to be looked at and put on the table for national discusion…
I dont know why white people get all uptight like there are going to be riots. Black Americans have been protesting these shootings all the time and they hve a right to be angry. They are americans who are Americans and have the right to be heard about this cronic behaviour pattern by uptight whites who think young black males are armed and dangerous
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(sorry about my last paragraph spellings, my computor has problems and when I make comments, past the first couple of paragraphs, it covers up what Im typing so I cant see it…Im typing without radar, I make a lot of spelling errors anyway but this is an extra hamper…its my computor , not the site)
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@gorbachev:
True, but on the other hand Finland is one of the most violent countries per capita in EU. Just today one guy shot another in to the arm in one company office and then went on to shoot few rounds at local school in Orivesi. He surrendered to the cops with out any force used by cops, after the cops just told him to do so.
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She did NOT deserve that!
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[…] https://abagond.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/rekia-boyd/ […]
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[…] Rekia Boyd […]
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What about these people? Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, James Kouzaris, and James Cooper, John Sanderson, Frank Motta, Nancy and Bob Strait,Robert Purvis,Hannah Wheeling??!!!! I could go on and on! Where was Jackson, Farakan, or the black panther party? OH wait the victims were white and were murdered by blacks!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I am sick and tired of your derailments sick and tired!
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# herneith WHY? I’m asking valid questions!!! You know the TRUTH that’s why you can’t answer! There is a diuble standard and that’s why I am SICK & TIRED!!!!!!
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Because, the thing that is similar is some white people, police or self appointed vigilante, have made over and over ,the assumtion that some young black man is armed when they are not.
Isnt there a differance ?
Isnt it worth examining these cases exactly because of that?
Exactly that, white people’s paranoia that young black men are armed and going to threaton their lives
No one is saying there cant be another blog about those things you are talking about…they dont cancel each other out
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#br maybe whites have a legitimate reason to be afraid! Look at the crime rate for black males, look at all the things that have been happening lately, numerous blacks committing crimes in packs…looting..knockout game…theft etc etc etc/
Anyone with any sense will be armed so they can defend themselves if they ever need to!!
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The leading cause of death for black male teenagers is homicide, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Of all the black homicide victims, about 93% are killed by other black people. In 2011, nearly 85% of all people murdered in Philadelphia were black. Where are the marches and protests for these victims? Is it justice people seek or are they looking and even hoping for signs of white racism so they can exploit it?
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”
While we wait and respect due process of law, we should do our part to uplift human personality. We can do so by giving both Martin and Zimmerman a just weighing of the evidence, both in the court of law and public opinion. Let us not assume the worst of anybody but be guided by the facts.
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You know the TRUTH that’s why you can’t answer!
Sorry, but I do not have receptors in my brain which enables me to read minds. Now if you are referring to the topic of the post, this post is about people being killed by police, particularly black people. It is not about murders in general. Capiche?
Anyone with any sense will be armed so they can defend themselves if they ever need to!!
Tin hat time!
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http://whitewatch.info/
Game, set, match.
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@ Someguy
That website is going to make him lose his mind! Which won’t be too hard. He’s already a bit unhinged. 😉
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Sick and Tired, didnt you get what I said ?
Is it not worth it to examine only this thing of whites thinking black American males are going to shoot them, and they end up killing innocent kids ?
I do…
And, why dont you start a blog to address what you are talking about, or participate on a blog that addreses that ?
As I said, one doesnt cancel out the other…there is room for everyone , but , this paranoia and slauter of young black innocent people because people think they are armed whtn they are not, needs to be examined on its own…
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@ Sick
1. As far as I know neither Jesse Jackson nor Louis Farrakhan have protested the murder of Rekia Boyd either, so what is your point?
2. There is no reason to protest the murder of, say, Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom: their killers are behind bars, two of them on death row. Justice has been served. But where is Rekia’s justice? No where. That is the point. That is why protests are needed – otherwise the police will get away with murder, as they quite often do, especially when they kill black people.
The protests are not about making white people feel guilty, they are about seeing that killers are brought to justice. Like Zimmerman, who is still free.
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Why does pointing out inequality make whites feel guilty unless their is a subconscious acknowledgement of their silent complicity? Just a thought.
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@sick:
“maybe whites have a legitimate reason to be afraid!”
And you think blacks don’t??
This is a major problem in USA. You are affraid of everything all the time and when someone is scared he gets aggressive.
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Zimmerman is NOT WHITE! @ Sam yes they do same as whites. I don’t see crowds of whites playing the knockout game, looting etc.
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@ SOMEGUY here is a link for you
http://www.newnation.org/NNN-Black-on-White.html
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@ SICK
Here’s another LINK for you:
http://racismdaily.com/
and for the record, Zimmerman is WHITE and Peruvian.
Also, Alice Walker speaks about America’s SICKNESS regarding racism
(http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2012/04/01/unaddressed-racism-alice-walker-on-travyon-martins-killing/)
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R.I.P Rekia Boyd.
I hope that justice is done for her and the other victims that were unjustly killed; here and now, and not afterlife!!
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@ matari 8017 this is from a black professor!!!!!!!
http://lewrockwell.com/williams-w/w-williams86.1.html
Black silence in the face of black racism has to be one of the biggest betrayals of the civil rights struggle that included black and white Americans.
Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University, and a nationally syndicated columnist.
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@DarqBeauty
Those who are silent in the face of racism in fact are complicit and that’s why they feel guilty.
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@sick:
Mr Zimmerman himself has been saying that he is white according to some media. Also he was white in the very begining of this whole mess in the media.
“I don’t see crowds of whites playing the knockout game, looting etc.”
Haven’t you seen Goodfellas? That was based on real life of Henry Hill. Mr Hill and his buddies stole whole trucks, few a week, for couple decades, worth of few millions.
White guys hijacked cigarette trucks, Gillette trucks, shrimp and lobster trucks, fashion trucks etc. They did this for deacdes, stealin stuff worth of hundreds of millions, enough to fill up several malls very easily.
The difference is this: that was and is organized crime.
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SICK
I’m quite familiar with Mr. Williams, Sowell, Elders, Clarence T and others.
I know if I were so inclined, I could find at least 5 white anti-racists to support/substantiate the corrosive/debilitating effects of WHITE RACISM, and refute the arguments of each 1 of the (sold out) black individuals enjoying their super-standing status with people like you. But it wouldn’t sway you, would it?
http://www.timwise.org/2012/03/trayvon-martin-white-america-and-the-return-of-dred-scott/
By the way, in case you don’t know, there’s truly no such thing as BLACK racism. There’s only BLACK “reaction to racism.”
You see, in order for blacks to be racist, our treatment of white folks would have to mirror how whites treated/treat blacks for 400 + years. And we’re not even in the same universe, much less ballpark despite the statistical so-called evidence people like you love to constantly cite re black on white crime.
White racism compared to black reactions is like comparing a nuclear weapon to a fire-cracker (no pun intended).
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@Matari wow I guess you are truly retarted to say “there’s truly no such thing as BLACK racism. There’s only BLACK “reaction to racism.” YOU ARE WRONG! There are incidents where blacks chanted cracker and attacked whites,even the old black panther leader chanted kill whitey and their babies!
You are right as to what happened years ago but it is over and NO whites alive today owned slaves and no blacks were slaves. Heck blacks caught their own kind and some even owned their own slaves!!!!!!!!!!!
SELLOUT WOW when a black speaks with common sense he is always labeled a sellout or uncle tom wow!
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Seven black teens arrested for racially motivated mob attack
From KATU.com…
Seven black teens have been arrested on suspicion that they committed a hate crime when they attacked a 15-year-old Hispanic boy while he was walking home from school in Southern California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
The March 14 beating in Palmdale was captured on video and posted on YouTube, but has since been removed from the site. The seven boys, ages 13 to 16, were arrested Wednesday for investigation of assault and committing a hate crime, Lt. Don Ford said.
The attack happened near Cactus Middle School, but Ford didn’t know if any of the teens involved were students there.
The video shows as many as 10 boys surrounding the victim and challenging him to a fight. The suspects then began hitting the teen while others watched.
During the beating, the teens made racially derogatory statements that were captured on the video, Ford said.
After the victim fell to the ground, the assailants kicked him multiple times in the head, knocked out several teeth and left shoe impressions on his skin, Ford said
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Parents of Florida hate crime murders speak out.
James Cooper and James Kouzaris were murdered by this self-proclaimed “savage.” They were murdered solely because they are white. The parents of the victims sent three letters to Barack Obama. They received no response.
The parents of the two British tourists, that were murdered for being white, sent three letters to Barack Obama. He made gave them no response. He did speak out about Trayvon, saying Trayvon “looks like he could be my son.”
Barack Obama’s outrageous statements about Trayvon were a slap in the face to the family and friends of James Cooper and James Kouzaris. The two men were visiting Florida and accidentally wandered into an all black section of Sarasota. Their killer told a friend “look at those crackers,” and then murdered both of them for the fun of it. He made the victims pull down their pants and beg before he pulled the trigger and killed them.
From UK Telegraph…
Tyson, who has the word ‘Savage’ tattooed across his chest didn’t show a flicker of emotion, slumping in his seat as he was forced to watch a montage of photos showing the victims from early childhood to young men.
…
Later speaking after Tyson was jailed Davies and Hallett lashed out at Mr Obama saying the deaths of their friends was “not worthy of ten minutes of his time.”
Davies said:”We would like to publicly express our dissatisfaction at the lack of any public or private message of support or condolence from any American governing body or indeed, President Obama himself.
“Mr Kouzaris has written to President Obama on three separate occasions and is yet to even receive the courtesy of a reply.
“It would perhaps appear that Mr Obama sees no political value in facilitating such a request or that the lives of two British tourists are not worthy of ten minutes of his time.”
The rebuke follows Mr Obama’s personal intervention into the shooting in Florida of a young black teenager by a white-Hispanic neighbourhood watch captain.
The death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin has sparked nationwide protests with his supporters claiming he was victim of a racist attack.
Mr Obama entered the controversy last week by saying if he had a son he would have looked like Martin.
The alleged assailant in Martin’s death has not been charged with any crime having claimed he was attacked first and used Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law to shoot in self defence.
The criticism of the US President was made on behalf of the Cooper’s parents Stanley and Sandy, from Warwicks, and Peter and Hazel Kouzaris, from Northampton by Davies in a statement read outside the courtroom.
The parents of the two victims did not attend the trial but they had access to the proceedings from a live video feed.
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“They were murdered solely because they are white.”
******************************
Here’s the difference SLICK. Blacks have never – traditionally, historically or otherwise – consistently gotten away with harming/oppressing/murdering white people. The US criminal justice/legal system has never provided blanket coverage under which wide scale atrocities against white people were carried out via structural, systemic racism.
Yet, the opposite is true. Whites declared war on black people when we were kidnapped from Africa and forced to come here in chains.
Moreover, because whites are experiencing a few REACTIONS (casualties) in the war that your side started, maintained, refined and is STILL WAGING, large numbers of people like you now want to cry foul – even though your team is still blatantly killing/murdering black people under the cloak of law – and usually getting away with it. That’s what all the current protest is about!
For a people supposedly intelligent and light years beyond Africans, I’m astounded that your (and others like you) SICK & TIRED mindset cannot grasp this elementary and basic fact.
Only whites ARE and can be racists.
If everyone could be racist, if everyone were racist, it would be like saying child molesters and victims of child molesters are ALL child molesters. Completely idiotic, stupid and senseless – – like whiteness.
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These black on white hate crimes are tragic and I hope the perpetrators face the wrath of the law. Yet, the fundamental difference between hate crimes is this. Black on white hate crimes, even if it is not recognized as a hate crime, is still punished by the full force of the law. White on black hate crimes goes unpunished or under-punished by the institution.
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Silentreturn
I like your succinct and concise wording. The only thing I would say or do differently is to use the word “violent” where you’ve used the word “hate.”
“Hate,” as it’s used in certain crime categories, is a vague, muddy, murky, unclear word. It’s a political term because of who (FBI/DOJ?) gets to define how, when, what, where, why HATE crimes are defined and committed. The term polarizes people. It can set groups/people at odds with each other based on how/when/why/where law enforcement employs this term.
A crime, in my opinion, is a crime, whether it has an element of hate in it or not. Rekia Boyd was shot dead, on purpose. I don’t believe she was shot because she was hated, although that’s possible given the American legal system’s (aka whiteness) historic/current disregard for black people. My guess is she was killed because the person who murdered her felt threatened – and FEARFUL. Yet, what I or anyone believes on that score doesn’t matter. What really matters is that her shooting/death wasn’t accidental!
If I (God forbid) were to kill someone because I was angry, or because of hate, or because of my sociopathic tendencies, I’d be wrong – regardless of my supposed motivation.
There should be as much, if not more, outrage over Rekia’s murder. Her killer ought not to be protected by the WHITE CLOAK law enforcement operates under! These travesties cannot, and must not be permitted to go on as business as usual. We must not be silent.
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Another recent questionable shooting/killing of an UNARMED black person –
Kendrec McDade, a 19-year-old who was fatally shot by police in Pasadena, Calif.
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PEOPLE!!!!!
“black lives of no value”
THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH, SO STOP SAYING IT. WE BLACK PEOPLE CANT WAIT TO BE VALUED BY RACISTS. We have to value ourselves. Those white racists who murder are the ones with devalued lives. No human being just kills randomly if his/her life has true meaning. It’s them with the devalue problem.
We are not valueless. So please dont internalize that subliminal bullshit. Instead get busy becoming an activist of whatever sort that speaks to you. Fight against the devaluing that occurs in our tv shows and movies. Fight against human trafficking, fight against homelessness, fight against elder abuse. Fight. FIGHT.
And read. Read your history. Learn about the progression of MLK’s political stance. It was WAY more than his I have a Dream speech. Read about the progression of Fannie Lou Hamer’s political stance. Read about the progression of Malcolm X’s political stance. Learn their tactics, their strategies. STop crying about how mean white people are. Start working to save the world. Learn more about those millions of your black ancestors who went before you and put things in place for you to fight. Find out about who they are, and read everything you can get your hands on about them. Go to the library to the closed reference section, and learn your history. Get together with people of ALL races who are working to bring humanity back.
Fight against police brutality, fight against corporate greed. EVERYBODY will need to fight for humanity right now. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT SAY THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE VALUELESS. Don’t do that, or you will have no strength to fight.
Not all white people are evil. Hook up with the good ones and do something to regain humanity. Listen to this little white girl if you havent already.
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DOESN’T THIS “OFFICER” HAVE A NAME?? WHY is he just being referred to as an “off duty policeman” in every article I read? Let’s have a name.
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Abagond:
What was the point of voting for Obama anyway? Black males are killing each other left and right in the Chi, innocent blackwomen and children are getting caught in the crossfire, yet, Barack and his minions in Chicago are doing nothing to address the problem. He’s running away from the genocide in his own backyard, yet, he finds the time to talk about what’s going on in Syria. Where is so-called black leadership in the windy city, Abagond? Black people, we have to protect our own lives, we can’t depend on law enforcement, politicians, the church, and a black president either…WTF! Abagond, history is repeating itself, we’ve been lied to by our own people!!!
Tyrone
MindScape
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New details in the Rekia Boyd case.
The family has filed a lawsuit.
The officer has been officially named as Dante Servin, and he is still working for the police department.
He is white.
Both Rekia Boyd and Antonio Cross were/are Black.
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[…] these police murders happened in 2002, before blogs and social media, rather than 2012 how many of them would have been […]
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Here is an older article about a young woman who was shot and killed by police in Portland, Oregon, in 2003:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendra_James
Here’s a related article:
http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/PPR32/shootings32.html
Finally, it looks like Zimmerman’s supporters will be able to put their money behind his ‘just cause’:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17666763
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@Anna Renee
Whites acquired their power and wealth by force and they’ve maintained it by force as well. If we as black people think that whites are gonna voluntarily give up all their material gains for the sake of racial harmony…We’re Mistaken! It’s much deeper than rogue cops running wild in the streets sista, think about it? Whitemen don’t wanna rumble with blackmen, yet, we’re the ones running scared…Why? I don’t fear any race of men on this planet, and other blackmen feel the same. “The System” doesn’t want us to be fearless, which is where law enforcement comes in. Kill enuf blackwomen and blackmen, and negros will stay in their place. This is how the other side thinks as it relates to police brutality, killings, rape, corruption, etc. As far as well-meaning whites helping the cause, that’s great. But, we have to fight for our own liberation first and foremost. Whites and others have too much invested in keeping black folk on the bottom to care anyway…Real Talk! I wish it wasn’t the case, but it’s reality…Unfortunately!!!
Tyrone
MindScape
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Apparently a dog that gets killed by a policeman’s pitbull is more important than Rekia Boyd:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/12236589-452/justice-slower-for-black-woman-than-for-dog.html
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[…] his Arizona iced tea and bag of Skittles had shapeshifted from something far more deadly.2012: Rekia Boyd – was killed when police shot at Antonio Cross, whose gun shapeshifted into a mobile […]
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[…] Rekia Boyd – standing […]
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I just can’t speak right now. I am tired of my people being hurt, killed, and maimed for just being people.
DAMN.
RIP
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[…] Rekia Boyd (2012) – killed by Chicago police detective Dante Servin, white. Her family sued the city and got $4.5 million. No charges yet. […]
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Rekia Boyd’s killer has been charged at last, with involuntary manslaughter. It is the second time since 1997 that a Chicago police officer has been charged in a shooting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/rekia-boyd-officer-charge_n_4339254.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&ir=Black%20Voices
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Charges against whites are slow when their victims are PoC, but if the colors were switched, police would charge black people in a fraction of a second if they were suspected of a crime against a white person.
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Wow maybe some progress after all. Maybe
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http://newsone.com/3109082/officer-dante-servin-who-killed-rekia-boyd-not-guilty-of-all-charges/
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[…] (Gainesville, FL) 2012: Ramarley Graham (New York, NY) 2012: Raymond Allen (Galveston, TX) 2012: Rekia Boyd (Chicago, IL) 2012: Reynaldo Cuevas (New York, NY) 2012: Robert Dumas Jr (Cleveland, OH) 2012: Sgt. […]
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[…] (Gainesville, FL) 2012: Ramarley Graham (New York, NY) 2012: Raymond Allen (Galveston, TX) 2012: Rekia Boyd (Chicago, IL) 2012: Reynaldo Cuevas (New York, NY) 2012: Robert Dumas Jr (Cleveland, OH) 2012: Sgt. […]
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-mccarthy-moves-to-fire-detective-dante-servin-after-fatal-off-duty-shooting-20151123-story.html
Small consolation for the family should this firing go through.
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“Small consolation for the family should this firing go through.”
.
That paltry award should have been at least 10X more, especially since the lawyer(s) will pocket one-third of the family’s wrongful death settlement with the city.
All awards should come directly from finances set aside for police retirement and benefits funds. Maybe then they’ll begin to care about who they’re murdering.
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The Police department there, Chicago, probably has insurance for such lawsuits if they are like others. You’re right if it came out of their pockets the rate of which they shoot people would plummet.
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Update: Dante Servin resigned last year when hearings were being held to determine if he should be fired. Now he wants to collect disability, up to $78,000 a year, for the PTSD he claims to suffer due to the shooting.
More:
http://newsone.com/3574115/dante-servin-rekia-boyd-seeks-severance-for-ptsd/
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@Abagond
“he wants to collect disability, up to $78,000 a year, for the PTSD he claims to suffer due to the shooting.”
That’s rich!
The infuriating thing is that the city of Chicago will likely reward him for murdering Rekia Boyd in cold blood.
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[…] (Gainesville, FL) 2012: Ramarley Graham (New York, NY) 2012: Raymond Allen (Galveston, TX) 2012: Rekia Boyd (Chicago, IL) 2012: Reynaldo Cuevas (New York, NY) 2012: Robert Dumas Jr (Cleveland, OH) 2012: Sgt. […]
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[…] (Gainesville, FL) 2012: Ramarley Graham (New York, NY) 2012: Raymond Allen (Galveston, TX) 2012: Rekia Boyd (Chicago, IL) 2012: Reynaldo Cuevas (New York, NY) 2012: Robert Dumas Jr (Cleveland, OH) 2012: Sgt. […]
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