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Good morning, good mooorning! Here’s your news roundup for today.
2000 & Late: Civilian Board Cites Police Misconduct in Ezell Ford’s Shooting Death
Days after Officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas were cleared of charges for Ezell Ford’s shooting death, a civilian board is claiming that one of the officers inappropriately drew his gun when approaching Ford. Ford was unarmed at the time he was killed in Los Angeles in August 2014; police suspected he was running from them and hiding drugs. His mother, Tritobia Ford, claims that he only had the mental capacity of an eight to 10-year-old boy. Read the story at the Los Angeles Times.
Protestors March Though McKinney Streets After Devastating Police Brutality Incident
Hundreds of protests took to the streets on Monday chanting “Let’s Go Swimming” in McKinney, TX. Groups gathered at the Craig Ranch Community Pool, the location where black teenagers were infamously attacked with racist comments by other pool-goers and suffered excessive force at the hands of local police. The video depicting a 15-year-old girl being gruesomely pinned to the ground by Officer Eric Casebolt has been viewed on YouTube over nine million times. Read more and check out photos from the protests at the Huffington Post.
Half Of Texas Abortion Clinics At Risk Of Closing, Thanks To New Legal Mandate
Texas legislators are after access to abortion again. Now courts are making a new requirement for clinics to possess special staffing standards and surgical equipment to stay open. Those in favor of the new mandate are arguing that it provides a safer space for women undergoing the procedure. However, pro-choice experts are arguing that the new requirements are unnecessary and are intended to reduce women’s family-planning options. Read the story at the New York Times.
Former Speaker Of The House Pleads Not Guilty To Financial Misconduct Charges
Yay, politics. One of the most celebrated government officials of the Clinton Administration is now dodging charges of lying to the FBI when withdrawing millions of dollars to allegedly hush up one of his old sexual molestation victims. Dennis Hastert has plead not guilty in the case, and is looking at two counts of evading banking reports. If convicted, Hastert could be looking at up to 10 years of imprisonment and $500,000 in fines. It remains to be seen if the current judge on the case, Judge Thomas Durkin, will continue with proceedings because he’s donated to Hastert’s past campaigns and has previously worked with Hastert’s attorneys. Read the story at the Wall Street Journal.
Attorney For Kalief Browder Directly Links His Suicide Death To Wrongful Incarceration
In an interview with HuffPost Live yesterday, Attorney Paul V. Prestia spoke on the infamous death of former Rikers Island inmate Kalief Browder saying: “That three-year experience, that time in solitary confinement, was the direct cause of this…The extent of injustice here—it’s a travesty of justice…This kid could have been alive right now. He should have been alive. He shouldn’t be gone. He didn’t deserve that. He wasn’t just my client, he was like a brother of sorts.” Watch the interview with Marc Lamont Hill at HuffPost Live.
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