19, October 2016
New York Police kills 66-year-old schizophrenic black woman 0
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has come under fire for the officer-involved death of a 66-year-old African American woman, who was suffering from schizophrenia. NYPD officers shot dead Deborah Danner in the bedroom of her Bronx apartment on Tuesday, after she reportedly confronted them with scissors and a baseball bat.
According to police, Sergeant Hugh Barry had convinced the elderly woman to drop the scissors. However, when she charged to hit the officer with the bat, Barry fired two shots at her chest. She was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The NYPD admitted the excessive use of force in a statement, saying that the incident would undergo a full investigation since the officer could have subdued Danner by simply using his Taser.
“The sergeant was armed with a Taser. It was not deployed, and the reason it was not deployed will be part of the investigation and review,” said NYPD Assistant Chief Larry Nikunen. The NYPD immediately put Barry on modified duty until the investigation was completed.
Danner’s shooting death was condemned by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “This elderly woman was known to the police department, yet the officer involved in this shooting failed to use discretion to either talk her down from her episode or, barring that, to use his stun gun,” he said in a statement.
According to Danner’s Twitter account, she was a keen supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks justice for unarmed African Americans killed by white cops. “The wound, RACISM, continues to fester. PRAY for healing,” she wrote in one tweet.
“Point of the Conversation: How’d U like to move about w/a TARGET on you because of the color of your skin? BLACK LIVES MATTER!” she wrote in another. The shooting occurred at a time when anti-police sentiment is already high across the US due to a surge of unjustified killings of unarmed African Americans over the past few months.
On Monday, Terrence Cunningham, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), one of the largest police organizations in the US, issued a formal apology to minorities for the historical injustice and mistreatment by law enforcement agencies.
Presstv
21, October 2016
Obama says Trump’s rhetorics are dangerous 0
US President Barack Obama has criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his repeated claims that the presidential election on November 8 would be rigged, describing the claims as “dangerous.” Obama made the comments on Thursday at Miami Gardens, Florida, during a rally in support of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“That is dangerous because when you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people’s minds about the legitimacy of our elections, that undermines our democracy,” Obama said. “You’re doing the work of our adversaries for them because our democracy depends on people knowing that their vote matters. That those who occupy the seats of power were chosen by the people,” he added. With the presidential election less than three weeks away, Trump has intensified his criticism of the American electoral system.
On Thursday, the GOP nominee said he will have the right to challenge the outcome of election if he feels it’s questionable. Hours later, Trump added fuel to the fire by saying that he would totally accept the results of presidential poll if he won.
According to a new poll released on Monday, 41 percent of American voters are saying the 2016 election could be “stolen” from Trump due to widespread voter fraud. During his speech, Obama also condemned Republican lawmakers for taking too long to withdraw their support for Trump, doing so only after the release of the 2015 tape where Trump was caught making lewd comments about women.
“Apparently that was the deal breaker for them. Or at least, his poll numbers dropping after the tape came out was the deal breaker for him,” he said. “But here’s my question: Why would it take you this long to figure out that Donald Trump shouldn’t be president?” “You stand up and nominate and support a guy who says that he would silence reporters, jail his political opponent in the middle of a debate, deport whoever he wants,” he said.
Presstv