Will Mike Brown’s Killer Avoid Charges in Ferguson? Cops Stockpile Riot Gear Amid “Troubling” Leaks
Where is the equal justice in cases like this? – It’s absent in a day where skin color still motivates crime and police officers are protected by corrupt law enforcers.
Source: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/29/will_mike_browns_killer_avoid_charges
On November 11, 2012, our lives were forever changed upon receiving the most devastating news parents can receive, news that an officer with Pittsburgh Bureau of Police shot my son during a routine traffic stop. Shocked and confused over the news, we rushed over to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital only to be denied an opportunity to see our son; this ban lasted for over seven days as we waited in a state of shock and confusion as police worked behind the scenes to come up with a narrative of what they would later say happened.
Police dash-cam video of the incident would later reveal that our 19-year-old teenager was detained by three police officers on a dark road for almost twenty-five minutes during what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop. My son properly provided officers with his driver licenses, vehicle registration and proof of insurance while they harassed him over the legitimacy of his identity. Even more painful to watch is the heartbreaking sounds of our youngest child being shot five times by a police officer who decided to jump inside my son’s vehicle. While we are not sure how the car shifted into gear once the officer jumped inside the vehicle, we are sure that our son was in mortal fear for his life as police harassed, threatened and hurled racial slurs towards him.
The police officers are now trying to justify their actions by claiming that they saw a barrel of a gun in my son’s waistband, but we know our son and it was no surprise that a search following the shooting revealed no gun and no contraband of any kind. Leon is a good kid, who is very intelligent, hardworking and athletic. Simply put, the Pittsburg Police officers mischaracterized our son and profiled the wrong kid.
And even though Pittsburgh police shot my son five times and left him paralyzed, to add insult to injury, they have charged him with bogus criminal charges which could put him in prison for over 20 years. These charges are based on the officer’s allegations that my son dragged them down the street with his car.
Pittsburgh Police officers tried to lie about my son and the way things happened the night they shot him. In an attempt to cover up the truth, the officer lied by claiming a fellow officer was standing in front of Leon’s car when it moved. They hoped that he would die that night, but thank God, he lived and can now tell the truth. But don’t just take our son’s word for it. The video backs up everything that he said happened.
We are calling for Allegheny County District Attorney, Stephen A. Zappala Jr., to drop these bogus charges and asking that the officers who took our sons ability to ever walk again, be held accountable. As a mother and a father, it breaks our heart to see my son in his current condition but we must be strong for him because that’s what parents do.
Latonya Green and Leon Ford Sr.
The parents of Leon Ford Jr.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AND SPREAD THE NEWS.
April 1st, 2013 – Headlines that truly matter:
Texas DA Killed Two Months After Deputy Shot Dead; Aryan Brotherhood Probed in Killings
Prosecutor Seeks Stay of Execution for Texas Prisoner Duane Buck, Sentenced to Death for Being Black
Mumia Abu-Jamal is currently serving a life sentence for the alleged murder of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981. Considered by many to be a “political prisoner,” Abu-Jamal was originally sentenced to death; his case was appealed in 2011 and his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He continues his efforts to get a new trial, arguing that his original trial was rife with judicial and prosecutorial error and misconduct.
In December of 1981, Abu-Jamal was working as a radio journalist during the day and driving a cab at night. On the night of December 9, he witnessed Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in an altercation with a Black motorist. Abu-Jamal recognized the motorist as his own brother and left his cab to intervene. What happened next has been disputed for the last 30 years.
The prosecution argues that Mumia Abu-Jamal, armed with a hatred of police since his days as a member of the Black Panther Party, shot Officer Faulkner several times, killing him. Before he died, according to the prosecutor, Faulkner was able to shoot Mumia once in the stomach.
Mumia maintains that not only did he not shoot Faulkner, but that the Philadelphia police department decided to frame him for the murder as payback for his years of reporting on their brutality against Blacks in the city. No gunshot residue was found on Mumia’s hand; no search was undertaken to find the motorist (Mumia’s brother) who was involved in the altercation with Faulkner; and several witnesses who originally testified that they had seen Mumia shoot Faulkner later recanted their testimony, saying that they had been pressured by Philadelphia police to implicate Mumia.
Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal is not the first film on Abu-Jamal however, this one is different; this film does not examine his case but rather, it looks at his life as a writer and revolutionary – from joining the Black Panther Party for Self Defense as a teenager through becoming a celebrated author of eight books while on Pennsylvania’s death row.
The film, written and directed by Stephen Vittoria of Los Angeles-based Street Legal Cinema, features Cornel West, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Rubin Hurricane Carter, Dick Gregory, Peter Coyote, Ruby Dee, M-1 from the Hip Hop group Dead Prez, and a host of others.
Angelo & SoCal residents –– come out THIS WEEKEND to see Long Distance Revolutionary. Playing March 1-7, four showings a day: 12:30 / 4:00 / 7:00 / 10:00
TICKETS: http://www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?date=03012013&thid=4
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