Members of various coalitions against “grand heist:” rally outside CAYMC before meeting Oct. 21, 2013,

Council votes down Orr’s deal but is to consider alternative Oct. 23 

Councilwoman Watson lays out details of $1.5 B POC loan fraud 

Mass rally set for Oct. 23 8 a.m. as bankruptcy eligibility trial begins in Federal Courthouse at 231 W. Lafayette in downtown Detroit 

By Diane Bukowski 

October 22, 2013 

City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson at table Oct. 21, 2013. She also testified against bankruptcy eligibility in front of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes.

DETROIT – In a stinging rebuke to the banks which have virtually destroyed Detroit, and to Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s bankruptcy plans, the City Council on Oct. 21 unanimously rejected a proposed $350 million loan deal with Barclay’s Capital, a chief culprit in the world-wide LIBOR interest-rigging scandal. 

City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson called the deal, embodied in Orr’s Executive Order #17, a “grand heist.”  Prominent objectors in a packed chambers also denounced the package, saying they were “shocked and horrified” by its terms. They included representatives of the revered Shrine of the Black Madonna, Michigan Forward, Moratorium Now, Detroiters Resisting Emergency Management, Free Detroit/No Consent, and the National Cummings Foundation. 

Cardinal Baye Landy of the Shrine of the Black Madonna.

“You have the duty to stand up and fight against tyranny and the subjugation and oppression of our people,” Cardinal Baye Landy of the Shrine told the Council. Detroit is the largest Black-majority city in the U.S. and in the world outside of Africa. 

The loan deal would throw the city deeper into debt, paying off a $250 million interest swaps arrangement with two other globally disgraced banks, UBS AG and Bank of America, at high interest rates. In the event of default, it would be backed by city and casino income taxes amounting to $96 million a year, as well as the proceeds from any sale of city assets exceeding $10 million. 

Terms of the “forbearance agreement” embodying the loan would prevent the city from suing recoup losses from the related predatory $1.5 billion Pension Obligation Certificate (POC) loan negotiated in 2005 with UBS AG and Siebert, Brandford and Shank. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes still must rule on that agreement in the face of numerous creditor objections, particularly from the pension funds and the Official Retirees Committee. 

Detroit EM Kevyn Orr.

Meanwhile, the daily media reports, Orr has introduced an alternate deal into the fray, which the Council is to consider at 8:30 AM Oct. 23, just as a mass protest takes place outside the federal courthouse, signaling the start of the bankruptcy eligibility trial. 

City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson crystallized objections to the swap deal as well as the POC loan on Oct. 21. 

“Barclay’s has the nerve to say the agreement would be in default if the Emergency Manager goes away,” Watson said. “That is outrageous on its face because Public Act 436 [the EM law] violates the Constitution. We need to sue those responsible for the 2005 deal. Wall Street came to the table to advocate the potentially fraudulent and biggest [POC] deal of its kind in the history of the country. Detroit’s CFO Sean Werdlow under Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pushed for the loan then took a job with one of the lenders and is still with them today. The police were called out to force those Council members to the table who did not want a quorum present to vote on it.” 

Former Detroit CFO Sean Werdlow, Bill Doherty of SBS, Joe O’Keefe of Fitch Ratings, Steven Murphy of Standard and Poor’s, and former Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams press for POC loan deal at City Council table Jan. 31, 2005/Photo by Diane Bukowski

Under PA 436, the Council has seven days to propose an alternative to the plan. 

“This loan makes the banks richer and the retirees and the city poorer,” Councilwoman Brenda Jones said. “It is setting the city up for failure. Neither PA 436 nor Orr’s Executive Order #17 [on the Barclay’s loan] are helping our city. The alternative is to vote NO with a strong resolution.” 

Councilwoman Brenda Jones.

Watson added, “The alternative is also to pay nothing, and call for litigation to force them to pay back [the 2oo5 deal]. These are the same folks who got paid by destroying Detroit with foreclosures and are refusing to let $500 million in Hardest Hit Funds come to Detroit.” 

Noting that Chase Bank has just been forced to pay a record $15 billion fine for fraudulent mortgages and foreclosures, attorney Jerome Goldberg of Moratorium NOW! said, “This is horrendous. Even in Jefferson County, Alabama, Chase had to give up 75 percent of money owed to it. It is only here in Detroit, the hardest hit city in the country, that we are paying the banks instead of them paying us.” 

The terms of the Barclay’s loan would GIVE  75 cents on the dollar to UBS AG and BOA. 

“The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there has been an increase in municipal bankruptcies now, with 20 filings in 2013,” Cindy Darrah, who was recently brutalized by Council police, noted. “Barclay’s is from England. Orr might as well go there too with the King of England because he thinks he’s the king here. This deal means we’ll have the Emergency Manager forever!” 

Brandon Jessup of Michigan Forward testifies as city retirees Cecily McClellan and Cheryl Labash await their turn.

Brandon Jessup, CEO of the Michigan Forward Urban Affairs Group, said, “Since 2008, Detroit has sent nearly $800 million in unnecessary payments to Wall Street banks, including a $550 million pay-out just last year. Executive Order No. 17 puts big banks in front of our seniors and city retirees, costing them up to 90 percent of their income to secure hundreds of millions in predatory Wall Street lending.” 

Barclay’s CEO Bob Diamond was forced to step down in wake of LIBOR scandal.

Jessup led the historic and successful referendum drive to put Public Act 4, the predecessor to PA 436, on the ballot, where Michigan voters trounced it by 53 percent last November, with 82 out of 86 counties voting “No.” 

A briefing published by Michigan Forward says, “The loan repayments would have priority over all other post-petition claims, according to an analysis by Crain’s. And in addition to an undisclosed ‘commitment fee’ Barclay’s would get, the loan carries an interest rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 2%, plus a 1% LIBOR floor, translating into an effective rate of 3.5%. If the city defaults, the spread rises by another 200 basis points.” (Click on MI Forward on Barclay deal for full document.)

(L to r) Saqib Batti, Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman, Atty. Tom Stephens testify against deal.

Saquib Batti, a fellow with the National Cummings Foundation, told the Council, “This is just another example of big banks pushing predatory deals onto cash-strapped cities. The purpose of this special financing deal is to ensure that Bank of America and UBS can cash out on their swap deals with the city before a penny goes to city services. These swap agreements are a gold mine for Wall Street.” 

Abiyomi Azikiwe of Moratorium Now added, “Barclay’s CEO was forced to resign in 2012 after their role in rigging interest rates in the LIBOR scandal was exposed. It is time to stand up against the banks and their racist government lackeys including Kevyn Orr.” 

(L to r) Atty. Vanessa Fluker, Abiyomi Azikiwe, and Atty. Jerome Goldberg testify against deal.

Sharon Feldman said, “I’m horrified and shocked at this deal negotiated by Jones Day, who also represents these banks. This is destructive to the youth of Detroit and to everybody. We don’t feel you are behind us. We cannot be left adrift without any support in the state from our officials.” 

Karen Hammer pointed out, “Only four percent of the city’s debt is money owed in pensions. Ninety-six percent is owed to the banks. But you have enshrined using our tax dollars to pay law firms to get them more money.

Crowd applauds City Council vote Oct. 21, 2013; their tune may change Oct. 23.

A few related VOD articles:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/18/protest-orrs-350-million-loan-deal-to-pay-off-banks-with-assets-income-and-casino-taxes-mon-oct-21-1-pm-caymc-wed-oct-23-8-am-fed-bldg/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/11/dennis-archer-former-consultant-to-detroit-lender-ubs-ag-meets-with-top-obama-aides-execs/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/20/detroit-bankruptcy-objections-raise-possible-bank-crimes-related-to-poc-debt-and-casino-tax-deal-hundreds-protest-banks-in-downtown-detroit/. ________________________________________________________________

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Protesters march outside Frank Murphy Hall in downtown Detroit Oct. 21, 2013.

Families display signs outside courthouse (l to r) Gabrielle and Dominique Harrison, Oct. 22 protester, Khalid Fareed, Roberto Guzman, unnamed, Gary of Oct. 22nd, Herman Vallery, Cornell Squires, unnamed, daughter of Taminko-Sanford-Tilmon at her left, Jermaine Tilmon, with grandson Omari.

Cases of Aiyana Jones, Davontae Sanford, Lamar Grable, Cornell Squires, Gary Doppelberger highlighted in first protest under new police chief

Craig’s promotions, endorsements of LAPD, Cincinnati cops, Stop/Frisk questioned 

October 22, 2013 

Aiyana’s cousin Rafael Jones (center) got his high school in Warren to devote a whole page in its yearbook to her.

DETROIT – The families of Aiyana Jones, Davontae Sanford, Lamar Grable, Cornell Squires, Gary Doppelberger, and other victims of Detroit police sent a message to newly-appointed Police Chief James Craig, his “All-Star Team,” and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy Oct. 21, chanting:  “You are not worthy—no police state!” 

Over 50 people rallied outside the Frank Murphy Hall in downtown Detroit to call for freedom for Aiyana’s father Charles Jones, whose trial was set to begin that day, and to observe the October 22^nd National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality.  Jury selection in Jones’ trial was re-set for Tues. Oct 29, with that of Chauncey Owens re-scheduled for Mon. Oct. 28.

J. Cole shows his love and support for Dominika Jones, Aiyana’s mother, during Detroit concert Oct. 10, 2013.

Aiyana Jones, 7, was shot to death by an MP-5 submachine gun wielded by Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley during a horrific military-style raid on her home May 16, 2010. 

Aiyana’s mother Dominika Stanley, grandmother Mertilla Jones, aunt Krystal Jones, and numerous other family members attended the rally to call for justice for Aiyana and freedom for Charles, who they say was framed up in the killing of Je’Rean Blake, 17, two days earlier. Questions remain as to Owens’ guilt in that case as well. 

Aiyana’s cousin Rafael Jones, who attends Lincoln High School in Warren, said, “I got my school to dedicate a whole page of their yearbook to Aiyana.”

Hundreds of young metro Detroiters attended a concert by J. Cole Oct. 10 at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Cole has dedicated a video, “Crooked Smile,” to Aiyana and met with her mother and others during the concert.

Mark Robinson (l) with Aiyana’s father Charles Jones, classmate Diamond Hardy, showing her photo, on morning of her death May 16, 2010. Mark lost his own grandmother, JoAnn Robinson, present during the raid as well, not long after due to her traumatized state.

Aiyana’s cousin Mark Robinson, a key witness in the Weekley trial, which has been re-set to December 4 after a mistrial was declared earlier, was recently caught up in a series of what her family says are retaliatory frame-ups. He faces a court hearing Wed. Oct. 23 in 36^th District Court. Robinson testified at Weekley’s trial that he warned the raid team there were children in the home after they threw him to the ground outside the house. 

Herman Vallery, father of Lamar Grable, killed by three-time killer cop Eugene Brown in 1996, and Lamar’s mother Arnetta Grable initiated the protest after learning that Brown’s partner during the killing, Vicki Yost, was just promoted to Deputy Chief by Chief Craig, selected by Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr with no input from Mayor Dave Bing. 

“I feel that Vicki Yost had a little more to do with my son’s death than what was testified to,” Vallery said. “As Deputy Chief, she will be more out for the cops than for the people. This is part of a broader plan for how police are going to be handling people in Detroit in the days to come.” 

Herman Vallery, father of Lamar Grable, with Cornell Squires during protest.

Lamar Grable’s family won a $4 million jury verdict against Brown after a lengthy civil trial during which renowned forensic pathologist Werner Spitz testified that Grable, 20, was literally “executed” by Brown. Yost was promoted several times after the killing. Multiple brutality lawsuits, including one filed by the Michigan ACLU, were later brought against her in other cases. 

“It seems like all the cops who are violating people’s rights are being promoted,” said Cornell Squires, whose son was framed by new-promoted Deputy Chief David LeValley and his partner at the time, notorious William “Robocop” Melendez.  LeValley has been sued in federal court in multiple instances for brutality and misconduct. 

“This is consistent with Detroit Police Department practice,” Squires explained. “The worse you are, the better promotions you get. Being a bad cop does pay.” 

Melendez and 17 other southwest side cops were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2003 in an L.A. “Ramparts” style scandal involving brutality, frame-ups, perjury and other allegations. Chief Craig spent 28 years with the LAPD and served on the internal police review board that whitewashed the Ramparts cops, many of whom went to prison while their victims were released. The LAPD came out from under a USDOJ consent decree after 13 years in June. 

Steve Baratta holds a photo of 19-month-old Suzie Pena, who was killed by LAPD SWAT in 2005. Baratta says Pena’s death was very emotional for him and further galvanized him in fighting police brutality. (Dan Bluemel / LA Activist)

But news articles show that police brutality in LA continued unabated after the Ramparts scandal subsided, while Craig was in command positions, until and after his 2009 retirement.  One incident in 2005 involved LA’s own Aiyana Jones, Suzie Pena, 19 months old when she was killed by an LA SWAT team. (See LA related articles at end of story.)

Craig lauded both the Los Angeles and Cincinnati Police Departments during his announcement of 43 promotions Oct. 8. Cincinnati cops also spent eight years under federal oversight after the police murders of 14 Black men. The murder of Timothy Thomas, 18, in 2001, sparked three days of rebellion in the Black community there. 

One of many NYC protests that led to judgment against Stop and Frisk.

Khalid Fareed expressed concern about Craig’s announcement that he will step up “Stop and Frisk” policies in Detroit, which have already been rampant on the streets of Detroit for at least the last two decades. In 2000, Squires confronted two cops who had stopped his son to frisk him and a cousin, and was beaten as a result. Attorneys in the city told this reporter, who was hearing numerous other such reports then, that each case had to be handled “on an individual basis.” 

“Stop and Frisk was just declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in New York,” Fareed said, referring to a class action lawsuit.  “It should be held as unconstitutional here as well.” (See: http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/13/an-end-to-nypds-racist-stop-and-frisk-what-you-need-to-know-about-landmark-ruling/,) 

Roberto Guzman leads chants during march.

The Rev. Richard Johnson El-Bey told VOD recently that he witnessed a crew of two white “skinhead” undercover cops stop a young Black man walking down the street in the Wyoming/Curtis area to make him show his ID and tell them where he was going. Shortly afterwards, Rev. Johnson El-Bey said, the same cops stopped a man who was unloading his truck in his own driveway, demanding his ID as well. 

Roberto Guzman, a paralegal who has provided support to numerous prisoners and their families, led chants during the march and called for the resignation of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy over the case of Davontae Sanford, 14 when Detroit police elicited a false confession from him to four drug-house murders in 2007. 

Davontae Sanford’s mother, her daughter and grandson, and father are at right, as Cornell Squires leads chants.

Admitted hitman Vincent Smothers later confessed to the killings, testifying Sanford had nothing to do with them. An appeals court ruled recently that Smothers and his attorney must be allowed to testify at a hearing to set aside Sanford’s guilty plea. 

Davontae Sanford at 14.

“Kym Worthy has no shame,” Guzman said. “She needs to set Davontae free, not tell us what it costs to run her office. She knows he is innocent.”

Sanford’s mother Taminko Sanford-Tilmon said, “We’re back at the Court of Appeals. Our lawyer has filed a motion to have a private investigator testify that he talked to Smothers as well. The Prosecutor’s office has 56 days to appeal, but we haven’t heard anything from them yet.”

The most recent report from Worthy’s office shows they have filed no appeal. 

Sanford’s stepfather Jermaine Tilmon told VOD, “It is the season for grace. He is coming home. He’s doing all right in prison, but he’s been under constant spiritual attack by the guards there after the news blew about the Appeals Court decision. Everybody needs to know how the prison system really is—brutality from the guards, sexual assaults on young prisoners. They’re targeting all the youngsters, not just those in prison but those outside in the world as well. I just pray the new Chief allows God to use him to make the right decisions.”  

Gabrielle and Stacy Harrison attended rally to protest police inaction in case of their father and fiance Gary Doppelberger.

The daughter and fiancé of Gary Doppelberger attended the rally as well. They say Detroit police have failed to do any real investigation of his death on Christmas Eve, six years ago. 

“He was found in his truck in his underwear,” said daughter Gabrielle Harrison. “The police told us it’s not illegal to dump a dead body in Detroit, and they have found no leads and done no investigation. My dad was silenced, but they are not going to silence us.” 

Her mother Stacy Harrison said, “It’s just really sad how this was handled. I had his cell phone, and the people we think we involved in his murder kept calling it. But the police did nothing. We know we will never get justice for him, but I feel sorry for the other families who are here today for their loved ones.” 

Detroit Police Chief Craig announces executive staff.

Detroit News reporter George Hunter reported regarding Chief Craig’s reaction to the protest, “Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said Craig was willing to talk to Bukowski, but that she declined.  ‘Chief Craig has opened his doors to Ms. Bukowski and her fellow protestors to sit down and have an open discussion about her concerns, however she did not respond to the invitation,’ Woody said.”

 http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131021/METRO01/310210088/1409/METRO/Protesters-call-reforms-DPD-Wayne-Co-criminal-justice-system

In fact, Craig’s comments to VOD are reflected in the earlier article VOD did on his promotions, at http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/18/httpvoiceofdetroit-net20131018chief-craig-intensifies-detroit-police-state-march-mon-june-21-9-am-as-trial-of-aiyana-jones-father-opens-in-frank-murphy-to-new-dpd-hq/. VOD did not request a sit-down interview from the department’s official spokesperson Kelly Miner, only specific responses regarding specific allegations about the officers. 

Arnetta Grable said the families involved in the protest discussed an invitation to meet with Craig made by Kelly Miner, but said they were reluctant to do so because their past experience has shown that complaints about police brutality only bring more of the same.

To contact the Original Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, which sponsored this protest, call 313-768-7202.

Aiyana’s grandmother Mertilla Jones leads marchers.

 LA-related articles

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/24/in-los-angeles-questions-of-police-brutality-dog-lapd.html;

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/10/local/la-me-cop-shootings-20120610;

http://www.laactivist.com/2010/10/24/two-days-of-actions-against-police-brutality-reveals-unheard-voices/.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/later/reports.html 

Previous VOD article:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/18/httpvoiceofdetroit-net20131018chief-craig-intensifies-detroit-police-state-march-mon-june-21-9-am-as-trial-of-aiyana-jones-father-opens-in-frank-murphy-to-new-dpd-hq/

Mayor Dave Bing, Gov. Rick Snyder listen to Kevyn Orr after his appointment as Detroit EM March 14, 2013. Photo: Diane Bukowski

By Cate Long

October 16, 2013

MuniLand

» Analysis & Opinion Home 

Marchers from the International People’s Assembly surround Kevyn Orr’s luxurous headquarters in the Westin Book Cadillac Oct. 5, 2013.

Reuters Blog Archive: Being the emergency manager for bankrupt Detroit is no picnic. Coordinating the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history while simultaneously trying to restructure city operations, even with a posse of high-priced consultants, is a huge job. The current emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, wants to complete the bankruptcy and his term in 18 months. This is a recipe for inappropriate appointments, rich living and major mistakes.

Now the mayor of Detroit, Dave Bing, has weighed in with scathing comments about Orr’s performance. From The Detroit News:

Former Detroit COO Kriss Andrews with Mayor Dave Bing Dec. 7, 2012.

Mayor Dave Bing reiterated Wednesday his growing frustration with how consultants and Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr have taken over City Hall and sidelined his team.

The comments came after The Detroit News obtained Tuesday a deposition in the city’s bankruptcy case in which Bing said his department heads are ‘frustrated as hell’ by the consultants and Orr is ‘not doing a competent job’ restructuring city operations.

Bing told reporters after a Wednesday press conference urging people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act that his criticism is not personal, but city leaders should be running the day-to-day operations.

Detroit’s former state-appointed program manager, Kriss Andrews, who was removed from his post in July, had even harsher words for Orr. From The Detroit News:

‘Mr. Andrews’ conclusion is that the emergency manager, and I quote, threw away the head start we gave him, he frankly is not competent at all,’ Ullman said. ‘In fact, he’s embarrassingly incompetent and only listened to his equally incompetent staff and (does) not well exercise the added powers he had. So Mr. Andrews gives him an A in long-term liabilities and an F in operations.’

I wrote in July:

Since Kevyn Orr was appointed Detroit’s emergency manager on March 18, his approach always seemed a little off, especially when bankruptcy is concerned. For a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy to work, most of the parties must come to a mutual agreement about what each will sacrifice. Federal bankruptcy judges only have the authority to ‘cram down’ a minority of creditors in a specific class when the majority agrees. Federal bankruptcy judge Steven Rhodes, for example, can’t force all bondholders in a class to take a 50 percent haircut. Absent that power, municipal bankruptcy usually lasts much longer than others, as parties come to an agreement.

Kevyn Orr (r) with advisors from Buckfire and Jones Day firms June 14, 2013 as he lays out Proposal to Creditors.

This balancing act is no easy task for a bankruptcy leader (city official, receiver, emergency manager or lead attorney). But when Orr laid out his creditor proposal on June 14, his aggressive treatment of retirees and bondholders seemed to me like he was wielding a chainsaw where a paring knife would have been the best tool to begin the work. The law firm Jones Day, the firm Orr left before becoming emergency manager, had been involved in the corporate bankruptcy fight of Chrysler. Orr’s opening punch felt like a move from corporate bankruptcy.

What authority do Michigan’s laws give to Orr? (Section 9(2)):

Protest against Gov. Snyder and EM law in Benton Harbor, one of its first victims.

Upon appointment, an emergency manager shall act for and in the place and stead of the governing body and the office of chief administrative officer of the local government. The emergency manager shall have broad powers in receivership to rectify the financial emergency and to assure the fiscal accountability of the local government and the local government’s capacity to provide or cause to be provided necessary governmental services essential to the public health, safety, and welfare.

Following appointment of an emergency manager and during the pendency of receivership, the governing body and the chief administrative officer of the local government shall not exercise any of the powers of those offices except as may be specifically authorized in writing by the emergency manager or as otherwise provided by this act and are subject to any conditions required by the emergency manager.

The state law authorizes Orr to give authority to Bing for whatever functions he designates. So why didn’t Orr, after his appointment last March, carve out a substantial role for Bing? He had success in walking down the size of Detroit’s municipal infrastructure. The idea that Orr, in 18 months time, could come in and remake Detroit city government without the support and knowledge of current officials is unrealistic. From The Detroit News again:

D-DOT bus service is major source of complaint for Detroiters.

On Wednesday, Bing said the removal of 11 of the 25 department heads is moving the city backward in delivering city services. Bing added the business community told him it is still frustrated with public safety areas such as EMS, fire and police service. They also are frustrated over the lack of timely buses and lighting problems.

Michigan Governor Rick Synder might want to re-evaluate whether granting the entire authority for a municipality to one outside individual is the best approach for righting a city’s woes.

Detroit CFO resigns after accusations of racism

DETROIT | Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:48pm EDT

Jim Bonsall said he would like to shoot someone in a hoodie on Angel’s Night.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Detroit Chief Financial Officer Jim Bonsall resigned on Tuesday after allegations arose last week that he made racist remarks during a meeting and demeaned a co-worker.

Bonsall, who is white, met with Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr on Tuesday afternoon to tender his resignation, according to Orr’s spokesman Bill Nowling.

Bonsall had been suspended with pay pending an internal investigation into his conduct, Nowling said.

In a statement issued last week, Bonsall said: “I apologize and am sorry for having offended coworkers over comments I made during a recent meeting. Regardless of the outcome of the internal investigation or whether I keep my job as a result of it, it was never my intention to offend anyone.”

Travyon Martin, murdered in Florida by George Zimmerman.

The allegations came to light after City Treasurer Cheryl Johnson sent a letter to Orr, Mayor Dave Bing and other city officials outlining Bonsall’s alleged behavior, according to Nowling.

In a meeting, Bonsall asked if he could “shoot somebody in a hoodie” during Angels’ Night, when volunteers patrol neighborhoods throughout the city to prevent arson in the days leading up to Halloween, local media in Detroit reported.

Bonsall’s comment appeared to allude to Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black Florida teenager who was shot and killed last year. Detroit’s population is about 83 percent black.

Detroit Finance Dept. Director Cheryl Johnson.

Johnson, who is black, wrote in her letter that Bonsall “has demonstrated a pattern of behavior that has created a hostile work environment,” adding that most of his actions were directed at minority women, local media reported.

Orr hired Bonsall in July. Johnson was previously the city’s finance director, but earlier this month Bonsall named her treasurer, a move she considered a demotion, according to media reports.

Orr said in a statement that his office will conduct the search for a new CFO.

(Reporting by Joseph Lichterman; Editing by Ken Wills)

BART workers on strike in California’s San Francisco Bay area.

By Matthias Gafni, Gary Peterson and Katie Nelson

Bay Area News Group

October 19, 2013

WALNUT CREEK — The heated rhetoric of the ongoing BART strike gave way to sorrow Saturday after a train being run by an “experienced” former operator struck and killed two workers who were inspecting the track between the Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill stations.

A BART police officer covers body of one ot two workers killed as non-strikers including managers performed maintenance work..

A BART manager was returning a train to the Concord yard around 1:53 p.m. after delivering vandalized cars to Richmond to be cleaned when he struck the two transit agency workers who were inspecting the track after reports of “dip” in the rail, a BART assistant general manager said.

The engineers were the seventh and eighth BART workers to die on the job in the transit agency’s 41-year history. Officials did not release the workers’ names, age or cities of residence.

BART officials said one of the workers was a BART employee and the other a contractor. Officials at AFSCME Local 3993 said one of the workers was in the union; members of AFSCME are free to cross the picket line but are encouraged to “stand in solidarity,” according to President Patricia Schuchardt.

The accident came less than 48 hours after BART workers walked off their jobs Friday morning, following months of contentious negotiations. Despite repeated warnings from union officials that managers would create a dangerous situation by operating trains, BART management had earlier assured the public that those operators were certified, safe and would possibly shuttle a smaller fleet of trains if the strike dragged on.

BART workers demand “Safety First.”

On Saturday, neither BART management nor union officials would discuss those warnings or attempt to put the deaths in the context of the strike.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the two workers killed on the BART track,” said BART General Manager Grace Crunican, who showed up to the scene Saturday afternoon.

When asked about union concerns over driving managers, a BART assistant general manager said, “We’re not going there.”

“We’re dealing with a tragedy. The labor issues are not in the forefront of our mind,” said Paul Oversier, standing near the accident site. “This is a tragedy of the greatest proportion for the BART family.”

A BART police officer looks along the outside of a BART car that struck and killed two people along Jones Road in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. (Dan Rosenstrauch/Bay Area News Group)

Added Antonette Bryant, president of Amalgamated Transit Local 1555: “This is a terrible human tragedy, and we mourn the passing of these two individuals. We pray for the families of those who lost their lives today.”

On Saturday morning, several hours before the accident, ATU representatives said they planned to present BART management’s final offer to its rank-and-file members for a vote next week, but added that they fully expected the deal to be turned down.

There were no plans to return to the bargaining table, and it’s unclear how Saturday’s accident will play into contract discussions. ATU officials said after the accident that they had canceled rallies planned for Sunday out of respect for those killed; SEIU workers carried both candles and picket signs in what union leaders called a “vigil” outside Lake Merritt station Saturday evening.

BART workers walk picket line.

The accident happened on the Pittsburg-Bay Point line, between the Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill stations, where the track runs parallel to Interstate 680 and Jones Road, near Chandon Court and Pimlico Drive.

A statement from BART management said the employees — one BART employee and one contractor — were performing track inspections at the time of the accident after a reported “dip” in a track. Both had “extensive” experience working around moving trains, according the statement, which said that procedures called for one worker to inspect the track and the other to act as a lookout for any oncoming traffic.

“What they were doing today was something they had done hundreds, if not thousands of times in their careers,” Oversier said.

BART said the train was being run by an “experienced” operator, and was in automatic mode and under computer control at the time of the accident. The manager was operating the train to shuttle vandalized cars to get cleaned.

The workers’ bodies could be seen near the tracks under tarps about 160 feet apart, with the train stopped about 600 feet north. Continue reading →

DPD Chief James Craig was with the LAPD for 28 years; he sat on internal panel that whitewashed murder,  frame-ups by notorious Ramparts police

Top cops have alleged history of murder, brutality, frame-ups, perjury

Craig extols LAPD, Cincinnati, known for police crimes, federal oversight 

March Oct. 21 on eve of 18th Anniversary national marches by October 22nd Coalition to End Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation

By Diane Bukowski

October 14, 2013

DETROIT – Despite Detroit Police Chief James Craig’s assurances that 43 officers he hand-picked for promotions into his “All-Star Team” had been thoroughly vetted, many including Craig appear deeply embedded in a long-standing culture of murder, brutality and corruption.

Craig announced his “All-Star Team” Oct. 8 during a press conference at the Detroit Police Department’s new headquarters.

“We used a competitive process, including an exhaustive review of the officers’ work history, education, and other factors,” Craig said. “. . . The Detroit Police Department will be one of the top police agencies in this country. I have had the good fortune to work in great departments, including Los Angeles and Cincinnati, and I will put any of these folks side by side with anyone there. They are the absolute best.”

Deputy Chief Vicki Yost (l) with Police Chief Craig (center) and Asst. Chiefs at press conference Oct. 8, 2013.

The promotions were not approved by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners as is standard practice, and were not done according to union contract provisions. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who directly appointed Craig, gave him free reign independent of City Charter and other provisions.

In a statement responding to this article, Chief Craig reiterated his support for the officers, saying, “Each of the newly promoted Executives and Command Officers promotions were based on merit, prior performance, work history, education and specialized training among many other factors. Each candidate was fully vetted and interviewed prior to being selected.”

Craig’s comments about each of the top staff members will be included with VOD’s summary of our research of their records.

ASSISTANT CHIEF ERIC JONES

Assistant Police Chief Eric Jones

Among them are Assistant Chief Eric Jones, sued at least seven times in federal court since 1995 by Detroiters alleging assault and other charges, according to documents on the federal court website. (VOD has not yet researched state files on Jones and other officers included in this story.)

The first suit involved the killing of Michael Landon Hill, 21, on July 11, 1994 on Detroit’s southwest side.

“He shot my son five times but he got away with it and got promoted later,” Hill’s mother Edith Namyslowski alleged. “He shot him in the leg, in the arm, and the palm of his hand while he had his hands up, then he shot him in the chest. He didn’t have to kill him like a dog. My son was target practicing in a friend’s backyard. When the cops got called, he ran away, but Eric Jones pinned him in between two garages with a seven-foot wall behind him. His partner said he saw my son’s gun lying next door in the yard when he was shot. Eric Jones testified at the trial that my son’s last words to him were, ‘Why did you do it? I didn’t even have a gun.”

Michael Landon Hill gravesite. Dead at the hands of Asst. Chief Eric Jones.

She said Hill “wasn’t a bad kid. He had been on probation for being in a stolen car, and he went to boot camp. He had just got started in a new job where his dad worked. He was my baby, the last of two boys, and I loved him dearly.”

The federal jury, however, ruled against Namyslowski, who said none of its members were from Detroit.

Several of the suits against Jones cite as co-defendants notorious cops William “Robocop” Melendez, Matthew “Spike” Zani and others among 18 Third and Fourth Precinct cops. They were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2003 for numerous crime, an indictment that did not include Jones.

Attorney Mark Ernst brought a separate lawsuit against Jones, Melendez, Zani, Jeffrey Weiss, Troy Bradley, Jeffrey Weiss, Timothy Gilbert, Mark Diaz, Jerrod Willis, Chris Guinn, Ricardo Villaruel, John McLeod, John Watkins and Oscar Garza, in the case of Clifton White, a chief witness against the officers in the federal indictment. All the officers except Jones were indicted by the Feds in the earlier case.

The lawsuit alleges Jones played a key role in years of harassment and frame-ups targeted at White.

“The Defendant officers acting in concert, have, for at least the past 10 years, targeted young African-American men living in or around the 4^th Precinct and conspired to assault them, plant drugs and/or guns on them, steal from them, file false police reports against them, and, if necessary, perjure themselves in court proceedings in efforts to cover-up the conspiracy,” says the suit.

Former Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan’s top lieutenant Kevin Simowski and others interfered in the case, claiming the feds were “conned by a network of career criminals,” according to a Detroit Free Press article. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins responded, “I will tell you this: In general, when we indict any case, we do so because the evidence indicates guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Mike Duggan as Wayne County Prosecutor in 2002.

Three frame-up cases against White were dropped along with cases against other victims in the federal indictment.

In what Ernst called a “nullification verdict,” a jury acquitted eight officers in that case in 2004, despite testimony against them by 17 other police officers, a historic break in “the blue wall of silence.”

Settlements of various amounts were reached against Jones in cases including the White case (see links below story).

Notorious “Booty Boy” cop Michael Parish praised Jones in a 2011 article in the Legal News.

“Sgt. Michael Parish has worked with Jones for 10 years, and was there when Judge Gerald Rosen swore him in to federal practice as a lawyer last week,” said the article.

“Parish called Jones ‘the most enthusiastic, energetic and honorable cop I know.’

“Booty Boy” cops Michael Parish and Michael Osman were never disciplined, but instead promoted.

Dozens of Black men on Detroit’s southwest side testified at City Council and in court that Michael Parish and Michael Osman became known as the “Booty Boys” literally raping many, under the guise of illegal anal cavity searches in broad daylight, on the public streets. They were sued multiple times, with several suits eliciting settlements.

Chief Craig said regarding Jones, “A.C. Eric Jones has received a Juris Doctorate degree from Wayne State University and while commanding the most problematic district in the city was able to significantly reduce crime in that area. A.C. Jones has a vast experience and knowledge base in pro-active policing strategies.”

DEPUTY CHIEF VICKI YOST

Inspector Vicki Yost, now promoted to Deputy Chief.

Stepping down to the next level of command, two Deputy Chiefs have had questionable “work histories” as well.

Deputy Chief Vicki Yost partnered with notorious three-time killer cop Eugene Brown in what forensic pathologist Werner Spitz called the “execution” of Lamar Grable, 20, in 1996.

During a civil trial, the two claimed Grable was armed and shot at Brown, who returned fire, shooting Grable eight times, including three times in the chest. Attorney David Robinson, who saw an internal police review of the case known as the “Shoulders Report,” said it showed that the last shots took place as Grable lay on the ground.

Yost stood over Grable as he lay dying, and admitted to taking home the gun that allegedly belonged to him before turning it in to the crime lab. She then backed up Brown’s testimony at trial. Grable’s family and other witnesses who testified said he had no gun.

Rodrick Carrington, Lamar Grable, Darren Miller, killed by Eugene Brown in three separate cases; Brown shot a total of nine people but is still on the force.

The jury awarded Grable’s family $4 million in the case on Aug. 6, 2003.

“We’re very grateful that the jury did their job and listened to the evidence,” said the plaintiff’s attorney David Robinson after the verdict. “The bullet holes in Brown’s shirt and the bullet holes in Lamar’s body contradicted the sworn testimony of Brown and his partner, Vicki Yost.”

“I’m glad the conspiracy of silence, between Brown, Yost and the other officers who winked at their behavior, has been broken by the community in the form of the jury,” said Robinson’s co-counsel, Melissa El. “Given time, the truth will always prevail.”

Three-time killer cop Eugene Brown after promotion to sergeant, as fellow cops cheered him. He is still on the force.

Brown’s own testimony that he “could have” shot Grable as he lay on the ground led an Appeals Court and the Michigan Supreme court to uphold the verdict.

Grable’s father Herman Vallery, a co-founder with Grable’s mother Arnetta Grable of the Original Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, commented on Yost’s promotion.

“I don’t think she should be promoted because of her involvement in my only child’s death,” Vallery said. “To this day, I still question whether she herself fired some of the bullets, because Lamar was shot first in the back, and she drove her car up on him from the back.”

Yost has been sued several times, chiefly in relation to complaints involving nightclubs while she was with the vice squad.

One lawsuit, filed by the prominent law firm of Posner, Posner and Posner in the case of Lewis Hall III and Bangone Thengkham, alleged that Inspector Yost and three other officers, Sheron Johnson, Tryone Gray, and Charles Turner, assaulted and beat the plaintiffs inside the Plan B nightclub in 2009. The lawsuit was later settled out of court for an unknown amount. It says that Yost and other vice squad officers were eventually suspended for their actions in that and other cases.

Not only police officers, but guards at Plan B assaulted and even killed patrons, including Perry Freeman, shown with his child Pierre. Freeman was shot in the back with a hollow point bullet by a guard, against whom no charges were brought. His crime: dancing on a table. A settlement in the civil case ensued.

“The Vice Squad and the individual defendant police officers . . . have engaged in a pattern and practice of excessive and unwarranted raids upon nightclubs and other retail establishments, harassment and intimidation of club owners and customers of the establishments, assaults upon and intimidation of those customers, false arrests and ticketing of customers of the establishments, as well as of the establishments themselves, and filing false police reports and committing perjury, as well as other unconstitutional conduct in reckless disregard of constitutional rights. . . .The Vice Squad and its officers were corrupt, and the pattern and practice of the misconduct of the Vice Squad officers, including the defendant officers, was widespread and well known in the community and to the defendant City of Detroit, but the City failed to stop the practice.”

The suit alleges the Vice Squad’s purpose was to shut down the establishments without cause, and “to facilitate graft, shakedowns and bribes.”

Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit

Yost also led a raid on the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID) in 2008, which a federal judge later ruled unconstitutional after the ACLU sued.

In a release, the ACLU said, “A federal judge yesterday ruled unconstitutional the 2008 Detroit police raid of the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit in which 130 innocent CAID patrons were detained and their cars impounded. Police had no evidence that the patrons had broken the law and no illegal drugs or weapons were uncovered during the raid. . . .

“In a free country, the police may not conduct commando-style raids on innocent people and seize their property without justification,” said Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. “We hope this case will put a stop to the Motor City shakedowns we’ve seen across the city – the practice of arresting innocent people, seizing their cars, and refusing to return them unless they pay a $900 ransom.”

Former Detroit police chief Warren Evans in anti-crime press conference in affluent Grandmont-Rosedale neighborhood with federal, state, county police officials, June, 2010. The press conference targeted youths, alleging a rash of break-ins. Photo by Diane Bukowski

Chief Craig said regarding Yost, “D.C. Vicki Yost is a highly decorated 19 year DPD veteran who has been responsible for overseeing many successful operations within the DPD, including Vice Enforcement, Tactical Support, Major Crimes, and the 8th Precinct. D.C. Yost was instrumental in establishing effective community relations efforts particularly in SW with the Hispanic community, as well as overseeing a Home Invasion reduction strategy in the Grandmont Rosedale Neighborhood. D.C. Yost was also responsible for conducting investigations that ultimately lead to the closure of problematic nightclubs were violence and underage dancing was prevalent.”

DEPUTY CHIEF DAVID LEVALLEY

William “Robocop” Melendez leaving court during federal trial of 18 officers from 3rd and 4th precincts.

Deputy Chief David LeValley also has a past. He was involved with notorious William “Robocop” Melendez in the frame-up of anti-police brutality activist Cornell Squires’ son in 2000. Squires’ son, 18, was arrested by the two, who worked undercover on the narcotics squad with Robert Feld. Feld beat Squires, Sr. the previous year, calling him a “n—–,” throwing him through a door, and threatening to kill him.

Squires, Sr.’s father, saw the beating and experienced a heart attack that eventually killed him. Feld was finally forced to retire from the force after numerous other brutality lawsuits and a videotaped beating of a driver.

LeValley and Melendez claimed Squires’ son pulled a gun on them and tried to carjack them. No gun was ever found. A jury acquitted the son of carjacking but convicted him of “assault with intent to rob armed.” Judge Kym Worthy would not allow the defense to present evidence that Melendez was convicted earlier of falsifying a police report.

LeValley and other officers were sued in federal court in several cases, including the beating and denial of medical care to a young man in Hart Plaza, and the set-up of a young man for soliciting an undercover cop as a prostitute and the seizure of his car. That took place during a rash of such set-ups from which both the prosecutor’s office and the police department profited.

David LeValley is at left in this photo with former interim police chief Chester Logan.

Another lawsuit said LeValley and other officers illegally arrested Joseph Gray, and did “beat, strike, kick and assault plaintiff about his body . . .including beating him in the head, beating him until he was unconscious, beating him so badly that hospitalization was required . . .causing serious and permanent injuries .” Several complaints were settled with monetary agreements.

Chief Craig’s comment on LeValley: “D.C. David LeValley is also a highly decorated 19 year DPD veteran who has been the commanding officer of the department’s Training Section and Task Force Administration Section. D.C. LeValley most recently served as the adjutant Lieutenant to Chief Craig and was directly responsible for developing a comprehensive plan to equally deploy manpower citywide, ensuring the proper staffing levels based on population, calls for service and overall crime.”

A rung further down on the promotional ladder is Second Deputy Chief James Fleming.

He has at least one federal lawsuit, on record alleging that he and other officers refused to provide medical assistance to a man shot four times by Officer Barry Howard and permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

Craig said of Fleming, “Director James Fleming is a 30 year DPD police officer who retired honorably as a lieutenant. Following his retirement he worked in Dispatch. With both experiences he brought a unique blending of experiences. Prior to being hired he was loaned over from the State with purpose of comparing the State and DPD dispatch and service delivery protocol. Also to make assessments on call prioritization and lack (or refusal) of providing service.”

VOD is further investigating the federal and state lawsuit records of all 43 officers promoted.

Craig’s choice of the LA and Cincinnati Police Departments as examples of “great departments” raised eyebrows among many anti-police brutality activists.

Cincinnati men killed by police prior to murder of Timothy Thomas in 2011 and subsequent rebellion.

Craig was with the Cincinnati Police Department only a short time, but prior to his tenure, that department was under federal oversight for eight years beginning in 2001, after the police murder of Timothy Thomas and subsequent rebellion.

Craig spent 28 years with the LAPD, from 1981 to 2009, in command positions beginning in 1983. In June, 2013, the LAPD emerged from 13 years of federal oversight sparked by the 1996-99 Ramparts scandal, which exposed the division’s anti-gang unit C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources against Street Hoodlums). (Click on James Craig resume with LAPD details for resume.)

C.R.A.S.H. cops were found to have murdered, maimed and framed individuals with abandon, while selling drugs and robbing banks themselves.

LAPD CRASH-style police arrest and search an alleged gang member in 2012, 13 years after the Ramparts scandal involving such tactics.

Craig served on the internal “Board of Inquiry” into Ramparts which essentially whitewashed and minimalized the incidents, before the U.S. Department of Justice intervened. Craig himself served in a C.R.A.S.H. unit in the Central District in 1983.

The Ramparts scandal followed the notorious Rodney King beating and subsequent rebellion of 1992, and was succeeded by vicious police attacks on protesters during the Democratic Convention of 2000. Prior to the King beating, and since the Los Angeles Coalition against Police Abuse, founded by a member of the Black Panthers, has fought rampant police brutality in the city, which continues unabated despite federal intervention.

In recent announcements, Craig appears to be repeating LAPD’s patterns and practices.

“I’m looking to bring back a gang suppression unit really quickly,” Craig told the Detroit News Aug. 8, despite the vicious experiences the LAPD had with its gang squad unit. “I’m not sure what form it’ll take right now, but we will have a unit in place soon.”

Detroit Police Gang Squad prior to its dissolution. National Geographic photo

Craig said he does not intend to call the unit the “Gang Squad,” which was disbanded by Interim Police Chief Chester Logan in March after numerous complaints of brutality raised by citizens at Police Commission meetings and elsewhere.

Craig is working with the private Detroit Crime Commission, headed by Andrew Arena, who led the Detroit FBI office until recently on the gang issue.

Imam Luqman Abdullah, assassinated by FBI and Detroit and Dearborn police in 2009.

During Arena’s tenure, the FBI, in concert with Dearborn and Detroit police, assassinated Imam Luqman Abdullah in a set-up at a Dearborn warehouse. Federal complaints filed earlier against Abdullah and members of his mosque, located in one of Detroit’s poorest Black neighborhoods, were based largely on hearsay evidence provided by “confidential informants.”

News reports say Arena claims there are at least 2500 “gang members” in Detroit.

“That’s not counting all the girlfriends, little brothers and hangers-on,” Arena told the Detroit Free Press. “When I was with the FBI, I used to work organized crime, and you’d have 150 Gambino family soldiers; but for every main guy, you’d have 10 wannabes, which compounds the problem. It’s the same thing with gangs.”

Andrew Arena, formerly head of Detroit FBI, now heads private Detroit Crime Commission.

The Detroit Crime Commission (DCC) represents the consolidation and privatization of police forces in Detroit. They are able to get and give grants from the federal government and elsewhere, and administer their programs without governmental checks and balances. They are similar to Kroll International, which oversees the U.S. Department of Justice consent decree in Detroit, and also participates in U.S. wars across the world as a mercenary arm of the government. At least one of the DCC’s top officers has experience in the war on Iraq.

“The mission of the Detroit Crime Commission is to lessen the burdens of government and the citizens of the southeast Michigan area by facilitating the prevention, investigation and prosecution of crime,” the group says on its website.

An example of Detroit individuals working with Crime Commission has posted sign in his neighorhood comparing crack addicts to roaches, ignoring the fact that the crack epidemic across the U.S. has been sponsored by CIA-related forces.

“A special emphasis will be placed on criminal enterprises that prey upon the citizens of the metropolitan Detroit area. The Detroit Crime Commission will conduct research, assist in investigations, disseminate information to the public, and help coordinate crime reduction activities between business, the public, government and law enforcement. The Commission will also assist in law enforcement training, and make grants to governmental entities to fund law enforcement activities. The Detroit Crime Commission is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.

Craig has other plans up his sleeve, including the introduction of tasers, which according to the website Electronic Village have caused the deaths of over 500 people in the U.S. since 2001.

Israel Hernandez-Llach, renowned 18-year-old artist from Colombia, tasered to death by Miami Beach police Aug. 8, 2013.

The Detroit Free Press reported July 28, “In what emergency manager Kevyn Orr called just one significant example of improvements headed for the city’s basic public services, the Detroit Police Department will soon get 50 new squad cars, replacement bulletproof vests and two new devices Motor City cops have never had: electric stun guns and on-body video cameras.”

There are currently repeated protests happening in Miami Beach, Florida against the taser death of 18-year-old renowned local artist Israel Hernandez-Llach. (See link to stories below.)

LIST OF DETROIT POLICE PERSONNEL PROMOTED BY CHIEF JAMES CRAIG

Assistant Chief Eric Jones lawsuits:

EJones Clifton White complaint Melendez et al

EJones James Otis complaint

EJones Rayfield Ferrell complaint

EJones Reginald Durham complaint

Deputy Chief Vicki Yost info and lawsuits

Serial Killer Kop and other stories MC

Yost Plan B assault complaint

Yost Plan B settlement yost suspension

Yost CAID raid complaint

Yost McPhee Platinum complaint

Yost Andrew Huston All Stars bar complaint

Deputy Chief David LeValley info and complaints

Squires Melendez MC

Police Prosecution threatens to jail witnesses in Squires trial

LeValley complaint 2003

LeValley complaint Preston 1999

LeValley complaint 2002 Bates sting

SECOND DEPUTY CHIEF FLEMING

JFleming Bradford Erving complaint

JFleming Chenault consolidation

(List of  related stories coming)_________________________________________________________________

To print copy of flier, click on RALLY AGAINST DETROIT POLICE STATE.

Route of march from Frank Murpy Hall to new police headquarters, where Chief Craig has his office.

Arnetta Grable and Herman Vallery, the parents of Lamar Grable, and others with the Original Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality passed out 600 of the fliers above at the J. Cole concert Oct. 10, 2013, since his video “Crooked Smile” is dedicated to Aiyana. There will be a VOD story forthcoming shortly regarding the killer cop allies Craig appointed.

Protest at CAYMC July 25, 2013.

PROTEST EMERGENCY MANAGER ORR’S $350 MILLION “DEAL” TO MORTGAGE CITY TAXES AND ASSETS TO PAY OFF THE BANKS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013 — 1:00 PM

COLEMAN A. YOUNG MUNICIPAL BUILDING, WOODWARD AND JEFFERSON, DETROIT

AFTERWARDS WE WILL GO UP TO THE 2:00 PM CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO DEMAND COUNCIL REJECT THIS GIVEAWAY TO THE BANKS

DETROIT — Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr is seeking City Council approval of a $350 million short term loan. $250 million of the proceeds of the loan are to pay Bank of America and UBS termination fees on interest rate swaps. This is in addition to the over $250 million these banks have already netted on these swaps based on the city paying the banks hedging derivatives amounting to 6.3% interest on bonds where the actual interest on the bonds was only 0.5 to 1.0%.

Barclays, UBS, BOA all major players in global LIBOR interest-rate rigging scandal

This new $350 million loan, which must be paid back in no longer than 3 years, is secured by a first lien of the city’s casino tax dollars, a second lien on income tax revenues and a lien on all other city assets worth more than $10 million if the other liens are insufficient. The bank being paid to service the loan is Barclays, which admitted to fraudulent conduct in the LIBOR scandal. Incredibly, the short term loan is tied to the LIBOR index.

The Emergency Manager negotiated a deal with the banks to try keep the interest rate swaps out of the bankruptcy proceeding, instead of challenging the swaps as potentially fraudulent instruments within the bankruptcy and arguing that the swaps should be liquidated. In fact, both Bank of America and UBS, on top of being subject to numerous investigations and even criminal convictions for their conduct in the municipal bond market, are also two of the most notorious subprime mortgage lenders whose practices contributed to over 100,000 foreclosures in a 5 year period in Detroit.

Bank of America and UBS are both clients of Jones Day, the Emergency Manager’s “former” employer and the so-called lawyers for the emergency manager in the bankruptcy. No wonder that rather than go after these banks, he is trying to award them this sweetheart deal.

Demand City Council reject this deal. The banks owe the people of Detroit billions of dollars for the destruction they caused to our communities.

Contact Moratorium Now! Coalition and Detroiters Resisting Emergency Management — 313-671-3715

AND REMINDER — DEMONSTRATE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013, BEGINNING AT 8:00 AM, OUSIDE THE BANKRUTPCY ELIGIBILITY TRIAL AT 231 W. LAFAYETTE, DETROIT — STOP THE LOOTING OF DETROIT — DEFEND CITY SERVICES, ASSETS AND PENSIONS.

Bankruptcy protesters outside federal building Aug. 19, 2013.

On Oct. 6, protesters demand cop arrest in taser death of graffiti artist Israel Hernandez in Miami Beach, Fla./Reuters photo

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — More than 200 people marched through Miami Beach on Sunday, Oct. 6, clogging tourist-filled sidewalks to demand the arrest of a policeman who fired a stun gun at a graffiti artist who died in police custody on Aug. 6.

The protesters alleged that Officer Jorge Mercado used excessive force when he used a Taser on Israel Hernandez-Llach, 18, during an arrest attempt in August.

Israel Hernandez-Llach, 18, dead after being tased by Florida cop Jorge Mercado Aug. 6, 2013.

“He was sentenced like a prisoner when he goes before a firing squad,” Hernandez-Llach’s father, Israel Hernandez Bandera, said on the steps of Miami Beach City Hall.

Friends, family and supporters carried signs reading “Paint is temporary, death is forever” and chanted “No justice, no peace” in English and Spanish.

Hernandez-Llach was prolific graffiti artist nicknamed “Reefa,” and the march was led by the Justice for Reefa Committee and the American Community Council. Marchers asked that Mercado be fired and arrested and that the Miami Beach Police Department change its policy regarding use of stun guns.

Police discovered Colombian-born Hernandez-Llach spray-painting the wall of an abandoned McDonald’s early on the morning of Aug. 6. The teenager fled, evading police for several minutes before he was cornered and stunned with the Taser.

Father and sister of Israel Hernandez-Llach console each other after his death.

He died shortly afterward and friends who were with him said they heard and saw officers celebrating and high fiving while the young man’s body lay on the ground.

Medical examiners have yet to release a toxicology report or cause of death. Miami Beach Police have declined to comment pending an ongoing investigation.

The teenager’s father submitted a letter late last month to the U.S. Department of Justice and President Barack Obama alleging that police used excessive force and refused to provide him with information regarding the incident.

“I’m not an investigator, just a broken father who wants answers,” he wrote.

Teen’s mother Jacqueline Llach, with flower to face, sobs at funeral.

He said his son’s body showed signs of mistreatment, including an injury to the forehead, after it was turned over to the family for the funeral.

“My biggest concern is was it due to the Taser or was it from blows (by police),” said his father.

Hernandez-Llach’s sister, Offir Hernandez, disputed speculation that her brother was on drugs at the time of the incident, but said that according to friends he had smoked marijuana that morning.

“He took care of himself,” she said. “He was very healthy and wouldn’t even drink sodas and ate salads and fish. He’d never put acid in his body.”

Hernandez-Llach’s family has also filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against the Miami Beach Police Department and Mercado, seeking an undisclosed amount for damages and alleging the police used “unnecessary, excessive and unconstitutional force.”

The Colombian-born artist was slightly built and unarmed, and “officers had no reasonable basis to fear for their own safety or the safety of the public,” the lawsuit said.

Mercado was named in several prior complaints according to police Internal Affairs reports obtained by Reuters. He was disciplined for failing a drug test in 2011 but was exonerated in several other cases, including punching a man in the face during an off-duty fight in a men’s room in 2007.

Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/JusticeforIsraelHernandez

Protest for Israel Hernandez-Llach Oct. 8, 2013. Reuters photo

DEATH OF MIAMI BEACH TEEN REKINDLES DEBATE ON TASER SAFETY

By Kevin Gray of Reuters

October 14, 2013 

MIAMI — When police spotted Israel Hernandez Llach spray painting a shut-down McDonald’s in August, the Miami teenager decided to make a run for it.

Moments later the unarmed, 18-year-old graffiti artist was dead. He had been struck in the chest by a police stun gun.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still investigating what caused the Aug. 6 death of the Colombian-born teenager. His death in Miami Beach, where police conduct has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, has triggered protests calling for a change in the way officers use the stun guns known as Tasers.

It has also reignited a debate about whether the electrical shock the Taser delivers can sometimes trigger a cardiac arrest when fired at the chest area.

“The fact that he was shot in the chest is something we are analyzing,” said Jose J. Rodriguez, a lawyer for Hernandez Llach’s family. “We’re working with the assumption for now that the Taser caused his death.”

Tasers, used by police officers in the United States and globally, have been the target of criticism from advocacy groups like Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argue they can be lethal and have called for more stringent rules on their use. Continue reading →

Monica Patrick speaks at rally to save Belle Isle Sept. 22, 2012.

By Jean Vortkamp 

October 12, 2013

Jean Vortkamp

DETROIT — I went to the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8 about Belle Isle. No vote was cast. As I understand the vote is moved to Monday Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. I want to share what I understand from the meeting. The lease that is signed by SnydOrr is for 30 years with two 15 year extensions if the state wants it. A man from the city staff, I think a lawyer, said that the way the lease is worded is more like a sale. Um…yikes. 

I do not believe SnydOrr could possibly have the good of the island, Detroiters or other Michiganders at heart. So I have been looking into it. 

Roger Penske at Mackinac Policy Center conference. Penske profits greatly every year from the Grand Prix event on Belle Isle.

Most of what you see happening to Detroit is openly a part of the Mackinac Policy Center’s plans. These people plan long term and sneaky. Think low down, disrespectful, greedy, mentally unbalanced and bam! You get it. We take the everyday Detroit kindness for granted and think others are like us. This is a fatal error. 

A developer from Bingham Farms named Rodney Lockwood has a plan for The Commonwealth of Belle Isle. http://www.commonwealthofbelleisle.com/  http://www.mackinac.org/18159. 

He wants to make it like Puerto Rico (a commonwealth) but tax free for the super rich who pay a fee to live there on top of the cost of their condos built around the big fountain. Lockwood was the president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and is on the Mackinac Policy Center board http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/mackinac-center-public-policy.  

Koch Brothers

The Mackinac Policy Center is funded by groups such as the Walmart clan – the Waltons, and the Koch borthers. So far all their plans for Detroit – privatizing the public lighting, privatizing garbage can be found on their website and are currently in action.

Asset sales  http://www.mackinac.org/3153

Water Dept. Privatization http://www.mackinac.org/3162

Public Lighting http://www.mackinac.org/4149 

Members of the Walton family who founded Wal-Mart, from left to right, Jim Walton, John T. Walton, Rob Walton, and mother Helen Walton. The Waltons are the richest family in the world, with the Koch Brothers second.

Do you really think this could NOT be a part of that? They want Belle Isle to be their showpiece of privatization. Here is their piece “For whom the private belle tolls.” http://www.mackinac.org/3156. JACKALS!

That is a direct smack to Detroit and the US. This is not just about this park, this is about a symbolic destruction of publicly owned assets, of the dismantling of government by a group of far right wing psychopaths. 

Read the lease. http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4212687101.PDF  Detroit gets no money. No I do not know how they plan to shift the ownership, but I am sure they already have a plan. 

Rev. Edward Pinkney speaks at rally in Benton Harbor: Jean Klock Park is not for sale!

And keep your eyes on that conservancy which has 5 Detroiters out of 19 people on it. To sell Jean Klock Park in EM-run Benton Harbor, they shimmied the park to their Conservancy to dump it into private hands. http://www.belleisleconservancy.org /.

“The Belle Isle Conservancy is governed by a 19-member board of directors, including five appointees from the City of Detroit: a seat appointed by the Mayor, one by the City Council, representatives from the Recreation Department and General Services Department, and the manager of Belle Isle in the Recreation Department.”                                                                                                                                                                      

Family picnics on Belle Isle.

Jean Klock Park beach on Lake Michigan.

Related articles and documents:

City Council special session Belle Isle 10 14 13

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/02/state-rapes-detroit-again-with-free-belle-isle-lease/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/05/26/boycott-detroits-belle-isle-grand-prix-and-its-bankster-sponsors/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/02/03/bing-will-hurt-detroit-kids-shutting-parks-to-retaliate-for-belle-isle-lease-failure/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/27/people-rise-up-against-lease-of-belle-isle-committee-votes-no-council-still-to-meet-mon-jan-28-2-pm-tues-jan-29-9-am/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/27/city-council-reject-the-unfunded-proposal-the-lease-of-belle-isle/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/26/belle-isle-is-black-land/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/23/bing-and-detroit-council-set-to-give-belle-isle-to-state-let-the-people-vote-council-meets-jan-24-1-p-m-jan-28-29/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/10/17/council-sabotages-oct-18-public-hearing-on-belle-isle-lease/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/10/17/city-council-members-favorable-to-revised-lease-sept-25/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/27/peoples-rally-hands-off-belle-isle-council-hearing-thurs-oct-4-1-pm/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/18/councilwoman-watson-hears-citizens-on-belle-isle-rally-at-belle-isle-casino-sat-sept-22-12-noon-council-hearing-tues-sept-25-1-pm/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/15/90-yr-belle-isle-lease-entry-fees-go-to-state-fedstate-cops-to-patrol-council-hearing-mon-sept/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/14/belle-isle-in-detroit-is-our-last-dance/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/08/05/save-belle-isle-save-detroit/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/07/30/occupy-belle-isle-stop-the-takeover-of-detroit/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/07/30/belle-isle-belongs-to-us-2/

Some of the hundreds who marched in downtown Detroit with the International People’s Assembly Oct. 5 and 6. Instead of bankruptcy proceedings, they demand cancellation of Detroit’s debt.

Judge Rhodes denies Retirees Committee motion for move to higher court

Arguments held on NAACP motion Oct. 2; no ruling yet

Unions, local officials, pastors  filed Sept. 23, hearing not yet scheduled

Next protest against bankruptcy: Tues. Oct 15, 10 a.m. 321 W. Lafayette, downtown Detroit federal court 

By Diane Bukowski 

October 9, 2013 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes leads forum on EM’s and Chapter 9 bankruptcy Oct. 10, 2012.

DETROIT – Three major coalitions representing Detroit and Michigan residents want U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes to allow questions including the constitutionality of Public 436, the state’s “Emergency Manager” law, the right to vote, and civil rights issues to be heard in U.S. District Court, prior to resolution of the Detroit bankruptcy case.  

They are the Official Retirees Committee (joined by the Detroit Retired City Employees and Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association), the NAACP et al, and Phillips et al.  

“Rhodes will decide whether the imposition of an unelected dictatorship in Detroit represents a ‘Constitutional crisis’ that should be addressed before the process of cutting pensions and selling off assets should begin,” Black Agenda Report executive editor Glen Ford said in a recent commentary. “Certainly, the cancellation of white people’s voting rights, to be followed by confiscation of their personal and collective property, would merit Constitutional scrutiny on a priority basis. But, for African Americans, it is an open question.” 

Under PA 436, over 51 percent of Michigan’s African-Americans now have no right to vote for elected officials with real power to represent them. Nine majority-Black cities and school districts have emergency managers appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, with tiny Royal Oak Township outside Detroit about to face the same fate. Snyder and State Treasurer Andy Dillon recently granted a reprieve to the East Detroit Public School district, based in Eastpointe, which has a 75 percent white population. 

U.S. District Court Judge George Caram Steeh

The last two groups have cases challenging the constitutionality of PA 436 pending in U.S. District Court Judge George Caram Steeh’s courtroom, instituted well before Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr/Jones Day filed for bankruptcy. Their cases are currently administratively stayed pending further notice, based on Rhodes’ order barring legal action against state as well as city officials. Known as the “extended stay,” it is taken virtually verbatim from Orr/Jones Day’s original motion. 

Rhodes rules against his own Retirees’ Committee

Protest at Orr’s “public meeting” at Wayne State University June 10, 2013.

On Sept. 26, Judge Rhodes ruled against the Retirees Committee strongly worded motion to “withdraw the reference.” The Committee said, “. . . if Chapter 9 is as broad as the Emergency Manager [Kevyn Orr] contends, then Chapter 9 is unconstitutional and the City cannot be a debtor in Chapter 9.” 

Ironically, the Committee was set up by Rhodes’ order at Orr’s request. Orr boasted he would do so to limit the role of the city’s elected pension fund trustees in defending their members. 

Kevyn Orr at WSU meeting June 10, 2013.

Rhodes said in his ruling, “Specifically, the Court finds that: 1. The Committee is not likely to succeed on the merits of its motion to withdraw the reference. 2. The Committee will not suffer any harm, let alone irreparable harm, if the stay is denied. 3. The City will suffer substantial harm if the stay is granted. 4. The public interest would not be served by granting the stay.” 

In his commentary, Ford noted, “Bankruptcy Judge Rhodes’ agenda has so far been in sync with bankruptcy lawyer Orr’s strategy: to keep the battle for Detroit in the realm of corporate law rather than the arena of civil, human and Constitutional rights.” 

Attorneys for the Retirees Committee have not yet responded to an Oct. 4 email regarding whether they plan to appeal Rhodes’ order  to the District Court or other avenue. 

(See link below for VOD story on Official Retirees Committee filings.) 

NAACP motion to allow case challenging PA 436 to go forward heard Oct. 2

Attorneys Nabih Ayad and Melvin Hollowell (at podium) with plaintiffs announce lawsuit against PA 436 May 13, 2013.

On Oct. 2, attorneys Melvin Butch Hollowell and Nabih Ayad argued that the separate NAACP lawsuit in Steeh’s court must be allowed to proceed.  Plaintiffs in that case, filed in May, 2013, are the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, the Michigan State Conference of the NAACP, Donnell R. White, Thomas Stallworth III,  Rashida Tlaib, and Maureen Taylor. Defendants are Snyder, State Treasurer Andy Dillon, and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. 

Rhodes’ demeanor during the attorneys’ arguments was not friendly. 

“The substance of our case is not about debtor-creditor issues, but about voter law,” Hollowell, the Michigan NAACP’s in-house counsel, said. “PA 436 creates two classes of voters, a superior class of voters with elected officials with full power and duties, and an inferior class of voters. It violates the 7th and 14^th Amendments and therefore does fundamental and irreparable harm. Now, since the law took effect, 50.4 percent of all Michigan’s African-Americans are under emergency managers vs. 1.3 percent of whites.” 

Hollowell noted further that Public Act 4, the predecessor to PA 436, was rejected by 53 percent of voters across the state in a referendum, but then replaced during a lame duck session of the Michigan legislature. He argued that Rhodes does not have the authority to prevent a case which involves the entire NAACP membership across the state from going forward. 

Rhodes told Ayad during his presentation that people in EM-controlled constituencies still have the right to vote. 

“That is an insult to our intelligence,” Ayad replied. “I can vote for a bird, but that doesn’t mean that the bird can do anything. Inherent in every vote is that I want you to represent me as a constituent of this region of the state. If your power is no good, that is no real vote.” 

Protesters at State Bldg. in Detroit June 28,2013; their action forced state supreme court to put PA 4 on ballot.

Rhodes countered,  “What about the state’s argument that the people who made the decision to substitute the emergency manager for the Mayor and the City Council were elected? . . . Is there a constitutional right to have legislators only enact laws that people agree with? . . . . The fact that people supported or didn’t support PA 436 is irrelevant.” 

Ayad replied, “They shoved this thing down our throat. The state Supreme Court ruled to put it on the ballot. The people, the majority of whom were not African-Americans, voted that they don’t want PA 436. The people do have the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the fundamental right to vote. That trumps everything else. . . .What is a democratic society without the ability to vote—what is more fundamental?” 

Hollowell and Ayad said they have not filed an objection to bankruptcy eligibility because their case in Steeh’s court is solely about voting rights. They said they would stipulate that they would not file an eligibility objection if Rhodes grants their request for relief, noting that the bankruptcy case could still proceed under Detroit’s elected officials if PA 436 is ruled unconstitutional. 

Rhodes has not yet ruled on their motion and arguments. 

Phillips et. al. motion still awaiting hearing

Still awaiting a hearing is a motion for relief from the extended stay by parties in the Phillips et al case, filed in U.S. District Court March 27, 2013. Lead plaintiffs are Michigan AFSCME Council 25 staff representative Catherine Phillips and Joseph Valenti of the Teamsters, who are co-chief negotiators with the Coalition of Unions of the City of Detroit. 

Slavemaster Rick Snyder goes after Michigan’s Black-majority cities.

Also included are Russ Bellant, President of the Detroit Library Commission; Tawanna Simpson, Lamar Lemmons, and Elena Herrada, Detroit Public Schools Board Members; Donald Watkins and Kermit Williams, Pontiac City Council Members, Duane Seats, Dennis Knowles, Juanita Henry, and Mary Alice Adams, Benton Harbor Commissioners, William “Scott” Kincaid, Flint City Council President, and pastors representing Rainbow PUSH, the National Action Network, and the Council of Baptist Pastors. 

Their motion and brief was filed in Rhodes’ court Sept. 23, 2013 by local attorneys William Goodman, Julie Hurwitz, Herbert Sanders, John Philo, Richard Mack, Cynthia Heenan, and Hugh Davis. Darius Chaney and Gita Schwartz from the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City are also included. 

The brief says that even Orr/Jones Day did not ask for such a broad stay extension in the debtor’s motion. 

Edith Lee Payne, a plaintiff in earlier lawsuit against PA4, speaks at press conference announcing filing. That suit was stymied when Gov. Snyder diverted it to the Michigan Supreme Court, which never heard it.

“In its current form and breadth, the Extended Stay Order provides that ‘the Chapter 9 stay hereby is extended to apply in all respects (to the extent not otherwise applicable) to the State Entities. . . .’ the Extended Stay Order therefore not only fails to limit its application in the way requested by Debtor, but instead encourages the broadest possible reading, as evidenced by the words of United States District Court, Honorable George Steeh in his Order Regarding Notice of Pendency of Bankruptcy Case and Application of the Automatic Stay . . .staying Petitioners’ declaratory/injunctive relief civil rights actionthat is the subject of this Motion:

“Although it is not apparent that any interests of the City of Detroit bankruptcy proceedings are implicated in the case, the plain language of the stay order would apply to this lawsuit. In accordance with the broadly worded Extension Order issued by the bankruptcy court, this court will abide by the stay unless and until such time as an order issues lifting or modifying the stay to permit the captioned matter to proceed.” (Emphasis added in Phillips brief).

The Phillips attorneys argue that Rhodes “extended stay” order violates numerous provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

“But there is nothing in the Code that provides for staying actions against non-debtor third parties such as the State defendants in the Phillips case,” they say. “Indeed . . . the Sixth Circuit has noted that ‘said provision facially stays proceedings ‘against the debtor’ and fails to intimate, even tangentially, that the stay could be interpreted as including any defendant other than the debtor.’”

They cite profound violations of the U.S. Constitution with regard to due process and equal protection guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment, implicit in Rhodes’ extended stay.  They go back to the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, codified in 1874, intended to cement provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, then cite the Civil Rights Act of 1983.

“The Supreme Court has broadly described the primary purpose of § 1983 as follows:

‘As a result of the new structure of law that emerged in the post-Civil War era—and especially of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was its centerpiece—the role of the Federal Government as the guarantor of basic federal rights against state power was clearly established. Section 1983 opened the federal courts to private citizens, offering a uniquely federal remedy against incursions under the claimed authority of state law upon rights secured by the Constitution and laws of the Nation . . .

“The very purpose of section 1983 was to interpose the federal courts between the States and the people, as guardians of the people’s federal rights—to protect the people from unconstitutional action under color of state law . . . Throughout our nation’s history, therefore, the right of our citizens to enforce their rights under the U.S. Constitution in a United States District Court has been a bulwark of democratic principles. Taking away that right should not be taken lightly.”

Further protests planned, beginning Oct 15

The Michigan chapter of the National Action Network has announced a broad protest outside the U.S. Federal Court building at 321 W. Lafayette, where the bankruptcy case is being heard, for Tues. Oct. 15, 2013. Further actions, including during the bankruptcy eligibility trial set to begin Wed. Oct. 23, were planned during the International People’s Assembly against the Banks and Against Austerity, held in downtown Detroit on Oct. 5-6. Story is forthcoming on that.

Related Documents:

NAACP-EM-436-Complaint-

PA 436 lawsuit Phillips et al

DB Phillips et al motion for relief from order extension

Phillips et al stay brief

Related articles: 

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/09/detroit-as-bantustan-wall-streets-black-goons/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/09/detroit-as-bantustan-wall-streets-black-goons/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/23/detroit-retirees-residents-committee-blast-bankruptcy-filing-at-court-hearings/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/17/official-retirees-committee-in-detroit-bankruptcy-blasts-em-orr-gov-snyder-asks-for-stay-pending-higher-court-ruling-what-will-judge-rhodes-do-sept-19/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/11/dennis-archer-former-consultant-to-detroit-lender-ubs-ag-meets-with-top-obama-aides-execs/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/11/detroit-billionaires-get-arena-help-as-bankrupt-city-suffers/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/09/illitch-plans-881-million-red-wings-stadium-project-with-public-funds-despite-detroit-bankruptcy-filing/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/09/detroit-bankruptcy-filing-slows-michigan-bond-sales-84-high-interest-rates-cited/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/27/secrecy-of-detroit-bankruptcy-docs-release-of-casino-taxes-swaps-retirees-committee-at-issue/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/20/detroit-bankruptcy-objections-raise-possible-bank-crimes-related-to-poc-debt-and-casino-tax-deal-hundreds-protest-banks-in-downtown-detroit/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/20/detroit-schools-set-to-pay-hefty-rates-on-92-million-bond-due-to-city-bankruptcy-filing/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/16/state-stays-lawsuits-vs-em-law-pa-436-citing-detroit-chapter-9-bankruptcy-filing/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/16/no-banker-left-behind-in-detroit-bankruptcy-case/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/14/swaps-probe-finds-banks-including-detroit-creditors-rigged-rate-at-expense-of-retirees/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/12/rush-to-detroit-bankruptcy-judge-sides-with-em-orr-aug-2-approves-retirees-committee-prematurely-sets-breakneck-deadlines/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/12/detroits-pension-funds-within-accepted-standards-experts-say-contradicting-em-orr/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/08/07/detroits-woes-solutions-dont-stop-at-city-limits/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/07/31/orr-wants-detroit-bankruptcy-judge-to-replace-elected-pension-boards-with-appointed-retirees-committee-hearing-aug-2-10-a-m-protest-9-am/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/07/29/war-retirees-workers-residents-v-wall-street-in-detroit-bankruptcy-judge-throws-out-state-claims/

AND MORE—Just put “bankruptcy” in VOD search engine.

Protesters outside bankruptcy court Aug. 2, 2013

By BAR executive editor Glen Ford 

September 25, 2013

“The exercise of arbitrary power allows the ‘Stephens’ of the Black Misleadership Class to feel more a part of the oligarchy they serve.”

“Judge Rhodes will decide whether the imposition of an unelected dictatorship in Detroit represents a ‘Constitutional crisis’ or not.”

Detroit’s Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) dictatorship runs the city the way Samuel L. Jackson’s “Stephen” character ran the white man’s plantation in Django. Without warning, and just to let the niggras know who’s boss, Chief Compliance Officer Gary Brown shut off the electricity to much of the public infrastructure in the downtown area on Friday, September 11^th – of all days! – stranding numerous frightened people in elevators in 90-degree-plus heat, resulting in a least one injury. Asked why he had given no warning to the thousands affected before pulling the switch, Brown smiled like a bad cop who had just beat the hell out of a street kid (he’s a former deputy chief of police). 

“We did start calling our customers prior to taking them down and asking them to turn off air conditioners, but they weren’t responding as fast as we would like them to so we had to send them a strong message by turning the power off.” Who’s The Man? Me and my boss are The Man! 

Gary Brown, appointed Detroit COO by unelected EM Kevyn Orr.

Brown handles the day-to-day overseer duties for EFM Kevyn Orr, the bankruptcy lawyer whose mission is to strip Detroit of its assets and privatize its services for the benefit of Wall Street banks. The power shut-off was a voluntary initiative by Brown in response to problems with the power grid on an unseasonably warm day. Brown’s gratuitous display of disregard for the people and the public servants of the Black metropolis served two purposes: 1) It dramatized deficiencies in the city’s infrastructure at a time when a judge is deciding whether Detroit should be allowed to handle its own affairs, thus enhancing the prospects for privatization of services, and 2) the exercise of arbitrary power allows the “Stephens” of the Black Misleadership Class (he’s also a former City Council president pro-tem) to feel more a part of the oligarchy they are pleased to serve. 

“The appointed Bantustan administrators behave as they do because their antics are sanctioned by White Power.” 

Detroit EM Kevyn Orr, with spokesman Bill Nowling, from Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s office, at his left. Freep photo: Mandi Wright

Under the New American Apartheid, Detroit has been reduced to a South Africa-style Bantustan, administered by hired Black goons in the interests of multinational capital. Just as American slavery cannot be fully comprehended without an understanding of the roles played by the “Stephens,” so the evisceration of “home rule” in Black urban America requires the active collaboration of the Orrs and Browns. In the struggle for self-determination, they are the enemies within who eagerly throw themselves into the buffer zone between the people and their tormentors – for a fee, and the privilege of lording it over the Bantustan. (Brown resigned from his $75,000 a year City Council position to sign on as Orr’s lieutenant for $225,000 – and, of course, an inside track in the corporate looting that will accompany Detroit’s fiscal dissolution.) 

Bantustans of South Africa under apartheid.

The appointed Bantustan administrators behave as they do because their antics are sanctioned by White Power – not just by the predators of Wall Street, who are keenly aware that racism allows them to use Detroit as the model for the next stage of “austerity” mega-thefts, but by white society in general. How else to explain why Boston’s “wildly popular” five-term mayor, Tom Menino, could casually declare that, if he were running Detroit, he’d “blow up the place and start all over.” You could be seized by Homeland Security for mouthing the words “blow up” in connection with any mostly white city in America, but 85 percent Black Detroit is fair game. The worst elements among the strivers of Black America know exactly how to please Bwana. (That’s also why President Obama cannot help but insult Black people, even at the March on Washington anniversary; it’s for white people’s consumption.) 

Let My People Go, Please Massa 

Judge Steven Rhodes with Ponzi Scheme book.

It was like a scene from a bygone world. Nearly 50 citizens lined up to appeal to Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to safeguard their democratic and paid-for pension rights. Rhodes will decide whether the imposition of an unelected dictatorship in Detroit represents a “Constitutional crisis” that should be addressed before the process of cutting pensions and selling off assets should begin. Certainly, the cancellation of white people’s voting rights, to be followed by confiscation of their personal and collective property, would merit Constitutional scrutiny on a priority basis. But, for African Americans, it is an open question.

Detroit resident Bill Hickey objected to bankruptcy at hearing.

“This [Emergency Financial Manager] law has been applied in cities and school districts where the majority population is African American, and I find this to be racist in both its aims, and its application,” Bill Hickey, a 50-year resident of the city, told the judge. Indeed, more than half of Michigan’s Black population has been disenfranchised, a shocking state of affairs that is generally treated as a non-event – or, maybe, in the popular consciousness, it is the world as it should be. 

Judge Rhodes responded sympathetically to the pleas of pensioners who feared destitution in their old age. However, people’s advocates worry that Rhodes will reason that the best way to allay pensioners’ anxieties is to forge ahead with bankruptcy – in effect, using one set of victims’ fears as an excuse to crush the rights of all Detroiters. Rhodes sees himself as a practitioner of “compassionate” bankruptcy – much like “humanitarian” military intervention. 

“The cancellation of white people’s voting rights would merit Constitutional scrutiny on a priority basis.”

Malcolm X, also known as “Detroit Red”

On October 2, he’ll hold a hearing on the NAACP’s bid to proceed with its challenge to the Constitutionality of Wall Street’s rule-by-proxy through Kevyn Orr. The thrust of Rhodes’ decisions to date has been to smack down, as disruptive, any legal obstacle in the sprint to bankruptcy – full steam ahead. 

Bankruptcy Judge Rhodes’ agenda has so far been in sync with bankruptcy lawyer Orr’s strategy: to keep the battle for Detroit in the realm of corporate law rather than the arena of civil, human and Constitutional rights. 

Last November, a large majority of Detroiters and 53 percent of Michigan voters rejected the Emergency Manager legislation, but Republican governor Rick Snyder rammed it through the legislature, anyway. A new survey shows 75 percent of Detroit residents don’t want any cuts in public employee’s pensions, and 78 percent oppose selling any of the precious works at the Detroit Institute of Art. The people of Detroit did not choose bankruptcy – which is an option, not a mandate – and cannot legally be imposed against the city’s will unless the voters have been disenfranchised to more effectively enshrine the rule of capital. 

A brother who they used to call Detroit “Red” coined a formula for this predicament: The ballot or the bullet. The applicability of his words in the current situation shows that we have regressed further than we have overcome. 

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.