VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Edward Sanders and baby, before he was sentenced to life for an offense that happened at 17; he was not the shooter.

Edward with daughter Shay years later; he is now 53, a college grad, and assists other prisoners with legal appeals. He and Michigan's other juvenile lifers are hoping for the success of the ACLU lawsuit.

(Ed. note: In November, 2010, the Michigan ACLU filed a lawsuit, Hill et. al. v. Granholm, on behalf of nine of Michigan’s more than 350 “juvenile lifers,” who were sentenced to life without parole before their 18^th birthdays.  

“The lawsuit charges that a Michigan sentencing scheme that denies the now-adult plaintiffs an opportunity for parole and a fair hearing to demonstrate their growth, maturity and rehabilitation constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and violates their constitutional rights,” said the ACLU.

The ACLU’s complete release and links to the lawsuit and the Second Chance website which supports an end to the policy of sentencing juveniles to die in prison, are at http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=2669. 

A review of federal court filings shows that the defendants, now Gov. Rick Snyder, Richard McKeon, Interim Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections,  and Barbara Sampson, chair of the Michigan Parole Board, filed a “motion to dismiss, or alternatively a motion for summary judgment” on Feb. 28. The motion primarily raises legal technicalities regarding time limits. 

A  motion hearing has been set for April 21 at 2:15 p.m. before U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara, in the federal building on W. Lafayette.) 

Dante D. Collingham

Article below is by Dante. D. Cottingham #259241, Voice of Juvenile Defendants 

As most of you already know, I’ve been in Prison for nearly 16 years now. I was incarcerated when I was a teenager and next month, February 20th, I’ll be 33 yrs old. I literally was forced to grow from a child to an adult in prison, a process that was long, cold and difficult, but yet a process that taught me a couple very important things.

Some of the most powerful things that I read in the sentences that detail my history is the fact that a child has absolutely NO place in an adult prison, I see that a child has absolutely NO place within an adult court room, I see the fact Judges and Lawyers, Parents and Politicians were/are smart enough to do better for the most vulnerable sector of our society. Smart enough to adjudicate its children in a more responsible way that is directly connected to the spirit of rehabilitation that values a child’s potential, and that respects cutting edge science. World history is saturated with stories where societies’ sophistication was far more advanced than societies’ Laws and Policies, that is, until a group of people, like Dr. Martin Luther King and the SNCC, adopted an issue and proactively pursued progressive transformations.

Davontae Sanford of Detroit was 14 when he was convicted of four murders to which a professional hit man has confessed, but Prosecutor Kym Worthy will not withdraw charges against him

Well today, in our era, that issue is a Juvenile Justice Issue. It’s time for the responsible adults of our era to prevent our children being waived into the adult system and being discarded into adult prisons. There are thousands upon thousands of adolescents in adult court rooms and prisons all across the U.S. but it can be stopped with your help, by adopting this issue we can take children from the grips of adult prisons, and place them on the path that leads to their maximal development.

I implore you to go to the Volunteer page and see how you can help.
Thank you for your time and attention and I look forward to working with you.

Dante. D. Cottingham #259241

[In one of my most significant dreams, I shed my human Characteristics, I take the form of a light, a bright mobile soaring light, that is, I take the form of my soul…unadulterated.
I am hovering in what must be a part of space, for the darkness is absolute, and I am instinctively and patiently waiting, for what? I am unsure. Then instantly lights resembling my own start to appear, thousands and thousands at first but by the time they stop coming there is no question that hundreds of millions of lights are before me, hundreds of millions of souls are before me as if we are in an infinite stadium in the sky, enclosed by four walls of darkness, it looks as if I am on a podium in front of millions of stars.

Jennifer Pruitt was a 16-yr.-old runaway when an older woman companion killed a man.

……We are in grave danger of Losing the hearts and minds and souls of our sons and daughters, to the maleficent appendages of our societies. There exists in countries world-wide, from the poorest to the richest, governmental policies and societal influences that are not conducive to our children’s’ maximal development.

Their eagerness to hear me speak to them is unmistakable! It becomes beautifully apparent that I am about to articulate my soul’s essence to the souls of the world’s adult population. So through the utilisation of thought I speak to them, I speak to them about our most precious possessions, our world’s most significant and vital resource, I speak to them about the only vehicle that can be used to navigate the course which leads to world peace, I speak to them about our children, I say to them……..]

Nathaniel Abraham tried in adult court at 11, was sentenced as a juvenile but subjected to media persecution when released, which deprived him of a chance at a career, home, and education; he is now back in prison.

For example……currently in the United States there are two systems for processing Individuals who commit crimes: The Criminal Justice system for adults and the Juvenile Justice System for children. Not long ago these systems differed significantly in virtually all respects, including their principles, procedures and dispositions. While punishment for adults was premised on retribution and deterrence, children were generally subject to diversion or short term legal restraint which in theory emphasised rehabilitation.

However between the 1960’s and present day, the Juvenile system’s philosophy and structure has come to closely imitate the Adult system. Legislatures have narrowed Juvenile Court Jurisdiction, nudged what is left of that Jurisdiction towards a punishment orientation that often downplays treatment and Indeed imposes adult criminal procedures and determinate sentences. Children are being transferred to adult systems far too early and far too often, something that must be reserved for the truly unnameable to treatment, which is a very narrow category for people.

For children are less responsible for their actions because of cognitive and volitional developmental deficiencies and thus should receive special treatment. I mean, the moral and decision making capacities of children between seven and eighteen are inferior, and this inferiority should, must be recognised through treatment in a separate system. Children as a class are not psychologically developed in legally relevant ways, and since it is worldly and humanly possible to reconstruct these governmental policies that advocate discarding its children into garbage receptacle called adult prisons, we must dutifully make that our goal.

Damion Todd of Detroit, 16 when sent to prison

[The light that is my soul glides from before them, I glide amongst them for I desire to see how it feels to be so close to so many souls, but more importantly I want all these souls’ to feel the intensity of my light, my energy. When I am intimately amongst them I acknowledge that there are no skin colours, no religions, no cultures, no social classes to separate us. There’s a deep natural feeling of unification within the energy that connects every soul in attendance. I continue……..]

……….. Since it is humanly, worldly possible to eradicate the feeling of hunger from within the belly of every starving child, to render the famine obsolete, we must dutifully make this our goal, Since it is humanly, worldly possible to eradicate the Juvenile delinquency problem all over the world by focusing on the problem, making it a high priority and relentlessly pursuing the answers, we must dutifully make this our goal.
Since it is humanly, worldly possible to utilise pro-action in each and every one of our communities in the form of being mentors, sports coaches and referees, fighting against the detrimental laws and policies, donating to reputable and effective organisations, we must dutifully make that our goal.

Henry Hill of Saginaw, sentenced at 16

[I soar through the millions of souls until I am hovering directly in the middle of them all, their attention following me intently, then i say with earnest conviction……]

Our every goal is possible to achieve only if we recognise, accept and embrace our natural occupations as Ambassadors, as Diplomatic Officers with the highest rank appointed and accredited as representatives of every child on the face of our earth, Advocating the proliferation of world-wide systems being implemented in Countries everywhere that are designed to ensure our kids reach their maximal development, for that is the only way that future generations have a chance to experience world peace.

Bobby Hines of Detroit, sentenced at 15

[As you were reading this article your physical body was seated stationary in front of your computer, but your soul was with me soaring around that infinite stadium. Goodbye until the next time I summon your Soul!…]

Prosecutor Tom Trzcinski examines witness last year as defense attorney Susan Reed and defendant Jason Gibson listen

By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT – “On May 3, 2010, at 3:38 a.m., Mrs. Danielle Jameson and Paul Jameson made a 91l call,” Wayne County Prosecutor Tom Trzcinski said as he set the scene in his opening statement Mar. 2 in the trial of Jason Alexander Gibson, 27, for the murder of Detroit police sergeant Brian Huff and the wounding of three other officers last May.

“The call was a report of a B & E [breaking and entering] in progress, shots fired,” Trzcinski said. Shortly afterwards, he reported, “Officer [Sgt. Brian] Huff, a large man, over 6 feet, and close to 400 pounds, with a large flashlight, gun still holstered, is on the front porch. [His partner Joseph] D’Angelo flips a chain wire fence to be in a position to see the backyard.”

Detroit Police Officer Brian Huff, dead under mysterious circumstances

“Officer [John] Dunlap hears Huff announce “Police,” and kick the door. He perhaps made it a few steps inside. Mr. Gibson is waiting on Huff . . . .Officer Huff never had a chance.”

Trzcinski then described how Huff, a 12-year Detroit police veteran, was shot twice in the head and neck, with one shot severing his brain stem. A slight man, Trzcinski dramatically acted out the scene, standing close to a jury of 15 members, including six African-Americans.

Gibson is facing 18 counts of murder, assault with intent to murder, and related charges, in the incident which included a wild shoot-out at 20263 Schoenherr near Eight Mile on Detroit’s east side. His trial is taking place in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway, who endured an assault from the daily media last year for giving Smith bond in a 2009 CCW case, which has not yet been adjudicated.

Officer Huff's partner Joseph D'Angelo testifies at preliminary exam last June

Some have contended that the duplex where Huff died was used to store drugs for distribution by the police, and that Huff may have been set up. A close friend of Huff’s said he reportedly blew the whistle on other officers for illegal deeds several years previously.  (See VOD article, “More brutality and corruption likely under police chief Ralph Godbee,” at http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=5112 .)

Several weeks before his death, according to relatives, Huff and his family traveled to San Diego, possibly to seek other employment.

The scenario set up by Trzcinski, and testimony given by next door neighbor Paul Jameson on Mar. 3, contradicted much of the testimony from Gibson’s preliminary exam last June 3.

Side of 20263 Schoenherr; D'Angelo testified he jumped over the fence and later arrested Gibson in the backyard; he said last year he saw no gun with Gibson; witness Paul Jameson lives to the left of photo

During that exam, Jameson testified that he reported “three thumps,” not gunshots, in the backyard of the house during the 911 call. Although Trzcinski entered into evidence hundreds of other items including photographs, bullets, shell casings and blood samples Mar. 2 and 3, the tape of the 911 call was not among them.

Huff’s partner Joseph D’Angelo testified at the preliminary exam that their car arrived on the scene first, and that he and Huff approached the house, Huff from the front and D’Angelo from the back, prior to the arrival of back-up. D’Angelo said he did not witness Huff’s shooting, but arrested Jason Gibson at the rear of the house and handcuffed him to a fence. (See article by this reporter, who covered the entire exam, at http://michigancitizen.com/answers-sought-in-cops-death-p8708-1.htm ).

However, during his opening statement Mar. 2, Trzcinski said a cordon of officers “embraced” (surrounded) the house prior to Huff’s entry.

Paul Jameson

Under direct questioning, Jameson greatly expanded on what he said at the preliminary exam. Two police officers in plainclothes entered the courtroom just before his testimony and sat in the front row of the audience.

Trzcinski avoided asking Jameson what he reported during the 911 call. Jameson, who lives at 20251 Schoenherr, on the south side of the house where Sgt. Huff died, said this time that he heard “loud kicks,” one of which he determined came from outside the house.

He said he exited his house, armed with a Smith and Wesson .45 pistol for which he has a CCW, looked over his privacy fence at the backyard of the duplex, but saw nothing amiss. He testified he then proceeded to the front of his house and took cover behind a tree there, dropping to one knee and holding his gun out with both hands.

20263-65 Schoenherr; duplex at left was involved in shooting

“Then I can see lights moving throughout the house,” he said, noting they appeared to be flashlights on the first and second levels.

“I could hear a police officer vehicle coming down Schoenherr pretty fast, with no siren on,” Jameson said. “Its engines were revved up. It made a U-turn and came back in front of the house. At the same time another car pulled up in front of my tree and an officer got out and tapped me on the shoulder.”

He said he told the officer what he had observed and informed him he was the source of the call.

“More and more officers were coming to the scene in patrol cars,” Jameson said. “Some were unmarked, but pretty much all were uniformed officers.”

Officer Joseph Dunlap at preliminary exam

During the preliminary exam, undercover officers Joseph Dunlap and Brian Glover said they were present at the scene in a black unmarked van. A neighbor from the north side of the house told this reporter last year that the black van was parked in the driveway of the duplex, and that large garbage bags were outside the van.

Photographs of a white van in the driveway were included in the exhibits entered by Trzcinski, but no photograph of a black van or nearby bags was entered into evidence.

Although Dunlop and Glover testified last year that they saw Gibson exit the duplex, gun blazing, Jameson made no reference to seeing him from his prime vantage point, during his testimony Mar. 3.

“I saw officers gathering in front,” Jameson said. “Officer Huff was coming on the scene then. He kind of like took charge. He was rallying people behind him, in uniform, then pretty much looking through a crack in the door. Two or three officers were close behind. I think he was the only one on the porch.”

Jameson began sniffing and crying, although he did not cry during the preliminary exam. A deputy sheriff provided him with tissues.

Officer Brian Huff in candid shot

“I remember Huff looking back and asking, ‘Are you guys ready?’” Jameson testified. “He said ‘police,’ kicks the door open, and I observed him go in the house. Almost immediately I heard two or three gunshots, inside. There was a brief pause, then there were multiple shots outside.”

Jameson testified that after he heard officers moaning that they were shot, he dragged one behind his tree, then helped another officer drag Huff out of the house down at least four concrete steps. He said he was holding one leg while the officer held another, and that Huff was on his “belly.” \

He said he observed blood coming out of Huff’s head after they got him on the ground.

Officer who testified at preliminary

Officer testifying at preliminary

Jameson testified that he and three other officers tried to get Huff into a police car, and he attempted CPR, which he learned while serving in the army. He said that an EMS vehicle “finally” arrived, and that he noticed Huff’s gun was still holstered when one of the EMS technicians told them to take Huff’s belt off.

At that point in the testimony, Melissa Huff, Huff’s wife, left the courtroom and could be heard loudly sobbing outside. Judge Hathaway adjourned the trial in the middle of Jameson’s testimony for the day, at about 3:40 p.m.

Evidence technician Thomas Smith

Prior to Jameson’s testimony, Police Officers Thomas Smith and Raymond Diaz, who are evidence technicians, spent most of Mar. 2 and 3 verifying items that Trzcinski entered into evidence.

On cross-examination by Gibson’s attorney Susan Reed, they said they arrived at the scene at 4:40 a.m., approximately an hour after the 911 call, and stayed until 3 or 4 p.m. They testified that two civilian forensics technicians did not arrive to dust for fingerprints until 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. that morning, and stayed for only a few hours.

Smith said that as evidence technicians, they select items to examine, sometimes at the direction of the officer in charge of the scene. He said neither a blue plastic container nor a large plastic baggie of marijuana, located in the dining room of the house, were dusted for fingerprints. He said the plastic container had a rough surface but could have been taken to the lab for fingerprinting using a different process. It was, however, left at the house along with beer and pop bottles and cans from which DNA samples were taken.

Defense attorney Susan Reed cross-examines witness

Smith and Diaz identified numerous bullets and shell casings from different weapons, including several from the 45 caliber automatic on which Trczinski said Gibson’s fingerprints were found.

(Huff’s partner Alexander testified at the preliminary that he saw no gun with Gibson when he chained him to the duplex’s backyard fence. But Officers Ernie Harris and Christopher Champaign, who arrived later on the scene, testified that a 45-millimeter Ruger 290 hand gun with its serial number shaved off was lying on the ground “a foot” from Gibson’s head.)

Many other items of evidence included 32 and 40 caliber Federal, Spear, and Winchester 45 bullets and shell casings, one of which wound up as far south of the scene as 20221 Schoenherr, confirming Jameson’s report during the preliminary exam that the area “lit up like Beirut.”

Smith also identified items of clothing, including a torn blue hooded sweatshirt and shirt, size 4 X, found in the street along with a cell phone and a large torn plastic baggie of marijuana several doors south of the murder scene. Testimony from officers at the preliminary exam was that Gibson exited the house and ran directly around the side into the backyard, nowhere near where those items were found.

Additionally, a large white towel with some bloodstains, and a pair of black and gray gym shoes, size 13, were entered into evidence. From observation, Gibson does not appear to wear a size 4X or size 13 shoes.

During his opening statement, Trzcinski said the duplex was occupied by a “Mr. Bolling.” However, Smith identified photographs of its interior which showed no beds, dressers or clothing in the closets in the upstairs bedrooms. The only furniture in photographs of the downstairs level were several metal and plastic chairs along with a refrigerator. Smith said the electric meter was missing from the back of the house and no electricity was on.

Huff's uncle T. W. Bankston

A short morning session was scheduled for Friday, with the trial expected to resume next week. Judge Hathaway indicated to the jury that it is likely to continue for up to three to four weeks. In October, Judge Hathaway granted a prosecution motion allowing witnesses including police officers from two previous cases against Gibson to be examined at this trial.

As he left the courtroom for the day, Huff’s uncle T.W. Bankston said, “My nephew is dead, we can’t bring him back. Our family is all praying people, and we pray that justice is brought and the right people are convicted, the ones that killed my nephew.”  

Bankston and his wife attended the Mar. 3 session, along with Huff’s sister Tanise Blair. Various other relatives sat with his wife both days. Also in attendance both days were a man who identified himself as Jason Gibson’s father, and a woman who appeared to be his mother.

Detroit Police Dept. Asst. Chief Ralph Godbee addressed the media last May after police officer Joseph Weekley shot 7-year-old Aiyana Jones to death

 Mohamed Okdie said: “It will be business as usual, and it will be horrible.” 

 Ron Scott, others lauded Godbee  

By Diane Bukowski 

(Ed. note: this story as written last year was rejected for publication while the author was still employed by the Michigan Citizen. It is being printed in the Voice of Detroit now due to its relevance to current events, including the trial of Jason Gibson in the death of Officer Brian Huff, and the recent announcement that Michigan State Police have submitted a warrant request for a man in the death of Aiyana Jones last May 16.) 

DETROIT – Does Mayor Dave Bing’s discharge of Police Chief Warren Evans and his appointment of Ralph Godbee as acting chief portend any change in the Detroit Police Department’s notorious culture of brutality, cover-ups, and corruption?  

Former Detroit Police Commissioner Chair Mohamed Okdie

Not so, says former Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) chair Mohamed Okdie, recently removed by Bing after five years on the Commission. 

‘It’s going to be business as usual, and it will be horrible,” Okdie told this reporter in an exclusive interview. “Godbee is part of the good ol’ boy network, and will go along with anything and do anything to save his job.” 

To explain Evans’ firing, Bing cited his dissatisfaction with a Hollywood promo video showing Evans as a macho, tough-guy chief personally routing out criminals in the country’s former “murder capital.” Bing admitted, however, that he saw the video weeks before he fired Evans. 

Bing also blamed Evans for authorizing the A&E reality TV show “48 Hours” to tail the Detroit Police Special Response Team. That team carried out a horrific assault on the home of seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones May 16, during which white officer Joseph Weekley shot the little girl to death. 

Killer cop Joseph Weekley

Aiyana Jones' father Charles Jones with her photo

Bing failed to note that the show also needed the approval of his appointee in the city’s film office and the city council to operate in city limits. 

Bing did not refer to the bizarre death of police officer Brian Huff, shot to death on the city’s east side May 3 after the 12-year veteran responded to an alleged “shots fired” call. Huff was the only cop of dozens on the scene who did not unholster his gun before entering the residence involved. 

Nonetheless, that case hovers in the shadows of Evans’ one-year tenure and is now in Godbee’s lap.  The lone man accused in the killing, Jason Gibson, faces pre-trial Aug. 6 and trial Oct. 12 in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway. 

Officer Brian Huff

Okdie said he fought for Bing and the Board of Police Commissioners to investigate Jones’ and Huff’s deaths. Godbee represented the police in press conferences on both cases. 

“I instigated a call for an independent citizens’ committee to determine whether police procedures were properly followed,” Okdie said. “Two days after Aiyana was killed, I told Mayor Bing he needed to make a statement and consult with community groups. I said I would help get the groups together. But his response was, ‘It doesn’t matter, people are going to complain anyway.’” 

Okdie said Bing and Evans conveniently dumped investigation of the case on the Michigan State Police (MSP), who he believes will do nothing. MSP Second District Commander Harold Love refused comment on any progress in that investigation during a news conference held by Evans July 1. 

Mayor Dave Bing and Deputy Mayor Saul Green

Okdie said Deputy Mayor Saul Green met with him to squelch his plans to publish a statement on the case, including an opinion from an expert on police matters. 

Regarding the Huff case, Okdie referred to talk around the police department that the scene o his killing was a police-operated drug house and that Huff was set up. 

“I was sniffing around about police procedures in entering that house and they didn’t like it and got rid of me,” he said. “The Mayor’s office wants control of the Board of Police Commissioners, the Detroit Public Schools, the City Council, everything. That’s their M.O.” 

Okdie added,. “What they did to me is indicative of what their future policy will be. The Commission is not a civilian oversight board.” 

Adela Rivera

He noted that police commissioner Adela Rivera is a retired police officer. After retirement, according to news reports, Rivera shot two men to death in 2003 as they exited her southwest side bar. She claimed they had robbed and assaulted patrons and her manager.

Former Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. appointed Rivera. Bing has since appointed George Anthony, a retired Ecorse police chief, as board secretary, and former judge Irma Chenevert to run the Office of the Chief Investigator (OCI), which investigates civilian complaints. In addition, said Okdie, Bing slotted eight additional investigator spots in the OCI for police officers. 

Okdie, who was appointed to the BOPC by former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, is studying for a doctorate in social policy at Wayne State University. He was a social worker at Detroit Receiving Hospital and in the Detroit Public Schools and a community liaison for U.S. Rep. John Conyers. He serves on the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents, and belongs to the NAACP and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. 

Bernice Smith

Ron Scott lauded Godbee

In response to a query regarding whether Okdie was removed for reasons related to the Jones and Huff cases. Bing spokesperson Karen Dumas said, “Mr. Okdie’s term on the Police Commission expired July 1, 2010. The documentation shows that clearly. The administration is pleased about the opportunity to appoint Raphael Johnson to the Commission.” 

During the BOPC meeting July 22, Ron Scott and Sandra Hines of The Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, Inc. along with citizen Bernice Smith, gave unreserved kudos to Godbee during public comment. They said they believed he would do a good job as police chief and that no nationwide search was needed. 

In response to questions from this reporter, Godbee said he would continue a “Comprehensive Violence Reduction Partnership” consisting of eleven federal, state, county and city law enforcement agencies. Evans said July 1 that the CVRP is an “ongoing extended partnership,” with a pilot focus on the Sixth and Eighth Precincts for the summer. 

Detroit police stop and search of young Black males, 2009

 “We have entered into an agreement until the end of the summer,” Godbee said. “This is a temporary means to control violence in the most affected areas, which are determined by crime statistics. It is focused on fugitive apprehension and gives us the investigative capacity and prosecutorial assistance especially as relates to weapons charges. All of us are short of manpower and resources.” 

Godbee also said he would “look into” rampant stops of young African males on E. Jefferson, Belle Isle, and other locations. Many of those stopped have said that police conduct unwarranted and illegal searches of their vehicles. They allege the police do not even ask for their driver’s licenses or insurance information, and are mainly interested in finding guns and drugs, even if the stop is not legitimate. 

Godbee said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the department’s long-awaited risk management database on officers who sustain multiple complaints is now operational. He said he will make every effort to comply with two U.S. Justice Department consent decrees. 

AND SO WHY DID BERNERO LOSE AND THE SNYDER PLAGUE HIT MICHIGAN? Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andy Dillon, right, shakes hands after his concession speech as Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, from left, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, and wife Carol Dillon look on at his primary election night party in Detroit Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

During his 23-year career with the department, Godbee was in charge of former Mayor Dennis Archer’s Executive Protection Unit from 1995-1999, years during which Detroit ranked as the police killing capital of the country, with more killings by police per capita than any other major city. Media exposes of those killings, initiated by The Michigan Citizen, led to the consent decrees. 

Godbee was head of the police recruiting unit from 1999-2002, during which 30 percent of the officers now on the force were hired, according to his published remarks. According to a DPD bio, he was appointed Commander of the Ninth Precinct in 2002 and afterwards became Commanding Officer of the Risk and Policy Management Division of the Detroit Police Department. He became Commander of the Eastern Operations Unit in March, 2005 and was appointed assistant chief in 2007. 

From 1999 through mid-2010, this writer reported in the Michigan Citizen at least 50 killings and shootings by Detroit police that appeared to be unjustified. In February, 2005, just before Godbee left risk management, police shot four men to death. Since the killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones in the Eastern District in May, one man was severely wounded  and at least two other men shot to death in that district by police, prior to Godbee’s appointment as Acting Police Chief.

(Breaking news: The Michigan State police announced after the publication of this article and an earlier one by Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee chair Roland Lawrence, that they have completed their investigation and turned a warrant request for an unidentified male over to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office. Her office has said it will take some time to evaluate the request and decide whether to act on it.)

From the Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee

DETROIT – As of 12:00 a.m., Thursday, March 3, 2011, the Michigan State Police investigation into the alleged Detroit Police involved shooting death of 7 year old Aiyana Jones has not been reported to the public as complete. 

The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee (JAJC)’s position is that regardless of whether Detroit Police Officer Joe Weekley and/or others are charged with Aiyana’s death or not, the wanton disregard and recklessness displayed by the Detroit Police Department that led to Aiyana’s death cannot go unchallenged. 

The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee wants the Detroit Police Department to admit that the way it handled the arrest of a suspected murderer that resulted in the death of Aiyana Jones was an enormous mistake and tragedy.  In addition, the JAJC wants the Detroit Police to destroy its adherence to the so-called “blue code” where police officers cover for each other regardless of their wrong and unlawful behavior.  Even more, the JAJC wants the Detroit Police Department to become decentralized as an entity controlled by a chief/mayor relationship to one ran by a police commission made up of Detroit residents who are elected to the commission.  

“Aiyana Jones has become our child martyr because she was quietly sleeping when the police ruthlessly invaded her space and killed her,” says JAJC Chairman, Roland Lawrence.  “The Detroit Police should create an entity within itself called the Aiyana Jones Public Service Unit (AJPSU) that will oversee its daily operations with the goal of making sure that all Detroit citizens and others regardless of race, income, social status, etc. are afforded a fair, safe and transparent interaction as it pertains to police business.” 

New Yorker Jewel Allison with daughter Honesti at her right leads June 26, 2010 march to protest Aiyana's death down Woodward Avenue; Allison said she was contacted by people from all over the world who were outraged by the police action.

Lawrence says that anything short of this will not help keep police officers in check who are given almost limitless power over non-police individuals.  “Quiet as it is kept, communities and neighborhoods can police themselves,” he said. “Thus, our police departments should be used primarily to advance social civility.  Our police officers should not only be employed to provide stability to disturbances in our society, they should be partners in helping to destroy the social, political and financial inequalities that help create dysfunction, despair and worse in our community.”

The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee wants the death of Aiyana Jones to stand as the line drawn in the sand in its efforts to stop police brutality, especially in poor and disenfranchised communities. 

For further information, 

justice4aiyana@hotmail.com

(Those interested in interviewing a representative of the JAJC can call 313-825-6126.)

Clarence Werdlow, father of Michael Ri’chard (Risk Management), uncle to Sean Werdlow (former Chief Financial Officer) and Dorenda Werdlow (Finance Accounts) passed away over the weekend.  The funeral is Saturday, March 5, 2011 at Swanson’s Funeral home located at 806 East Grand Blvd in Detroit, MI  48207.  The family hour is at 9:30 a.m., funeral at 10:00 a.m.  For any other information, you may contact Michael Ri’chard, telephone number (313) 779-5001.   Please keep the family in your prayers.

City workers demonstraate against Bing attacks, including proposed pension takever

By RON GRACIA

Retired  Detroit General Retirement System President and Board Member

One of my MAJOR Pet Peeves is when statements are made by politicians AND reporters about a subject that is either not true or absent the full contextual framework. In the budget presented by our newly elected governor with respect to taxing pensions a statement was made tov the effect that only three other states do not tax pensions.
 
That is not entirely true.
 
My last research on the subject done last year reveals the following:
 
(A) Only 15 states tax Social Security:

 1. Colorado 2. Connecticut 3. Iowa  4. Kansas 5. Kentucky 6. Minnesota  7. Missouri 8. Montana 9. Nebraska 10. New Mexico 11. North Dakota 12. Utah 13. Vermont 14. W.Virgina and  15. Rhode Island.

(B) THE FOLLOWING I8 STATES DO NOT TAX PENSIONS: 
 
1. ALASKA 2. ALABAMA 3. ILLINOIS 4. FLORIDA 5. KANSAS 6. LOUISIANA 7. MASSACHUSETTS 8. MICHIGAN (AS OF NOW). 9.. MISSISSIPPI 10. NEVADA 11. NEW HAMPSHIRE 12. NEW YORK 13. PENNSYLVANIA 14. SOUTH DAKOTA 15. TENNESSEE 16. TEXAS 17. WASHINGTON AND 18.. WYOMING.
 
(C) WHEN ONE ADDS UP ALL THE TAX ISSUES, SALES, INCOME TAX, ESTATE, REAL ESTATE ETC, THE FOLLOWING LIST, ACCORDING TO AN INDEPENDENT STUDY , SHOWS THE MOST OVERALL-TAX-FRIENDLY STATES FOR RETIREES:
 
1. ALABAMA 2.ALASKA 3. COLORADO 4. GEORGIA 5. HAWAII 6. MARYLAND 7. PENNSYLVANIA 8) MICHIGAN (AS OF NOW). 9. SOUTH CAROLINA 10. WYOMING
 
 MICHIGAN WILL REMAIN ON LISTS B AND C  IF THIS PROPOSAL IS VOTED DOWN IN THE LEGISLATURE.
 
(I WOULD ALSO STATE THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN INFORMED OF ANY CHANGES AS OF THIS WRITING TO VARIOUS STATES’ POSITION ON THESE MATTERS WHICH MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS.)

CAN MICHIGAN RETIREES LIVE LIKE THIS? Photo and test by KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN AP: New Gov. Rick Snyder is getting used to being driven to work each day by a state trooper. But the ride starts each day at his home near Ann Arbor, not at the official governor’s residence in Lansing.Snyder, who is staying in his own home so his teenage daughter doesn’t have to change schools, gets the side benefit of keeping the indoor pool, wine cellar and movie theater that are part of his 10,600-square-foot home. The stately two-story house is in a subdivision of million-dollar homes in Washtenaw County’s Superior township.

(VOD Editor: IF THE LEGISLATURE VOTES IN THE  PENSION TAX, PERHAPS OUR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF RETIREES NOW LIVING HERE, BUYING GOODS, MAINTAINING HOMES, PAYING REAL ESTATE AND TAXES, AND OTHER THINGS BENEFICIAL TO THE ECONOMY, SHOULD CONSIDER MOVING TO THE RETIREE-FRIENDLY STATES. 

A BOYCOTT OF MICHIGAN BUSINESSES MIGHT ALSO BE IN ORDER. AFTER ALL, THE BIG 3 HAVE NOT INCLUDED THEIR LAID-OFF WORKERS IN THEIR “RECOVERY” BY CALLING THEM BACK TO WORK!)

Support reporter DIANE BUKOWSKI’S appeal of felony convictions!

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 11 A.M.

 Cadillac Place, Mich. Court of Appeals (W. Grand Blvd. at Second)

Bukowski under arrest Nov. 4, 2008

As attacks on the rights of workers and the poor are accelerating across the U.S., so are attacks on press freedom. Long-time investigative reporter Diane Bukowski was convicted in 2009 of “assaulting, resisting, obstructing, and endangering” two state troopers. Her appeal, by well-known attorneys John Royal and Sharon McPhail, will be heard this week in front of Michigan Appeals Court Judges David Sawyer, June Markey, and Karen Fort-Hood.

On. Nov. 4, 2008, as U.S. citizens elected the country’s first Black president, two Black men, James Willingham and Jeffery Frazier, died on Detroit’s east side. They were victims of a reckless chase by state troopers who violated numerous pursuit rules; they did not even activate their siren on the packed street of East Davison. Bukowski arrived two and a half hours after the chase. She was there for five minutes taking photos, after identifying herself as a reporter, before she was brutally arrested.

James Willingham, Jeffery Frazier

Bukowski is known for the ten years of coverage she did for The Michigan Citizen on unjustified killings by police, and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s refusal to prosecute the perpetrators. Her coverage of police brutality continues in the Voice of Detroit (http://voiceofdetroit.net), The Final Call, The San Francisco Bay View newspaper, and other outlets.                                                                     

She is appealing her convictions on the following grounds, among others:

• Judge Michael Hathaway barred testimony relating to her First Amendment rights as a reporter.
• Thirty-Sixth  District Court Judge Beverly Hayes-Sipes (now deceased) did not bind Bukowski over for allegedly crossing a yellow tape (which Bukowski denies), the sole reason for the jury’s conviction. 
• Evidence and testimony including a Fox 2 News videotape shows that Bukowski did NOT “assault, resist, obstruct or endanger” anyone.
• Bukowski was denied her right to effective assistance of counsel. 

WITHOUT A FREE PRESS, THERE WILL BE NO ACCURATE COVERAGE OF THE ASSAULTS ON WORKING AND POOR PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD NOW OCCURRING. PLEASE ATTEND BUKOWSKI’S COURT OF APPEALS HEARING TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

For further info, contact Attorney John Royal at 313-962-3437, or Diane Bukowski at 313-825-6126. There is extensive coverage of her case, including articles from international media, on her legal defense website at http://freedianebukowski.org. Her email address is diane_bukowski@hotmail.com.

LOCAL 207 ORGANIZER

Official Newsletter of AFSCME Local 207, Issue # 137, Feb. 28, 2011

Phone: 313-965-1601    Fax: 312-965-1603     Email: afscme207@sbcglobal.net     Website: http://afscme207.com

Lansing rally Feb. 26 during National Day of Protest Photo by Daymon Hartley

If you wonder why you are being asked to go to rallies and pickets — here is a partial list of bills working their way through the Michigan state legislature:

• HB-4124-4218 would give the State Treasurer who is appointed by the Governor the right to declare practically any city or school district to be in financial distress and appoint an Emergency Financial Manager (like the Detroit Public School’s Robert Bobb). The bill has already passed the House and the Senate version has been submitted and 45 EFMs are being trained. The law would empower EFM’s to:
  • terminate labor contracts
  • remove elected officials and ban them from running for office for six years
  • dissolve elected political bodies (city councils, school boards, etc.)
  • sell off a city’s assets (i.e. DWSD, Belle Isle)
  • accrue debt which the residents would be obligated to repay
  • force our pensions to be taken over by an out-state fund (MERS).
• 

  Lansing rally Photo by Daymon Hartley

  HB-4140 would force all public employees into a state-wide health care insurance system and eliminate the right to bargain these benefits. SJR-C would remove the right to bargain health care benefits and puts it under control of the legislature. SB-0007 would require public workers to pay no less than 20% of our health care plan, vastly reducing our take home pay. 

• HB-4152 would freeze wages, including step increases, and pass all health care costs onto public workers. SJR-B would mandate a 5% reduction in all public workers’ pay. 
• HB-4059 would prohibit union officials being paid for union work, either crippling the functioning of our unions, or forcing us to raise dues to cover the difference. 
• HB-4054 (and other bills) would create so-called “right to work” zones, where all unions would be effectively eliminated.

Lansing rally Feb. 26 Photo by Daymon Hartley

Whether or not we have unions now depends on how hard were willing to fight. The elimination of unions is no longer a “possibility”, it is a direct and serious threat. The present target is public sector unions because today most U.S. union members are public employees. If they destroy public sector unions, the rest of the union movement will be too weak to defend itself. If unions are eliminated, or more severely crippled, our wages, benefits and working conditions, which have been eroded for years, will take a steep dive, leaving workers and our families at the mercy of our employers. Remember, vacations, sick pay, holiday pay, overtime rules, the grievance procedure, etc. are not conditions of our employment – they are rights won through union bargaining and hard fought struggle.  

Lansing rally Feb. 26 Photo by Daymon Hartley

In Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Idaho, Oklahoma, Florida, Pennsylvania other states public workers are facing similar, or worse, attacks. Workers, youth and our supporters across the country are fighting back, including weeks of mass rallies in Wisconsin. But the super rich and their bought-and-paid-for politicians don’t fear mere protests. So we must hit them not only with huge demonstrations; we must give vent to our righteous anger, not just our disappointment. We must use Egypt as our model for struggle. The blood-sucking, tax-dodging rich and their corporations must learn the hard way that the working class, the youth (especially Latina/o and black youth) will not let them destroy our lives. We must demand the rights and respect which we deserve.

Police jailed and pepper-sprayed students as young as this fourth-grader during a rally against school closings outside Northern High School May 1, 2007; DFT opposition teachers organized this and numerous other battles against destruction of DPS

From Defend Public Education/Save Our Students

(Note from VOD editor: Due to time constraints, the reports below are directly from the Defend Public Education/Save Our Students coalition. This editor has covered Detroit Public Schools activities for 10 years, watching as DPS has crumbled under assaults by state-appointed managers like Robert Bobb, with massive school closings and cutbacks, while DFT leadership has failed to mobilize its members to stop the attacks.

An updated story on those assaults will be published this week. But meanwhile, the DFT “board” under the leadership of alleged DFT president Keith Johnson voted to expel opposition leaders Steve Conn, Heather Miller, and Tracy Arneau from the union Feb. 28. The daily media is reporting on this primarily from the standpoint of Keith Johnson; if you want to read that side of the story, go there. Meanwhile, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Z6mqjVO1o&NR=1 to watch the video Johnson claims shows Conn assaulting him; it does not, in fact it shows mass opposition from the membership to the swearing in of Johnson and the DFT “board.” Also go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L256NTSufUo&NR=1 to watch Johnson shove Tracy Arneau and be restrained by the police. WHERE ARE THE CHARGES AGAINST JOHNSON?)

At a meeting held Sat. Feb. 26, first hand reports were given about the Lansing protests against proposed takeovers of cities and school districts across Michigan, as well as the current policies of DPS czar Robert Bobb. Also reported on were the March 4 National Day of Action in Defense of Public Education, and the April 13 National Strike called by AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Keith Johnson, current  DFT  “manager” has told Steve Conn that he plans to seek a vote of his Executive Board next Monday, Feb. 28 after school to expel Conn from the DFT.  Conn would not be allowed to attend union meetings, run for union office, serve as DFT Building Rep, or even enter the DFT Building.  Johnson is also bringing internal union charges against Heather Miller and two other DFT members.

DPS teacher Heather Miller was arrested at May 1, 2007 demonstration outside Northern; after which she and her husband Steve Conn were fired by DPS, only to win their jobs back months later with $300,000 in back pay; in photo, she is asking fellow teacher to take care of her young daughter, one of students at the rally

This can only mean that Johnson wants to silence opposition before agreeing to a new set of TIP Priority School concessions and doing nothing about Bobb and Flanagan’s plans for more school closings and teacher layoffs.

We demand that the DFT Election Committee carry out the vote of the last DFT general membership meeting and hold a new DFT officers election now!

For more information, call 313.645.9340

sjconn@msn.com

Follow us on Twitter by texting this exact meassage to the number 40404:    follow steveconn231

Join us on Facebook: http://lt-lt.facebook.com/pages/Save-DPS/113229735379138?v=app_2309869772

Check out our videos at http://www.youtube.com/dftmembers

Northern students take the streets during school walk-out in 2007; they are carrying the Jayhawk banner for their team; Northern and dozens of other schools are now closed, with more on the way; DFT leadership has done NOTHING to stop this assault on Detroit's children

MORE ON CHARGES AGAINST TEACHERS STEVE CONN, HEATHER MILLER, AND TRACY ARNEAU

Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) nominal president Keith Johnson has brought internal union charges against union activists Steve Conn, Heather Miller and Tracy Arneau in a desperate attempt to bureaucratically eliminate opposition to his illegal efforts to reinstall himself as president of the union through a fraudulent ballot count, and to protect his continuing policies of collaboration with DPS EFM Robert Bobb.

In the recent run-off elections for DFT President, Johnson claims to have received 40 more votes than challenger Steve Conn. However, 718 of the 4,625 votes cast were not counted. The election committee refused to follow the bylaws and carry out a hand recount, which would have revealed Steve Conn to be the actual winner of the election. Instead, Johnson hurriedly took the oath of office at the last union meeting, before DFT members could even vote to accept or reject the election committee’s report. Johnson then fled the meeting, after which the members took an overwhelming vote of “no confidence” in Keith Johnson and demanded a new election.

DPS Czar Robert Bobb and DFT President Keith Johnson

“The charges are completely baseless. They are a cover for Johnson’s desperate bid to seize and hold union power dictatorially and thereby assist Rob Bobb in destroying public education in Detroit,” said Steve Conn. “Teachers are united with students, parents and the community to stop Bobb’s ‘search and destroy’ mission against public education in Detroit. We are fighting to restore democracy in our union and to save our students’ right to a public education,” Conn stated.

Johnson’s cooperation has been key to enabling EFM Robert Bobb to implement destructive academic policies which serve only to create chaos in DPS, thereby paving the road for privatization through the expansion of charters.

Last Friday, Bobb ordered a large number of teachers to be removed from the classroom effective today, reassigning them to the classification of “Math Coach” or “Technology Coach.” When Conn and his caucus, Defend Public Education/Save Our Students, organized teachers to resist the removal of teachers from the classroom, Bobb threatened an equal number of layoffs instead.  Whether through reassignment or layoffs, thousands of students will have their education disrupted mid-year, undermining continuity for the students and creating such overwhelming conditions of over-crowding in the remaining classrooms that teaching is impossible.

DPS Teacher Kimberly Porter wears Black to mourn loss of public education for children as teachers fought against contract agreed to by Keith Johnson

“These are untenable conditions. The overwhelmingly black and Latino/a students of Detroit are being denied access to education. The billionaires and their corporations must be forced to pay more taxes so that the government can provide the funds to maintain a functional school system in Detroit. Anything less is the plain racism of a New Jim Crow,” said Joyce Schon, attorney for the Detroit School Board.

Many Detroit teachers will be attending the DFT Executive Board meeting this Thursday after school to demand that the false charges against Conn, Miller and Arneau be dropped, to demand a new election and to demand that the union take action against Bobb’s latest attack on Detroit students and teachers.