Washington — The U.S. government lost $9.26 billion on the auto industry rescue, according to the final accounting released late Monday.
In its report, the U.S. Treasury Department said it recovered $70.43 billion of the $79.69 billion it gave to General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and auto lending arms Ally Financial Inc. and Chrysler Financial. The government was repaid through a combination of stock sales, partial loan repayments, dividends and interest payments.
The books are closed on the program because the Treasury, on Dec. 19, sold its final 11.4 percent stake in Ally, the Detroit-based auto lender and bank-holding company formerly known as GMAC. The bailouts began in December 2008 under President George W. Bush with $25 billion in aid to GM, Chrysler and their lending arms. President Barack Obama added about $55 billion to the total.
Protesters at Cobo Hall Sept. 7, 2014 at event where GM CEO Mary Barra spoke.
“We’ve now repaid taxpayers every dime and more of what my administration committed, and the American auto industry is on track for its strongest year since 2005,” Obama said at a press conference that day.
Under government accounting rules, the U.S. Treasury actually lost $16.56 billion on paper on the auto bailout. As tallied under those rules, taxpayers lost more because interest and dividends paid by borrowers — in this case, the automakers and finance companies — aren’t applied toward the principal owed.
A homeowner, for example, who borrows $100,000 doesn’t get credited with interest payments in paying off the mortgage. That largely explains the difference between the government’s larger accounting loss and the $9.26 billion net loss. In the case of GM and Ally, the government swapped most of what it was owed for stock in the companies. More than $7 billion recovered was in the form of dividends and interest payments.
The government recouped $19.6 billion on the $17.2 billion Ally bailout — $2.4 billion more than it invested. But it recovered just $39 billion of the $49.5 billion given to GM; and $10.67 billion of the $11.96 billion that went to Chrysler.
George W. Bush administration began the bailout.
Still, the government’s losses were far less than the Obama administration originally feared. In early 2009, it projected a loss of $44 billion — an estimate it reduced to $30 billion in December 2009.
In 2010, the Treasury proposed creating a new tax on large banks to pay for losses from the $700 billion bailout program, but Congress hasn’t agreed to approve it. It would raise $90 billion over 10 years. Then-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress in May 2010 the Obama administration didn’t think “it was necessary or appropriate” to apply the tax to the automakers.
The Treasury Department declined to comment on the report Monday.
In December 2013, the Treasury sold its final shares in GM. The Treasury ended its ownership stake in Chrysler Group LLC in July 2011, incurring a $1.3 billion loss on a $12.5 billion bailout. Chrysler — part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV — returned to trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 13.
Cartoon refers to numerous deaths caused by faulty switches in GM vehicle rear-end crashes.
The Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research and others have argued that government losses paled in comparison to the impact that would have followed a collapse of GM and Chrysler. That could have sent much of the U.S. auto supplier sector reeling as well. A December 2013 study said failure of GM could have sacrificed 1.2 million U.S. jobs, cut personal income by $79.5 billion and eliminated $17 billion in income taxes and Social Security taxes in 2009. It could have also boosted government spending by $6.5 billion.
Others have estimated fewer job losses connected with a failure of GM and Chrysler. The biggest unknown remains if — and how long — it would have taken surviving automakers like Ford Motor Co. and other foreign firms to make up the lost production from GM and Chrysler. Ford did not take a government bailout.
Also unknown is if U.S. auto suppliers could have survived the massive disruption of a collapse of GM or Chrysler. Former auto czar Steve Rattner said that the disappearance of GM could have pushed the state of Michigan into bankruptcy. Another big cost would have been the likely assumption of GM and Chrysler’s underfunded pension plans by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the government-owned pension insurer.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told reporters before Christmas that the overall $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program — which was used to rescue banks and a major insurance company, AIG, in addition to GM and Chrysler — will make money overall.
Lew said that in total, the government invested $426.4 billion in the bank, auto and insurance bailout package, and recovered $441.7 billion. But under government accounting rules, Treasury has had $35 billion in losses.
“At the peak, more than 700 institutions were in the TARP bank program. Today just 35 remain,” Lew said.
The industry rescue became a key part of Obama’s re-election and remains a staple of the president’s speeches.
“This program was a crucial part of the Obama administration’s effort to … protect the economy from slipping into a second Great Depression,” Lew told reporters. “This program worked.”
Driver disabled for life in defective GM car crash speaks Sept. 7, 2014.
Detroit retirees and supporters at bankruptcy protest Aug. 19, 2013.
Detroit Active and Retired Employees Association (DAREA) press conference Thurs. Jan. 8. 2014 @ 10 A.M. Nandi’s Knowledge Café, 12511 Woodward, Highland Park; ALL ARE WELCOME!
Detroit—Detroit active and retired workers, residents, and many others, have appealed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes’ confirmation of the bankruptcy plan of adjustment to the U.S. District Court. The appeal (Case No. 2:14−cv−14920−BAF−RSW) was accepted Dec. 30, 2014, with U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman and Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen presiding. (Click on Doc 8981 DAREA Notice of Receipt of Bankruptcy Appeal (1) (1).)
DAREA members include (l to r) Belinda Myers Florence, Yvonne Williams Jones, Cecily McClellan, and Bill Davis. They are shown after Mike Duggan press conference on giveaway of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
“Judge Steven Rhodes’ decision to impair our pensions and health benefits, and disregard the State of Michigan Constitution has forced us to appeal the confirmation of the Plan of Adjustment,” said Bill Davis, President of the Detroit Active and Retired Employees Association (DAREA). “We realize that these are uncharted waters, but we believe this decision must be challenged to prevent further attacks on us and to protect the generations to come.”
He added that the bankruptcy is an attack on a predominantly African-American workforce, and the nation’s largest Black-majority city.
DAREA was formed by rank-and-file Detroit retirees, active employees, and concerned citizens. In addition to cutbacks of city jobs, pension benefits, wages, and health care, it strips Detroit of virtually every asset, including the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, the third largest in the country.
Protesters demand that PA 436 and the bankruptcy be rescinded.
Even former Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said at a press conference after the confirmation that the bankruptcy originated with Michigan Governor Snyder, not Detroiters, beginning in 2010.
It resulted from dictatorial, unlawful, premeditated actions by state government, under Public Act 436. The constitutionality of that act under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees “equal protection under the law,” is currently being challenged in the court of U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh.
The figure of a 4.5 percent reduction to retirees’ pensions cited by the media is false. Retirees will be cut far more than that because their annuities are being slashed 15 percent plus 6.75 interest. DAREA estimates that pensions will be reduced from 17 percent (no annuity claw-back) to 32 percent (with claw-back), annually. This increases to over an estimated 50 percent when you consider the elimination of health care and prescription cost coverage..
Earlier protest at CAYMC: I EARNED MY PENSION!
The income stabilization plan for retirees over 60 whose income is less than 105 percent of the poverty level is welfare and does not address the thousands of workers and retirees under 60, who are suffering the severest cuts, having lost their health care benefits as well as jobs, wages, and huge portions of their pension checks. Pension benefits were “earned” and should be restored as taken from all active and retired employees.
DAREA spokespersons and numerous retirees and city workers will be available to answer questions at the conference.
ALL SUPPORTERS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND!!
DETROIT ACTIVE AND RETIRED EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION (DAREA)
SIGN PETITION, DONATE FOR LAWSUIT EXPENSE, COME TO WEEKLY MEETINGS MONDAYS 11 AM.
DAREA is very active and rapidly growing, with working committees on legal affairs, fund-raising, communications, and others. Members have begun a petition to the U.S. Justice Department which reads as follows:
PETITION:
The Detroit Active and Retired Employees Association implore the U.S. Justice Dept, as soon as possible, to halt any and all pending alterations to retirement plans and to halt further transfers of wealth from the City of Detroit until an Open Civil Investigation has been conducted. Our civil liberties were violated by the State because the Michigan Constitution is contractually obligated to protect pensions. We request an independent, neutral voice of authority to sustain civil liberties versus restraining domination, and to ensure that the actions of the bankruptcy were legal, boundaries were not overstepped, and that rules and laws were followed to the letter and not by whimsical interpretations.
DAREA says in its Call to Action, “We need your financial support, because the appeal process is very costly. We must be able to go the distance and it will take hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not to fight this judgment will allow this ultra conservative movement to set both workers and civil rights back and we cannot sit back and let that be a part of our legacy! . . . If we can get a minimum of 2,000 retirees to donate $200 we would raise $400,000 to put this plan into action.”
To donate to DAREA’s LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, click on http://www.gofundme.com/pensiondefensefund. Or checks can be made payable to the Detroit Active and Retired Employees Association (DAREA), at P.O. Box 3724, Highland Park, Michigan 48203.
WEEKLY MEETINGS
Mondays, 11 AM, at Nandi’s Knowledge Café, 12511 Woodward, Highland Park, 48203. To receive notices of meetings, updates on the appeal and events information please provide your email address and phone numbers via email at Detroit2700plus@gmail.com or call DAREA at 313-649-7018.
Homes in Virginia Park Historic District neighborhood. Photo: Wikipedia
By Joyce Moore
Dec. 18, 2014 (VOD editor–sorry, picked up story late from email.)
Joyce Moore
DETROIT — Somehow, we are putting people in office that make over $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars) a year to represent our best interest! We as a country give away millions to other countries. The City of Detroit: My City, Your City, Our City is clearly under attack. Demolition of beautiful structures with crown moldings, fire places that connect the living room with the dining room, beveled door casings, beveled window casings and beautiful dome ceilings is a short list of irreplaceable beauty and a list of the beauty that is lacking in new construction.
Interior of one Detroit historic home.
My neighborhood is composed of old historic two (2) family structures of which I have converted my two (2) family into a single home. In 2013-2014 I was a recipient of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds – Home Repair Program. I was able under the CDBG – Home Repair Program to get a new roof, windows and a porch of which this GRANT/LOAN will be forgivable within 3 to 5 years.
The purpose of the CDBG funds is to help LOW TO MODERATE income citizens through Federal Regulation (LAWS) and HUD Guidelines. These TAX DOLLARS are very much needed to be used to help build our blocks, build our neighborhoods, build our communities and build our city in terms of removing blight as houses are being demolished as we speak.
See video below with Joyce Moore and Cynthia Johnson discussing CDBG.
Mayor Mike Duggan of the City of Detroit wants to make the CDBG – Home Repair Program for LOW TO MODERATE income citizens a LOAN/MORTGAGE Program that is not forgivable. On December 17, 2014 at 04:06 P.M., I submitted a Complaint to the United States District Court – Eastern District of Michigan against Mayor, Mike Duggan of the City of Detroit and U.S. Housing Urban Development in regard to the CDBG – Home Repair Program funds being a LOAN/MORTGAGE Program. Because I don’t have the $400.00 to officially file the Complaint, I requested an individual fee waiver.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan congratulate each other on bankruptcy approval.
I wanted to add to this Complaint “THE PEOPLE IN THE CITY OF DETROIT and THE VIRGINIA PARK COMMUNITY COALITION – DISTRICT 5”, because this is about those who need the CDBG Funds – Home Repair Program to help with the repairs to their home as a GRANT not as a LOAN/MORTGAGE. Tomorrow, Thursday, December 18, 2014, I will call Judge Terrence Berg of the Eastern District at 1-810-341-9760 and ask him to please grant the fee waiver and expedite our Complaint. Our court case number is 4:14-CV-14775. Let’s hope that Judge Berg is a fair judge.
LET ME SAY THAT MAYOR MIKE DUGGAN HAS DISREGARDED CONGRESS AND ALL OF IT’S LAWS AS THEY PERTAIN TO “LOW TO MODERATE” INCOME CITIZENS………WHAT ELECTED OFFICIAL IS GOING TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE?
Marchers demand moratorium on foreclosures, evictions and other attacks on the people at march in downtown Detroit Aug. 28, 2012.
“I thought they were going to shoot everyone”
Franklins died; Long, Jr. facing life in prison
Confrontations spreading since October, 2o14 Treasurer’s tax auction
Organizers call for immediate moratorium on tax foreclosures
Conclusion of Alonzo Long, Jr. preliminary exam Tues. Jan. 6, 2015
By Diane Bukowski
January 3, 2015
Alonzo Long, Jr. told police in a statement that he did not fire first, and was defending family members as they moved from tax-foreclosed home.
DETROIT – Relatives, friends and community organizers supporting Alonzo Long, Jr., 22, including a half-dozen white high school students, along with relatives and friends of Howard Franklin, 72, and Catherine Franklin, 37, killed by Long Nov. 28, packed the court for the second part of his preliminary exam Jan. 2 in front of 36th District Judge Ruth Carter.
Long faces two counts of first-degree (premeditated) murder in the deaths, which he told police resulted from his defense of family members moving possessions from 15114 Piedmont in Rosedale Park. He said they were confronted by the Franklins, both armed. The elder Franklin bought the home at the Wayne County Treasurer’s October tax auction; it was deeded to him Nov 10.
“My nephew would never have had the intention to kill anybody, and my sympathy goes out to their family,” a woman who said she was Long’s aunt told VOD. No other family members from either side commented to the media.
Long’s attorney, Charles Longstreet II, told the Detroit Free Press that the case “is a question of self-defense.”
Charles Longstreet II of Longstreet Law Firm, said case is one of self-defense./ Facebook photo
Similar incidents, none so far known to be fatal, have been reported across Detroit since the October tax auction. There appears to be confusion over new state laws which allow landlords to remove “squatters” themselves. The laws specify, however, that a court order must be obtained to evict foreclosed owners or their relatives and renters, who are NOT considered squatters, and provide stiff penalties for violations by new owners. They also are extremely harsh on actual “squatters,” putting penalties for “squatting” in the same category as those for “terrorism.”
The Piedmont home was owned by Willie and Margaret Fletcher, and occupied by their grandson, according to a county records and a board member of the Rosedale Park community association.
“The lady started shooting, and I thought they were going to shoot everyone,” Long said in a written statement read by Michigan State Detective Trooper Tracy Walton during the hearing. “My girl Tamika was shot.”
He said after the shootings, he took Tamika to the hospital and returned to his home, where he later voluntarily surrendered to police.
In the statement, Long denied shooting first, and denied stating, “Y’all got guns, I got one too.”
Home at 15114 Piedmont where shootings occurred Nov. 28, 2014.
He said he was sitting in a car outside, and entered the home after his uncle called for him from inside during an apparent argument. He said he did not see the younger Franklin with a gun at first on entering, but did see the elder Franklin with one, putting his hand across his chest to draw it. He said he drew his own gun from a holster and fired at him. All three individuals had concealed weapons permits.
Long’s lawyer Charles Longstreet II objected to admission of the statement because Walton was not present for the entire interrogation and because it was not inclusive of the entire two and one-half hour interview, which was videotaped.
“My client said he was not the first person to fire a shot, and he maintained that throughout the interview,” Longstreet said. “My client said Howard Franklin had a revolver, and [the police] did discover that.”
This is part of one of three new so-called “sqatters” laws sponsored by conservative State Rep. Kurt Heise (R). Although they criminalize squatting, they also protect some rights of previous owners and their relatives, as well as renters, who are not considered squatters.
He also said that sufficient time had not elapsed between the date of the new deed, Nov. 10, and the incident on Nov. 28, for a legal eviction to be carried out. Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Daniel Williams countered that the occupants were “voluntarily” evicting themselves.
Detroit police officer Scott Holbrook, who said he had been on the force for a year, testified that he and his partner were called to the home by an employee of Catherine Franklin. He said they found “a lady on the porch not breathing,” and a “man on a pile of clothes not breathing.”
He said Howard Franklin had a .38 Special Ruger revolver. He said it had not been fired, since he emptied the gun of five unspent rounds before putting it into evidence. He said the gun was in Franklin’s left side shirt pocket, with the handle protruding. On cross, he said the gun would have to have been taken out of the pocket with Franklin’s right hand, causing his arm to cross his chest.
He said he did not examine the woman on the porch. An employee of Catherine Franklin’s testified earlier that she had a gun in her hand when she fell out the front door, mortally wounded. No forensic evidence has been presented.
Judge Carter said she would review a two and one-half hour video of the Long interrogation in camera before resumption of the exam and disposition of the case Tues. Jan. 6 at 1 p.m.
After the exam, Mike Shane of the Moratorium NOW Coalition Against Foreclosures, Evictions, and Shut-offs said they and other groups are instituting a city-wide campaign for an immediate moratorium on all tax foreclosures, due in part to the increasingly volatile situation they represent. He said in particular occupied properties should not be sold, and called for the charges against Long to be dismissed.
Newly installed Wayne County Executive Warren Evans previously called such a moratorium on mortgage foreclosures during his tenure as Wayne County Sheriff.
Mike Shane at rally against Detroit banks in 2013.
“This [type of incident] can happen again,” Shane said. “Clearly county and city officials are running roughshod over the neighborhoods pushing these foreclosures through. There are at least 20 different kinds of irregularities that we’ve found in the foreclosures. Housing is a human right. We don’t need to be increasing Detroit’s homeless population. People are paying too much on property taxes anyway. The county and the city are not emphasizing proper eviction procedures to the people, and Police Chief James Craig is telling everyone to get armed to defend themselves. They’re sending mixed messages.”
He said the Coalition is approaching 20 community organizations this week to get support for a moratorium.
Along with the 15114 Piedmont home, community organizer Agnes Hitchcock said at least 16 others nearby on Piedmont have large past due tax bills, with one foreclosure, one owing for four years, three for three years, and two for two years. All are subject to foreclosure.
Confrontations between new owners and occupants are taking place with increasing regularity.
Ardmore home where winning bidder Tracey Moore illegally removed everything in the owner-occupied house without court order.
One woman told VOD that the home on Ardmore which her husband’s grandmother Faustine Hawkins has occupied since at least 1988 was evidently sold at the October auction. However, Ms. Hawkins had quit claimed the home, where her grandson Keith Dortch spent his entire life, to him in 2012, as shown in county records. Register of Deeds records for both Hawkins and Dortch show no foreclosure action taken against the property. Mrs. Dortch is temporarily in a nursing home recovering from a stroke, but the woman said she is expected to recover and return home.
However, Wayne County Probate Court Judge June E. Blackwell Hatcher granted an Adult Foster Care petition for conservatorship for Ms. Hawkins Nov. 10. AFC claimed in their petition that Ms. Hawkins has dementia, and “the adult has property that will be Wasted or dissipated unless proper management is provided.”
On Nov. 11, the treasurer deeded the house to Tracey Moore of Detroit from the October tax auction.
March 1 meeting on foreclosures, evictions and other community matters, attended by many Rosedale Park residents. At right are Abayomi Azikiwe and Dave Sole of the Moratorium Now! Coalition,
“She [Moore] got a dumpster and had everything thrown out of our home,” the woman said. “Granny is 88 had a lot of treasured properties in there. My husband got upset when he came by, and the police were called, but he wasn’t charged. We filed to take [Moore] to court, but she didn’t show up for the hearing. Now cars keep riding by our house but we’ve changed the locks and my husband has told them not to come back on the property anymore.”
The new so-called “squatter laws” actually provide for compensation to a legitimate occupant for damages three times the original value if they are illegally evicted.
Jamal Gilmer, Sereena Patterson/Photo Fox 2 News Detroit
In another case Dec. 9, covered by MyFoxDetroit’s Ronnie Dahl, Detroit police arrested Jamal Gilmer when he went to the house he had just purchased to get the previous owner, Sareena Patterson, to move out. Angry when police told him he could not order Patterson out without a court order, since she had a deed and was not a squatter, he told the police he didn’t need them and approached the house himself.
Patterson told Fox 2, “When you go from ‘We’re going to work out a deal, I don’t want the house’ to all of a sudden I need to get out, well then you’re going to have to go file the papers, so I can get out.”
West Outer Drive home bought by 25-year-old winning bidder.
Gilmer bemoaned his fate, saying “I had to spend a night in jail. It cost me another $100 to bail myself out and it’s like my hands are tied.”
Channel 7 covered another case Dec. 17, in which the new owner, Brittney Harden, 25, who said she paid $50,000 for the West Outer Drive home, claimed the occupants were squatters.
Fox 2 headlined the story asserting that the occupants were indeed squatters. But the so-called “squatter,” a mother of small children, told Dahl that she had rented the house for seven years from the landlord, who lost it in the foreclosure sale. Dahl reported that Harden has now gone to 36th District Court to go through proper eviction procedures. According to Register of Deeds records, Harden herself lost her home to tax foreclosure earlier in the year.
Video above shows crowd attacking Berkeley, MO police at gas station where Antonio Martin, 18, had just been shot to death by white cop Andrew Weusthoff. Witnesses said he was alive for 30 minutes, but police did not call for medical assistance.
Antionio Martin, 18, killed by Berkeley, MO cop Andrew Weusthoff Dec. 24, 2014.
VOD editor: Note the lack of broad news coverage of this killing, replaced by coverage of the two killings of New York City police. The mainstream media has insisted without proof that Antonio Martin had a gun, even including it in newspaper headlines. His grandmother demanded to see the gun, adding, “These police do some dirty things. They just wait until nightfall for some young Black men and then gun them down.”
Berkeley, MO — Although police in Missouri have yet to officially release the name of the police officer who shot and killed an 18-year-old man named Antonio Martin last month, we have determined his name is Andrew Weusthoff, a seemingly nice guy with a sense of humor judging by his Facebook page, which no longer exists.
The officer’s name was inadvertently released by the St. Louis County police department on Monday after we made a public records request for the full, unedited video as well as the incident report.
We still have not received the full video footage of the incident, but the report we received listed an assault on a law enforcement officer, listing Weusthoff as the victim, which makes sense because police have said from the beginning that he was defending himself after Martin pulled a gun on him.
Andrew Weusthoff, Berkeley, MO cop who killed Antonio Martin, 18 on Dec. 24. Photo of a mock mug shot is from his Facebook page, no longer in existence.
That report also states the case was “exceptionally cleared,” which is a phrase police use to close a case when circumstances prevent an officer from making an arrest as would happen when a suspect is dead.
However, three days later, we were contacted by the St. Louis County Police Department, who informed us that the initial report was no longer valid, sending us an “updated” report.
The updated report, which they sent us today, now states that it is a “homicide” investigation, instead of an assault on a police officer.
And this time, the victim is listed as Martin.
Also, not only was “Weusthoff’s name nowhere on the second report, the case was once again listed as “active,” contradicting what Berkeley police and city officials told the media Tuesday during a press conference that they had conducted their own investigation and determined that the officer shot Martin in self-defense.
Martin’s mother Toni Martin collapses in grief after being informed of her son’s death.
The press conference seemed more of a ceremonial gesture as they were not even the main agency investigating the incident, but nevertheless, the news was reportedwidely, even though the Berkeley Police Department did not provide any fresh details besides mentioning there were now “several witnesses” that confirmed the story, who remained nameless.
The official investigation is being conducted by the St. Louis County Police Department, who say the case is still open, even though their own records indicated the case was closed earlier this week.
Most people keeping up with the stories seem to take the word of police, judging by comments on social media, even though police have not released the full videos, mainly the portion that would show the actual gun.
VOD noted that video shows officer assaulting (pushing) Martin just before Martin retreats backwards, after some conversation. Martin evidently lifts his hand, but it is unclear what if anything is in it. He may very well have been pointing his finger at officer in anger at assault.
So far, police have released three clips, one showing Martin lifting his hand towards Weushoff as if he had a gun, but the video is dark and grainy and it is impossible to tell if Martin was holding a gun, a phone or anything at all.
The other two showing the cop and witnesses scurrying for cover after Weushoff fired three times as he falls on his back, evidently believing Martin had a gun.
Martin, who was pronounced dead shortly after he was shot, is cropped from two of the videos as you can see in the video below and as we discussed here. The alleged gun is also cropped from those clips.
Toni Martin and Jerome Green, parents of Antonio Martin, at candelight vigil after killing. His mother told the media he did not own a gun, and had just left his girl friend’s home to go to the store. His grandmother Margret Chandler, 65, demanded to see actual proof of possession of the gun, including fingerprints, etc. She told the LA Times, “If he was in the wrong, I want to know he was in the wrong I want to see the gun in his hand. I don’t want them to tell me he had it. I want to see it. These police do some dirty things. They just wait until nightfall to see some young Black men and gun them down.”
Police say they did that out of respect for his family, but his family has been asking to see the video.
Police also say they found a loaded 9-millimeter Martin’s body with the serial numbers scraped off, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he actually had a gun, considering police have long used “throwdown” guns to plant as “evidence” when they happen to kill an unarmed citizen.
We are not saying that is the case here, but unless they release the full video, we cannot rule it out either.
All we are asking for is transparency.
Instagram collage of scene of Antonio Martin’s killing.
Questions Remain Unanswered in Berkeley Police Shooting of Antonio Martin Near Ferguson
A Missouri cop shot and killed a man Tuesday night in St. Louis County, two miles from Ferguson, sparking more civil unrest as protesters clashed with police in the aftermath of the shooting.
Berkeley police say the 18-year-old man pulled a gun on the cop, causing him to fear for his life, which led to the officer pulling his own gun out and firing.
Police even provided a surveillance video that shows the suspect, Antonio Martin, raising his arm towards police as one would raise a gun.
But police cut the video immediately after that motion, preventing the public from seeing the cop pulling out his own gun and firing, insisting they are doing it out of respect for Martin’s family.
Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins holds press conference after killing. Both he and the suburb’s police chief are Black, and are saying the killing was necessary, as mainstream media has happily pointed out.
They also said the officer was assigned a body cam, but was not wearing it. And they say the car was equipped with a dash cam but it only turns on when the cop turns on his emergency lights, which was not the case here.
And the only reason the cop was not wearing his body cam was because he had not been trained to clip it on his uniform and turn it on, which takes approximately six months to get it right, said Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins.
“At this point it’s relatively new,” Hoskins said of the body cameras. “We only have three [body cams], so if it had been six months from today and we had gone through all the training I would have some concerns.”
But since authorities have the gas station surveillance video that shows the interaction, Hoskins said he wasn’t concerned about the lack of body cam footage.
“It would’ve been helpful, and in the future and when we get well trained, there will be a severe penalty for an officer who does not turn it on,” Hoskins added.
Protesters at gas station where Martin was killed are attached by police.
But the gas station video doesn’t contain audio nor a close-up of the interaction as the body and dash cams would have.
The incident took place Tuesday night at about 11:15 p.m. when the officer, a 34-year-old white man, drove up to the gas station in response to a report of a robbery.
The video shows Martin and a friend, both black men, standing in front of a convenience store at a gas station. They begin to walk away as the cop pulls up and steps out of the car.
Tweets allegedly from “Imperial Wizard” of KKK.
Martin’s friend walks up to the cop while Martin walks away from the cop. The cop, who has a lit flashlight in his hand, then appears to order Martin to walk towards him, which he does.
The cop then appears to want to frisk Martin, placing his hands on him as if to have him step up against the car with his hands on the hood, but Martin takes a few steps back.
It was then when police say he pulled out a gun, but it is impossible to determine from the video if he really did have a gun. Police say they recovered a 9-millimeter gun with its serial number scraped off. They also said Martin’s friend ran off.
Hundreds of protesters descended upon the scene, resulting in clashes with police, adding more fuel to the already tense national environment between citizens and police.
Witnesses on Twitter say Martin remained alive for 30 minutes but police refused to provide him medical assistance. Here is a dispatch recording from the minutes after the shooting where the dispatcher is asking for help with crowd control but not for an ambulance.
Protesters shut down Interstate 170 the night after Martin was killed.
While police insist the video should clear any doubts up, there are still many unanswered questions:
Why didn’t the officer have his emergency lights considering he was speaking to a pair of potential armed robbers, which would have ensured his dash camera would have been turned on and surely have captured the entire incident at close range?
Why would a patrol car’s dash cam even be set up to where it only turns on if the car’s emergency lights are turned on? How would that help in an ambush as we saw in New York City where two cops were killed just sitting in their car with their emergency lights turned off?
How did the cop manage to pull out his gun so fast if he was already holding a flashlight in his right hand and the suspect’s alleged gun was pointing at him from point-blank range?
Why do the cops insist on not showing us the entire footage, claiming it is out of respect for the family when respect for the truth should take a much higher priority, especially in an incident that could lead to more riots? After all, we recently learned how editing a video in mid-action can completely alter a story.
Is there more footage from other cameras they are not showing us, perhaps closer angles as the one they are showing us is quite far?
Will Martin’s fingerprints be found on the gun, which had its serial number scraped off?
Is it possible that Martin could simply have been pointing his finger at the cop, telling him to back off from trying to illegally search him?
Is it possible the gun could have been planted as police departments have done in the past to justify shooting unarmed citizens, including recently in New York City ?
Why did police initially describe it as a “routine business check” only to later say the cop was responding to a robbery call, which would normally prompt the use of emergency lights? But then why not just release the entire video instead of allowing tensions, speculations, accusations and anger to continue to grow in the wake of yet another police shooting death?
Here is the surveillance video as well as a video of the clashes after the shooting.
It’s also quite possible that everything went down exactly how police explained it, which would give the cop more than an enough justification to kill Martin.
Police officers turn their backs as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the funeral of New York city police officer Rafael Ramos in the Glendale section of Queens, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, in New York. Ramos and his partner, officer Wenjian Liu, were killed Dec. 20 as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street. The [alleged] shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, later [allegedly] killed himself. Cops blamed DeBlasio for speaking out against racist killings by police. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
By Jalil A. Muntaqim
December 30, 2014
Once again, the nation is compelled to mourn the death of police officers. Rightly so, if such mourning changes the dynamics of the relationship between a para-militarized police and the communities in which they patrol. By no sense of the imagination should anyone be cavalier about the killing of a police officer, no more than they shou1d be when a police officer wrongly kills a civilian, especially an unarmed civilian. But that is the point.
When the valorization of the life of a police officer is raised to the level of hero-worshipping, what does that do to the psyche of the general population in respect to their own lives? Thus, the PBA’s demagoguery (presumably to enhance future contract negotiations) and self-righteous condemnation must be viewed in light of how it ultimately serves to improve police-community relationships(?).
In my previous blog, “Hands Up–Don’t Shoot,” I ended by stating, “…it is time to ensure Black lives matter as much as white lives, and that all people’s lives are as sacred as police lives.” So, that leads to the question, how is that possible when police lives are considered far more valuable than anyone else’s; they are more valued than a sanitation worker’s, a postal worker’s, the bus and taxi driver’s, all of whom serve the community.(?)
Antonio Martin, 18, killed by white Berkeley, MO cop Dec. 23, 2014.
Kaijeme Powell, killed by white St. Louis cops Oct. 8, 2014.
Vonderrit Myers, 18, killed by white St. Louis cop Aug. 23, 2014.
Michael Brown, 18, killed by white Ferguson MO cop Darren Wilson Aug. 9, 2014.
[VOD: The four young Black men above were killed by white cops in and around St. Louis, MO, between August and December, 2014, with Martin targeted after the NYC cops were killed. The media downplayed the movement against such slaughter in the wake of NYC cop killings, extolling police instead and providing extensive coverage of their funerals. Is it certain their killings were not a set-up to derail the anti-police killings movement?
Jordan Baker, killed by white Houston cop Jan. 2014, terming him a suspect for wearing a hoodie.
Dontre Hamilton, killed by white Milwaukee cop for sleeping in park April 30, 2014.
John Crawford, killed by Ohio city police at Walmart .
Some so-called “national” leaders of the movement such as Al Sharpton continued to harp on “peaceful” protests. Meanwhile, many other such killings by police across the U.S. continue. The day Antonio Martin died, another grand jury in Houston, Texas refused to indict a cop in the killing of Jordan Baker, 26, in Jan. 2014. On Dec. 22, a Milwaukee grand jury refused to indict a white cop for killing Dontre Hamilton, 31, for sleeping in a park. Earlier, an Ohio grand jury refused to indict white cops who killed John Crawford for holding a toy air gun off the shelves of a Walmart store.]
Granted, police officers, like firemen, at times put their lives on the line to safeguard the lives of others. It is terrible that in our highly developed technological society, our humanity has yet to reach a point in which the police have not become obsolete. However, I am of the opinion that all of our humanity is challenged by the historical dynamic of racism and. capitalism (exploitation and profiteering).
St. Louis County police advance on protesters of Michael Brown’s death, after torching of businesses.
As was learned from OWS, 1% of the popu1ation controls and owns 99% of the country’s wealth. Unfortunately, more often than not, the police are used as tools of the capitalist class to protect financial interests over human interests. This is especially disconcerting as it pertains to the racialized disenfranchised and poor, such as racial profiling. In this regard, police violence represents the interests of the State. As I was once told, the police are the first line of defense for the maintenance of state power. If this is true, then it is extremely important the community-at-large recognizes how their lives are only as important as the state permits, for as long as they are exploitable/profitable.
Two dozen protesters from a gun club named after the founder of the Black Panther Party marched through the streets of South Dallas on Wednesday. The open-carry rally was organized by the Huey P. Newton Gun Club to promote self-defense and community policing in response to recent police shootings.
Obviously, the dichotomy between the institution of police and society needs to be investigated and reevaluated, especially, when one is armed (militarized) and the other, for the most part, unarmed and vulnerable. The public perception and discourse imposed by corporate media shapes our collective thinking on the legitimacy of violence; state violence is legitimate, and any violence not sanctioned by the state is illegitimate. We then consciously accept the inevitability of the state, and thus the virtue of its violence.
Hence, community violence in inner cities is not sanctioned by the state, and therefore, it must be policed. Generally, we agree with this policing, when it saves lives and establishes social order. However, there is a causation for inner-city violence that is not readily considered for problem-solving, only managed by policing.
Black Panther Party breakfast program, which became model for free meals in schools.
Forty years ago, the Black Panther Party sought to challenge the causation of inner-city violence. The BPP attempted to rid the community of drug dealing, gang violence, and police brutality and murder, creating free breakfast programs, free community health clinics, supporting tenants’ rights, etc. In response, the BPP was confronted with the full force of state violence, essentially destroying a movement with the potential of de-criminalizing the community, forging a revolutionary future. Lest we forget, permit me to remindus all, the death of a movement for liberation serves to keep in place the status quo of state violence in all of its forms.
Again, we must loathe all those who fail to recognize the sanctity of life. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to reject corporate media efforts to confuse the valorization of police above and beyond deaths of unarmed civilians killed by police. The noble protest against police violence must not be undermined or in any way disputed; the communities’ grievances are real and must be resolved with justice. We cannot afford to continue to preserve the dichotomy that lends to inferior to superior social paradigm in class andrace relationships, and we certainly should not seek to maintain socio-economic disparity that lends to inequitable distribution of wealth.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The De-Militarization and De-Centralization of police is the primary objective that will serve to ensure the safety of the community. The demand for community control of the police strengthens the capacity of the community to police themselves, ridding the community of outside armed and potentially racist forces occupying the community.
In this regard, Martin L. King, Jr. raised the following:
“The question is not whether we will be extremists but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?”
The First Line of Defense IS Power to the People!
Fist Up Fight Back!
Remember: We Are Our own Liberators!
Jalil A. Muntaqim
Attica 12/22/14
Anthony J. Bottom #77A4283 Attica C.F. P.O. Box 149 Attica, NY 14011-0149
DETROIT FACES 37,000 TAX FORECLOSURES OF OCCUPIED HOMES IN 2015. FROM “WHY DON’T WE OWN THIS” WEBSITE.
Detroit faces 37,000 tax foreclosures of occupied homes in 2015
Coalition calls for Wayne County Moratorium on Tax Foreclosures
Drop the charges against Alonzo Long, Jr., facing life in prison for defending family members against armed intrusion of home by auction winners
Alonzo Long, Jr., 22
DETROIT –The case of Alonzo Long, Jr., 22, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of armed “landlord” home intruders, has broad implications for homeowners and occupants of all ages everywhere. The second part of Long’s preliminary exam will be held Friday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. before 36th District Court Judge Ruth Carter.
As the New Year of 2015 rings in, the Detroit-Why Don’t We Own This website declares 62,000 Detroit properties are up for tax foreclosure, with 37,000 thought to be occupied. The Wayne County Treasurer’s Office earlier told an attorney with Moratorium on Foreclosures, Evictions, and Shut-offs NOW! that their office will not declare a moratorium on these foreclosures, many of which are legally suspect.
A recent study by the American Journal of Public Health found that the home foreclosure crisis is directly tied to an increase in the national suicide rate.
Suicides up nationally, linked to wave of home foreclosures.
“Our results suggest that the foreclosure crisis significantly contributed to the increase in suicides in the Great Recession,” said their report, titled The Home Foreclosure Crisis and Rising Suicide Rates, 2005 to 2010, published in April, 2014. “Importantly, the effects of foreclosures on suicides were strongest among middle-aged adults, especially those aged 46 to 64 years, helping to explain the recent rise in middle-aged suicide.”
In addition, the report says, neighbors who lived near foreclosed homes showed significant increases in their blood pressure rates.
According to testimony at the first part of Long’s preliminary exam Dec. 17, he acted in defense of his family members against Howard Franklin, 72, and Catherine Franklin, 37, in the incident Nov. 28. The elder Franklin had purchased the home at the October tax auction, with the deed going into his name Nov. 10.
The home was occupied by a grandson of Willie and Margaret Fletcher, an elderly couple who had title to the home before it was foreclosed. The grandson and others were moving his possessions out of the home when Howard and Catherine Franklin showed up, “brandishing guns,” according to conversation overheard by their employees in a subsequent confrontation.
36th District Court is where Detroit landlords must go to handle eviction proceedings. Located at 421 Madison Avenue in downtown Detroit, it is also the court where the second part of Alonzo Long Jr.s hearing will be held Fri. Jan. 2 @ 1pm.
Howard Franklin did not follow the law by first going to 36th District Court’s landlord-tenant division and filing for eviction, a mandatory process with notice to occupants that, if successful, is carried out only by Wayne County bailiffs. The Franklins had no right even to enter the premises without permission of the occupants, according to the treasurer’s bidding requirements.
During the confrontation, the employees, who had run outside, said they heard remarks from inside including, “The police gave us more time,” and “Now you’re brandishing guns.” That’s when the three women and one man moving the possessions called for help from Long, Jr., who was sitting outside the home in a car in the driveway. One of the women was wounded, likely by one of the Franklins.
The employees testified they knew both Franklins were armed. One said Catherine Franklin was holding a gun when she fell out of the front door, fatally wounded. They testified they saw Long, Jr. enter the home with a gun held “straight-arm” down at his side, pointing downwards, after the call for help from inside, and then saw and heard gunshot flashes and sounds.
Occupy Detroit and Moratorium NOW defend a home from eviction Dec. 6, 2011
Although the subsequent deaths of the Franklins are tragic, especially for their family members, they had broken the law by trying to carry out an eviction themselves, entering the premises with guns. The Wayne County Treasurer’s office does not give winning auction bidders instructions on how to deal with occupied properties at 36th District Court.
To avoid future catastrophic consequences of the foreclosure tide, including suicides and the devastation of neighborhoods throughout Detroit and Wayne County, Mike Shane of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition said they are calling on Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz to declare a moratorium on tax foreclosures in 2015.
The attempt to incarcerate Alonzo D. Long, Jr. for life is part of a national policy.
Meanwhile, a Detroit youth who was defending his family from the illegal actions which resulted from one of these foreclosures, faces life in prison.
Shane said they are also calling for charges against him to be dismissed on the basis of self-defense and defense of others. They and other community activists plan to be in 36th District Court to support the young man Friday, Jan. 2, at 1 p.m.
DISMISS THE CHARGES VS. ALONZO LONG, JR.! CALL AN EMERGENCY MORATORIUM ON TAX FORECLOSURES IN WAYNE COUNTY!
Rev. Pinkney addresses rally in Benton Harbor against Whirlpool, Emergency Manager law May 26, 2012.
Editor’s Note: HEARING ON PINKNEY PRE-SENTENCING MOTIONS JAN. 15
VOD spoke with Rev. Pinkney’s wife Dorothy Pinkney and their family spokesperson Larry Pinkney (not related) Dec. 28. They informed VOD that Rev. Pinkney’s attorneys filed two motions prior to Rev. Pinkney’s Dec. 15 sentencing to 2.5 to 10 years in state prison. Berrien County Judge Sterling Schrock refused to hear them at the time, but they will be heard in his courtroom Jan. 15, 2014, at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan.
(L to r) Rev. Pinkney, wife Dorothy, supporter and organizer Marcina Cole during fund-raiser at UAW Local 22 hall in Detroit Sept. 8, 2014.
One motion alleges that the prosecution and court knowingly planted a juror, Gail Freehling, who is friends with one of the chief witnesses against Rev. Pinkney, Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler.
It says Freehling also knows the Berrien County Sheriff, who initiated the raid on Rev. Pinkney’s home in May and continued terrorizing Benton Harbor residents who signed petitions to recall Mayor James Hightower. The second is a motion for mistrial, which states there was no evidence for a guilty verdict. It also includes an appeals court decision affirming that violations of the election law are misdemeanors, not felonies. Both are included at Rev. Pinkney motions from attorney Tat Parish.
Rev. Pinkney’s photo from Charles Egeler Reception Facility shows that he remains strong, optimistic and unbowed.
Dorothy Pinkney told VOD, “I cannot visit my husband yet because he is still in quarantine at Jackson prison, but I am able to receive calls from him. His spirit is good. His voice sounds like himself. He is still hoping to come out of this situation. He knows a lot of people are concerned and working on his behalf against this racist attack. We’re all waiting on the judge’s decision on the motions Jan. 15. An appeal is ready to go forth if they are denied.
“My husband is the only voice in the community for the people,” Mrs. Pinkney continued. It is so obvious how they pushed this trial even without evidence, in an attempt to silence him. He wants people to continue the battle to free Rev. Pinkney, and to boycott Whirlpool, Harbor Shores, and the Senior PGA in Benton Harbor. I am holding up, holding on to my faith and beliefs, strengthened by the support out there. I still remain hopeful that my husband will be released soon.”
Rev. Pinkney asks that everyone continue the boycott of Whirlpool, as well as the Harbor Shores development, and the Sr. PGA which is held at its golf course, all backed by Whirlpool.
Dorothy Pinkney said when the appeal is filed if the motions are denied, the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) plans to become involved in the case. She said her husband is locked down 23 out of 24 hours a day, and is assigned only one hour a day to make phone calls, so she remains available at any time for his calls.
Larry Pinkney said, “We view this horrendous attack not only as an attack against Rev. Pinkney, but on all of us. Our intention is to publicize his case nationally and internationally, and raise funds for his defense.”
He said contributions can be made online through PayPal on the Black Autonomy Community Network Organization (BANCO) website at http://www.bhbanco.org/. Contributions through check or money order can be mailed c/o BANCO, 1940 Union Ave. Benton Harbor, MI 49022.
Rev. Pinkney is currently housed at the MDOC intake facility in Jackson. He can receive mail at the following address:
Rev. Edward Pinkney #294671
Charles Egeler Reception & Guidance Center (RGC)
3855 Cooper St. Jackson, MI 49201-7547
Supporters of Rev. Edward Pinkney comfort Dorothy Pinkney after his sentencing Dec. 15, 2014. They Include Detroiters Abayomi Azikiwe, Marian Kramer, and Monica Patrick. Photo by Joh Madill/donated to People’s Tribune.
Activists around the US are angered over racial injustice in southwest Michigan
Pinkney serving 2.5 t-10 years in state prison for alleged “forgery under the Michigan election law;” MSP tech testified there was no evidence
Sign petition to Eric Holder demanding release
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Pan-African News Wire
December 20, 2014
DETROIT — Michigan political prisoner Rev. Edward Pinkney is now being held in Jackson state prison. He remains in good spirits despite what many Michigan citizens have labeled the “racial injustice” that has landed him in detention over claims he changed the dates on five signature entries on a recall petition designed to remove Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower.
$85 Million Whirlpool headquarters on St. Joseph River in Benton Harbor. Whirlpool shut down all its plants in Benton Harbor, laying off thousands, and is now in the midst of a massive land grab.
During the course of the trial there was no material or circumstantial evidence presented that would implicate Pinkney in the purported five felonies. Many believe the Berrien County activist and leader of the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO) is being punished by the local authorities for opposing the corporate program of Whirlpool Corporation, which is headquartered in Benton Harbor.
In 2012, Pinkney and BANCO led an “Occupy the PGA” demonstration against the world-renown golf tournament that was held at the newly-created Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course on Lake Michigan. The course was carved out of Jean Klock Park, which had been donated to the City of Benton Harbor decades ago.
Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower at Whirlpool HQ event.
Berrien County officials were determined to defeat a recall campaign [in which Rev. Pinkney participated] against Mayor James Hightower of Benton Harbor who opposed a program to tax local corporations [like Whirlpool] in an effort to create jobs and improve conditions in the majority African American municipality. Benton Harbor, like other Michigan cities, has been devastated by widespread poverty and unemployment.
Statements of support pour in
This is not the first time that Pinkney has been imprisoned for his political activities. In 2007, he was convicted in a second trial, with the first ending in a hung jury, for “mishandling” absentee ballots during a recall election involving two Benton Harbor City Commissioners. The results of the elections removing the officials were overturned after criminal charges were filed against the BANCO leader.
Pinkney was sentenced to one year under house arrest and four more years of probation. Later in 2007, he was charged with violating his terms of the sentence for allegedly threatening a judge in Berrien County.
The threat charge stemmed from an article he wrote in the People’s Tribune newspaper based in Chicago where he quoted scriptures from the Old Testament. He was ordered imprisoned for 3-10 years.
The charges were overturned in late 2008 by the Michigan Appeals Court after the activist received widespread support from the civil liberties, ecumenical and academic communities across the country. He was released at the end of 2008, and successfully completed his probation returning to full-time activism in Berrien County.
Rev. Pinkney ran for Congress against Whirlpool-sponsored Fred Upton on the Green Party slate in 2008.
Pinkney, in 2008 from his prison cell, ran for United States Congress on the Green Party ticket in Michigan. He received 3,500 votes in a challenge to Fred Upton, a Republican congressman and heir to the Whirpool corporate dynasty.
In a Dec. 17 statement issued by Green Party Watch, the organization says, “The overt targeting of an African American activist for a politically-motivated prosecution is reminiscent of recent episodes involving Chuck Turner and Elston McCowan, both Greens who challenged the power structures in their communities. In a system where police officers regularly kill unarmed African American men without facing trial, it is especially galling that the same system sentences an African American activist to up to 10 years imprisonment on trumped-up, politically-motivated charges.”
Black Agenda Report, a well-known media outlet opposing the corporate influence over African American politics in the U.S., wrote in an editorial last week, entitled, Whirlpool and Racism Imprison another Black Leader, “This may seem like an Old Jim Crow story, about a preacher from a small, mostly Black town who wanted only to help his people through the voting process, but is set upon by backward whites determined to maintain their monopoly on political power. And, it is true; Old Man Jim Crow is alive and well on the banks of Lake Michigan.”
The same editorial continues, “But it is the New Jim Crow, the Mass Black Incarceration State, that has snatched 66 year-old Rev. Pinkney away to what could become life in prison. The judge and prosecutor said Pinkney’s 12 past and present felony convictions make him a career criminal, even though each count stems from an elections process. The Old Jim Crow would have unapologetically sent Pinkney to the chain gang for being an uppity Black man, but the New Jim Crow simply piled on a bunch of felonies to put him away as a serial criminal, allowing the system to claim race had nothing to do with it.”
A national conference call was held on Dec. 18, designed to build a defense campaign. Former Vermont State Senator Ben-Zion Ptashnik initiated the call through the People Demanding Action organization. (Ptashnik is also co-editor of Truth Out.)
The conference call included activist members of the clergy, electoral reform organizers, former Green Party candidates, progressive Democrats, the People’s Tribune newspaper, Moratorium NOW! Coalition, and others. The call provided an update on the case, plans to publicize the plight of Rev. Pinkney and the people of Berrien County, recruiting a legal team and a fundraising drive to proceed with an appeal.
Ptashnik and Victorial Collier wrote in on Dec. 16 that “Concerned activists and clergy associated with People Demanding Action, a national social justice organization, are circulating a petition to ministers and various organizations. The petition is to be forwarded to the U.S. Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder, asking for an investigation into the circumstances of Pinkney’s trial and sentencing. To sign the petition, click on:
Grand and great-grandmother Nora Rodman in hospital bed, has been crying to see her family members. Attorney Mary Rowan has refused them access.
Family, anguished by guardian Mary Rowan’s refusal to let them visit Nora Rodman, 84, who is dying, contacts VOD after reading Robinson story
“My mom died 7 years ago. My grandma is the last piece of her I have left. I just want me and my kids to spend the time she has left with her.”
“My grandma calls out our names all day.”
Update on Gayle Robinson case: Judge orders 6-month co-guardianship including Rowan Dec. 9
By Diane Bukowski
December 23, 2014
Nora Rodman with cards on bedside table.
Wayne County, MI—After reading VOD’s story on guardian Mary Rowan’s abuse of her ward Gayle Robinson, a third family has contacted VOD about Mrs. Nora Rodman, 84, another ward of Rowan’s.
They say Rowan is barring Mrs. Rodman’s daughters, grand-children, and great-grandchildren from seeing her in hospitals and nursing homes. Ms. Rodman is likely dying.
“When my mom called Qualicare she was told that my grandma is not allowed to have any visitors,” a granddaughter of Mrs. Rodman’s told VOD. My grandma is in her last days with end stage CHF and renal failure. My grandma calls out our names all day and we do not understand how [Mary] Rowan can ban our family when it is clearly not in my grandma’s best interest.”
Rowan told one family member that she herself has not seen Mrs. Rodman, although guardians are required to visit every three months. She was appointed Aug. 4, 2014.
Wayne County Probate Court Judge June Blackwell-Hatcher. Photo from law school alumni newsletter.
Mrs. Rodman had just been released from Providence Hospital after various other placements in nursing homes and hospitals, and is now at Qualicare on E. Grand Blvd. in Detroit.
Family members believe Rowan is causing her needless suffering through prolonged medical procedures.
Wayne County Probate Court Judge June E. Blackwell-Hatcher, the daughter of Robert Blackwell, appointed Rowan as guardian in Mrs. Rodman’s case Aug. 4, 2014.
Mrs. Rodman’s granddaughter Amanda Ulmen was in tears as she discussed Rowan’s refusal to let her see her grandmother in the hospital. Since Rowan is listed as guardian in hospital records, hospital personnel must abide by her decisions.
“My mom died seven years ago,” Ulmen said. “My grandmother is the last piece of her that I have left. I just want me and my kids to spend what time she has left with her. Two of my aunts went to see her yesterday and were refused time with her also. This is heart-breaking, sickening, and outrageous.”
Amanda Ulmens mother Kimberly Ann Fritz at her wedding. Mrs. Fritz was the youngest of Mrs. Rodman’s six children. She suffered an accidental death in 2007 at age 46.
Ulmen said Rowan had her grandmother placed in the Four Chaplains nursing home for several weeks beginning in August, and she and her children visited her there often, bringing flowers and cards. Mrs. Rodman was then sent to Garden City Hospital, and from there to St. Jude’s nursing home in Westland, which Ulmen said was in horrible condition. She was just in Providence Hospital with pneumonia and is “actively dying,” Ulmen said.
She said the hospital repeatedly called Rowan to get her permission to implant a stent, but could never reach her, so eventually two of her daughters signed for the procedure. A daughter said Mrs. Rodman was subjected to multiple colonoscopies at the earlier locations, even though she had colorectal cancer earlier. She had to receive four pints of blood at Providence to counteract the effects of the colonoscopies.
She said her mother is listed as “full code,” meaning all resuscitation efforts must be made regardless of the will of either her mother or family members.
“My four kids are also not allowed to see their grandmother,” a daughter said. She asked not to be identified because Rowan retaliates against any challenges to her, using denial of hospital visits as one option.
“Rowan keeps putting her through every test and surgery that she can,” the daughter said. “My mother needs hospice. The head nurse at Providence agreed that it is time to let her go. But Rowan has threatened to move my mother to the other side of the state and ban all her children from seeing her if we don’t play her game.”
She said that Rowan has abused and humiliated both family members and hospital staff, even hanging up on them, when they have called her, even they are even able to get through to her. She added that many medical staff members have told her that Rowan is the guardian for numerous patients at their institutions.
“She is punishing my mother for us girls,” she said. “I told her ‘I want to bring my mother home,’ and she told me, ‘that’s never going to happen.’” Rowan, Guardian Ad Litem Sean Heck, and Judge Blackwell-Hatcher had not responded to messages from VOD for comment on this case before press time.
“My family has had similar dealings with Mary Rowan,” Mrs. Rodman’s niece commented on-line after reading the Robinson story. “She is very curt and condescending. She does not display one ounce of compassion toward her clients or families. I do not know how she has gotten away with this treatment. She is very intimidating and threatening. I feel sorry for any family that has to tolerate this so called lady. Mrs. Rowan has NO business being a court appointed guardian.”
Hearing held on Gayle Robinson case Dec. 9; Rowan remains co-guardian for 6 months
Gayle Robinson, who along with her late husband Russell Sr. served in the Marine Corps, at 2010 Montford Point Marine Corps Black History Month Banquet.
Detroit — Meanwhile, Gayle Robinson’s son Randy Robinson said he and his sister Deborah Fox were put through a grueling and lengthy mediation session at Wayne County Probate Court Dec. 9, made all the worse when their mother was told to leave.
Gayle and husband Russell Robinson.
“My mother got upset because everybody was yelling,” Robinson told VOD. His mother’s own attorney Sean O’Connor did not want her back in the mediation, although Mrs. Robinson appeared to be perfectly capable of expressing her desires. During the hearing, she clearly stated to Judge Keith that she does not want the daughter and husband who initiated the probate court proceedings, OR their children, to visit her. She said that before that couple visits, they must pay back money they stole from her.
Mrs. Robinson, now 84, was sitting outside the courtroom when VOD arrived.
“It looks like when you get old, you don’t have the right to take your own money out of the bank anymore,” Mrs. Robinson told VOD. “I don’t need a guardian, but I want my brother to be my conservator and I want my son Randy and his daughter Lynette to stay with me.”
Gayle Robinson at recent Goodfellows holiday fund-raiser.
She was very lucid and personable as she chatted. She said regarding Mary Rowan and her assistant Katie McDonald, “Those two are against me.” The pair had police kidnap her from her own home without a court order, and confined in the psychiatric ward at Botsford Hospital for eight days Oct. 1. She told VOD the police who removed her tied her up in transit, and that she had a heart attack in the hospital.
Below is part of her admission record, which questions the validity of the “court order” Rowan’s assistant Katie McDonald and Westland Police Sgt. Randall Thivierge produced when they took her to Botsford after she, her son and her daughter refused to have her go. She had already been thoroughly examined at Henry Ford Hospital, they said.
Botsford ER report on Gayle Robinson questioned legitimacy of alleged “court order.”
Robinson said she was especially frightened at Botsford during what sounded like an MMRI exam. It involves putting the patient through a coffin-like tubular device. She said that she has a pacemaker and thought the test might affect it.
Gayle Robinson with friends at Montford Post Marine Corps Black History month celebration, 2010.
She added, “Mary and Ricky owe me all the money. Why should they take all of my husband’s insurance and it belongs to me? None of them have the right to kick Randy out.”
At a previous court hearing, several of Randy’s siblings insisted that he must be evicted from his mother’s home, but Judge Keith did not uphold that wish during the Dec. 9 hearing.
Judge Keith agreed to bar visits from that couple pending their adhering to a regular payment schedule of the equity loan they took out on Mrs. Robinson’s home, allegedly without her consent.
Despite Rowan’s request for sole guardianship, Judge Keith appointed Rowan and Mrs. Robinson’s brother James Brown as co-guardians on the case for the next six months, after which Brown will take over both guardian and executor duties.
Judge Keith assigned the job of working out visitation with Mrs. Robinson’s children to her brother, but Rowan remained active during the hearing.
Mary Rowan and her husband own this house/office at 1303 Nottingham, Grosse Pointe Park.
To prove that her mother is not “legally incapacitated” as she is listed in court records, Deborah Fox showed VOD numerous photo cards of her mother, who is a veteran and the widow of a veteran, attending functions including the Women Veterans’ Stand-Down at the Taylor VFW hall, fund-raising in Garden City for the Goodfellows, and visiting with Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones.
Mary Rowan lives in and runs her office at 1303 Nottingham, Grosse Pointe Park. Court records show the property is in her name and that of her husband, John Cavataio. According to state records, he runs a specialty contractor business called John T. Cavataio, Inc., which handles new construction basement finishing.
It is unclear why Rowan is being assigned as guardian in so many Probate Court cases. In the earlier case of Lennette and Mailauni Williams, she testified the “court administrator’s office” selected her. Wayne County Probate Court Chief Judge Milton Mack, Jr. is in charge of the court, and runs it with a tight rein, according to reliable sources.
No charges for Milwaukee officer who shot man 14 times; DOJ investigating as family, protesters react in outrage
Starbucks workers called police because Hamilton was sleeping in park
Two other officers responded twice, but left after saying man not doing anything wrong
Manney shot Hamilton even after on ground, some witnesses say
Autopsy report showed one gunshot in back, seven others at a downward trajectory from some distance, numerous bruises, clean toxicology, contradicting cop’s report of hand-to-hand battle with Hamilton
Milwaukee Governor puts National Guard on alert
December 22, 2014
One Facebook reaction to killings of two NYC cops last week. Thanks to Agnes Johnson for posting it.
VOD: Hundreds of protesters packed downtown Milwaukee streets Dec. 22 after it was announced that no charges would be brought against Officer Christopher Manney for killing Dontre Hamilton by shooting him 14 times April 30. Earlier on Dec. 19, 74 were arrested for causing a three-mile traffic jam on I-43 to protest the killing.
They marched despite calls from New York’s mayor for protests to cease until two officers shot to death there were buried. The protests followed dozens of others in Milwaukee since Dontre’s killing, including occupations of city hall and shopping centers.
The U.S. Department of Justice has now initiated an investigation of the killing.
A former Milwaukee police officer will not be charged with a crime for the shooting death of a 31-year-old man with a history of mental illness, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office announced Dec. 22.
Dontre Hamilton, 31. Family photo
The April 30 shooting of Dontre Hamilton in a downtown park by Officer Christopher Manney inspired a series of protests in Milwaukee, including one over the weekend that led to dozens of activists being arrested after shutting down I-43.
Manney shot Hamilton 14 times during an incident that occurred after workers at a nearby Starbucks called police to complain about him sleeping in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park.
“This was a tragic incident for the Hamilton family and for the community,” District Attorney John Chisholm said in a statement. “But, based on all the evidence and analysis presented in this report, I come to the conclusion that Officer Manney’s use of force in this incident was justified self-defense and that defense cannot be reasonably overcome to establish a basis to charge Officer Manney with a crime.”
The decision comes weeks after prosecutors in Missouri and New York cleared officers in high-profile cases in which police used force in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island that have spurred nationwide protests and anger over treatment of African Americans by law enforcement.
Killer cop Christopher Manney was fired but has appealed; now he faces no criminal charges.
The national debate over police relations with the African-American community escalated after the killing of two New York City police officers on [Dec. 20] by a man who cited his anger about the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases on social media.
Jonathan Safran, an attorney for the Hamilton family, said they were “extremely disappointed” with the decision and that the case “cries out for justice, criminal charges against Christopher Manney, and accountability to Dontre Hamilton’s family.” Safran also called on the Justice Department to investigate whether Hamilton’s civil rights were violated by Manney.
“The federal government knows that justice has to come to the people,” said Nate Hamilton, the brother of Dontre Hamilton, at an afternoon news conference.
Nate Hamilton added: “The people have been calm. The people have not stood up. So when will we stand up?”
Dontre Hamilton (2nd from left), with his brothers. (Family photo).
The ACLU of Wisconsin also blasted the decision.
“If Officer Christopher Manney did not violate the law, then is anyone legally responsible for Mr. Hamilton’s death?” the civil liberties group said in a statement. “Does the criminal law protect individuals like Mr. Hamilton from deadly force exercised by police officers? Are police officers above the law?”
Dontre’s mother Maria and brother Nathaniel Hamilton after his killing.
Manney showed up to Red Arrow Park after receiving a voice mail from his acting desk sergeant about “a homeless guy sleeping” in the park and asked him to respond, according to a report from Chisholm’s office.
At the time of the call, Manney was handling another unrelated incident and two other officers were dispatched to the park, but Manney was unaware of it. The two other officers checked on Hamilton twice and determined he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Hamilton’s family said he had battled schizophrenia and stopped taking his medication shortly before the shooting.
When Manney arrived in the park after the other officers had left, he said, he found Hamilton laying on the ground in the park and asked him to stand up. He said that Hamilton then stood up and turned his back to him. The police officer began patting-down Hamilton.
Occupation of Milwaukee’s downtown mall: I’m sleeping, don’t shoot. Photo: Occupy River West.
As Manney was conducting the frisk, he told investigators, Hamilton twisted his body so he was facing Manney.
Manney, who says Hamilton’s right hand was balled in a fist, said he tried to disengage from Hamilton, according to the DA’s report.
Hamilton lunged and then tried to strike Manney with his fist, according to the police officer’s account. Manny blocked the punch and struck Hamilton with an open palm to the chin. Hamilton then grabbed Manney in the shoulder area, pulling the police officer towards him and struck him on the right side of his head, the report said.
Dontre Hamilton’s family leads one of many protests since his killing April 30, 2014. Photo: Occupy River West.
At that point, Manney felt he was losing control of the situation and decided to use his wooden baton on Hamilton.
“Manney separated from Hamilton, removed his baton with his left hand and transferred it to his right hand,” the report said. “When Hamilton continued to be aggressive, Manney struck him once in the rib area with the baton. Manney states that Hamilton trapped his baton between his arms and his torso and spun away from Manney. Manney attempted to retain control of his baton but could not.”
Manney also told investigators that he attempted to hit the emergency button on his radio but couldn’t reach it because of the struggle. As he tried to push away from Hamilton, Manney said, he felt a blow from his baton on the right side of his neck.
Protesters at Milwaukee shopping mall, outside Starbucks whose workers called police about Dontre sleeping in the park.
He told investigators that he felt he was out of options and decided to draw his weapon in the hope that Hamilton would stop. But he said Hamilton continued to approach wielding the baton.
“Manney fired his weapon but it did not seem to have any effect on Hamilton, so he continued to fire while walking backwards from Hamilton,” according to Manney’s account to investigators. “Hamilton fell forward and Manney continued to fire because he perceived Hamilton still to be a threat. He stopped firing when Hamilton was completely on the ground.” (VOD: note autopsy report brief below.**)
Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm.
Chisholm said that a review of the incident by an outside expert on use of force by police, Emanuel Kapelsohn, concluded that Manney’s decision to fire his weapon was in line with his training.
“The Dontre Hamilton incident is quite unusual in that P.O. Manney appears to have tried every level of force on the Force Option Continuum before resorting to deadly force,” Kapelsohn wrote in his report.
As part of his report, the district attorney also released an autopsy sketch, detailing Hamilton’s wounds, as well as summaries of accounts from witnesses in and around the park that saw all or parts of the incident. Investigators heard conflicting accounts from witnesses who said that Manney continued to shoot Hamilton after he had fell to the ground.
Milwaukee police chief Edward Flynn.
But the autopsy revealed no conclusive evidence that any of the shots were fired while Hamilton was prone.
Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Manney in October, stating that the officer had identified Hamilton as mentally ill, but ignored department policy and treated him as a criminal by frisking him.
The Milwaukee Police Association condemned Manney’s firing as politically motivated, and members voted no confidence in Flynn soon after the firing.
Manney is currently appealing his dismissal.
Gov. Scott Walker has put Wisconsin National Guard troops on standby in case there is unrest in Milwaukee. He told reporters in Appleton on Monday that he didn’t anticipate violence, but had the troops ready out of an abundance of caution.
“It’s one of the great things about living in America—people have the right to protest,” Walker said. “They just don’t have the right to put other people’s lives at risk. I’m just asking that they be mindful of that.”
Note that the killer cop in this case falsely portrayed Hamilton as a large beast-like individual who continued to advance despite multiple gunshots. He was only 5’7.”
Similar descriptions were given of Michael Brown and Eric Garner by their killer cops. These racist descriptions indicated the cops did not consider their victims human. Earlier, Detroit police attempted to have the use of hollow point bullets authorized for similar reasons (in one case, they said they needed them because they would have made it easier to kill a 16-year-old in a heavy winter jacket for an unsuccessful fast food robbery.) Their original use was by invading British troops against Africans in the 19th century, who the British also considered sub-human.
“According to the autopsy, seven of the shots that hit Hamilton had a downward trajectory, and one of the bullet wounds showed that Hamilton was shot in the back from behind.
The autopsy also showed “no stippling or unburned or burned gunpowder particles on [Hamilton’s] skin,” which the family’s lawyers say shows that Hamilton was shot from some distance.
Painting by C. E. Fripp, depicting British Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill in battle with Zulu soldiers at the Battle of Isandlwana. In this case, the Zulus triumphed against the invading army despite its weaponry, in just defense of their homeland.
The medical examiner’s account also says that Hamilton had bruises on the right side of his chin, scalp and arm.
Toxicology results also showed no traces of illicit drugs in Hamilton’s system.
The medical examiner’s findings call into question how Manney described Hamilton in a memo he wrote to Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn on Oct. 1.
In his memo, Manney wrote that Hamilton had a “muscular build” and “most definitely would have overpowered … me or pretty much any officer I can think of, to tell you the truth. He was just that big, that muscular … I would say he would be impossible to control if you were one-man.”
Manney also described Hamilton as being “considerably younger than me, in much better shape than me, and much stronger and more muscular than me.”
But the autopsy results do not support Manney’s description. In the report, the medical examiner said that at the time of his death, Hamilton was a 169-pound, 5-foot-7 “well developed, overweight … adult-black male.”
Washington — The U.S. government lost $9.26 billion on the auto industry rescue, according to the final accounting released late Monday.
Also unknown is if U.S. auto suppliers could have survived the massive disruption of a collapse of GM or Chrysler. Former auto czar Steve Rattner said that the disappearance of GM could have pushed the state of Michigan into bankruptcy. Another big cost would have been the likely assumption of GM and Chrysler’s underfunded pension plans by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the government-owned pension insurer.
