Crime
Tennessee Governor Cuts Police Reforms Made After Tire Nichols’ Death
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday approved a repeal of police traffic stop reforms enacted in Memphis after the January 2023 fatal beating of Tire Nichols by officers, despite pleas from Nichols’ parents to GOP lawmakers and the governor to offer them a probability to search out a compromise.
The Republican governor’s signature means the bill immediately invalidates certain ordinances passed in Memphis, including one which banned so-called pre-text traffic stops, for instance for a broken tail light or other minor offences. Lee echoed the arguments of Republican lawmakers who argued that Nichols’ death must end in accountability for officers who abuse their power, reasonably than latest restrictions on how authorities conduct traffic stops.
“I think the most important thing for us to remember is that we can provide law enforcement tools, but we have to maintain standards for the proper use of those tools if there is appropriate interaction with the public,” Lee told reporters on Friday earlier this month about his decision to sign the act. “From our information, this has not always been the case and their family will certainly confirm this.”
To date, Lee has never vetoed any laws since he took office nearly seven years ago, and has only occasionally allowed bills to enter effect without signing them to specific his concerns or disapproval. He rarely goes against the needs of his political party, and specifically he tries to push through the controversial universal school vouchers bill, which needs Republican support to pass.
Nichols’ death last January sparked outrage and calls for reform on the national and native levels. Video footage shows an almost three-minute series of punches, feet and a baton to Nichols’ face, head, back and front because the 29-year-old black man screamed at his mother a block from the house.
Nichols’ parents, mother RowVaughn Wells and stepfather Rodney Wells, were among the many supporters who gained support for the Memphis City Council to pass ordinance changes last yr.
Many Republican officials in Tennessee also joined the general public protest over Nichols’ death on the time. A month later, Lee even mentioned the Nichols family in his annual State of the Union address, stating that “their courage, combined with the compassion shown by the people of Memphis, is an image of hope.”
But most white legislatures have repeatedly rejected calls from many black leaders for police reform and oversight, as a substitute siding with supporters who don’t desire latest limits on police power.
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Lawmakers have reacted similarly in recent times after they disagreed with the best way Memphis and Nashville voting Democrats run their cities. They pre-empted local government from rolling back progressive policies, took more power over local boards, and maintained a tricky approach to crime in Memphis.
In this case, Nichols’ parents said their attempts to get the bill’s sponsors to commit to finding a middle ground failed, leaving each them and Memphis community supporters feeling marginalized and disheartened. Nichols’ parents said they felt cheated by Rep. John Gillespie, prompting them to skip one trip to Nashville after they thought he would delay passage of the bill. Instead, House Republicans passed it without the Nichols parents being present. Gillespie argued that it was a misunderstanding.
When they returned for a vote within the Senate the following day, Senator Brent Taylor rejected their requests to stop work on the bill and take a look at to search out a compromise. After the exchange, RowVaughn Wells broke down in tears and the pair left before the Senate passed the bill.
They also wrote a letter to Lee before he ultimately signed the bill.
“After the death of our son, you generously offered your support in the pursuit of justice,” they wrote, asking Lee to veto the bill. “This is the moment, Governor. We need your support now more than ever.”
Five officers, who were also black, were charged in state court with federal civil rights violations in reference to Nichols’ death, second-degree murder and other crimes. One pleaded guilty in federal court. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating how Memphis Police Department officers use force and make arrests and whether the department within the majority-Black city engages in racially discriminatory policing.
Democratic lawmakers called the bill a slap within the face to Nichols’ grieving parents and Memphis’ majority-Black government. Some were also surprised that state Republicans tried to roll back changes made in response to Nichols’ death, whilst federal authorities proceed to broadly investigate policing and racing in Memphis.
Crime
Sean “Diddy” Combs faces five new sexual assault trials
Several more plaintiffs got here forward this week accusing rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual abuse. On November 19, three men and two women filed separate complaints against the Bad Boy Records founder through Tony Buzbee, a lawyer who previously said he would represent greater than 100 clients accusing Combs of misconduct.
“For years, Combs and his companies have engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of violence against women, men and minors,” the entire complaints read: in keeping with People magazine. “This abuse was at times verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. As part of his pattern of molestation, Combs manipulated both men and women into participating in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity, with both prostitutes and unsuspecting partygoers.”
The new plaintiffs include an unidentified man who claims the rapper sexually assaulted him when he was 39 years old. At a house party in New York in 2022, the plaintiff alleged that he was given a drink that left him feeling disoriented and uncontrolled. his body, which ultimately caused him to lose consciousness.
When he regained consciousness, he recalls being in a “dark bedroom with black walls, on a bed with black sheets”, where he realized that Combs was “sodomizing him”. The plaintiff claims he fought with the rapper before leaving the party.
Other male plaintiffs, including an unnamed former actor, remember feeling disoriented, passing out and waking up as Combs sexually assaulted them. With allegations dating back to 2001, all five complaints said Combs’ alleged abuse was “shockingly typical” since the star believed he was “above the law.”
“That said, Mr. Combs vehemently and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” attorney Erica Wolff added in a press release. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and defending himself in court where the truth will be determined by evidence, not speculation.”
Combs is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on criminal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. The star’s trial is scheduled to happen in May 2025.
Crime
Founder of an AI Tech startup accused of fraud and combining numbers with investors
Joanna Smith-Griffin, 33, CEO of startup AllHere Education, Inc. dealing with AI education accused of defrauding investors.
The Southern District of New York prosecuted Smith-Griffin securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The grand jury indictment alleged that Smith-Griffin lied concerning the education platform’s funds and posed as a financial consultant to supply false information to investors. While acting as a financial consultant for AllHere Education, Smith-Griffin is accused of falsifying the corporate’s financial records mislead potential investors and inflate the worth of her company and its revenues.
AllHere Education is an AI-powered learning platform utilized in primary and secondary schools. Smith-Griffin has had little success integrating the K-12 platform into individual school districts in California and Georgia. However, the principal didn’t secure long-term contracts with school districts. She used these short-term partnerships to misrepresent to investors the reach and financial success of AllHere Education.
Smith-Griffin told potential AllHere investors that AllHere generated about $3.7 million in revenue in 2020, about $2.5 million in money and has major school district customers similar to New York City Department of Education (“NYC DOE”) and Atlanta Public Schools. In fact, AllHere generated roughly $11,000 in revenue in 2020, had roughly $494,000 in money, and had no contracts with many of the clients it represented, including the NYC DOE and Atlanta Public Schools.
Smith-Griffin continued to boost capital to support the startup, raising one other $10 million in funding. When the corporate collapsed financially, Smith-Griffin allegedly used the money injection to pay for an extravagant three-day wedding in Florida and a residence in North Carolina.
FBI Deputy Director James E. Dennehy commented on Smith-Griffin’s decision to prioritize her personal aspirations over the needs of an educational platform.
“Her alleged actions impacted the potential to improve the learning environment in core school districts by selfishly prioritizing personal expenses,” he said.
Smith-Griffin faces a compulsory two years in prison for the identity theft charge and a maximum of 20 years for every fraud charge. AllHere Education is currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Crime
Prosecutors say Sean “Diddy” Combs is trying to obstruct justice by heading to prison
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was trying to reach potential witnesses and influence public opinion while in prison in a bid to influence potential jurors in an upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors said in a court filing during which they urged a judge to deny his latest bail request.
The government charges were filed Friday evening in federal court in Manhattan, which opposed the music mogul’s latest offer of $50 million bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors wrote that a review of recorded phone calls Combs made while in prison shows that he asked relations to contact potential victims and witnesses and urged them to create a “narrative” to influence the jury pool. They say he also encouraged the use of promoting strategies to influence public opinion.
“The defendant has demonstrated time and time again – even while in custody – that he’ll flagrantly and repeatedly disregard the foundations so as to improperly influence the consequence of his case. In other words, the defendant has demonstrated that he can’t be trusted to abide by the terms and conditions,” prosecutors wrote in a press release containing redactions.
Prosecutors wrote that from his behavior it might be inferred that Combs wanted to blackmail victims and witnesses into remaining silent or providing testimony helpful to his defense.
Combs’ lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors said Combs, 55, began breaking the foundations almost immediately after being taken into custody Metropolitan Prison Center in Brooklyn after his September arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to the costs brought against him he abused and molested women for years with the assistance of a network of collaborators and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Two judges found he was a danger to the community and a flight risk.
His lawyers recently filed a 3rd bail application after rejecting two previous attempts, including a $50 million bail offer.
In their motion, they cited modified circumstances, including latest evidence, that they believed justified Combs’ release so he could higher prepare for his May 5 trial.
However, prosecutors said defense lawyers created the most recent bail proposal based on evidence provided to them by prosecutors, and the brand new material was already known to defense lawyers after they submitted previous bail applications.
In their presentation to the judge, prosecutors said Combs’ behavior in prison shows he must remain locked up.
For example, they said, Combs asked relations to plan and execute a social media campaign around his birthday “with the intent of influencing a potential jury in this criminal proceeding.”
He encouraged his children to post a video on their social media accounts of them gathering to have a good time his birthday, he added.
He then monitored statistics on the jail, including audience engagement, and “explicitly discussed with the family how to ensure the film would have the desired impact on potential jury members in this case,” they said.
The government also alleged that Combs made clear in other conversations that he intended to anonymously publish information that he believed would help him defend against the costs.
“Defendant’s efforts to impede the fairness of these proceedings also include his persistent efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of violence, who could provide strong testimony against him,” prosecutors wrote.
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