Politics and Current
Police in Mississippi tasered a black man 18 times until he was covered in his own vomit, Justice Department says
A Mississippi city that made headlines when a video of its police chief bragging about shooting a black man 119 times went viral is now the topic of a damning latest report by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging widespread civil rights violations .
Since 2021, Lexington police have arrested roughly a quarter of the town’s residents and issued greater than $1.7 million in fines during that period – The Justice Department made the disclosure Thursday after a nearly year-long investigation. That works out to about $1,400 for each man, woman and child in the Delta town of 1,200, positioned in certainly one of the poorest counties in the country.
The money was intended to finance the Police. For 2021-2023, Lexington increased police spending from $662,925 to $965,130.
“Lexington has turned the prison into the kind of debtors’ prison that Charles Dickens described in his novels written in the 19th century,” said Todd Gee, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.
The Justice Department said black residents, who make up 76 percent of the town’s population, were particularly targeted and arrested for minor offenses resembling profanity. This is not any surprise given Lexington’s recent history.
In 2022, Police Chief Sam Dobbins, appointed to the position a 12 months earlier, was fired after he was recorded bragging that he shot “that N—- 119 times, OK?”
A 12 months later, his term was cut short when a former LPD officer released an audio recording
recording of Dobbins’ comments. He claimed to have killed 13 people in the road of duty, said he didn’t confer with “queers” and told one other officer, “I don’t care if you kill a motherfucker in cold blood.”
The Justice Department found a rise in low-level arrests targeting black people coincided with Dobbins’ nominationwhich is white. Under his leadership, Lexington police had a mean per capita arrest rate greater than 10 times higher than the remaining of the state, prosecutors said.
According to community members cited in the Justice Department report, Dobbins’ deputy, Charles Henderson, has replaced him as chief and continues to foster a “culture of abuse and harassment.”
In one incident, which occurred hours after the Justice Department announced it was opening an investigation into Lexington police, officers chased a black man – accused of obstruction – into a field and used a Taser on him nine times. The man began to foam on the mouth; certainly one of the officers then noticed that the probe he fired had hit the suspect in the top.
The man, who suffered from a behavioral disorder, has been arrested three times this 12 months for trespassing and stealing a cup of coffee and a bag of sugar. Each time, police illegally detained him until old charges for previous offenses were settled. But with each arrest, one other wonderful was added, and by November 2023, the unemployed and asset-less man owed greater than $7,500, the Justice Department said.
“Through a combination of poor leadership, retaliation, and a complete lack of internal accountability, LPD has created a system in which officers can ruthlessly violate the law,” the Justice Department report said.
They were often brutal in enforcing the law, sometimes using cattle prods to force compliance, said Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke.
“For example, officers used a Taser to strike a black man 18 times until he was covered in his own vomit and could not speak or talk,” Clarke said.
Local civil rights activist Jill Collen Jefferson was arrested in 2023 for recording a traffic stop. She said Lexington residents essentially live in a police state.
“They are arresting them for things like taking too long to get out of their car at the grocery store…the police have waged a complete and total campaign of fear and control over Black citizens” – Jefferson he told the Mississippi Free Press.
The report shows that city officials expressed willingness to implement reforms after being informed of the Justice Department’s findings in February. They not arrest or detain people for outstanding fines, for instance.
“But … LPD has an ongoing pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct and additional measures are necessary to stop it,” the report concluded.
Politics and Current
Did Vance or Walz win the vice presidential debate? The Internet decides
Social media users and critics identified the differences between the vice presidential candidates– said Ohio State Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during the debate.
The debate, moderated on October 1 by correspondents Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, highlighted a variety of hot political topics, starting from the deepening crisis in the Middle East, abortion restrictions and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s acceptance of the 2020 election results.
Both Vance and Walz began the debate by seeming to indicate equal respect for one another, and as the debate wore on, it seemed that the opposing candidates agreed to disagree on key issues affecting American voters. Their civility was in stark contrast to that in the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. She caught the attention of social media users calling the vice presidential debate “refreshing.” “Honestly, the VP debate so far is much better than the entire last presidential debate,” @litcapital said on X.
“Two people actually answering questions is refreshing and sad that this is not the norm.”
However, this doesn’t prevent critics from declaring certain shortcomings. Vance was called out for telling viewers his life story, including stories about his mother’s drug addiction, which he continuously brings up when talking about immigration. During this a part of the evening, the senator stated that as a baby he often suffered from hunger attributable to his mother’s addiction and blamed it on debt. One of X’s users claimed that his drug use was putting his family in debt. “Honestly, your mom was in debt because she was buying drugs instead of feeding you,” @zibaddiejad93 said.
Perhaps Vance’s biggest fault of the evening was his constant blaming of politics on the Kamala Harris administration. Many viewers, including actress Yvette Nicole Brown, criticized the vice presidential candidate for his lack of expertise. Because Harris is just not yet president, none of the policies mentioned during the debate were adopted during her administration. “Can someone please tell this smoky-eyed weirdo that @kamalaharris isn’t in administration (yet!)?!” she wrote.
Senator Dayna Polehanki also showed how her colleague refused to confess that Trump lost the 2020 election and praised Walz for not conceding.
Although critics identified that each nominees did quite well, Walz was hailed as the big winner of the night. MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid called Vance’s performance “nothing to remember,” but added that the former football coach and state governor had proven to be “dependable.”
Walz received major points for his approach to health care, gun control and abortion laws. He mentioned the story of Amber Thurman, a young black woman who lost her life in consequence of Georgia’s unsafe abortion laws. Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing her family, issued an announcement on their behalf. “The fight for justice for Amber is a fight for every woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and access the medical care she needs,” the statement reads.
“We will not stop until these dangerous laws are repealed and there are no more deaths. Until then, we must keep repeating her name: Amber Thurman!”
According to , his the results gave him a lift in approval polls. A preliminary poll by CNN and SSRS showed the Minnesota governor receiving a 23-point increase – from 14 to 37, in comparison with Vance’s 19-point increase.
Politics and Current
TikTok star Mr. Prada made a cryptic post before his arrest in connection with the brutal death of a Louisiana Catholic priest-turned-therapist with a dark past
The popular TikTok personality has been named as a person of interest in the death of a 69-year-old therapist whose body was found Saturday wrapped in a tarp on a highway near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Terryon Ishmael Thomas, 20, also generally known as Prada, was arrested in Dallas on Tuesday after a transient manhunt. According to Louisiana Fox affiliate. He was seen driving a vehicle belonging to the victim, William Nicholas Abraham. Instead of stopping to call law enforcement, Thomas backed into a police automobile and fled on foot.
He was later captured on surveillance cameras from a nearby store. Details of his arrest in Texas haven’t been released.
Police consider Thomas was the last person to see Abraham alive. It has not been established whether or how they knew one another, and a possible motive stays unclear.
“It was a very physical and very brutal attack,” said Tangipahoa Sheriff Gerald Naklejka Volold television station WAFB. Abraham died of blunt force trauma.
The sticker says police are still attempting to piece together the details of the popular therapist’s death.
No weapons were found along the road where the body was left, and the sheriff said a search of Abraham’s home in East Baton Rouge Parish turned up no signs of foul play.
“Right now we have no idea where this came from,” Stick said. Police consider Abraham was killed Saturday night.
“I want to know who did it and I want to know why,” said the victim’s brother, Tommy Abraham. he told WBRZ.
“No one should take a life, only God. Nobody,” Tommy Abraham continued. “Only he can take a life, and if someone takes someone else’s life, you are a coward.”
Abraham was a well-known figure in Baton Rouge, where he hosted a local television show. Before becoming a therapist, he served as a Catholic priest in Mississippi and Milwaukee for 14 years.
According to his website, Abraham was a “pioneer” who also worked as a life coach and motivational speaker. He specialized in the treatment of addictions, anxiety and depression and worked with the LGBTQ community.
“He was kind, loving, gentle and honestly, not the type of person that something like this would happen to,” said Abraham’s lawyer, Jarret Ambeau. “I am completely devastated and completely surprised that something like this could happen to a man who I believe is so tender, so gentle and has such a serving heart.”
But Abraham’s past was shrouded in dark clouds. He was arrested in 2015 for allegedly inappropriately touching an 11-year-old boy during a therapy session, in line with East Baton Rouge Parish court records.
Abraham was never charged with this incident.
The boy’s identity is unknown, but when he remains to be alive, he can be the same age as Thomas. Ambeau, who represented William Abraham in the 2015 case, did he told reporters Thomas is just not the alleged victim in this case.
IN one of the last movies, Thomas, who has 4 million followers, declared: “I even have bipolar disorder… have you ever never seen anyone with bipolar disorder before? I desired to hide it, but I failed.
In one other video, Thomas chaotically shaves his head, leaving clumps of hair behind.
Last week he announced that he had just undergone a breakup and was seen applying smudged eyeliner after which ripping off his shirt.
“Life is a prison, get me out of here,” Thomas wrote in one other recent post.
Thomas will now appear before a judge in Dallas to find out whether he can be extradited to Louisiana to face charges of aggravated criminal damage to property, resisting officers and unauthorized use of a motorized vehicle.
Politics and Current
New York’s mayor deflects questions about bribery allegations as potential witness speaks at City Hall
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has delivered his most thorough public defense yet since his indictment on federal bribery chargesinsisting the case is a “test” that is not going to distract him from governing as he answered specific questions about the investigation for greater than an hour on Tuesday.
However, just as the mayor began to talk to reporters alone in front of the City Hall rotunda, a potential witness from one in every of… extensive investigations just a few steps away, he was wrapping up his own press briefing, complaining that he was the victim of a corruption “shake-up.”
This whiplash-inducing morning at City Hall reflects the deepening turmoil that has gripped the Democratic administration in recent weeks, raising questions about whether Adams can proceed to run the nation’s largest city while shuttling between court hearings and coping with an exodus of top lawmakers.
Stepping to the rostrum, a smiling Adams began his remarks together with his favorite joke: “This will go down in my book.”
But if the mayor wanted to precise his trademark pride, the mayor also seemed evasive and isolated. Adams often involves Tuesday briefings with company triumphant walking music and a phalanx of deputies, including his chief legal adviser. But currently his best lawyer resigned. On Monday evening, one in every of his closest advisers also resigned. Another federal subpoena was served on Friday.
This time he was alone. Although Adams spoke extensively with reporters, he declined to reply questions about the law he’s accused of committing, whether his security clearance was downgraded as a results of the criminal case and whether he truly believes – as he repeatedly suggested — that the investigation is politically motivated.
Instead, the mayor presented himself as a battle-tested executive, confident in his ability to beat “obstacles.”
“As this case progresses, some people will say, ‘You know what, we’ve gone after Eric Adams,’” he said. “It’s a test for people who automatically come with their heart one way. The information will continue to show that I am not breaking the law.”
Federal prosecutors accused Adams of soliciting and accepting illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel advantages price greater than $100,000 from Turkish officials and other foreigners trying to buy his influence.
In return, they are saying he performed official favors for Turkey, including pushing through the opening of the consulate constructing in Manhattan over the objections of fireside safety officials who said it was unsafe to live in.
The charges against Adams come as federal investigators pursue multiple investigations linked to several top officials in his administration, including the brother of his former police commissioner; a consulting firm run by one other brother of his school, the chancellor and deputy mayor for public safety; and one in every of his top advisors and closest confidantes, Tim Pearson.
Pearson resigned On Monday evening, just a few weeks after the police commissioner’s arrival, Edward Cabanand rector of the varsity, David Banks, announced that they were stepping down. They all denied any irregularities.
Outside City Hall, Brooklyn juice bar and nightclub owner Shamel Kelly held his own news conference Tuesday wherein he said he was the victim of a corrupt scheme that involved a mayoral aide and police.
While looking for help with multiple noise complaints, Kelly said a City Hall worker put him in contact with the owner of a nightclub security company who told him he could make the complaints go away for a fee. Kelly said he later learned that the safety company was run by James Caban, the dual brother of the previous police commissioner.
“I felt like someone was forcing me,” Kelly told reporters. He provided video of dozens of officers just outside the doors of his Coney Island business in reference to one in every of the alleged noise complaints, which Kelly’s lawyers say was referred to federal prosecutors.
James Caban’s attorney, Sean Hecker, said his client “unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”
Adams said he was unaware of the allegations first reported weeks ago, but that “no one should treat a business owner unfairly in any way.”
Then, surrounded by signs detailing his political achievements, Adams discussed his own experiences of adversity, recalling his difficult childhood in working-class Queens and his struggles with dyslexia and diabetes that almost left him blind.
“I have faced difficult moments throughout my life, and despite all these difficult moments, I have been called the mayor of New York,” he said.
Later that evening, Adams joined a bunch of Black clergy leaders who gathered in a prayer circle outside City Hall, accompanied by his top aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, whose home was also searched by investigators on Friday.
“You don’t give up in hard times, you keep lifting up in hard times,” Adams said, as his allies chanted “four more years” and showered the mayor with “hallelujahs.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the facility to remove the mayor from office, said this week she was giving Adams a probability to point out he can still run town after his criminal case ends.
As Adams sought to make his political case, his lawyers were busy ramping up their legal defense.
In a court filing Tuesday, Adams’ lawyers asked the judge to analyze leaks to the media from prosecutors and, if confirmed, take appropriate measures, including dismissing the indictment.
This success got here the day after his lawyer he turned to the judge dismiss the bribery charge – one in every of five charges against him – arguing that the main points of the alleged conduct didn’t meet the compensation threshold.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment on the case.
Adams is scheduled to return to court Wednesday morning.
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