One Pulse for America Archives - Page 13 of 13

June 28, 2019

Demand freedom for shot woman who lost baby

In a scene echoing something from dystopian Margaret Atwood novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman is grieving her lost unborn child which died after she was shot several times in the stomach. She’s grieving in prison, waiting to be put on trial for allegedly starting the fight which proved fatal to her unborn child, and ‘not getting out of harm’s way soon enough’: This Is America.

Pleasant Grove, Alabama police have charged her with manslaughter. Atwood could not have made this up.

According to USA Today, “Pleasant Grove, Alabama, police Lt. Danny Reid said: ‘The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby… It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby..”

The woman was shot in the stomach: this makes her the victim of a crime – even in Alabama. The callous misogyny of this state must be stopped now; it is clearly alien to the most basic of American and international rights.

The state recently passed draconian anti-abortion laws too, and according to civil liberties groups, this is no place to be black, poor, or a woman.

ACTION:

Please contact Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the Pleasant Grove PD, The Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey, through one of the channels below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking, copying if you wish the ACLU and/or the business which has just bragged online about investing in Alabama right in the middle of this case:

Dear All

I write to demand you free Marshae Jones immediately and drop all charges against her.

One Pulse for America has covered many shocking situations, but rarely have we seen institutionalised bias and misogyny such as Pleasant Grove has shown to Marshae Jones, 27, gunshot victim who lost a child.

Jones was five months pregnant when 23-year-old Ebony Jemison shot her in the stomach during a December 2018 altercation regarding the unborn child’s father, Alabama news station WBMA-LD reported.

Her assailant is walking free after shooting her five times in the stomach, as somehow a state grand jury failed to indict her. Ms Jones however, according to your unacceptable position, ‘didn’t get out of the way of harm fast enough,’ ‘recklessly endangered her unborn child’ and ‘started the argument’. Starting an argument is still legal.

People – including police – start fights daily; they neither expect nor deserve to be shot five times for doing so, and in this case no justice can be served by Ms Jones’ prosecution and continued custody: she is a grieving victim of a shooting which took her unborn child’s life – no one is responsible for her injuries or the fetus’ death except the person who pulled the trigger. Getting out of harm’s way with speed when five months pregnant no less is something no man persecuting this woman can possibly understand.

The state seems to be blaming the person shot as reckless, not the shooter: this is wholly unacceptable.

As a member of One Pulse, I demand the following:

Ms Jones should be getting counselling not getting charged; she should be free with no charges against her, and her assailant should be charged with the shooting which undeniably took place. Release her immediately;
If your state’s grand jury was unable to indict the shooter, that is some indictment against Alabama and its prosecution team. Re-mount a proper investigation, present evidence (with five shots and a subsequently deceased fetus this should be an easy thing to do), and get justice for Ms Jones and her unborn child and acknowledge they are the two victims here;
The governor must issue a full and unconditional pardon immediately – it is clearly not in the public interest to pursue this woman.
Alabama prosecutors and police must release the precise points of law they rely on to justify her arrest and custody (‘starting an argument’ and ‘not getting out of harm’s way quickly’ are not points of law);
The wildly inaccurate position which police Lt Danny Reid takes means he is incapable of any empathy and is unfit to Protect and Serve. He is quoted as saying: “The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby… It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.” If Ltd Reid is unable to recognize a woman shot in the stomach five times who lost a baby as a victim, then he needs to apologize and leave the force immediately. I also note that the email, Facebook and Twitter accounts for the force do not seem to be working and/or are not visible: please advise the correct Facebook and Twitter account details so I can interact with the force publicly;
It’s time to strike down your historic behaviour against the poor, against women, and against people of colour; set up a task force to compare Alabama’s legislation and record to that of other states;
The conduct, record, and training of anyone responsible for this prosecution needs to be examined and corrected.

One Pulse is not alone in advising its members to vote every single person who permitted this gross situation out of office unless there is immediate redress. It is not an understatement to say The Whole World Is Watching: One Pulse will continue to monitor this situation and lobby for Ms Jones’ freedom.

Finally, I note from Governor Ivey’s website the state is bragging about inward investment from Ben E. Keith Foods . I will certainly be writing to them, asking them to invest instead in a state where a woman losing a baby for any reason – least of all for being shot – is not treated like a criminal.

Governor Kay Ivey
Website: https://governor.alabama.gov/
Phone: 334.242.7100
Email: https://contact.governor.alabama.gov/contact.aspx (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KayIveyAL/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GovernorKayIvey

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall
Phone: (334) 242-7300
Email: steve@stevemarshall.gop or press@stevemarshall.gop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AGSteveMarshall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/agstevemarshall

Pleasant Grove PD
Phone: (205) 744 1735
Email: (seems down)
Facebook: (seems down)
Twitter: (seems down)

Copy your message to:

ACLU of Alabama
Phone: (334) 265-2754
Email: info@aclualabama.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACLUofAlabama/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACLUAlabama

and if you wish, to:

Ben E King Foods (Note: I would not normally target a business: but they just posted this week how happy they are to be opening up in Alabama – in the middle of this rights violation situation. With the government in AL bragging about the investment and clearly interested in attracting business, copying this company into your communications may bring much-needed pressure: use your discretion)

Phone: (817) 759-6800
Email: https://www.benekeith.com/contact (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BenEKeithFoods/posts/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: @benekeithfoods

Once you have contacted Alabama officials, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

June 25, 2019

Demand better training following Costco family shooting

18 June 2019 – A family relation says fatal shooting victim was non-verbal – and was not capable of starting a fight with an off-duty police officer at a Costco in Corona, California in which he lost his life.

Kenneth French, 32, was killed by an unnamed Los Angeles police officer following an argument of some kind. Police have somehow already concluded the non-verbal man was the instigator.

Rick Shureih, Mr French’s cousin told reporters: “This is a family that was unarmed and was just grocery shopping,” Shureih said on Facebook. “I’m sure this was a misunderstanding that got escalated for no reason!”

The unnamed officer also critically injured Mr French’s parents who were with him. The officer is said to have had a child with him, and was treated at hospital for minor injuries; the child was unharmed.

Disability Rights California is one of many organisations that have been working to improve the situation for disabled people. Their website says: “Many times, DRC has to investigate incidents involving police officers who encounter people who have mental health disabilities. Law enforcement officers are overwhelmingly the first responders to incidents involving persons with mental health disabilities who are in crisis. Despite the frequent interaction between law enforcement and individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, there are minimal training mandates to address these situations.”

One Pulse will be watching the case very closely, and has quite a number of questions; many of which point to police training issues:

* How precisely did a trained officer not de-escalate the situation – particularly one involving two older people and a man with disabilities?

*The officer’s identity is crucial: have they been involved in previous shooting incidents?

*The officer was said to be holding a child: where was his loaded gun – in a belt? holster? Anywhere where the child could have been endangered? Wouldn’t the officer’s best course of action have been to immediately remove themselves and their child from the situation?

* What does Costco’s security footage show?

* Do any witnesses have footage to either support or dispute the officer’s claim he was the victim of an unprovoked attack?

* What precisely were the injuries the officer had to have hospital treatment for – or is there perhaps a standard procedure that when a police officer is involved in a contentious shooting that they are automatically sent to hospital – which, however minor the injuries – would be likely to impress a judge or jury? As we know very often people wounded by police asking for medical treatment or hospitalisation are denied it.

* How have the police concluded already that the fault lies with the French family?

And crucially:

*What kind of training has this officer received about recognising a disabled person, and how to deal with them?

ACTION:

While the trial is pending, there is not much we can do about this specific case. However, we can demand that training is improved.

Please contact LAPD’s Commanding Officer of Police Training and Education Luann P. Pannell through one of the channels below and give her the following message, personalized to your liking:

I am dismayed that another disabled person has been killed by a police officer, a member of the LAPD.

It is alleged that Mr Kenneth French, out grocery shopping at a Costco in Riverside, California with his family started a fight which your unnamed officer somehow, inexplicably, could only end by shooting French dead and critically shooting his parents. Mr French, according to a relative, was non-verbal.

This is far from the first time a disabled person has lost their lives or been seriously injured – avoidably in a situation involving police. I want it to be the last time.

You are in charge of training for the LAPD, and it is time that you step up and improve training for police who have to deal with disabled people. There are a number of organisations lobbying for better treatment by police of people with special needs – you are in a key position to improve things and save lives.

I want to hear from you as to what initiatives you have or are working on in this area. I will also be watching closely how the officer’s trial goes ahead. I understand you may not be able to comment on a live case, but I want to know at the end of it whether this officer acted according to all regulations, whether there was security footage, whether they endangered others including the child they had with them, and whether they were involved in any previous shootings. I have many questions, and if they are not addressed by any trial, I will demand answers. The ignorance shown by police nationwide towards the disabled is staggering and is costing lives; you can help prevent further such incidents in your area, and spread best practice.

LAPD Commanding Officer of Police Training and Education Luann P. Pannell, Ph.D
Phone: (213) 847-3000
Email: pannelll@lapd.lacity.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lapdhq/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LAPDHQ

Once you have contacted Luann Pannel, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

June 23, 2019

Ask White House to explain President’s snub to Pulse victims

June 18 2019 – President Trump arrives in Orlando, and to a throng of followers he announces he will run for the presidency again in 2020. Not far away, others have been commemorating the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub three years ago. The president failed to even acknowledge the anniversary when he addressed his Orlando crowd.

Buzz Feed quoted one of those present at the Pulse gathering: “We just had our anniversary, we just had a memorial mourning the fact that we lost all those lives. He barely even acknowledged the fact that we lost those 49 lives,” said Rocky Rivera. “It wracked the country, it wracked the globe. We’ve been thinking about it ever since … We’ve been scared, and ironically the people we’re scared of support him.”

Trump claimed at the time that if one person present had a gun and knew how to use it, the Pulse tragedy would not have been so extensive.

In fact, the automatic weapon used on the 300-strong crowd did its devastating work in a matter of seconds.

The Orlando Weekly has called Trump out on his ignorance in this article, reminding him how quickly the event happened and that a trained, gun-carrying person at the scene could not have reacted fast enough. The paper said: “…OPD estimated from listening to 911 calls that Mateen fired about 200 rounds in less than five minutes and only stopped to reload.”

ACTION:

Write to president and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

You visited Orlando to announce your bid for the 2020 presidential race, while at the same time mourners and supporters gathered at the scene of Orlando’s horrific Pulse shooting to commemorate the third anniversary of this American tragedy. I call on you to rectify this huge insult by making a comment on Pulse massacre now – and to work to stop the sale of automatic and semi-automatic weapons. You can and must take action to stop further wholly avoidable tragedies.

At the time of the massacre, you said that one person with a gun could have stopped or mitigated the casualties at Pulse. Now that we know that the killer had an weapon that fired 200 rounds in under five minutes, and that there was a trained, competent gun-carrier at the event, I call on you to put the blame squarely where it belongs: on the NRA and all those who want automatic and semi-automatic weapons to be available for sale, and I expect you to make a statement and take action accordingly.

I also call on you to reflect on the hatred the gunman had for the LGBTQ community, and how hate speech around him helped fuel his actions; I call on you to recognise the gravity and influence of your office, and to curb your own homophobic speech and actions. There is no reason a LGBTQ member of the armed forces should experience anything but your thanks and the country’s thanks.

Finally, I expect you to take seriously the increase in gun-related deaths in 2018 in the US – nearly 40,000 people according to the New York Times. I expect you to take this epidemic seriously, and to end your ties to the National Rifle Association, now forever tainted with accepting funds from Russia: something of course the American president must never be linked to.

I await your answer both by return and in your next address to the nation.

The White House
Phone: (202) 456 1111
Email: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/WhiteHouse/posts/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: https://twitter.com/POTUS

And importantly, please consider copying your Senator what you send to the White House:

Your State Senators
Phone: (202) 224-3121
Click here for a list of all senators and their contact information

Once you have contacted The White House and/or your own senators, fill in the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

June 22, 2019

Demand freedom for wife who took husband’s guns for her safety

On Thursday 20 June 2019, Courtney Irby left a divorce court where she was trying to separate from husband Joseph Irby: he then allegedly tried to run her off the road with his car hitting hers, terrifying her (he’s in custody for it). Fearing for her life, she reported the incident to the police. The next day, still in fear (and apparently having no domestic abuse support from the authorities), she entered her estranged husband’s flat while he was in custody, and took his guns in order to protect her life and presumably their child’s life.

While trying to hand the guns into Lakeland police, she was asked to say taking the guns to turn in was a crime by a police officer – and now she’s in jail.

In this mind-boggling case of an understandably distraught woman in fear for her life, Lakeland PD have denied her her rights, failed to help her, and need to immediately release her, drop all charges, seize the guns, and offer her support as a victim of assault and domestic abuse.

According to various news sources, when she phoned to explain about the guns, an officer asked her: “So, you are telling me you committed an armed burglary?”

This questioning wholly disregarded basic procedure, and denied Mrs Irby her Miranda rights. If she were asked to confess to a crime – which there quite probably was no crime (in Florida, a couple have rights to each other’s property until divorced) – she needed to be read her rights, told she could remain silent, cautioned that anything she said could be used against her, and told she could have an attorney present. The officer in question was way out of order.

This is not the first time Lakeland PD have shown themselves to operate outside of the law and with utter contempt for women and rights. A sex scandal in 2013 saw the force accused of forcing women to have sex. It’s time the department was fully overhauled, and it’s time Mrs Irby is released and exonerated.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani said this case illustrates the need to better support domestic violence survivors.

“The case of Courtney Taylor Irby demonstrates once more the dangerous linkage between intimate partner violence and access to firearms. Court records show that Irby applied for a temporary injunction against her husband and the two were in the process of a divorce. She was actively protecting herself and her family from an estranged husband who had not turned over his firearms to law enforcement, and was arrested for it. We should be outraged by her arrest, and Irby should not be prosecuted by the local State Attorney’s office,”

ACTIONS:

Please contact Lakeland Chief of Police through one of the channels listed below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

I am absolutely outraged to learn your officer arrested a victim of domestic assault: a woman you failed to protect from an abusive spouse, and a woman whose Miranda rights were completely disregarded. I demand you release her immediately, drop any charges against her, seize her husband’s guns, and offer her a professional domestic abuse counselling service – today.

It is bad enough that Joseph Irby reportedly used his car in an assault on his wife Courtney: can you imagine how terrifying, intimidating and shaking such an event is? Please do tell me what your force did to help her in the aftermath. I understand she came to you for help before: please tell me what you did to protect and serve her.

When she entered her husband’s property and removed guns, no doubt fearing for her life and that of the couple’s child, she was likely acting legally under Florida law: the couple are not yet divorced, and she may well have been legally entitled to enter the premises and take property. That she took property in order to turn it over to Lakeland Police who were failing to protect her safety clearly is in her favour should the state cruelly go forward with any legal action – but here’s why you can’t:

What happened next is unacceptable. Your officer apparently said to her: “So, you are telling me you committed an armed burglary?” – wholly disregarding procedure, and denying her her Miranda rights. If she were asked to confess to a crime, she had an unassailable legal right to be read her rights, told she could remain silent, cautioned that anything she said could be used against her, and told she could have an attorney present. Your officer has some serious explaining to do. Even if she had been read her rights – the confession of a person who is under duress (which you would be if someone tried to injure you with a car), is inadmissible. Don’t your officers know any better?

I want to hear from you within the next three days maximum to be told you have done as I asked: 1. immediately released Mrs Irby; 2. dropped all charges against her; 3. retained the guns she rightfully feared would be used against her; 4. offered her professional domestic abuse counselling; 5. will re-train or release any officers who do not know what Miranda rights are, who will not give a domestic abuse victim appropriate care and consideration; and 6. will undertake training of your staff so they can operate like a professional organisation recognizing abuse victims and protect – not criminalize them.

I will be watching what you do next, and will not hesitate to demand elected authorities take action if you fail to uphold the law.

Lakeland Police Department, Ruben Garcia – Chief
Phone: (863) 834 6907
Email: mailto: Carol.Ratcliff@Lakelandgov.net (for some reason this name comes up under the email link on the Lakeland PD site for the Chief – I will look for his personal Email, which may well just be Ruben.Garcia@Lakelandgov.net)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakelandPD/
Twitter for assistant chief of police : https://twitter.com/drmikereik

2. After you take the action above, if you feel like copying the message you sent to supportive State Rep. Anna Eskamani, and/or the Governor, here’s the contact information:

State Rep. Anna Eskamani
Phone: (407) 228-1451
Email: Anna.Eskamani@myfloridahouse.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaForFlorida/ – she’s just done a media call to ask for Mrs Irby’s release
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaForFlorida

Governor Ron Desantis
Phone (850) 717-9337
Email (form): https://www.flgov.com/email-the-governor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonDeSantisFlorida/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis

After you contact Lakeland Police Chief Garcia, click the orange banner at the top of this page to report your action!

June 20, 2019

Oregon State Senator threatens to shoot troopers

An Oregon state senator has threatened to shoot state troopers if they try to enforce the law and stop the stonewalling plaguing the senate.

Senator Brian Boquist (R) threatened that any attempt to force him to attend the state senate and vote on a climate change package will see him resort to violence.

“Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple.” he said according to Oregon Live.

Governor Brown claims, with legal expert backing, that state troopers can be used to make elected officials attend the current legislature session and stop the stonewalling crippling the senate.

No stranger to either controversy or guns, the senator’s questionable activities are covered in an article raising questions over how he made money, his campaign donations and his company, ICI. It is allegedly a humanitarian company, but a journalist in 2012 said it is in effect a paramilitary group.

Elected to a high office, Boquist is showing contempt for life, for his constituents, for law enforcement officers and law.

Please contact Oregon State Senator Floyd Prozanski, Chair of the Special Committee on Conduct through one of the channels listed below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

I was shocked to learn that Senator Brian Boquist is getting away with threatening to shoot and kill Oregon state troopers if they try to enforce the law on him.

On hearing that the governor might invoke powers to stop stonewalling and legally use state troopers to make elected officials actually vote rather than stall, Boquist said: “Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple.”

I want the Oregon Senate to censure Boquist, and for the Conduct Committee you chair to investigate his statements and taking appropriate action. The people of Oregon deserve an elected representative who strives to uphold the law, not one who says he will kill if troopers try to enforce it. Should Boquist remain a senator at all if he won’t uphold the law and threatens lives? I don’t think so, and I will be watching to see what actions the Senate takes.

Oregon State Legislature, Senator Floyd Prozanski
Phone: (503) 986-1704
Email: Sen.FloydProzanski@OregonLegislature.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlatteCountyR3/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SenProzanski

After you contact Senator Prozanski, click the orange banner at the top of this page to report your action!

June 19, 2019

Gun-threat police must be fired and charged

On May 27, 2019, Phoenix Arizona police threatened to shoot, assaulted, and endangered the lives of a family including small children. We call for these police officers to be fully removed from the force immediately without pay; for law enforcement to arrest them promptly; and for prosecutors to prepare a robust case against the officers on a number of charges – as well as making some form of substantial financial compensation to the family.

Phoenix police responding to a prior dollar store theft were allegedly told by staff that Dravon Ames, 22, Iesha Harper, 24, were in possession of stolen goods (allegedly a doll taken by a 4 year old). The family and an unidentified woman are alleged to have driven away while police asked them to stop. The unidentified woman apparently exited the car and was arrested before the unacceptable, violent drama unfolded.

One video circulating in mainstream press including ABC shows officers with guns drawn yelling ‘you’re going to get f**king shot’ at pregnant Harper, two small children, and demanding that she put her hands up – while she was holding a child – which she was forced to hand over to a complete stranger. The police were at the scene about a previous earlier theft, but apparently on the say-so of the dollar store personnel, they decided drawing guns on a family, assaulting, shouting and threatening them was the way to deal with an alleged shoplifting misdemeanor. Why the store staff didn’t confront the family before they left the store has not been explained, but One Pulse will be asking.

Police Chief Jeri Williams and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego both offered apologies after a fashion, but with Williams undoing her statement by saying ‘… but there is more to the story…’ it is far from an acceptable situation. One Pulse will be asking what precisely that story is that required guns drawn on a family with officers threatening to shoot them over alleged petty theft.

As it stands the police involved seem to have only been put on desk duty. According to the family’s attorney, Tom Horne, said: “The police officers committed battery, unlawful imprisonment, false arrest, infliction of emotional distress, and violation of civil rights…” Jay-z is funding the legal fees for the family.

From the video
Images from ABC News video; top shows police kicking Mr Ames’ legs out from under him; image below shows Ms Harper forced to hand her child over to a complete stranger as she is cuffed.

TAKE ACTION:

Please watch the video on this link and read the article, or read other related articles to be familiar with the case.

Next, please contact the following individuals through one of the channels listed below and give the following message, personalized to your liking:

I was absolutely furious to learn that Arizona police officers pulled a gun on two children, a pregnant woman and her fiance over what apparently amounted to resisting arrest.

Whether or not a third woman who may or may not have been with the couple, Dravon Ames, 22 and Iesha Harper, 24, earlier was wanted by the police, the video footage being watched around the world shows two white officers threatening to ‘f***king shoot’ the adults, assaulting Ames, threatening a pregnant woman and terrorizing children: allegedly over a petty theft.

Without any delay, we demand the police involved be arrested and charged with what surely seems, as defence council claims, committed battery, unlawful imprisonment, false arrest, infliction of emotional distress, and violation of civil rights: presuming the State of Arizona finds these as serious as its officers finds alleged dollar-store theft. We also want without delay any and all charges dropped against the couple, an investigation into how the officers were trained, an explanation from the store staff as to what they did to confront the family before they left the store about any alleged shoplifting. We also want Police Chief Williams to explain what ‘more there is to the story’ that warranted assault, firearms drawn, and a pregnant woman forced to hand over a small child to a stranger. We’re waiting.

The state owes more than a half-hearted, partially retracted apology to this family, and we want a minimum of a five figure sum, to be agreed with their lawyer, to be paid to them forthwith. We also want assurances that none of those who filmed the outrageous behaviour of your police to have any action whatsoever taken against them. We demand assurances from Arizona that any such approaches to threaten, jail, intimidate or in any way interfere with the video filmers will not happen whatsoever.

Finally, one reason that your officers claim to have drawn weapons is that they feared the couple might have been armed. We now demand that your state legislature re-think your cavalier gun laws as they clearly have been shown to escalate officer responses – to an alleged petty theft – before any more tragic shootings by your officers, who obviously need re-training, occurs.

We will demand your answers and your actions; we will follow-up on this campaign and we hold all officials involved responsible for this life-threatening attack. If you don’t act, you will be responsible for any subsequent deaths; if you don’t act, we will campaign until there is justice for this family, and we will campaign to oust anyone from office who is not working for justice for this family and to prevent further such illegal, violent, deadly police acts.

Phoenix Police / Police Chief Williams
Email: Chief of Police (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phoenixazpolice/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhxPDChief

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego
Phone: 602-262-6011
Email: Mayor (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityofPhoenixAZ/

After you contact Williams or Gallego, click the orange banner at the top of this page to report your action!