Jordan Russell Davis: Unarmed Black Teen Shot Dead

"Once again, the state of Florida will became the center of a media firestorm in the coming days thanks to another shooting of an unarmed black 17 year old by a white man who felt "threatened." On Friday night at a Jacksonville gas station, Michael Dunn, 45, gunned down Jordan Davis, 17. According to reports, Dunn, who is white, was waiting in his car while his wife was inside the station, asked — or told — a car occupied by youths parked next to his to turn the volume down of their stereo. Allegedly, an argument ensued, which ended up with Dunn, firing at least eight shots, Davis dying, according to authorities.

Dunn insists that he believed one of his interlocutors had a gun, and that he acted in self-defense. However, no firearms were found in the vehicle. His attorney, Robin Lemonidis, has been quick to dismiss comparisons to the shooting of 17 year old Travyon Martin by 28 year old George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida in February. Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder, and his trial is scheduled to commence in June. The defense's strategy will likely rely heavily upon Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows an individual to use deadly force when one perceives a threat to one's personal safety."*

Documentary “Central Park Five” Shows How NYPD Jailed 5 Innocent Black And Latino Teens As Rapists

New York police took less than two weeks in 1989 to arrest five young African-American men in the shockingly violent assault and rape of 28-year-old investment banker Trisha Meili, in what became known as the Central Park Jogger case.
All five were eventually convicted.

It took another 13 years before those convictions were overturned. A prison inmate named Matias Reyes, in jail for unrelated crimes, confessed to the Meili attack. Subsequent DNA testing proved his guilt. The jail terms of the five were vacated after Reyes’ confession.

Now, 10 years after that dramatic move, comes “The Central Park Five.” It’s a gripping documentary by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, along with his daughter Sarah Burns — who also wrote a book on the Meili case — and David McMahon.

The film made headlines during its festival-circuit run, when New York City subpoenaed research unearthed by the Burns group about the case. The filmmaker has so far resisted turning over material gathered while making the film.

It’s no coincidence, Burns argues, that the city’s efforts will further prolong the suit against it by three of the so-called Central Park Five, who charge malicious prosecution, racial discrimination and racial distress. He says those suits have been stalled in New York courts since 2003.

“It’s the fourth quarter and they’re trying to run out the clock,” Burns says. “These young men are now all in their late 30s, and it’s been more than 20 years.

“What’s so incredible is that these [men] have got the courage to say, ‘We’re not giving up. This is what justice looks like.’ ”

“The Central Park Five” began a limited theatrical release on Nov. 23, and will air next year on HBO. The film examines the night of April 19, 1989, the so-called “wolf pack” attack on Meili in Central Park, and the subsequent media and city-wide frenzy. All five men later said they were coerced into making confessions that implicated the others as well as themselves.

Burns hopes “The Central Park Five” raises public awareness of what he sees as an ongoing injustice. “In the larger moral sense,” Burns says, “this is 13 years of tragedy, compounded by a decade of limbo.”

Read more at http://bossip.com/685452/race-matters-documentary-central-park-five-shows-how-shady-nypd-jailed-5-innocent-black-and-latino-teens-as-rapists-video/#DkdmFTAHJkjBSBbc.99

Martin Lee Anderson's Death

Police Caught On Tape Beating Black Man Investigation Underway

In the video, viewed on Thursday by a Reuters reporter, Daniel appears to raise his hands in surrender as a white police officer throws him to the ground and beats him on the back and head. A second officer also appears to strike Daniel.


"The Nation of Islam wanted to let people know what was done to him," said Charles Salvagio, Daniel's attorney. "The guy had his hands up and was trying to surrender. When he came to my office, he looked like he had two heads, it was so swollen.

Salvagio said Daniel also has back injuries as a result of the incident.

Birmingham police officials would not reveal the identities or race of the two officers put on leave. One of the men was already on medical leave, Williams said.

The defense attorney said the officers involved are white.

In January, a jury cleared two Birmingham police officers of brutality charges. In that case, a total of five white officers were seen beating a black man in a video that surfaced in 2009.

All five officers were fired, but the two officers who were acquitted are now trying to get their jobs back. (Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)