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Source: On Sex Work & Survival: Why We Must Stand With Alisha Walker
Most everyone has heard of the men involved in Black Lives Matter. Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin– they’ve become household names in regards to the movement. However, rarely do we hear about the women subjected to the police brutality BLM disputes; Rekia Boyd shot by an unarmed Chicago police officer in 2012, Michelle Cusseaux a 50 year-old bipolar and schizophrenic women shot in 2012 in Phoenix, Shelly Frey a 27 year-old mother shot in Houston for attempting to shoplift, and a multitude others. Most people aren’t familiar with the strong female foundation of Black Lives Matter either. #BlackLivesMatter was the revolutionary brain child of three incredible women as a result of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the murder trial of Trayvon Martin. Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Cullors helped unmask the severe institutional racism in this country and expose it for what it really is. However, the discrimination…
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SDPD spends $4,300 for DIRECTV in mayor’s vehicle
The officer, 16-year veteran Shannon Hart, is seeking unspecified damages of more than $10,000 in a claim he filed against the city late last year. U-T Watchdog received a copy of the claim this past week as part of a routine check of public records.
Hart alleges he was let go in retaliation for raising questions over U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant-spending decisions, among other things.
Specifically, Hart said he was told by superior officers at the chief’s insistence to buy a satellite-television dish for Faulconer’s city vehicle even though the expenditure did not meet terms of the federal grant. He said the purchase went forward despite his objection.
“SDPD’s motivation to terminate Officer Hart was enhanced by SDPD’s concern that Shannon Hart could and might disclose Chief Zimmerman’s and Mayor Faulconer’s false statements to the media when the satellite dish was discovered and reported, that Mayor Faulconer’s Expedition was authorized to carry a DirecTV satellite dish because it was a ‘command vehicle’,” the claim states.
CBS 8 reported last year that the mayor’s city-leased vehicle had been equipped with satellite television in 2014. The monthly cable subscription includes ESPN, NFL Sunday Ticket and other premium channels, the station reported.
In a statement responding to Hart’s claim, the department said the allegations are inaccurate and the equipment was paid for through normal budgetary channels.
“To be better prepared, shortly after she was appointed in 2014, Chief Shelley Zimmerman ordered the vehicle used by the mayor’s security detail to be outfitted with a satellite TV dish and a satellite phone for use by the Mayor since it is considered a mobile command center during an emergency,” the statement said.
“The installation was paid for out of the Police Department’s budget as is the ongoing monthly costs for a basic cable package,” the statement said. “No federal Homeland Security grant funding was spent on the satellite dish.”
A duplicate invoice provided by the department shows the city paid $3,580 in cash for a mobile satellite television dish and roof-rack system on April 2, 2014. Department officials did not respond to follow-up questions about why the receipt indicates the dish was paid for in cash.
Faulconer spokesman Matt Awbrey said in a statement that the mayor needs the equipment in case of emergency.
“When cell phones and electricity go dark in a disaster, this equipment allows command vehicle passengers, whether it’s the mayor or other high-ranking officials, to communicate with first responders and monitor developments remotely,” he wrote. “One of the lessons learned from the 2011 blackouts and emergencies faced in other cities is that having reliable methods of communication is critical.”
Awbrey did not respond to a follow-up question about Hart’s claim, which says satellite phones for Faulconer and Zimmerman did not comply with federal grant fund requirements that they be kept on hand at the city’s Emergency Operations Center.
Hart, who is represented by San Diego attorney Dan Gilleon, also said in his claim that he was fired for other reasons.
According to the claim, Hart was terminated because he suffered psychological distress after he “witnessed traumatic events on duty, including the deaths of fellow officers.” The department was further concerned that Hart might report misuse of city vehicles, the claim states.
The city has yet to formally approve or deny the claim. If the demand is rejected, Hart would be entitled to pursue his complaint in San Diego Superior Court.
– See more at: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/apr/24/faulconer-satellite/#sthash.XfI5Pj32.dpuf
SAN DIEGO — About a dozen people gathered in front of San Diego police headquarters Tuesday morning to denounce a fatal Gaslamp Quarter shooting by police and announce the filing of a wrongful death claim against the city and the officers involved.
Protestors with United Against Police Terror San Diego and representatives of a law firm rallied for Lamontez Jones, 39, who was shot several times by San Diego police motorcycle Officers Scott Thompson and Gregory Lindstrom in a confrontation in the middle of Sixth Avenue at F Street on Oct. 20.
Police said Jones aimed a replica handgun at the officers, and after being shot he fell to the pavement and aimed the gun at them again, prompting them to fire again. He died at a hospital.
The officers did not turn on their body-worn cameras before the shooting. Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman defended their oversight, saying events unfolded too swiftly and the officers had to focus on safety for themselves and the public first.
The District Attorney’s Office found the shooting legally justified, as both officers believed the handgun Jones aimed at Thompson was real and that he was about to fire it at the officer. Thompson fired two rounds at Jones and Lindstrom fired seven rounds.
The claim, a legal step required before filing a lawsuit against the government, was filed by the Los Angeles law firm of James P. Segall-Gutierrez on behalf of Jones’ mother, Victoria Jones, of Virginia. It alleges wrongful death, negligence, infliction of emotional distress and other violations by the city, the Police Department and the two officers. The amount of damages was not specified, but the claim said “the totals will exceed several million dollars.”
“I would just like to know what initiated them to go after my son,” Victoria Jones said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “My biggest concern is, they didn’t have their body cameras (turned) on. … They want me to accept what they want to tell me.”
She said an officer’s first instinct when contacting the public or getting out of a patrol car should be to activate the camera, and that police agencies should use technology that turns them on automatically.
San Diego police have given her reports on the shooting, and she said they told her they pulled security video from businesses overlooking the spot where it happened.
“They told me the only way I could see them is if I hire a lawyer and file a complaint. So that’s what I’m doing,” she said.
She said a number of witnesses sent her emails about the encounter between her son and police, and some said officers knew before the shooting that Jones’ gun was not real. Police said the officers saw Jones run into traffic, refusing to stop and identify himself, and they were following him as he ran down the street. They said he turned toward Thompson suddenly with a handgun apparently pulled from his backpack.
“I know my son pulled out a fake gun, and he answered for that,” his mother said. She said she now wants the officers to answer for their actions.
She said he served time after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of his roommate in Virginia, but said he acted in self-defense and was pressured into accepting a plea deal. San Diego police said Jones was wanted on a Virginia warrant for robbery at the time of his death.
pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com
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L. Jones Claim for Damages pg 2
image from http://souciant.com/2014/11/selma-in-ferguson/
COLOROFCHANGE.ORG to CALIFORNIA DOJ; demand justice for the #SDSTOLENLIVES
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
San Diego Media Arts Center & The Digital Gym
Overpass Light Brigade – San Diego
