Skittles, Neighborhood Watch and the Death of a Child

I've been watching the developments in the Trayvon Martin case over the past couple of weeks. I'm still amazed that the powers-that-be in the state of Florida haven't figured out that nothing changes until the guy who pulled the trigger ... George Zimmerman ... is arrested.

It's been almost a month since 17-year old Trayvon Martin was gunned down by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. Despite Zimmerman admitting to following, confronting, and killing Trayvon, he has yet to be arrested or charged with any crime.

Just minutes before Trayvon was killed, Zimmerman had called police stating that Trayvon looked "suspicious." Trayvon was unarmed and walking back to his father's home in Sanford, Florida when Zimmerman accosted him.

At the crime scene, Sanford police botched their questioning of Zimmerman, refused to take the full statements of witnesses, and pressured neighbors to side with the shooter's claim of self-defense. As it turns out, Sanford's police department has a history of failing to hold perpetrators accountable for violent acts against Black victims, and the police misconduct in Trayvon's case exemplifies the department's systemic mishandling of such investigations. And now, the State Attorney's office has rubber-stamped the Sanford police's non-investigation, claiming that there is not enough evidence to support even a manslaughter conviction.

Trayvon's family and hundreds of thousands of people around the country demanded justice. It took some time but earlier this week the Department of Justice began an independent investigation into the Sanford police department's unwillingness to protect Trayvon's civil rights.

Walking home from the store shouldn't cost you your life, but when Black youth are routinely assumed to be violent criminals, being randomly killed is a constant danger. Before Zimmerman decided to get out of his parked car gun in tow to pursue Trayvon on foot that night, he called the police to identify Trayvon as a "suspicious person" apparently because he was wearing a hoodie and walking too slowly in the rain for Zimmerman's liking. Despite being instructed not to follow Trayvon, Zimmerman proceeded to confront and fatally shoot the boy in the chest within a matter of minutes. Zimmerman went from being a Neighborhood Watch volunteer to a vigilante in a nanosecond.

The case has been compromised from the beginning. When Sanford police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman was first approached by a narcotics detective not a homicide investigator who "peppered him with questions" rather than allowing him to tell his story without prompting. Another officer "corrected" a witness giving a statement that she'd heard Trayvon cry for help before he was shot, telling her she had heard Zimmerman instead.

And beyond the questions of professional competence or even the police's disregard for the facts, Florida's notorious "Shoot First" law takes a shooter's self-defense claim at face value incentivizing law enforcement not to make arrests in shooting deaths that would lead to murder charges in other states. These 'Stand Your Ground' laws need to be changed.

Sanford has a history of not prosecuting when the victim is Black. In 2010, the white son of a Sanford police lieutenant was let go by police after assaulting a homeless Black man outside a downtown bar. And, in 2005, a Black teenager was killed by two white security guards, one the son of a Sanford Police officer. The pair was arrested and charged, but a judge later cited lack of evidence and dismissed both cases.

Emotions are running raw in Sanford and all around the nation. How are you feeling about the Trayvon Martin case at this point in time?

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Predicts Herman Cain Will Win Presidency

It's simple math. 1 + 1 = 2

1. Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) indicated that the winner of today's Florida Straw Poll would become the next president of the United States. [SOURCE]

1. Herman Cain is the upset winner of the Florida Straw Poll with 37 percent of the vote out of 2,657 ballots cast.

2. Therefore, Gov. Scott predicts Herman Cain is our next President of the United States.

I don't know if Scott is going to be prophetic. I do know that Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) was expecting to win this straw poll down in Florida. However, he did such a lousy job in recent GOP presidential debates ... that many of his supporters switched over to other candidates, including Cain.

The other surprise was that Michelle Bachmann came in DEAD LAST in the 7-person field. That would seem to put a nail in her coffin as a presidential candidate.

I imagine that the person who is in the background smiling about all of this is Mitt Romney. Anything that weakens Rick Perry is a positive thing for Mitt Romney.

Congratulations to Herman Cain for sticking around ... let's see if it results in better fundraising support for him over the coming days and weeks.

Why Are Republicans Playing the Race Card in Southern States?

You have to wonder if the Republican Party in the southern part of the United States is making a conscious effort to piss off African Americans so that they can gain support from bigoted white folks? Has the GOP decided that the best way to beat President Obama in 2012 is to play the race card over and over again?

Can there be any other explanation for the recent actions of Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) or Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)?

Gov. Scott had a Gov. Rick Scott welcomed Black legislators to lunch earlier this week at the Governor’s Mansion. His intentions may have been good. However, during his welcoming remarks, Scott implied that all Black lawmakers grew up poor and lived in the projects. [SOURCE]

“I grew up probably in the same situation as you guys,” Scott said to the group of 20 Democrats. “I started school in public housing. My dad had a sixth-grade education.”

Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, said she was offended by the remark, but did not protest at the time because she said it was more important to have a productive dialogue with the new governor.

Afterward, she said, “He assumed that everyone [in the room] was poor and that can only be because you’re Black.”

It is much worse over in Mississippi where the state is considering a proposal to issue specialty license plates honoring Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans wants to sponsor a series of state-issued license plates to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which it calls the "War Between the States." The group proposes a different design each year between now and 2015, with Forrest slated for 2014. [SOURCE]

I wonder if these wingnuts realize that the Confederates lost that war?

For those villagers who may not know -- Forrest, a Tennessee native, is revered by some as a military genius and reviled by others for leading an 1864 massacre of Black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tenn. If it happened today, we would call it a 'war crime'.

Forrest was a Klan grand wizard in Tennessee after the war.

Gov. Barbour hasn't stepped in to end this discussion about honoring a war criminal and racist KKK grand wizard with his own license plate. Is Barbour being a racist? Or is he just ignorant about the way that African Americans would react to seeing a KKK grand wizard honored on the back of every car in Mississippi?

It appears more and more that the Republican Party is willing to play the race card to try to regain the White House in 2012. What say u?

Florida Police Identify Officers Involved in Taser-Killing of Linel Lormeus

The Collier County Sheriff released the names of the deputies who were in the house when 26-year old Linel Lormeus was killed by multiple taser shots. Three deputy corporals -- Neil Gershman, Alfred Rodriguez and Todd Sanner -- engaged Lormeus in a violent struggle before they killed him.

Deputy Cpl. Sanner was the first officer to pump 50,000 volts of electricity into Lormeus. Deputy Cpl Rodriguez got impatient when Lormeus didn't comply quickly enough with the shouted demands from the police ... so he also fired his taser at Lormeus. Lormeus was standing in the back of the closet at the time. He fell to the ground and was dead a short time later.

The police also shared a redacted transcript and an audio clip of the 911 calls that brought them to Lormeus' home in the first place.

The police don't usually release the 911 information unless they want to try to influence public opinion. Methinks that the police know that they used too much force in dealing with this situation. Three officers had Lormeus cornered in his closet. Did they really need to use the tasers until he stopped breathing?

What say u?

Taser Death: Linel Lormeus (Naples FL) | 'He Called for Help ... Instead They Killed Him'

An unidentified Collier County deputy pumped at least 50,000 volts of electricity into Linel Lormeus, an unarmed 26-year old southwest Florida man, in front of his home on Sunday, December 12. Lormeus died as a result of the extra-judicial electrocution. [SOURCE]

Years ago when her sister died, Marti Guilbeau took custody of her nephew, a mentally ill boy by the name of Linel Lormeus. Lormeus couldn’t do much because of his illness, but he was generally calm, and Guilbeau treated him as her own.

“He became like my son,” she recalled.

Lormeus and Guilbeau had some type of domestic disturbance over the weekend. Guilbeau tried to get him under control and she ended up leaving the house to ask a neighbor for help. The neighbor instead called 911. The woman told deputies that Lormeus suffered from a mental illness and had stopped taking his medication.

Three deputies arrived at the scene and Guilbeau told them her adopted son was mentally ill, and she asked them to be gentle with him. When deputies knocked at the door, Lormeus opened it and allowed them inside, Guilbeau said. He panicked when they tried to handcuff him.

According to the police, Lormeus ran as soon as deputies arrived.

Guilbeau didn’t see what happened next, but she said that a witness told her Lormeus was tackled to the apartment floor by deputies. She heard that he was able to get back up and began running deeper into the apartment, hiding in a closet. That’s when the Taser was used, she heard.

Lormeus suffered a medical emergency as he was handcuffed. One deputy performed CPR as another ran for a defibrillator. Paramedics were called to respond to the scene. Lormeus was taken to the Pine Ridge campus of Physicians Regional Hospital, where he died at 11:44 p.m.

Guilbeau mourns her adopted son’s death, and she wonders if deputies could have handled the situation more gently after a neighbor called 911.

“He called police for help,” she said through a translator. “Instead, they killed (Lormeus).”

The Sheriff’s Office is conducting an internal investigation into the actions of the officer, according to a press release, and the agency has requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conduct an outside investigation into the incident. Results of the inquiry will be forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office, which will determine if any of the officers are criminally culpable.

She said her adopted son had received treatment in and out of Haiti for his mental illness. He had been prescribed pills in Haiti, but he didn’t have them in the U.S. during his latest stay. Guilbeau estimated that roughly a year and a half had passed since Lormeus last took his medication.

“The police are supposed to help, gently,” Guilbeau said.

Please let this blog know if you have any additional information or opinions to share about this taser-related killing.

Taser Death: Derrick Humbert (Bradenton FL)

It happened again! We enter into the 40th week of 2009 ... and we report on the 40th taser-related death in America. One per week...

This time the tortured man is 38-year old Derrick Humbert. Police pulled Humbert's BICYCLE over at 12:18 am because he didn't have a light on the bike. Humbert got off his bike and ran through the yards of several houses in the neighborhood. Bradenton Police Officer Del Shiflett used his Taser in a fatal ending to the chase.

Before he was to be taken to the Manatee County Jail, paramedics took Humbert to Manatee Memorial Hospital for treatment, but he died there at about 1:00 am.

The penalty for running away from the police should not be death by electrocution. Yet, here we are again with a dead man at the hands of a so-called non-lethal weapon.

It took no time for the police to wave the druggie accusation. They immediately released the fact that Humbert was wanted on a warrant for possession of marijuana.

At this point everyone waits for the autopsy report.

Dr. David McKalip Resigns for Sending Racist Emails

A Florida neurosurgeon has resigned from his post with a county medical association after forwarding an e-mail to about 150 people with an image portraying President Barack Obama as a witch doctor.

Dr. David McKalip submitted his resignation as president-elect of the Pinellas County Medical Association last week, and plans to remove himself as a delegate with the American Medical Association.

The doctor has apologized for his actions, telling a Tampa radio station it was a "very bad mistake." In his apology last week to President Obama, he wrote,

"I genuinely regret the decision I made in passing this e-mail message along. Directly to President Obama, I sincerely apologize for offending him. This was, in no way whatsoever, my intention. The image has nothing to do with my feelings or thoughts on any race or culture. I recognize that this image is offensive and hope that the nation refocuses on assuring all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable health care with no party interfering in the patient-physician relationship."

Villager's View: I am glad to see that the good doctor lost his coveted position as president-elect of the Florida medical association. There needs to be consequences for racist behavior by public officials. I hope that he experiences a sharp drop in his medical practice revenues as well.

What say u?

Florida Cops Cleared in Taser Death of Xavier Jones

Villagers may recall the story of a Blackman being killed by taser-wielding cops in Florida.

Saying officers were legally justified in using deadly force, Miami-Dade prosecutors have cleared four (4) Coral Gables officers, for the January 2008 death of Xavier Jones, 29, who succumbed to 'excited delirium syndrome' associated with cocaine use.

Davis had been drinking and drugging with pals at the University Inn Apartments before he went berserk, ran out and laid down in traffic, crying that 'God was going to take' him.

To subdue him, two officers deployed their Taser stun guns. While handcuffed in the back of a patrol car, Davis cursed one final time, passed out, and died.

"The actions of the police officers in this case did nothing to contribute to the death of the decedent," said Miami-Dade prosecutors.

Villagers, I'm still amazed that the prosecutors and others don't understand that the penalty for drinking and drugging in America is not death. When will these extra-judicial electrocutions be stopped?

Marion Thorpe (R-Fl), Candidate for US Senate

Drumbeats from Black Politics on the Web let us know that history is being made in Florida. It turns out that Dr. Marion Thorpe is the first African American Republican to run for statewide office in Florida. He plans to run for the US Senate.

Thorpe is a longtime political player in Florida who has toured the state for his work in the Health Care field. In 1998, then Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to spearhead the State of Florida’s Comprehensive Health Information Systems panel and in 2005 named him Chief Medical Officer for Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration.

"Florida has vibrant agricultural economic potential. It also has the technology and the ability to lead the nation in the development of domestically produced energy sources", said Thorpe. "There is simply no excuse for the double digit unemployment levels that have plagued many parts of the state and I’m committed to fighting for a solution to this pervasive problem."

Villagers, wouldn't it be remarkable if the two leading candidates for the US Senate seat in Florida are both African Americans? Kendrick Meek announced his candidacy to run in the Democratic primaries for this seat. Now Marion Thorpe steps up to the challenge as well.

I imagine that Marion Thorpe will do better in his run than Alan Keyes did in his 2004 election beat-down from Barack Obama.

Alan Keyes was unable to blunt the enthusiasm for Obama. Will Thorpe blunt the enthusiasm that is bound to grow for Kendrick Meek?

Kendrick Meek (D-Fl), Candidate for US Senate

I see where Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) has become the first candidate to officially declare for the seat being vacated by Republican Mel Martinez. I imagine that Rep. Meek is disappointed that Hillary Clinton isn't going to be our president.

Meek is a former state legislator and former captain in the Florida Highway Patrol. He won a House seat in 2002 that had long been held by his mother, Carrie Meek, and is starting his fourth term in Congress.

"Public service and a commitment to make a better life for the people of Florida has been my mission. I've given Florida a strong voice on the powerful House and Ways Means Committee and was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to the House Leadership," said U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek. "But never in my lifetime, have the people of Florida been faced with so many big problems. Our state needs bold leadership at every level, and it is why I've made the decision to run as a candidate for the United States Senate. This race is not about me--it is about Floridians. I am running for Florida, and I am asking Floridians to run with us in this race."

Although Meek rode the wrong pony in the Democratic presidential primary ... he appears to have found partnership with the incoming president as evidenced by the fact that Steve Hildebrand, Barack Obama's deputy national campaign manager will be Meek's top strategist for the U.S. Senate campaign.

I wish the young brother well in his campaign. It will be nice to see another African American face in the US Senate.

Taser Death: James Garland (Florida)

Another Black man died as the result of being attacked by a policeman welding a taser gun. This time it occurred in South Florida when 41-year old was spotted naked wandering through traffic waving his shirt. Cops are supposed to apply the 'use of force continuum' when they want to subdue someone. The taser should only be used if earlier levels of force are not successful.

Anyhow, these officers pulled out their taser and zapped Mr. Garland so that they could take him into custody. It blows my mind that the police are afraid to deal with a naked man waving a shirt. No weapon. No knife. No gun. It was a SHIRT for goodness sake.

They took him in a marked patrol car to a local hospital where he died. Another death by taser. Since when does strolling through the street buck-naked equal the death penalty in America?

The other common occurance is that the media, at the urging of law enforcement officials, always want to ensure we know about the criminal record of the person that they taser to death. In this case, we learn that Mr. Garland was a registered sex offender with 10 arrests over the past six years, mostly for cocaine-related charges.

Villagers, let's stipulate that James Garland was an irresponsible person with some serious problems. Even if that is the case ... did he deserve to die last week at the hands of a taser-happy policeman?

Al Sharpton and NAACP Are Wrong in Dunbar Village Gang-Rape Case

Important nubian women in my life, such as my former wife, my mom and my sisters often tell me that I have a 'hard head'. Usually, this is a result of me being slow on the uptake for an issue that they see clearly from the start. The impact of the Dunbar Village gang-rape may be yet another example of me ... and perhaps other brothers ... having a 'hard head'.

You see, the issues surrounding the Dunbar Village gang-rape that occurred last year continue to burn hot in our community ... especially with Black women. Many Black women look at the way that the Dunbar Village situation has been handled as an example of the way Black women are treated in too many situations from Corporate America to our neighborhoods.

Villagers remember the horrific story of ten youths that forced their way into a Black woman's home in Dunbar Village housing complex down in Florida. For several hours,they not only gang-raped her repeatedly and viciously beat her young son, but they forced her to have sex with her own child. The teenage boys then placed the two of them in a bathtub and poured nail polish remover in her son's eyes, blinding him for a period of time. They attempted to set them on fire, but couldn't find a match. So instead, they violated them with ammonia and threatened to kill her family if she told anyone.

Only four of the suspects have been apprehended, there are six others on the loose. There is conclusive DNA evidence on at least one of the boys. There is no manhunt for the rest of the criminals, they are running around loose as you read this.

In November 2007, Al Sharpton showed that he had a 'hard head' about this case as well. He was called on the carpet by a number of people concerned that he was not supporting the young woman and her son who had been victimized in this case. In fact, I went so far as to call Al Sharpton a 'punk' last month on this blog.

Fast forward to today. It seems that the NAACP and Al Sharpton's National Action Network (NAN) both refused to help this woman because it was 'outside the scope of their mission' ... however, both groups found time to send lawyers down to Florida IN SUPPORT OF THE RAPISTS. The lawyers are claiming that it is 'unfair' to not offer bail to these four rapists.

Barack Obama spoke on the rage that exists in Black America when it comes to race relations. That rage burns especially strong when sexual crimes are committed against Black women and children ... even if the criminals involved are Black!

I encourage all like-minded villagers to join in collective action against the NAACP and Al Sharpton's NAN as a result of their misguided criminal advocacy in the Dunbar Village case. Perhaps it is time for right-thinking villagers to stop fueling the NAACP and NAN with our money and our volunteer activism until they stop trying to hinder the successful prosecution of this heinous crime down in Dunbar Village.

Perhaps it is time to ensure that the safety of Black women and children are non-negotiable. Here are some specific steps you can take:

1. Share this post with others so they might have their conscience and concern raised as yours as been today.
2. Demand an explanation from your local NAACP and NAN chapter about the Dunbar Village case.
3. Cancel your membership to these organizations
4. Write a letter explaining that you will return when they prioritize the public safety needs of Black women and children.
5. Stop donating your time or money to these organizations; instead invest in other organizations that take the lives of Black women and children seriously.

Even if you do not belong to these organizations, call or write them to express your displeasure:


NAACP National Headquarters
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215
(410) 580-5777

National Action Network
Rev. Al Sharpton
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
(212) 690-3070

You can obtain more information about the direct action against NAACP and NAN from the Dunbar Village blog (BBR #494).

I am interested to hear your take on the Dunbar Village case. Is there any excuse for what Al Sharpton and the NAACP West Palm Beach Branch president are doing in this case as they defend the young rapists? Are you willing to take direct action yourself to protect our Black woman and children? Will you share this information with others in your personal network?

Six Florida Students Suspended for Joking Around with Lynching Noose

We want our national leaders to engage in words and deeds that uplift our country. We want to move away from the evil racism that dominated our country over the past 300 years. Keith Olbermann had it right. It is a shame that Hillary Clinton didn't seize on the moment earlier this week to put racist words and deeds into a box and out of her campaign.

Young people take their cues from these national discussions. As such we shouldn't be surprised that at least six students at the Somerset Academy in Pembroke Pines, FL were caught hanging a noose on cmapus. [SOURCE]

Cindy Guerra, the South Florida regional deputy for the Attorney General’s Office noted, “A situation involving children and hate symbols is something we take seriously.”

The school’s assistant principal, Donyale McGhee said the students involved in the noose hanging were cited for “disorderly behavior, misrepresentation of information, defiance and withholding information from administration.”

Somerset freshman Moremi Akinde wrote a column for the South Florida Times titled, “Banning Black History Month,” in which she expressed her view that relegating black history to the shortest month of the year marginalizes the contributions of the race. The column was distributed at the school, and some students were asked to write responses to it.

Later, on Feb. 14, Moremi and several of her friends sat at a lunch table in the outdoor eating area of the school’s campus. Shortly after they were seated, one of the young ladies spotted a rope fashioned into a noose, dangling from an umbrella affixed to the lunch table directly behind them. The noose recalled the lynchings of Black people by white supremacists in the Jim Crow South.

Six male students of various ethnicities were sitting at the table where the noose was hanging. When Moremi and her friends approached the young men, the boys dismissed the offensive symbol as “just a joke.” Their response prompted Moremi and one of her friends to approach and complain about the noose to school officials.

Moremi said in a previous interview that there is an undercurrent of racial insensitivity at the school, where she has heard this joke from other students: “What do an apple and a black person have in common? Answer: Both look good hanging from a tree.’’

It is time that Hillary Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, Ed Rendell and others do some soul-searching about the careless way that they are dealing with race relations in our country. Noose incidents like the one at Somerset will continue to plague us all over the United States if our national leaders don't do better.

Rudy Giuliani Failure in Florida is Karma for Louima and Diallo

I figure that the political career of Rudy Giuliani political career is about to end tonight in Florida. My hope is that Rudy will drop out of the presidential race and head back home with his tail between his legs.

I thought it was poor taste that Rudy Giuliani used the September 11th tragedy in his city as a tool to prop up his failing administration as New York City mayor. He used it to make money on a speaking tour. Then he used it again to become a POTUS candidate. For most of last year he was the leading candidate in the Republican Party for the presidential nomination.

Giuliani's rise in national prominence was hard to take for many NY residents. Every poll showing Giuliani ahead in the polls last year added to the simmering anger of many people of African descent who had an entirely different view of the man. Many of us remember that Giuliani fueled racial tensions in New York City with his endorsement of police brutality. His "quality-of-life" campaigns against hot dog vendors, jaywalkers, publicly-funded art and cab drivers showed his disdain for civil rights.

Villagers, do you recall how Giuliani's Police Department came under fire in 1997, when Abner Louima, who is Black, was sodomized with a broomstick in the 70th Precinct station house? Two white police officers were convicted of carrying out the attack and four others were found guilty of lying about what happened.

Do you recall an incident that occurred two years into Giuliani's second term where an African immigrant named Amadou Diallo was shot 19 times in the vestibule of his Bronx home by four white police officers? The officers said they thought he was reaching for a gun. It turned out to be a wallet. Thousands protested at police headquarters, but Giuliani stood behind his officers, who were acquitted in February 2000.

It appears that Florida republicans will put a stake into the heart of the Giuliani presidential campaign. I'll be surprised if he stays in the race beyond this week. And, in my view, that is a good thing. It could just be me ... but, I think that there are many people of African descent who will have a large smile when we hear that Giuliani turns out to be one of the biggest failures in this national election cycle.

Rudy Giuliani failing as presidential candidate is karma for Louima and Diallo. Do you agree?