Taser Death: Sampson Castellane (Fife, WA)

It happened again! This time we learned about another taser-related death from villager Zeke. Sampson Castellane, 29, was electrocuted with the taser guns of unidentified Puyallup tribal officers at the Emerald Queen Casino on July 5. [SOURCE]

The tribal police indicate that Castellane was seen fighting another man in their hotel room. Two officers went to the hotel room and knocked on the door. According to the police one of the men in the room attacked the officers ... that is when 50,000 volts of electricity were pumped into Castellane's body.

Castellane was then handcuffed. Shortly after he was in police custody he stopped breathing. CPR was performed, and he was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

It will be interesting what the other man in the hotel room has to say about all of this. Stay tuned.

Obama's Weekly Address: Pushing Congress to Create Jobs, Keep College in Reach for Middle Class

President Obama discusses legislation he signed on Friday that does two important things: It keeps thousands of construction works on the job rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and it stops interest rates on federal loans from doubling this year for more than seven million students.





It's nice to see congress passing some useful legislation. It's called 'doing your job' and perhaps we can see more of it in the coming weeks and months!

Black Unemployment Crisis Continues; 14.4% Unemployment in June 2012

The United States added 80,000 jobs in June 2012 - making it 28 consecutive months of private sector job growth - and unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent. U.S. job growth barely picked up in June, the latest sign that economic growth has slowed.

There are about 12.7 million unemployed people in the country - and our nation's unemployment metrics don't provide any positive movement for President Obama as we enter the final months of the presidential campaign against Gov. Romney.

The numbers in the Black community are bad!

The unemployment rate in the Black community rose in June 2012 to 14.4%. This compares to previous months:

• Mar 2012 - 14.0%
• Feb 2012 - 14.1%
• Jan 2012 - 13.6%
• Dec 2011 - 15.7%
• Nov 2011 - 15.5%
• Sep 2011 - 16.0%
• Aug 2011 - 16.7%

The Labor Department said private companies accounted for all of the growth in June payrolls, adding 84,000 jobs. Governments, meanwhile, cut payrolls by 4,000. The federal work force shed 7,000 positions.

Employment increased 47,000 in the professional- and business-services category, led by temporary-help services. Companies sometimes add temps before making permanent hires.

Manufacturing, a bright spot in an otherwise tepid recovery, added 11,000 jobs. The pace of factory hiring has tailed off, though, to an average of 10,000 a month in the second quarter from 41,000 a month in the first.

The health-care and wholesale-trade industries also added jobs.

What is your opinion of the unemployment data that was released today?

Taser Death: Victor Duffy (Tukwila, WA)

It happened again! This time a mentally-ill 25-year old man - Victor Duffy - was electrocuted by the tasers of unidentified police officers in his own home. Most of the information that is known comes from the dead man's mother. [SOURCE]

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Victor Duffy's mother returned to her Tukwila home on Saturday just as the police were arriving.

Her son, 25-year-old Victor Duffy Jr., called 911 during a fight with his younger sister despite his "deathly" fear of police, Deanne Mills said.

According to Mills, her son had been diagnosed as being bipolar and having post-traumatic stress disorder after a confrontation with police in which he was tased six years ago, she said.

Mills said she told the officers who came to her house on Saturday that her son was mentally ill and had not been taking his medications.

"I begged them not to use a Taser on him," Mills said Monday. "I told them he was afraid and I asked them to take care of him."

She said she and other family members were herded outside their home leaving her son alone in the house with police.

"As soon as we were out, I heard 'zzzt,' 'zzzt,' and knew they were tasering him," Mills said.

A short while later, she said, her son was dead.

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The police haven't publically acknowledged that a taser was used. The Tukwila Police Department say that Duffy began to experience "breathing difficulties" while he was in an ambulance and died later at Harborview Medical Center.

The Tukwila police statement said officers were called to the home, where a "male with a history of mental illness was being combative with his family and making strange statements to the 911 operator" late Saturday morning.

Duffy was "holding a golf club and threatening his family" when officers arrived, according to police. Duffy's relatives said they could hear a Taser being used and him screaming inside the home while they were outside.

As officers tried to take him into custody for an involuntary mental-health commitment, Duffy attempted to escape and broke his ankle.

"He was so afraid that he jumped out of a second-story window to get away," said his cousin, Kevin Duffy.

Duffy's mother said that while her son was on the ground and unable to move, officers attacked him, used the Taser on him again and handcuffed him.

Police seem willing to use the power of their taser guns without any regard for the damage that it can cause. Were the police officers in danger from an unarmed man with a broken ankle? If not, why was a taser deployed on him? Instead of being helped by mental health professionals a 25-year old man is dead. Something is wrong with this picture.

Taser Death: Corey McGinnis (Cincinnati, OH)

It happened again! This time a 35-year old father who was trying to protect his children was electrocuted-to-death by the taser gun of an unidentified Springfield Township (OH) police officer.

Corey McGinnis never regained consciousness after he was electrocuted with a Taser on June 26 by officers from Springfield Township and North College Hill who were called to a big fight in Crutchfield Park. “He collapsed right there on the scene,” his niece said. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died five days after the incident. [SOURCE]

Four of his children were at the park with their father. Two of them, boys ages 15 and 16, were involved in the basketball game when their opponents attacked them.

It will be weeks, possibly months, before the Hamilton County Coroner makes an official ruling on his cause of death. But relatives say they’re convinced the Taser shock must be to blame for the death of McGinnis, a healthy 35-year-old who exercised regularly.

The police won't be able blame this one on drugs or 'excited delirium'.

“We, as people, need to bring some kind of attention to these tasings because Corey is not the first person to die after being tased and he won’t be the last unless we do something,” Corey's niece, Lisa McGinnis said. “It’s supposed to be a safer alternative, but it’s been shown time and time again that people are dying after being tased.”

Good News Tuesday: Lia Neal, Olympic Swimmer

There were other stories that got more ink last week during the 2012 Olympic Trials in swimming. However, the 'good news' that made me smile occurred in the 100-meter freestyle when 17-year old Lia Neal came in 4th place and earned a place on the 4x100 freestyle relay team that will represent America in the London Olympics.

Lia Neal is only 2nd Black woman in history to earn place on USA Olympic Swim Team. Lia, who is also half Chinese, comes after the first Black woman to make the U.S. Olympic swim team, Maritza Correia, who was a silver medalist in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay in 2004.

“I definitely knew about Maritza Correia being the first one,” Neal said. “I never thought about me being the second one going into the race, but I guess that’s really a cool title to have.”

Neal, who lives in Brooklyn, started taking swimming lessons with friends when she was 6. She showed promise, and a swim mom recommended when she was 8 that she try out for a swim team. She’s been training ever since with Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

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This blog will continue to seek out Good News stories about people of African descent and share them with you each Tuesday. We need to tell the positive and upbeat information about OURstory. We can't depend on others to do it for us. Please pass along any Good News story that comes your way. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to join our Good News parade every Tuesday.

What do Jeneba Tarmoh and Elizabeth Price Have in Common With OJ Simpson?

I know how white folks felt after O.J. Simpson was acquitted that first time. I know how Black folks felt after George Zimmerman was initially released from police custody after he killed Trayvon Martin. Robbed. Hoodwinked. Bamboozled.

Every four years I get hooked into the Summer Olympics. I don't much follow track or gymnastics any other time ... but, 2012 is an Olympics year so I find myself watching the Olympic coverage.

Last week I watched the 100-meter women's sprint, in which the top 3 sprinters earn a spot on the 2012 USA Olympics team. Carmelita Jeter and Tianna Madison were clear-cut winners of that race. The battle for the third and final spot on the US team was very close between Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix ... however, my eyeballs told me that Tarmoh won ... and the electronic timer confirmed my eyeballs when it declared that Tarmoh beat Felix by .001 second.  Felix (and her corporate sponsors) expressed disappointment. Tarmoh took a victory lap and answered questions during a press conference after the race.

However, within an hour of the race everything changed. USA Track and Field officials said that it was a tie between Tarmoh and Felix and that the tiebreaker would be completed with either a coin-flip or race-off.

It smelled like the fix was in to me ... and others feel the same way. Felix is the 'face of track and field'. She is a darling of Corporate America. A whole lot of commercials became obsolete when she was declared a loser by .001. Also, the way she lost didn't give a lot of hope that Felix would earn a spot on her remaining event ... the 200-meter sprint.

It turns out that Felix creamed her opponents in the 200-meter sprint. She easily earned a spot on the team with her victory in that longer sprint. I thought she was going to be gracious and give the slot on the 100-meter team to Tarmoh. But, she didn't. She insisted on a run-off that was scheduled to take place today.

All of that changed earlier today when the winner-take-all race was called off by Tarmoh who wrote,

"I, Jeneba Tarmoh, have decided to decline my 3rd place position in the 100m dash to Allyson Felix," Tarmoh wrote in the email. "I understand that with this decision I am no longer running the 100m dash in the Olympic Games and will be an alternate for the event. As an alternate I understand that I will be asked to run if another 100m runner decides not to for personal reasons, and/or on the 4x100m relay."

A less-publicized travesty of Olympic justice occurred last night when the 5-person USA women's gymnastic team was selected. Elizabeth 'Ebee' Price had the 2-day meet of her life ... and she had the 4th-highest all-around score at the Olympic trials. Although Price finished fourth over the weekend in the trials, she was not selected to the five-person team to compete in London. Only the winner of the trials gets an automatic slot. The other four members were chosen by a three-person committee.

McKayla Maroney finished 7th in the trials ... but, she was selected for the team instead of Price. Can you say robbed, hoodwinked and bamboozled? I bet that the family and friends of Ebee are using one or all of these words as they look at this picture of the 2012 USA Women's Gymnastics team.

Would it have been too much to ask for two Black women to be on the team? Or is the unwritten rule that only one sister at a time can represent America on the national team?

GOP Gone Wild: Allen West Says that Obama Wants Americans 'To Be His Slave'

I am trying to remember if I've ever heard a Jewish leader accuse another Jewish leader of wanting to be a Nazi sympathizer. I can't recall that ever happening. That would be insulting and disrespectful and a sign of a person with a true lack of character. Rep. Allen West (R-FL) showed himself to be a disrespectful Black man without any true character a few days ago when he made the following statement:

“He does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning, and having that title of American. He’d rather you be his slave,”

Is Allen West so desperate for the approval of white folks in the Republican Party and in his congressional district that he will stoop to any level of nonsense in his effort of a government title?

Obama's Weekly Address: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires

President Obama speaks to the American people from Colorado, where he toured areas impacted by the devastating Waldo Canyon fire and met with first responders as well as families affected by the fires. The President thanks the brave firefighters and countless volunteers who are providing food, water, and shelter to those in need, and makes clear that his administration will continue to bring all resources available to assist efforts to combat the fires.





The prayers of our 'village' are with the people of Colorado.

OURStory: Wartime Propaganda Posters

Drumbeats from Jamie inform us about an aspect of OURstory that is rarely told.

The Smithsonian has a current exhibit of posters and one of the sections is on wartime propaganda.

Two of the posters in the section on World War II feature African Americans (one with a black sailor and the other with Joe Lewis). Considering the segregation of the forces it was an interesting recruitment incentive. The images are truly interesting.

Asante sana to Jamie for sharing this historical tidbit. We welcome referrals from villagers to other little-known aspects of Black history.

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare

President Barack Obama came out as a winner when the Supreme Court upheld his signature health care reform legislation. Mitt Romney and the GOP leaders in Congress were hoping that the Supreme Court will declare the individual insurance mandate to be unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts turned that hope on its ear when he was part of the 5-4 majority that upheld the mandate.

Presidents have been trying for decades to reform health care. Barack Obama is the first one to do it ... and Justice Roberts decided found a creative way to let the law stand. This is a big victory for Obama, Democrats and the American people. Methinks that history will look very kindly on the legislative accomplishments of our president.

First, Obama won victory in his battle with Arizona's 'Papers Please' law ... and now this victory with Obamacare. The way things are going I wouldn't be surprised to see the unemployment rate taking a sharp dip next week.

Barack Obama continues to play chess while his political opponents are still playing checkers.

GOP is 'Mad' About Supreme Court Ruling on Obamacare

President on Obamacare: 'I Got This'

Wordless Wednesday: Serena

Obama's Weekly Address: Congress Must Act on Transportation Bill and Student Loans

President Obama discusses the urgent need for Congress to act now on two common sense measures to help middle class families: preventing interest rates on federal student loans from going up and putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job.





The president had a good week and he is on the right side of politics for both of these issues. Don't you agree?

Taser Autopsy: Bobby Merrill, Jr. (Saginaw, MI)

Unidentified Saginaw police officers shot their taser five times at 38-year old Bobby Merrill when they found him running into traffic and jumping on cars back in April. One of the taser blasts connected with Merrill and he went into cardiac arrest and died.

The Saginaw County Prosecutor Michael Thomas says that the police were blameless. Thomas indicates that the man who died caused his own death with cocaine and alcohol. According to the 'powers-that-be' the 50,000 volts of electricity pumped into his body by the taser had nothing to do with his death. [SOURCE]

The investigation showed that police officers subdued Merrill with the taser shot before handcuffing him and placing him in the back of their car. The police were high-fiving each other over their 'Wild West' show when they finally allowed the medical responders to see Merrill. The medical personnel had been onsite before the tasing ... but, they weren't allowed to help Merrill. Instead the police went buck wild ... fired off five taser shots ... and now an unarmed man is now dead.

The district attorney and the police want us to believe that drugs and alchohol killed this guy. In fact, the autopsy report acknowledges that he was tased before his death ... but, the report refuses to acknowledge that the taser contributed to his death.

I suspect that the Merrill family will end up taking this decision to civil court in order to get some justice for Bobby.

Taser Death: Macadam Mason (Thetford, VT)

It happened again! This time an unarmed 39-year old man with epilepsy was electrocuted to death by a Vermont State trooper for being disrespectful. Macadam Mason needed help. Instead he got 50,000 volts of electricity shot into his body by trooper David Shaffer. Mason stopped breathing and died shortly thereafter. [SOURCE]

Shaffer and his trooper buddies indicate that Mason didn't cooperate when they arrived on the scene.

"He was certainly agitated, failed to comply with the troopers commands," said Colonel Thomas L'Esperance.

Mason was unarmed and not a threat. Why is he dead today?

Wordless Wednesday: Dragon Food

What caption would you give to this photo?

Family of Teenage Everette Howard is Frustrated by Handling of Taser-Killing Investigation

An Ohio family sends their son to a summer camp at the local university. While staying in the school dorm he is electrocuted with 50,000 volts of electricity from the taser of university cop Richard Haas. The young man -- Everette Howard -- dies. But, the coroner claims that the cause of death is 'undetermined' and nobody in authority is forced to take responsibility for his death.





An 18-year old man is dead and nobody wants to blame the officer's use of a lethal weapon? Is it wonder that the family is frustrated with how this case was handled?

Taser Lawsuit: Michael White (Vallejo, CA)

It appears that the only way that anyone can get justice for the pre-judicial electrocution of a family member is via civil action. We are simply not seeing many law enforcement officers being held accountable for their actions when they use a taser to cause the death of a citizen.

The family of 47-year old Michael White came to that conclusion this week when they filed a lawsuit in Sacramento (CA) alleging that Vallejo police officers used excessive and "unreasonable" force and were not properly trained in the deployment of their tasers. [SOURCE]

'Villagers' may recall that Michael White died June 15, 2010 after police used pumped his body several times with 50,000 volt shocks from their taser guns. The police were responding to a report that he had assaulted a woman at the Vallejo Mobile Estates.

An autopsy report said that White had cocaine in his system and died from "excited delirium."

Court documents indicate that the plaintiffs, White's daughter and her mother, are seeking $25,000 in damages for emotional distress, funeral and medical bills and loss of economic support, among other things.