National

No Charges for St. Louis Officer Who Killed 18-Year-Old

Published

10 years ago

May 20, 2015

In this Oct. 9, 2014 file photo, people gather for a candlelight vigil to remember Vonderrit Myers Jr., in St. Louis. An attorney for the family of the black 18-year-old shot and killed last October by an off-duty, white St. Louis police officer said Tuesday, May 19, 2015 he plans to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, after a prosecutor said the officer would not face criminal charges. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

JIM SUHR, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An attorney for the family of a black 18-year-old shot and killed last October by an off-duty, white St. Louis police officer said Tuesday he plans to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, after a prosecutor said the officer would not face criminal charges.

In a 51-page report released Monday, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said her office’s “independent and exhaustive investigation” concluded a criminal violation could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in VonDerrit Myers Jr.’s death.

The report, which did not identify the officer because no charges were filed, said that “given all the available facts, witness statements, (and the) physical and forensic evidence,” the officer shot and killed Myers in self-defense after Myers fired at him.

A statement by St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson identified the officer as Jason Flanery, a six-year veteran of the department. A message left Tuesday with Flanery’s attorney, Brian Millikan, seeking comment on the prosecutor’s decision was not returned.

Myers’ Oct. 8 death fanned racial unrest that had erupted two months earlier after the killing of black, unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson in nearby Ferguson. Brown’s death led to sometimes-violent protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities, spawning a national “Black Lives Matter” movement seeking changes in how police deal with minorities.

A St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to charge Wilson, who later resigned. But the Justice Department released a scathing report that cited racial bias and racial profiling in Ferguson policing, along with a municipal court system driven by profit extracted mostly from black and low-income residents.

On Tuesday, a few dozen protesters in downtown St. Louis decried Joyce’s decision not to charge Flanery, marching with a police escort before rallying outside of the courts building that includes Joyce’s office.

Then, late Tuesday night, about 40 people gathered outside Joyce’s home to protest and at least six were taken into custody, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

“This is a tragic situation for our entire community, and my thoughts and prayers remain with the Myers family. I know their loss is heartbreaking,” Joyce said in a statement.

An attorney for Myers’ family, former prosecutor Jerryl Christmas, dismissed Joyce’s findings, insisting that Myers was unarmed and never fired at the officer, who was patrolling a neighborhood as a security officer in a marked private security car.

Christmas alleges the officer planted the gun near Myers’ body, and he likened the case to last month’s South Carolina shooting death of a black man, Walter Scott, by a white police officer who said he fired after Scott fought him for his stun gun. That officer, Michael Slager, was charged with murder after video recorded on a bystander’s cellphone showed Scott running from Slager when he was shot.

“I know from working in the prosecutor’s office that the easiest thing for an officer to do is throw a gun on you, and I believe that’s the case here,” Christmas told The Associated Press. “The issue here is this: Whoever has control of the crime scene controls the narrative.”

Christmas said he plans to file a wrongful-death lawsuit by the end of this month, saying the officer who killed Myers “acted irrationally” and “this family needs to be compensated for their loss.”

Joyce’s report said the officer had reason to suspect Myers, who was shot eight times, was armed and that two guns were fired during the confrontation, with shots coming from both directions.

“Based upon the investigation, prosecutors concluded that Mr. Myers produced a firearm on the evening in question,” Joyce’s report read, adding that “no witness claims to have seen (the officer) alter evidence in any way, such as throw down a gun, fire a weapon in any direction other than towards Mr. Myers or scatter bullet casings.”

Joyce said the officer declined to be interviewed for her investigation.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

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By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”