Contents:
- Alicia Smith Court Watch
- Tasers: A Panel Discussion and Community Meeting
- Tony Moore Case: A Study in Sleazy Cop Behavior
- Dontay St. James Court Watch
ALICIA* SMITH UPDATE--THE CASE IS ON!
*Special Note: We learned today that we've been misspelling Alicia's name in our email dispatches. Sorry, Alicia! This is, in fact, the same case we've been telling you about, in which this woman's head was bashed into the back windshield of a police squad car, shattering the window. She has been charged with FELONY obstructing legal process for the crime of her head colliding with glass after being pushed there by a police officer. No such charges against the cop whose hand put Alicia's head into the forward motion that put it in contact with the glass.
The Alicia Smith case is on! In what was clearly a power move by the prosecution, this case suddenly got moved forward and we got word early this morning that Alicia would be in court at 9:00 today to start her omnibus (evidentiary) hearing. Luckily, some of us were able to rush down to court. While today's hearing was mostly on scheduling and other preliminary issues, the case will be back in court tomorrow morning and will be much more substantive--a number of witnesses are expected to testify, including some cops. We would strongly encourage people to attend.
Alicia Smith
3/17/05, 9:00 a.m.
Hennepin County Government Center
Courtroom 955
This omnibus hearing continues tomorrow. Jury selection is expected on Friday, March 18th at 9:00 a.m. with the full-blown trial starting Monday, March 21st at 9:00 a.m.
Please keep in mind that under the new security system, it takes about 15 minutes to get through the security check and to the elevators. Please plan accordingly.
TASERS: A PANEL DISCUSSION AND COMMUNITY MEETING
With the introduction of Tasers into the St. Paul schools, increased use of Tasers on children, the elderly and others and increased reporting of deaths following Tasering, CUAPB is sponsoring a panel discussion and community meeting on Tasers. Through this effort, we hope to educate the community on Tasers but also to touch on the role of Tasers and newer technologies in policing, the criminalization of children's behavior in schools, and the role of corporations (specifically Taser International) in obscuring the dangers of these weapons.
We're excited to have a very distinguished panel of speakers as part of this event:
- Nathan Thompson with St. Paul Amnesty International
- Paul Johnson, psychologist
- Duane Reed, Minneapolis Chapter, NAACP
- A representative of the St. Paul Chapter, NAACP
- A school board representative has been invited
- A physician has been invited
TASERS UNDER FIRE
Panel Discussion and Community Meeting
Wednesday, March 23rd
7:00 p.m.
Walker Community Church
3104 16th Avenue South, Minneapolis
For more information or directions, call our hotline at 612-874-7867.
___________________________________________________________
TONY MOORE CASE--A STUDY IN SLEAZY COP BEHAVIOR
Some of us have spent the early part of this week also sitting in on the case of Tony Moore, which we wrote about in our last newsletter. The level of corrupt behavior by the cops involved in this case is just breathtaking.
Cops testified that although the raid in which Tony was arrested occurred on March 3, 2004, none of them managed to write their reports until September 2004. One bozo cop actually admitted that he wrote his report on March 10, 2005 yet claimed he magically remembered every single detail of the raid. This guy is a member of the CRT team, the ones who do 4-5 raids a day and he's telling the judge that he remembers every detail of the raid with no notes until over a year later. Another cop came into court and answered almost every question with "I don't know" or "I can't recall". That particular cop had money supposedly picked up during the raid that he didn't bother turning in until nine days later and, even then, he didn't turn it all in. He kept turning in money to the property room--and claiming it was part of the same raid--in waves over a two-month period. One questions where the money was in the meantime. And one wonders why cops like these are still on the force. Tony himself testified forcefully about how police tried to blackmail him into working for them and the level of sleazy, outrageous conduct by these cops seemed all the more sickening.
This case will reconvene on March 30th at 1:30 at the Hennepin County Government Center.
___________________________________________________________
ANOTHER COURT WATCH OPPORTUNITY
Dontay St. James
March 29, 9:00 a.m.
Hennepin County Government Center
There was a party at the apartment building where Dontay lived. A fight broke out and as police arrived, people scattered. Dontay ran inside the building and up to his apartment along with a couple of friends, followed by a Minneapolis cop waiving a gun.
As he was locking his door on the inside, the cop opened fire and shot him four times through the door. Although he was injured, no vital organs were hit and he survived but with some nerve damage. He has been charged with 2nd degree assault for allowing his body to get in the way of the bullets. This case should make for some very interesting court watch.
___________________________________________________________
Communities United Against Police Brutality
3104 16th Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Hotline 612-874-STOP (7867)