Dog returned to white woman who called police on black man bird watching in Central Park
The cocker spaniel belonging to the white woman who called police on Christian Cooper, a black man who was bird-watching in Central Park in May, has been returned to her.
“Abandoned Angels would like to express its gratitude for the outpouring of support regarding the dog that was recently placed in our custody, following release of a troubling video that was brought to our attention,” according to a statement from Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, the shelter from where Cooper adopted the dog.
The dog had been evaluated by its veterinarian, “who found that he was in good health,” the statement said. Various New York City law enforcement agencies declined to take the dog into custody, according to the shelter.
“Accordingly, and consistent with input received from law enforcement, we have now complied with the owner’s request for return of the dog,” according to the statement.
The incident in the park
Amy Cooper called police on Christian Cooper (no relation) on May 25 during an encounter involving her unleashed dog. Amy Cooper was walking her dog while Christian Cooper was bird-watching at a wooded area of Central Park called the Ramble. They both told CNN their dispute began because her dog was not on a leash, contrary to the Ramble’s rules, according to the park’s website.
The incident was seen as another example of white people calling the police on African Americans for mundane things.
Christian Cooper recorded video of part of their encounter and posted it on Facebook, where it has since been shared thousands of times and became a trending topic on Twitter. In the video, he is largely silent while she frantically tells police he is threatening her and her dog.
“I’m taking a picture and calling the cops,” Amy Cooper is heard saying in the video. “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.”
While she’s on the phone, her dog appears to be straining and trying to get free while she tries to restrain it by its collar. After the incident, her dog was surrendered to the shelter he was adopted from a few years prior.
Cooper also lost her job with Franklin Templeton after the incident.
In comments to CNN as the video spread widely, Amy Cooper said she wanted to “publicly apologize to everyone.”
“I’m not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way,” she said, adding that she also didn’t mean any harm to the African American community.
Christian Cooper told CNN’s Don Lemon that he accepted her apology.
“I think her apology is sincere,” Cooper said. “I’m not sure that in that apology she recognizes that while she may not be or consider herself a racist, that particular act was definitely racist.”
But Christian Cooper also said he was disturbed by the fact that people were making death threats toward Amy Cooper, which he called abhorrent.
“I find it strange that people who were upset that … that she tried to bring death by cop down on my head, would then turn around and try to put death threats on her head. Where is the logic in that?” he said. “Where does that make any kind of sense?”
Photo Credit: kmov.com
A third of Americans engaged in risky cleaning behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic – People have put bleach in their food while others have gargled or inhaled it
(CNN) — Americans are putting their health at risk while trying to protect it.
About a third of Americans surveyed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have used some kind of risky cleaning practice to stop the spread of COVID-19, the CDC said on Friday.
People have put bleach their food. Others have gargled or inhaled it. And some have washed their bodies with household cleaning and disinfectant products.
None of this cleaning behavior is recommended by the CDC. But this gap in understanding how to safely clean and handle cleaning products during the COVID-19 pandemic may explain why there’s been a sharp increase in the number of calls to poison centers during the pandemic.
The new research, published Friday in the CDC’s weekly health report, was based on an online panel survey of 502 adults in May of this year.
People said they were cleaning more frequently because of the pandemic, but only about half said that they really knew how to clean and disinfect their home safely. And of those people who were surveyed that acknowledged that they used high-risk cleaning practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19, more were likely to report health problems related to cleaning.
The biggest problem area was people’s limited understanding about how to prepare cleaning solutions. Only 23% knew, for instance, to use only room temperature water to dilute bleach solutions.
People were better about using gloves and other protective equipment.
About 71% said they knew gloves were recommended for use with some cleaning materials and 68% said they knew they should wash their hands after using cleaning products. Most people also said they knew that they should keep cleaners out of the reach of children, but only 54% knew that hand sanitizers should be kept in a place that children couldn’t get to.
The CDC recommends that people always read the instructions on cleaning products. When cleaning, wear gloves or other protective gear. Don’t mix cleaning chemicals.
The CDC also said it will be important to continue education campaigns to help people better understand how to safely clean while they are home.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
19-year-old wanted for damaging Ferguson Police Department during violent protests
FERGUSON, Mo. (KMOV.com) — The Ferguson Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a 19-year-old protester who allegedly vandalized their police station during a violent protest.
Jeffery Mogg is accused of damaging the police department’s building on May 31. Demonstrators gathered around the police station in protest of police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
The protest had been peaceful throughout the day until late Saturday.
Seven officers were hurt as protesters hurled rocks, bricks and fireworks at officers. News 4 crews saw people pulling baseball bats out of a car around 10:30 p.m. and then smashing the police department’s windows.
Several Ferguson businesses were broken into and News 4 cameras were rolling as two small explosions occurred within those businesses. Police also said a Molotov cocktail was thrown in their direction. A total of six people were arrested. St. Louis County said there were reports of shots fired at officers.
Anyone with information on Mogg’s whereabouts, should call Ferguson Police at 314-522-3100 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477.
Photo Credit: kmov.com/Ferguson Police Department
A teen who spent 10 hours cleaning up after a protest is rewarded with a car and a college scholarship
(CNN) — When Antonio Gwynn Jr. saw the damage from protests in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, he grabbed a broom, bought some trash bags and started cleaning the streets by himself.
He started at 2 a.m. on Monday and did not stop cleaning for the next 10 hours. When an organized group of neighbors arrived later that morning to start clearing the damage, they found that Gwynn had already done most of the work.
Gwynn is an 18-year-old high school senior. He told CNN that he saw on the local news that Bailey Avenue in Buffalo was covered in glass and garbage, and he knew people needed to use that street to get to work in the morning.
When word spread of how Gwynn single-handedly took action, his community responded.
Matt Block saw Gwynn’s story on the news and decided to give him his prized 2004 red Mustang convertible. Block, 27, told CNN the car is one he wanted since he was a child, but these days he is only using it occasionally. He saw Gwynn ask for some car buying advice on Facebook, and Matt decided to offer up his sports car.
It turns out that gift has more meaning than Block ever imagined. Gwynn’s mother, who passed away in 2018, also drove a red Mustang. When he realized the coincidence, Gwynn says that he was so shocked he “didn’t have any words,” and Block says it gave him “goosebumps.”
Local businessman Bob Briceland learned of Block’s gift, and he decided to extend a year of free auto insurance coverage through his insurance agency.
“I just felt compelled to help him out. We just need to get together our whole city and show people how there’s so many good people here,” Briceland told CNN affiliate WKBW.
After high school, Gwynn had planned to go to trade school while saving up to go to college. Upon hearing Gwynn’s story, Medaille College in Buffalo offered him a full scholarship where he plans to study business starting this fall. One of his many career goals is to open a cleaning business.
This is the first time Gwynn received this type of recognition for his good deeds, but this is not the first time he stepped up to help others. He is a member of Kappa Phi where he enjoys doing community service, and he helps out at churches.
Gwynn is thankful for the community response, saying, “I appreciate everything everyone is doing for me.”
Photo Credit: Matt Block
DC mayor has ‘Black Lives Matter’ painted on street leading to White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — City workers and activists painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the the street leading to the White House, a highly visible sign of the District of Columbia’s embrace of a protest movement that has put it at odds with President Donald Trump.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted aerial video of the mural shortly after it was completed Friday. The letters and an image of the city’s flag stretch across 16th Street for two blocks, ending just before the church where Trump staged a photo-op after federal officers forcibly cleared a peaceful demonstration to make way for the president and his entourage.
“The section of 16th street in front of the White House is now officially ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza,’” Bowser tweeted. A black and white sign was put up to mark the change.
Bowser’s endorsement of the project follows her verbal clashes with the Trump administration over the response to protests of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Bowser has complained about the heavy-handed federal response and called for the removal of out-of-state National Guard troops. She says their differences highlight the need for D.C. to be a state and have more control over its internal affairs.
On Thursday, as the protests turned peaceful, she ended a curfew imposed after people damaged buildings and broke into businesses over the weekend and Monday.
The mayor also tweeted out a letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wrote the president to express alarm that peaceful protesters were being confronted by heavily armed federal agents and officers, many of them with their identities and agencies obscured.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Florida cop put on leave after pinning down black man’s neck
A white police officer in Florida was placed on administrative leave after video surfaced showing him kneeling on a black man’s neck and head during an arrest, police said.
The officer, who was not immediately identified, was disciplined by the Sarasota Police Department after department officials were tagged Monday on social media showing part of the May 18th arrest.
“Chief [Bernadette] DiPino was disturbed to see an officer kneeling on the head and neck of an individual in the video,” the department said in a statement late Monday. “While it appears the officer eventually moves his leg to the individual’s back, this tactic is not taught, used or advocated by our agency.”
Patrick Carroll, 27, of Sarasota, who is black, was later charged with felony possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, resisting arrest and domestic violence. He did not require medical attention after the incident, police said.
Carroll, who was taken into custody by cops responding to a domestic battery call, had a “physical altercation” with a woman who told police he went to her home because his children were there and refused to leave, according to a police report.
Carroll grabbed the woman’s hair and face during the incident, she told cops, leaving her with bruising and swelling to her arms, face and chest, the report state
Unedited video shot from a helicopter released by the department appears to show an officer on Carroll’s neck as he struggled with two cops while being taken into custody.
At one point, a witness nearby who took cellphone video of the arrest starting yelling at officers, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.
“You got your knee on my man’s neck, man, on his neck, bro,” the witness told police according to the video, which has since been removed or made private.
The cop then appeared to adjust his position, moving his knee onto Carroll’s back as two other officers looked on. Carroll, who denied hitting the woman, was taken to jail without incident before being released from custody the following day, the newspaper reports.
One week after Carroll’s arrest, George Floyd died in Minneapolis after Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. Chauvin was fired and now faces charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death, which led to days of protests and looting across the country.
Sarasota police said they’ve received no complaints from the public regarding the video, but are taking an investigation into the incident “seriously” while asking residents to send any additional footage of Carroll’s arrest.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/03/florida-cop-put-on-leave-after-pinning-down-black-mans-neck/
Photo Credit: usatoday.com
Woman charged with inciting riots after posting Facebook Live video
A Michigan woman faces up to 10 years behind bars for encouraging others to loot and throw bricks at buildings in a Facebook Live video, according to a report.
Alexandria “Ally” Lyons posted the livestreamed video over the weekend during riots in Grand Rapids that left more than 100 businesses damaged, MLive.com reported.
In the video, Lyons is seen swigging beer — likely stolen from a bar called Mojo’s in Grand Rapids — and showing off clothes allegedly swiped from F. David Barney Clothiers, according to court records.
At another point, “she is heard multiple times encouraging her friends and others to throw bricks or other objects at windows of multiple businesses
downtown and at one point picks up a brick herself and mentions heading ‘back to the courthouse,’” the arrest affidavit said.
Lyons is also accused of stealing jewelry from a smashed case on the sidewalk, telling her friends “to get her a gold bracelet because she already has silver ones,” police said in the affidavit.
The 22-year-old was nabbed after numerous people ratted her out to police, saying she “was responsible for causing and creating a lot of damage in the downtown area,” police said.
While she was at the police station, cops received videos via text message allegedly showing her kicking in a window of a county building during the riots.
Lyons is charged with inciting a riot, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and malicious destruction of property, a five-year felony. She is being held on a $40,000 bond, according to MLive.com.
Grand Rapids descended into chaos over the weekend following a protest over the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/03/woman-charged-with-inciting-riots-after-posting-facebook-video/
Photo Credit: Kent County Sheriff’s Department
US rapper Kanye West to pay college tuition for George Floyd’s daughter
US rapper Kanye West on Thursday pledged to set up a college fund for the daughter of George Floyd, the African American who died at the hands of police.
Floyd’s longtime friend and former NBA (National Basketball Association) star Stephen Jackson shared a touching video this week on Instagram of Floyd’s daughter Gianna being carried on her uncle’s shoulders, smiling, and saying, “Daddy changed the world.”
According to CNN, father-of-four, West, has also donated $2 million toward helping fund the families and legal teams contesting the deaths of African Americans Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, and supporting black-owned businesses in crisis in his native Chicago and other cities.
Over recent days, the streets of New York, Los Angeles, London, Toronto, Paris, and more have witnessed celebrities and influencers standing together in solidarity with black communities.
Meanwhile, other stars, such as 42-year-old West, have taken to their social media platforms to demand justice and draw attention to various organizations which help low-income protesters pay bail, or donation pages that directly benefit the family members of victims.
Earlier this week, Iraqi-American beauty entrepreneur Huda Kattan and actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds donated a hefty sum amid the #BlackLivesMatter protests.
Article via ArabNews
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, Warzone Add “Black Lives Matter” Splash Screen
Infinity Ward’s two most recent Call of Duty games now greet players with a splash screen supporting Black Lives Matter when they start the game.
Players who boot up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone now will be prompted to download an update, and it’s added a new splash screen to the game announcing support for Black Lives Matter. The screen, reported on by The Verge, contains a message for the Call of Duty player community.
“Our community is hurting,” the screen reads. “The systemic inequalities our community experiences are once again center stage. Call of Duty and Infinity Ward stand for equality and inclusion. We stand against the racism and injustice our Black community endures. Until change happens and Black Lives Matter, we will never truly be the community we strive to be.”
The screen will appear for all players upon booting the game, and The Verge reports that it is also appearing on loading screens and when you switch between different modes.
While Call of Duty has long been notorious for having many toxic players, this is one of several efforts being taken or promised right now to address racism among the player base. Season 4 has been delayed following the murder of George Floyd, and Infinity Ward has promised to combat in-game racism with enhanced counter-measures.
Infinity Ward is one of several developers and publishers that has addressed current world events and pledged support for Black Lives Matter.
GameSpot would like to encourage readers to donate to Black Lives Matter, and to seek out black voices in media.
GameSpot is now hosting Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
Article via GameSpot
‘It is a horrific scene:’ 7 killed in Alabama mass shooting; suspect at large
Seven people were killed in a mass shooting at a residence in Morgan County late Thursday.
The shooting took place at a home on the 500 block of Talucah Road in Valhermoso Springs close to Somerville at a little before 11:30 p.m., according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
The victims are four men and three women.
Upon arrival at the residence, deputies saw part of the home was on fire and later discovered seven bodies inside after the fire was extinguished.
“It is a horrific scene and to be able to process it will take some time,” MCSO’s public information officer Mike Swafford told a local TV news station. “We don’t have a motive at this time. We don’t have a determined suspect at this time. Investigators are following leads to piece together exactly what happened and who was involved. We can say we don’t believe there is an active threat to anybody in the area.”
Swafford told AL.com investigators believe the suspect went to the residence with the intention of shooting everyone there.
Some victims had multiple gunshot wounds, Swafford said. Authorities are still working to identify all of the victims, but Swafford said some lived at the house where the shootings occurred.
“Incredibly heinous, talking cold blooded,” Swafford said in describing the homicides.
Deputies at the scene extinguished the fire, which Swafford said investigators speculate was started to cover up the crime.
The director of the county’s 911 service two calls reporting gunfire at the residence came in around 11:30 p.m. One caller said a gun had been fired intermittently for an hour.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Somerville Police Department were brought in to assist with the crime scene. The FBI’s Violent Crimes Taskforce is also assisting.
AL.com has attempted to contact Swafford, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Somerville Police Department to gather further details about the shooting.
The shooting comes a little over a week after the county witnessed a triple homicide.
The seven deaths make this shooting one of the worst mass homicides in recent Alabama history.
Five people, including a pregnant mother, were killed in Citronelle in 2016. Five people were killed in a robbery in Birmingham in 2012 and five were killed in Shelby County in 2008.
In 2009, 11 people, including the gunman, were killed in a shooting spree in Samson.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
Article via AL