Prosecutor in Daunte Wright case will do ‘everything I can to get a conviction’
The prosecutor whose office brought charges against the Minnesota cop who shot and killed Daunte Wright said he’s willing to do “everything I can to get a conviction.”
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput made the comments in an interview with the Daily Mail after protesters marched near his Stillwater, Minnesota, home on Saturday, demanding cop Kim Potter face murder charges for killing 20-year-old Wright during a traffic stop.
“I’d just ask, have faith in me as a prosecutor. I’m not giving anything away,” Orput said in the interview, which was video recorded by the news outlet.
“I’m not trying to say, well she’s a cop, I’m going to give her a break. I’m saying I’ll present the evidence like I have in the 350 jury trials I’ve done in my career and I’m going to ask the jury to do the right thing,” he added.
“And I think the right thing is to convict her of second-degree manslaughter,” Orput said.
Potter was arrested and charged with 2nd degree manslaughter for shooting Wright on April 11 in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Potter shouted “Taser! Taser! Taser!” before shooting him once in the torso with a live round of ammunition. Police have said the veteran cop meant to fire her Taser and accidentally pulled her firearm.
In the interview, Orput said he was convinced the charges are acceptable for the shooting.
“Everybody’s entitled to due process. Adolf Hitler is entitled to due process. Everybody is. And I welcome it. I don’t see that as a challenge,” he said.
“Because I believe the woman I’m prosecuting committed second degree manslaughter. If I thought she’d committed more, I’d bring the charges,” Orput added.
“But I can only bring the charges that the evidence supports. And if that doesn’t assuage the public, then I’m sorry it doesn’t.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/19/prosecutor-in-daunte-wright-case-will-do-everything-i-can-to-get-a-conviction/
Photo Credit: Facebook
LeBron James deletes tweet on Ma’Khia Bryant police shooting
NBA star LeBron James targeted the Ohio cop who shot and killed Ma’Khia Bryant, saying, “YOU’RE NEXT” in a since-deleted tweet.
The all-world hoopster posted the message on Twitter with a photo of Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reardon, identified as the cop who shot the 16-year-old during a domestic dispute in the Ohio city Tuesday.
“YOU’RE NEXT,” he wrote, followed by a drawing of an hourglass. “#ACCOUNTABILITY,” Fox News reported Wednesday.
James later deleted it, Fox said.
The pointed tweet came after a jury in Minneapolis on Tuesday convicted ex-cop Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the police custody death of George Floyd.
“ACCOUNTABILITY,” James, who has long been a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter and has spoken out on racial justice issues, tweeted after the verdict.
Authorities in Ohio said Wednesday identified Reardon as the officer who shot Bryant, and said that state investigators are now probing the incident.
Police bodycam footage released by Columbus officials shows Bryant scuffling with two other girls, and lunges at one of them with what appears to be a knife in her hand.
That’s when Reardon is seen firing four rounds, dropping the teen to the ground mortally wounded. She later died at a local hospital.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/21/lebron-james-deletes-tweet-on-makhia-bryant-police-shooting/
Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports
BLM protesters scream ‘we don’t want you here’ at diners outside NYC restaurant
Black Lives Matter protesters were caught on camera harassing diners outside a family-owned Brooklyn taqueria — with dozens screaming at them to “stay the f–k outta New York.”
“We don’t want you here,” screamed a ringleader standing on a table as he led an angry call-and-response chant from his comrades who framed the outdoor dining area of Maya Taqueria in Prospect Heights.
“We don’t want your f—ing money! We don’t want your f—ing taqueria, owned by f—ing white men!” he screamed, with the mob repeating each line, as caught in video by The Post.
The owner is listed as Daniel Nassar, who has said in numerous interviews that he crafted his traditional recipes while cooking with his family.
In a recent video interview with ChowNow, Nassar explained how all of his staff relied on the restaurant, an 11-year “neighborhood staple,” to survive during the pandemic.
“There’s employees that need their paychecks on a weekly basis to support their families,” he said.
Locals and supporters of the restaurant quickly came to its defense online.
“I can assure you the people who own family-owned Maya Taqueria want them there, and their food is delicious,” Brooklyn Events tweeted.
“Leave them the f–k alone.”
Another previous diner noted that the restaurant is “good as hell, inexpensive and really not the problem.”
Meanwhile, the protesters seemed confused over whether they wanted the restaurant and staff to close down — or get more cash.
After first screaming “we don’t want your f—ing taqueria,” a woman in the group then shouts “tip 30 percent!” — with the rest of the crowd seeming to miss the irony by marching away down Vanderbilt Ave. chanting, “Tip 30 percent!”
The NYPD was not called to the incident, and neither Nassar nor anyone at the taqueria could be reached immediately Wednesday.
Hundreds of people marched through Brooklyn late Tuesday to celebrate ex-cop Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd, and to insist that the movement to press for change would continue. There were no arrests, the NYPD said.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/21/blm-protesters-scream-at-diners-outside-nyc-restaurant/
Photo Credit: Paul Martinka
Cops tell Saints player Marshon Lattimore, ‘You’re gonna’ shoot your d–k off’ during arrest
An Ohio cop warned New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, “You’re gonna’ shoot your d–k off,” after the officer found a firearm tucked in the NFL’s waistband during a car stop last month, police body-cam footage shows.
Lattimore, 24, was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property after Cleveland police stopped a vehicle he was riding as a passenger in on March 26.
In the police body-cam footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, officers can be seen swarming the car Lattimore was riding in before directly confronting him.
“You guys got anything besides weed in here? I can smell it,” an officer says in the footage.
A cop then asked Lattimore if there were any guns inside the vehicle — and the football player admitted that he had a firearm located in his groin area.
“Is it loaded? Is it gonna’ go off?” an officer asks Lattimore, who confirmed it was loaded.
As the cop removed the weapon from Lattimore, he warned, “You’re gonna’ shoot your d—k off.”
Another officer added, “Get yourself a holster, bro.”
During the interaction, Lattimore kept both of his hands raised.
At one point, cops realized that Lattimore was a player for the Saints.
“The amount of stuff you got going for you, bro,” a cop can be heard telling Lattimore in the footage.
“It’s not like you’re a, you know, f—king chump out here, bro,” the officer says.
The three other people who were in the car with Lattimore were also arrested.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/21/cops-tell-saints-marshon-lattimore-youre-gonna-shoot-your-d-k-off/
Photo Credit: Screenshot/NOLA.com/Youtube
Missouri House passes bill for guns in churches, public transit
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican-led House on Monday passed a bill that would allow guns in churches and on public transportation.
House lawmakers voted 109-36 in favor of the proposal, which now goes to the GOP-led Senate for consideration.
Currently, people need permission from religious leaders to bring firearms into places of religious worship in Missouri.
The pending bill would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring guns into churches, synagogues and mosques, and onto public transportation.
Missouri doesn’t require a concealed carry permit for gun ownership, but having a permit allows gun owners to bring their weapons into some otherwise restricted areas in the state.
Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, said the measure would take away religious leaders’ freedom to decide whether to allow weapons in places of worship.
Picker Neiss also cited the 2018 shooting massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 congregants were killed in what was the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
“We know what it is to see people attacked during worship services,” she said. “And we don’t think that worshippers with guns is going to be the answer to that.”
Another provision in the bill would ensure that gun stores are considered “essential” businesses, meaning the state and cities couldn’t order them closed during emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet another part of the bill would allow 18-year-olds to get concealed carry permits, which currently are only available to people at least 19 years old or 18-year-olds in the military.
The bill also would make it a felony to fire a gun in city limits, with a number of exceptions.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/missouri-house-passes-bill-for-guns-in-churches-public-transit/article_d184be45-7963-5ecd-9525-f3e418b86a26.html
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Georgia mother banned from church for being gay
(CBS46) — At the Hair Bar Salon in Woodstock, there is plenty of love to go around. Owner Krystal Cox has been a stylist for nearly two decades, and while coworkers and clients love her, she hasn’t received the same treatment lately from her church family.
The Woodstock Church of Christ recently sent her a letter when they learned she had divorced her husband and began dating another woman.
“It feels terrible that they won’t let anyone come and worship,” Cox said.
Church elders informed her in writing of their opposition to her homosexual relationship. They told her to repent by April 30th or they would remove her as a member and inform the congregation they would no longer treat her as a sister in Christ.
“Well when I opened it, I was kind of enraged. Like, why am I getting picked on and getting called out when everyone has sin?” Cox asked.
“The fact that they’re going to point it out and release my personal business to the entire congregation of the church and tell them that I can no longer come there I just don’t feel like that’s right,” Cox said.
Cox has decided not to return to the church. So, CBS46 dropped by but no one was there; and the elders did not respond to our requests for an interview.
“I feel like it’s not wrong. I look at my relationship and how much love I have with her and think, how can people think this is so wrong?” Cox asked.
“I just really don’t want anything bad to come out of this. Like I want it to be good. I don’t want people to be saying ugly things to them and sending them ugly stuff. I just don’t want that, that was not my intent,” Cox said.
It’s important to point out that CBS46 contacted four elders of the church named in the letter sent to Cox and none of them have responded.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/georgia-mother-banned-from-church-for-being-gay/article_123d9916-2dde-5fdf-b51b-9502432d97f4.html
Photo Credit: kmov.com
New Jersey adds ‘X’ gender marker on driver’s licenses and other state identification
(CNN) — New Jersey is now joining at least 19 states and Washington, DC, in allowing an “X” gender identifier on driver’s licenses and other identification.
The additional gender option was officially made available to comply with part of legislation passed in 2018 to allow residents to change their gender identification more easily, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) announced Monday.
The new gender “X” identifier will indicate that a person’s gender is unspecified, a big step for those who identify as nonbinary, or someone who doesn’t identify as male or female. The department noted that the “X” marker can also be used by residents who don’t want their gender specified on their license or other identification.
The change was originally planned for late 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic, the commission said.
“Diversity and inclusion are core values for New Jersey, and for all of us at the MVC,” agency Chief Administrator Sue Fulton said in a statement. “We know this new option will be deeply impactful for many residents, as access to resources and the ability to live and work freely so often hinges on having documentation that correctly reflects your identity.”
The move comes as a wave of states have moved in recent years to allow for more gender identifiers on state documentation. New Jersey will be one of at least 20 states to allow “X” gender markers on driver’s licenses, according to the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks LGBTQ policies across the United States.
The push for an “X” option has been part of a long effort by the transgender community to provide for easier changes to gender markers on documents. Correct gender identification on official documents helps protect the safety of transgender people and allows them better access to housing, employment or other public benefits, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.
The leader of the LGBTQ organization Garden State Equality thanked state officials for “taking another step to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ New Jerseyans.”
“This option will allow New Jerseyans, particularly nonbinary and intersex people, to enjoy a right many of us take for granted — having ID that accurately reflects who we are,” Christian Fuscarino said in a statement.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/new-jersey-adds-x-gender-marker-on-drivers-licenses-and-other-state-identification/article_09c15e48-45d6-5676-8eb3-78163b051831.html
Photo Credit: cnn.com
7-year-old boy was tragically killed when a dresser fell on top of him inside his East Harlem apartment
The boy became trapped between the furniture and the bedroom door inside the apartment at Park Avenue and East 108th Street around 7:30 p.m. Monday, authorities said.
Others in the apartment reported hearing a bang and the boy screaming, but they were unable to get to him, according to police.
When police arrived, firefighters and EMS workers had to break down the bedroom door, authorities said.
When they got inside, the boy was lying on the floor unresponsive, cops said.
He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died hours later — just after midnight Tuesday, according to police.
Preliminarily, the incident is believed to be an accident, according to police.
The boy’s family declined to speak with The Post Tuesday.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/20/boy-7-killed-after-dresser-falls-on-top-of-him-in-nyc-cops/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
BLM protesters rally for ‘victim,’ leave after learning he was white
Black Lives Matter protesters in Minnesota dropped to a knee and set off to march over a fatal police shooting — only to return when they learned it was a white carjacker who had fired at police, according to reports.
Dozens of people protesting outside Gov. Tim Walz’s mansion in St. Paul on Sunday were filmed by Fox 9 reporter Mitti Hicks as they knelt for a moment of silence over initial rumors about Sunday’s 3 p.m. fatal shooting.
“Protestors kneel after hearing there was an officer-involved shooting in Burnsville moments ago,” Hicks tweeted of the wild, caught-on-camera armed carjacking in the suburbs.
“This information HAS NOT been confirmed but this group says they’re heading there,” Hicks said.
The man who was killed is believed to be a white man in his 20s who had stolen a car from a woman at gunpoint — then repeatedly shot at cops as they chased him, Burnsville police said.
Traffic camera footage shared by KARE11 showed the suspect leaping out of the still-moving stolen car, then running into the road and seemingly pointing his gun at an approaching SUV before he was shot by “multiple” pursuing officers, police said.
The BLM marchers, riled by the local police-involved deaths of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, soon appeared to get word that the latest shooting was not one fit for protest.
The protesters turned back and instead headed to Brooklyn Center — the city where Wright died — “because they need more information about what happened in Burnsville first,” Hicks said in an update about an hour after her initial video.
Word of their planned protest after a rush to judgment quickly had the protesters ripped online.
“For an armed carjacker?????? Are people this stupid????” one person replied to Hicks’ video, while Amanda Felske said that the group planned to “just immediate loot /riot!!” without getting the facts.
Brendan Hartmann, meanwhile, pointed out that the latest suspect had been shooting at police.
“Are they kneeling for the amazing work these officers did to keep the community safe from a mad man with a GUN,” he asked of the protest group.
The Burnsville carjacker has yet to be identified. No police were injured and there were no reports of any of the suspect’s victims being wounded, either.
“All Burnsville Police Officers wear body cameras and camera data will be handled by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) who will lead the investigation,” the force said.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/19/blm-protesters-rally-for-victim-leave-after-learning-he-was-white-carjacker/
Photo Credit: Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP
Gunman kills wife, another man in disturbing caught-on-video shooting
Disturbing surveillance footage captured the moment a gunman killed his wife and another man inside a California restaurant.
The video shows the man — identified as Jing Yixin, 38 — walking into the Music BBQ Bar in Monterey Park on April 5, taking a gun out of a paper bag and aiming it at Zhaiming Li, 37, who was sitting with Ling Ling Wang, 36, KTLA reported.
Yixin opens fire, striking Li several times as his wife leaps forward and struggles with him before he turns the weapon on her and pumps several bullets into her body.
The assailant then calmly reloads, fires additional rounds into the motionless victims and leaves the eatery.
“I heard about six shots and then there was gap,” a witness who did not want to be identified told the news outlet.
“Then I heard another six to eight shots and then that’s when the chefs started walking out, started running,” he added.
Yixin was tracked to the Mexican border, where he was arrested the following day and charged with two counts of murder, KTLA reported.
He and his slain wife have two daughters, ages 9 and 12, according to the station.
“Homicide detectives, with the assistance of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, and the FBI/LAPD Fugitive Task Force, detained the suspect at the Mexican border,” according to an LA Sheriff’s Department statement.
The motive in the attack and further information were not immediately unavailable.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/20/gunman-kills-wife-another-man-in-caught-on-video-shooting/
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