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Politics

Politics

Baltimore Police Department Brings Internal Charges Against 5 Officers in Freddie Gray Case

The Freddie Gray case lives on with the Baltimore Police Department’s decision to bring internal charges against five of the six officers involved in the case, with at least three of them also facing termination. According to the Baltimore Sun, Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., who was driving the police van in which Gray sustained fatal…

By

Breanna Edwards

Published

May 22, 2017
Politics

Watch White Liberalism in HD: Bill Maher Exploits Police Killing Black People to Score Political Points for Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton cares more about police officers getting away with killing black people than Donald Trump does, according to Real Time host Bill Maher. And on his HBO show Friday night, Maher exploited the brutal slayings of Terence Crutcher and Walter Scott in an effort to get Cornel West to agree with him. As previously…

By

Kirsten West Savali

Published

May 21, 2017
Politics

Black Judge Profiled for Speaking Against Racial Bias in Policing Will Not Step Aside in White Cop’s Murder Trial

After a reportedly contentious hearing Thursday morning, black Alabama Judge Greg Griffin denied a motion filed Monday by defense attorneys for white Montgomery, Ala., Police Officer Aaron Smith requesting that Griffin recuse himself from Smith’s murder trial, AL.com reports. Smith, who is white, is charged with murder in the death of 58-year-old Gregory Gunn, a…

By

Kirsten West Savali

Published

May 20, 2017
Politics

No Indictment: Ohio Grand Jury Finds Police Shooting of 13-Year-Old Tyre King ‘Justified’

Columbus, Ohio, Police Officer Bryan Mason, 31, will not be held accountable for shooting 13-year-old Tyre King to death on Sept. 14, 2016, a Franklin County grand jury has decided. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said “the grand jury found the shooting to be justified,” 10tv.com reports. Mason, a nine-year veteran on the force, was…

By

Kirsten West Savali

Published

May 19, 2017
Politics

Seattle Seahawk Michael Bennett Escalates Feud With Stephen A. Smith

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett took to Twitter on Friday to respond to criticism from the polysyllabic, empty bag of humid wind known to sports fans around the world as Stephen A. Smith. Michael Bennett, the outspoken Pro Bowl football player, recently gave an interview with John Clayton and Gee Scott on their 710…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

May 19, 2017
Politics

Betty Shelby, the Tulsa, Okla., Cop Who Killed Terence Crutcher, Allowed to Return to Active Duty

The Tulsa, Okla., police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black motorist, but was later acquitted of manslaughter in the controversial case will be allowed to return to the police force for active duty, Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan announced Friday. If your brain cannot process what is happening, welcome to the…

By

Breanna Edwards

Published

May 19, 2017
Politics

Las Vegas Police Officer Used Taser 7 Times, Unapproved Choke Hold on Unarmed Black Man Who Later Died

A Las Vegas police officer was caught on camera using a stun gun seven times as well as an unapproved choke hold to “subdue” an unarmed black man who later died after a foot chase through a casino. According to CBS News, Police Officer Kenneth Lopera thought the man—identified as Tashii S. Brown—was trying to…

By

Breanna Edwards

Published

May 18, 2017
Politics

Balch Springs, Texas, Cop James Young Caught Tasing Handcuffed Black Man Was Field Training Officer for Jordan Edwards’ Killer

Sgt. James Young—the Balch Springs, Texas, police officer responsible for training Roy Oliver, the officer who killed 15-year-old Jordan Edward—has been identified as the officer in newly released dashcam footage tasing Marco Stephenson, a black man handcuffed with his hands behind his back. Attorney Lee Merritt, legal counsel for Jordan’s family, confirmed to The Root…

By

Kirsten West Savali

Published

May 17, 2017
Politics

Woman Who Lost Her Son to Police Brutality Needs Black Men and Boys to Write Letters to Mothers Like Her

“After my son Clinton was killed, I remember digging into my pain asking God to help me understand why this happened,” Collette Flanagan told The Root in an exclusive interview. “He just didn’t deserve to die.” In 2013, Flanagan’s 25-year-old son, Clinton Allen, was shot and killed by a Dallas police officer in an area…

By

Kellee Terrell

Published

May 17, 2017
Politics

Closing Arguments to Begin in Trial of Tulsa, Okla., Officer Who Killed Terence Crutcher

The manslaughter trial of Betty Shelby—the Tulsa, Okla., police officer who fatally shot Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man—is slowly coming to an end, with closing arguments scheduled to begin Wednesday. As Reuters notes, Shelby, 43, faces four years to life in prison if convicted of manslaughter for the September 2016 shooting death of Crutcher,…

By

Breanna Edwards

Published

May 17, 2017