Hi Everyone!                                                                                                    July 12, 2016

Thanks for supporting the work of the Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC)! 

The Transformative Justice Coalition  is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3)  nonprofit organization , formed in 2015
by Renowned Civil Rights Leader Barbara R. Arnwine.


On Tuesday, July 12th from 12:00-1:00 p.m. EDT, please join radio show host Barbara Arnwine, Founder and President of Transformative Justice Coalition, and her guests, including James Perry, President and CEO of the Winston-Salem Urban League, and  T-Dubb-O and Rika Tyler of Hands Up United, as they discuss the recent police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. They will also contextualize police murders, providing a national update on police shootings, and talk about the implications of the mass shooting in Dallas, Texas, where 16 people were shot, leaving 5 police dead. Igniting Change is not just about problems; but, also solutions, as they will also focus on the movement in the streets and what needs to be done to have greater outcomes to change the current deadly trend line.
 Alton Sterling 
June 14, 1979 – July 5, 2016

Alton Sterling had just turned 37 a couple weeks before he died. Sterling provided for his family by selling CD's, with permission from the Triple S Food Mart's owner to set out a stand in front of his store. He had been doing this for six years, and was just joking with the store's owner, Abdullah Muflahi, before being fatally shot. By now, everyone has heard the story of how a homeless man made the initial police call, stating he had been threatened by someone in a red shirt, selling CD's, who had a gun. By now, everyone has seen the videos of how police tackled, pinned, and shot Alton Sterling. This article will not rehash common facts; but, rather, shed light on things you probably didn't know about this tragedy. All information has been cross-referenced across multiple, reputable sites, with only the main articles cited as a source. Much in the way Heavy.com formats their stories, here are a couple facts you should know about the killing of Alton Sterling:

1. Police arrested Chris DeLay, who first leaked the first video of Alton Sterling's death to social media, just 24 hours after he leaked it.   (n. 1)

The death of Alton Sterling was only local news. (n. 1) The first cell-phone video, taken by Arthur Reed's Activist Group, Stop The Killing (n. 2), came into the hands of Chris DeLay by way of a friend who filmed it (n. 3). Most reports say Chris DeLay filmed it himself (n. 2); however, this is untrue, as Reed won't say who filmed the final moments of Alton Sterling's life, citing safety concerns (n. 2), and Chris DeLay himself has said in a Facebook post that he "wish[ed] they [would] quit reporting that [he] filmed it." 

Chris DeLay lives in Atlanta, Georgia, but used to live in Baton Rouge (n. 3). He not only shared the video to his 13,000 Instagram followers, 6,000 Twitter followers, and 2,000 Facebook friends (n. 1), but he also tagged local Baton Rouge media and Hollywood celebrities. Among those he tagged was Sean King, a New York Daily News Columnist closely associated with the Black Lives Matter movement (n. 3). Less than an hour after DeLay's original post, Sean King uploaded the video, calling for it to go viral (n. 1). And that it did .

So what happened after? Well, Chris DeLay was headed into work at the Dobbins Air Reserve Base the next day, passing through a security checkpoint, when he reportedly was "surrounded and detained by ten military police officers, some of whom carried M-16 rifles" (n. 1). This information comes from his Facebook posts. He was apparently detained for "fitting a description of a suspect"; however, once in custody, he was told he was detained because of unpaid traffic tickets. The officers originally told him that he wanted for assault and battery. Multiple sources report the following quote from U.S. Uncut: "LeDay wound up being forced to spend 26 hours in a jail cell, only being released after paying $1,231 in traffic fines. He admitted to not paying the tickets and allowing his license to be suspended, because he did not have the money at the time and no longer drives." (n. 1)

2. The Autopsy reveals Alton Sterling's fatal gunshot wounds to the chest and back were entrance wounds, not exit  (n. 4)

"East Baton Rouge EMS sent one ambulance to the scene at 12:46 a.m. and encountered a patient who was dead on arrival, agency spokesman Mike Chustz said." (n. 5) The Baton Rouge Coronor, William Clark, performed the autopsy of Alton Sterling. It has been confirmed that the cause of death for Sterling was the multiple gun shot wounds to his chest and back. It has also been confirmed that those wounds are not exit; they are entrance wounds. As most people know, Clark has not released how many gun shot wounds he had, citing Louisiana law as his reason.  (n. 4)
  Philando Castile
July 16, 1983 – July 6, 2016

Philando Castile would have celebrated his 33rd birthday ten days after July 6, 2016 if he had not died on that day. Not even an entire twenty-four hours after Alton Sterling was killed by police; there was another police killing. This time with undeniable confirmed evidence of the aftermath of Castile being shot via Facebook Live. In the video, we learn many things and we hear even more. We hear a four year old child comforting her mother and we hear the last moans and breaths of Castile, who later died in the hospital.

We could talk about the facts already widely known, but you already know that information: you already know how Philando was stopped 52 times by police; had no criminal record; was licensed to carry in an open-carry state; and, was beloved by all those he worked with. You've already learned that Philando graduated high school with honors and was a straight A student. Now, we all know Philando is but another hashtag as a victim of a police killing.

 Dallas, Texas: 16 Candles

Perhaps the most compelling article found as a result of the mass shooting in Dallas, Texas wasn't of the how's or why's- it was of the who's. The article linked below, published by a Dallas newspaper, outlines who each of the people were who were either killed or injured in Dallas. There were 16 victims in all, with five of those victims dead as a result. Victims include:

Lorne Ahrens, Deceased.
Michael Krol, Deceased.
Michael Smith, Deceased.
Brent Thompson, Deceased.
Partick Zamarripa, Deceased.
John Abbot, Injured.
Jorge Barrientos, Injured.
Elmar Cannon, Injured.
Misty Mcbride, Injured.
Jesus Retana, Injured.
Gretchen Rocha, Injured.
Ivan Saldana, Injured.
Bryan Shaw, Injured.
Giovanni Wells, Injured.
Shetamia Taylor, Injured.
Unknown Victim, Injured.  
Statistically Speaking... 
The National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial fund reports 123 police officers were killed in 2015 (n. 1). From January 1, 2015 – July 10, 2015, 58 officers had been killed (n.  2), with 18 of those being fire-arms related and 27 of those being traffic-related (with 13 listed as “Other Causes”) (n. 3). From January 1, 2016- July 10, 2016, the same site also says that 56 officers have been killed (n. 2), with 26 of those being fire-arms related and 22 of those being traffic related (the other 8 causes are listed as “Other Causes”) (n. 3). 
That’s a lot of deaths…or is it? Because compared to civilian deaths who have been killed as a result of the police, the numbers don’t seem to add up. In 2015, KilledByPolice.net shows that there were 1,208 civilians killed by police (these may or may not have been justified)  (n. 4). There are links to the news stories of each and every person. Another site that reports on the lives lost due to police is The Counted, created by The Guardian in 2015.  This site, just like KilledByPolice.net, works off tips and the FBI database (where "justifiable homocides" are voluntarily reported)and police departments (facilities) (n. 5).  There are some differences between the numbers from the two sites, however, upon some research, it was found that The Guardian has cited KilledByPolice.net as being reputable, and both sites are cited frequently in reputable media organizations, like the NY Times. The Counted provides more breakdown of information than is available at KilledByPolice.net. In 2015, The Counted lists 1,146 people were killed by police. They broke it down by population (per million) totals and raw number totals, but we’ll use population (per million) totals here. Of the 1,146 people that were killed by police, 7.27% of them were Black; 3.51% of them were Hispanic/Latino; 3.4% were Native American; 2.93% were White; and, 1.34% were Asian/Pacific Islander. You can click on the link with the corresponding footnote for the breakdown of the raw total number of people by race and ethnicity (n. 6).

In 2016, as of July 10, 2016, KilledByPolice.net has listed 613 people that have been killed by police (n. 7). The Counted has listed 571 people killed by police in 2016, since July 10, 2016. Using the same per million method described above, of those 571 listed: 3.4% have been Native American; 3.28% have been Black; 1.59% have been Hispanic/Latino; 1.42% have been White; and, .56% have been Asian/Pacific Islander. Again, you can click on the link with the corresponding footnote for the breakdown of the raw total number of people by race and ethnicity (n. 6). The Counted, as mentioned before, has many filters, including an “Unarmed” filter. Of the 571 people killed by police this year, 82 of them have been unarmed. (n. 6)
 Sadly, because the FBI doesn’t collect data mandatorily from every police department (facility), we’ll never really know how large the number of civilians killed by police truly is. So, let’s look at what we do know. 56 officers have been killed in 2016, as of July 10, 2016. Between 571-613 people have been killed by police in 2016, as of July 10, 2016. If we use the worst case scenario of 613 people killed by police to the 56 police officers killed while on duty, we find that it is about 10 times more likely that you will get killed by a police officer than for an officer to be killed in the line of duty. 
That's not all; that's just the tip of the data-iceberg. We found a website, Salon.com, thanks to a tweet (n. 8) sent out by @SeanMcEwlee that contains an article that lays out, among other things, “[h]ow racism strongly affects how white people [and all races] view police conduct” (n. 8). We suggest you look at this article as fundamental reading. Salon.com’s article “Racial resentment and police misconduct: The factors driving personal perception of cop violence” (n. 9) provided some other interesting information in the article other than its core principle: “African-Americans make up 13% of the population but 25% of those killed by police ( my calculations from the Guardian data). There are also discrepancies when the victim is unarmed. The Washington Post reports that, ‘black men were seven times more likely than white men to die by police gunfire while unarmed.’” (n. 9) The article also states, “An investigation by the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah finds that more residents in the state were killed by police than gang members or drug dealers. Between Jan. 1 and May 3 of 2015, 1 in 13 of the gun killings in the U.S. were committed by police. However, it does not fall equally across racial groups. According to the Guardian, people of color make up 38 percent of the population, but 47 percent of those killed by police. People of color make up 63 percent of those who are unarmed when killed by police.” (n. 9)

With all these re-occuring killings, surely there is something that citizens and police are doing to counteract it, right? Not exactly. In fact, some people don’t even recognize the problem that we have as on-going: “YouGov polling finds that 49 percent of the public view the Michael Brown shooting as an isolated incident (37 percent see it as part of a broader pattern). Among white Americans, 56 percent view it as an isolated incident (31 percent as a broader problem). Among black Americans only 22 percent view it as an isolated incident, while 68 percent see it as part of a broader problem.” (n. 9) 

And perhaps the scariest part of all is that we know not all of these killings are justified. We know a lot of them aren’t. If we look at the history of American policing, it wasn’t until the mid-to-late 1900’s that police began to be more accountable to the public instead of to corrupt political interests (n. 10). About a generation later, and there’s still little accountability: “ Samuel Sinyangwe, a policy analyst at Campaign Zero tweets, ‘Of 4,054 people killed by police since 2013, only 6 cases have led to convictions of officers involved.’” (n. 9)    

Sources:

                                                      Upcoming Events                                            
  SEPTEMBER 13TH & 14TH - AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE LAW CONFERENCE PLANNING


The Planning Committee for the African American Women and the Law Conference (AAWLC) has begun meeting. This conference will examine the role of the Law and public policy on the lives of African American women and girls with the goal of identifying transformational reforms and mobilization.  If you are interested in joining the planning committee or would like information to attend, please contact  info@tjcoalition.org.

October 6th- TJC Voting Rights 3.0 Symposium & Annual John Conyers Awards Reception
Mark your calendars now for the Transformative Justice Coalition's October 6th Symposium on "Voting Rights 3.0" and the Annual John Conyers Award Reception!!  The 4:00-5:30 p.m. Symposium will feature national voting rights experts discussing voting rights three years after the Shelby decision and what can be done to improve the landscape for the November Presidential Election.  Following the symposium will be the Annual John Conyers Awards Fundraising Reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. 

UPCOMING BARBARA ARNWINE SPEAKING EVENTS

*July 17th --Cincinnati, Ohio, Panelist at NAACP National Convention and CLE program
*July 20th --Saint Louis, Missouri, National Bar Association Supreme Court Panel 
*July 21th--Saint Louis, Missouri, National Bar Association: Planning Committee for 2016 African American Women in the Law Conference

  Reporting by: Caitlyn Cobb 
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