I am at least glad that the newspaper carried some mention (of my dissenting letter rejecting the NAACP award) in this piece at all, even if also had to insert my so-called "police blotter' to try to discredit me and what I was saying. The ususal fear-mongering that this newspaper is known for, it gets tired after awhile, and it hurts you more than it does me. A total mouthpiece of the Lookout Mountain power structure and the downtown Chamber of Commerce.
But then several years ago, in 1986(?) after a racist bombing of the van of a local activist, H.H. Wright, at WNOO rado, this very newspaper falsely accused me in print of being the bomber. Ever since, it has made it a policy to describe me as a "felon", and I have made it a practice to tell folks that I was paid $10,000 to settle my lawsuit for this yellow journalism engaged in by Times-Free Press writers and editors.
I will say that I am not ashamed of anything in my background, but consider this type of thing a vindictive, politically-tainted personal attack, not worthy of a professional news organization. Oh, you forgot to mention that I am married to a college professor, who has taught journalism for over 20 years at major colleges in Michigan and Tennessee. We both know political slander and unfair reportage when we see it.
Special Litigation Section
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
PHB 5034
Washington, D.C.20530
September 21, 2009
Re: Complaint Against The Chattanooga Police Department, Request for the Filing of Pattern and Practices Police Misconduct lawsuit pursuant to, sec. 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.
MS. Cutlar:
We are activists seeking to deal with a long history of 30 years (1978-2009) of police brutality by the continual use of deadly force by police agencies in the Chattanooga, Tennessee metropolitan area. Over 58 persons have died in local police custody or by police officers effecting an arrest using an excessive amount of force. These include shooting victims, persons choked to death, run over by police cruisers, and other forms of unjustified deadly police violence. Such violent arrests and unrestricted use of deadly force, on a systematic basis, deprived such individuals of their constitutional rights to equal justice. The majority of the deaths (70%) are of African Americans and clearly many occurred in instances where they were victims of officer misconduct and deadly force because of their race, social class, ethnic heritage. This includes the shooting of a least five persons over 20 times, and in the latest case, the shooting of one individual 43 times by 6 city police officer, while he was prone on the ground, begging for his life.
Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act empowers the Attorney General of the United States to bring civil suits against law enforcement agencies where there is a “pattern and practice of conduct by law enforcement officers….that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or the laws of the United States.” Now, it is time to spur changes in the deadly force and other policies of the Chattanooga Police Department, which has resulted in over 45 persons killed by city police and deadly force by adjacent police agencies in the Metro area resulting in 13 deaths. For a city this size (168,000), there is no question that there should not be this many persons losing their lives in local police custody. In fact, DOJ had already determined that Chattanooga was #1 in terms of fatalities of persons in custody for any city with a population under 200,000 persons.
Chattanooga political and police authorities have resisted any change in their deadly force or use of force policies generally, and it will take external pressure by the Department of Justice We therefore urge the DOJ to bring suit against the Chattanooga district police agency to address the unrestricted and unlawful use of deadly force by the Chattanooga police officers and metro agencies. Reform is long overdue. Thank you.
It is extremely ironical that in little more than a month after this article, the police themselves would shoot a 15-year old old youth in the back, Alonza O'Kelley and then call it "self-defense."
The truth is the police did not have any authority to shoot a fleeing felony suspect with deadly force. In 1985, the United States Supreme Court in Tennessee v. Garner, a Memphis case, (and a companion case from chattanooga), both involving 15-year old Black kids shot in the back, ruled that the TN. Fleeing Felon statute was unconsititutional. Yet the cops in Chattanooga persist in shooting people in the back in 2009. This is not law enforcement or self-defense, it is trigger happy policing, no less than police terrorism against the Black community.
NAACP honoree rejects award, event as 'scam'
I am at least glad that the newspaper carried some mention (of my dissenting letter rejecting the NAACP award) in this piece at all, even if also had to insert my so-called "police blotter' to try to discredit me and what I was saying. The ususal fear-mongering that this newspaper is known for, it gets tired after awhile, and it hurts you more than it does me. A total mouthpiece of the Lookout Mountain power structure and the downtown Chamber of Commerce.
But then several years ago, in 1986(?) after a racist bombing of the van of a local activist, H.H. Wright, at WNOO rado, this very newspaper falsely accused me in print of being the bomber. Ever since, it has made it a policy to describe me as a "felon", and I have made it a practice to tell folks that I was paid $10,000 to settle my lawsuit for this yellow journalism engaged in by Times-Free Press writers and editors. I will say that I am not ashamed of anything in my background, but consider this type of thing a vindictive, politically-tainted personal attack, not worthy of a professional news organization. Oh, you forgot to mention that I am married to a college professor, who has taught journalism for over 20 years at major colleges in Michigan and Tennessee. We both know political slander and unfair reportage when we see it.
Lorenzo Ervin
Split-second calls
Special Litigation Section U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. PHB 5034 Washington, D.C.20530
September 21, 2009
MS. Cutlar:
We are activists seeking to deal with a long history of 30 years (1978-2009) of police brutality by the continual use of deadly force by police agencies in the Chattanooga, Tennessee metropolitan area. Over 58 persons have died in local police custody or by police officers effecting an arrest using an excessive amount of force. These include shooting victims, persons choked to death, run over by police cruisers, and other forms of unjustified deadly police violence. Such violent arrests and unrestricted use of deadly force, on a systematic basis, deprived such individuals of their constitutional rights to equal justice. The majority of the deaths (70%) are of African Americans and clearly many occurred in instances where they were victims of officer misconduct and deadly force because of their race, social class, ethnic heritage. This includes the shooting of a least five persons over 20 times, and in the latest case, the shooting of one individual 43 times by 6 city police officer, while he was prone on the ground, begging for his life. Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act empowers the Attorney General of the United States to bring civil suits against law enforcement agencies where there is a “pattern and practice of conduct by law enforcement officers….that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or the laws of the United States.” Now, it is time to spur changes in the deadly force and other policies of the Chattanooga Police Department, which has resulted in over 45 persons killed by city police and deadly force by adjacent police agencies in the Metro area resulting in 13 deaths. For a city this size (168,000), there is no question that there should not be this many persons losing their lives in local police custody. In fact, DOJ had already determined that Chattanooga was #1 in terms of fatalities of persons in custody for any city with a population under 200,000 persons. Chattanooga political and police authorities have resisted any change in their deadly force or use of force policies generally, and it will take external pressure by the Department of Justice We therefore urge the DOJ to bring suit against the Chattanooga district police agency to address the unrestricted and unlawful use of deadly force by the Chattanooga police officers and metro agencies. Reform is long overdue. Thank you.
Lorenzo Ervin, Maxine Cousin ,
CHA police increasing patrols for summer
It is extremely ironical that in little more than a month after this article, the police themselves would shoot a 15-year old old youth in the back, Alonza O'Kelley and then call it "self-defense." The truth is the police did not have any authority to shoot a fleeing felony suspect with deadly force. In 1985, the United States Supreme Court in Tennessee v. Garner, a Memphis case, (and a companion case from chattanooga), both involving 15-year old Black kids shot in the back, ruled that the TN. Fleeing Felon statute was unconsititutional. Yet the cops in Chattanooga persist in shooting people in the back in 2009. This is not law enforcement or self-defense, it is trigger happy policing, no less than police terrorism against the Black community.