DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST JAZZ HAYDEN!

SUPPORT JAZZ HAYDEN!

Support Joseph “Jazz” Hayden as his next court appearance on July 31, 2012 in Part F at 100 Centre Street in Manhattan. We will be gathering outside the courthouse at 8:30 am.

Photograph by Lyric Cabral, The Village Voice

July 9, 2012

Dear Friends, Allies and Supporters,

As you may already know, I have a pending case in Manhattan Criminal Court resulting from a bogus stop & frisk by the NYPD from December, 2011.  I can unequivocally state that this stop and arrest was in retaliation for my work as a Citizen Reporter aggressively covering police/community relationships in the Harlem community.  (To review my body of work you need only go to my web site,www.allthingsharlem.com/copwatch to view four years of coverage of police community relations in Harlem.)

My work on this issue is well known and has been covered by many news organizations, including The New York Times, the Village Voice, the Amsterdam News, the Economist,  NY1, Channel 7 Eyewitness News, WPIX Channel 11, Gothamist, The Brooklyn Rail, The Nation and the National in Abu Dhabi (Middle East).  The Harlem community is well aware of my work, and encourages and supports it.

As you are probably already aware, the racist practice of stop & frisk by the NYPD has gained national attention for its astronomical numbers of unwarranted stops, nearly 700,000 in 2011. Less than 6% of those stopped were charged with any crime or violation of the law.  The disproportionate impact on communities of color, specifically Blacks and Latinos (87%), has led to city-wide protest and condemnation in the local and national media.

For every action there is a reaction.  Because of my coverage of this racist and ineffective practice, I have been targeted for retaliation.  My right as a citizen to cover the police in public places, as they perform their duties (a right recently acknowledged by U.S. Attorney General Holder) has resulted in my being targeted by the 32nd precinct in Harlem.

I am currently facing felony charges – and potentially years in prison -  as a result of an unlawful stop and search of my car last December. In July of 2011, I filmed the same officers who later arrested me performing an unlawful car stop in Harlem. You can view that video here:

During the video you can hear the officers talking to me and saying that they know who I am and know my background. At minute 5:05 the officer can be heard saying, “You done selling drugs yet or what? I know your rap sheet.” Then again around 5:55 the officer can be heard saying, “Go sell some more drugs sir. We know your background, I know who you are.” The officers let the men in the car go without charges. But they had other plans for me. In December of 2011, the very same officers stopped my car and conducted an illegal search. They found a pocket knife and a mini replica baseball bat in the car, and charged me with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a felony punishable with two to seven years on prison. My stop and arrest was unequivocal retaliation for my surveillance of these officers and work in the community. Today I need your help. Please contact Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance and demand that all charges against Joseph Hayden be dropped and that the NYPD be put on notice that citizens have a right to monitor their “servants” as they perform their duties without retaliation. The significance of these cases of retaliation for covering “our servants” extends beyond my case alone. These actions by NYPD raise the larger issue of their role in communities of color, the rights of citizens to monitor law enforcement, and the rights/role of new media in covering the news. What is happening to me has happened to hundreds of thousands of citizens in New York City.

 Enough is enough! Send your letter to: Cyrus Vance Manhattan District Attorney One Hogan Place New York, NY 10013 You can email him at vancec@dany.nyc.gov. Please cc me on your letter at jhayden512@aol.com. A sample letter is included below. If you can make it, please join me at my next court appearance on July 31, 2012 in Part F at 100 Centre Street in Manhattan.

 We will be gathering outside the courthouse at 8:30 am. Thanks for your support. Yours truly, Joseph Jazz Hayden Campaign to End the New Jim Crow www.allthingsharlem.com SAMPLE LETTER TO CYRUS VANCE Cyrus Vance Manhattan District Attorney One Hogan Place New York, NY 10013

 Dear District Attorney Vance, [PLEASE MAKE INCLUDE YOUR NAME, YOUR JOB OR OTHER IMPORTANT AFFILIATION AND HOW YOU KNOW JAZZ] I am writing today about an urgent matter, the case of Joseph Hayden. Your office has chosen to seek an indictment against him for two counts of Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree. I believe that his arrest was a retaliatory act on the part of the police against one of their most outspoken critics, a long-time neighborhood cop watch activist and police reform advocate. There is no doubt that Mr. Hayden has a lengthy criminal record. But he has put his past behind him and become an important community activist. He is a longtime member of The Riverside Church Prison Ministry and a founding member of the Ministry’s Campaign to End The New Jim Crow, a group dedicated to combatting mass incarceration and building caring communities. And for the past four years, Mr. Hayden has videotaped police officers as they stop and frisk people in Harlem as part of a neighborhood copwatch program and posted these videos on his website, All Things Harlem. Mr. Hayden was pulled over for a traffic stop in Harlem in December 2011. When the police approached his car, they made it plain that they recognized Mr. Hayden by statements such as “We know you.” The two officers who stopped him in December were the same officers filmed by Mr. Hayden several months earlier (view the video here: http://bit.ly/NjOZTN). After clearly acknowledging that they knew who he was, the officers unlawfully searched his car, finding a penknife and a small commemorative replica baseball bat. These items are the weapons for which he is now facing felony charges punishable by 2 to 7 years in prison. During your campaign for District Attorney, you sat down with Mr. Hayden for an interview for his website. During that interview, Mr. Hayden asked you what you would do to stop racial bias and harassment of people of color by the NYPD. You told him that while you “can’t tell the police who to arrest or who not to arrest,” but as District Attorney you would like to assure that “when it comes to us, that we are not making charging decisions that are biased in any way.” You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEu5yZ4Pwxc In light of your commitment to make unbiased charging decisions, I urge you to drop the charges against Mr. Hayden. Given Mr. Hayden’s prominent role in filming the police, it is clear that his arrest was retaliation for his community activities. I also urge you to take seriously the dangers of police practices that effectively silence citizens who dissent. United States Attorney General Eric Holder has affirmed the right to record police officers in the public performance of their duties. By allowing Mr. Hayden’s indictment to proceed, the Manhattan District Attorney casts a chilling effect on this right. Thank you for your kind attention to this letter.


 Sincerely [NAME] [ADDRESS]

Private Prisons Lobby for Harsher Sentences

If you’re looking for one of the reasons why the United States imprisons more people — by miles — than any other nation, you can look to the development of private prisons as a means of making some people rich. Those people spend millions of dollars to lobby elected officials to do two things: Convert government-run prisons to private prisons, and lock up more people for longer periods of time. Because that makes them even richer.

A new study by the Justice Policy Institute reaches exactly that conclusion and documents it thoroughly.

Over the past 15 years, the number of people held in all prisons in the United States has increased by 49.6 percent, while private prison populations have increased by 353.7 percent, according to recent federal statistics. Meanwhile, in 2010 alone, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the GEO Group, the two largest private prison companies, had combined revenues of $2.9 billion. According to a report released today by the Justice Policy Institute (JPI), not only have private prison companies benefitted from this increased incarceration, but they have helped fuel it. Gaming the System: How the Political Strategies of Private Prison Companies Promote Ineffective Incarceration Policies, examines how private prison companies are able to wield influence over legislators and criminal justice policy, ultimately resulting in harsher criminal justice policies and the incarceration of more people. The report notes a “triangle of influence” built on campaign contributions, lobbying and relationships with current and former elected and appointed officials. Through this strategy, private prison companies have gained access to local, state, and federal policymakers and have back-channel influence to pass legislation that puts more people behind bars, adds to private prison populations and generates tremendous profits at U.S. taxpayers’ expense.

“For-profit companies exercise their political influence to protect their market share, which in the case of corporations like GEO Group and CCA primarily means the number of people locked up behind bars,” said Tracy Velázquez, executive director of JPI. “We need to take a hard look at what the cost of this influence is, both to taxpayers and to the community as a whole, in terms of the policies being lobbied for and the outcomes for people put in private prisons. That their lobbying and political contributions is funded by taxpayers, through their profits on government contracts, makes it all the more important that people understand the role of private prisons in our political system.”

America’s obsession with locking up more and more people, while simultaneously ignoring the numerous ways that innocent people are railroaded by a corrupt and inept justice system, is not only destroying important constitutional principles, it’s also bankrupting state and local governments. It needs to be fixed.

Jacksonville NAACP Rally for Marissa Alexander Highlights Justice Issues

“We want justice, not just us,” protesters chanted at a march and rally for Marissa Alexander Friday morning in downtown Jacksonville, Fla.

Alexander’s case is an example of a controversial Stand Your Ground decision that didn’t go in Alexanders favor.  Many leaders, community members and the Alexander family expressed dissatisfaction with her sentence—20 years for firing a “warning shot” near her reportedly abusive husband.

The Jacksonville chapter of the NAACP hosted the event, which included local, state and national leaders as well as Alexander’s lawyers and her mother and sister. Attendees were in the hundreds.

Rep. Corrine Brown, a vocal champion of Alexander, told the crowd that the verdict pained her. She said that at first she could not stop crying.

While Brown found Alexander’s sentence upsetting (a fact made known when Brown confronted State Attorney Angela Corey about the case), the congresswoman also said youth are being classified as adults and felons at a startling rate.  Brown said that help is needed for other victims and, “I know that the Lord has sent us help” with Alexander’s case in the form of New York based attorney, Michael G. Dowd.

Dowd told the crowd that society frequently supports battered women until they “are forced to defend themselves.”

On Alexander he said, “She didn’t even harm this animal.” According to NAACP representatives, Alexander’s sentence and other 10-20-life mandatory sentences are miscarriages of justice and “judicial lynchings.”

Jacksonville NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin encouraged supporters to vote for representatives with their best interests at heart and vote out people who didn’t deliver. He said that minorities were being overcharged and disproportionately sentenced at the state level.

Martin Luther King III echoed the need for people to use their political power. He said that people have to read the entire ballot when they vote.  ”Rarely do we see justice”, calling the criminal justice system “the criminal system.”

Alexander’s mother, Helen Jenkins, thanked the crowd for support and advocated for her daughter. “She did not commit a crime. She was protecting herself,” Jenkins said.

Alexander, a mother with a master’s degree, had no prior criminal history, but in less than 15 minutes a jury found her guilty of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.  During her trial, she invoked Stand Your Ground and said that she fired in self-defense. Many have drawn parallels between Alexander’s case and Trayvon Martin’s shooting death at the hands of George Zimmerman. Even though a judge denied Alexander Stand Your Ground immunity, police protected Zimmerman from arrest using Stand Your Ground.

As traditional media did not initially cover Alexander’s case, she now continues to be championed across several social media platforms.

Marissa Alexander’s name is a hashtag. A Facebook group entitled “Stand Your Ground: Justice for Marissa Alexander” boasted about 1,350 likes as of press time. “Support for Marissa Alexander” had more than 1,200 likes. A Free Marissa Alexander petition on change.org includes more than 15,000 signatures.

As far as courtroom work goes, Alexander’s attorney seemed unshaken when he addressed listeners. He said that his team would walk in the footsteps of one of the “great legal lights,” Thurgood Marshall and pursue justice.

“We are going to go back into the system, twist and turn it, and make it do the right thing,” Dowd said.  If the status quo continues, Alexander’s mother reminded onlookers of the risks.

“It could be someone else tomorrow,” Jenkins said.

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African Soccer Player - Racist Italian Newspaper

Euro 2012: Italian newspaper shows striker Mario Balotelli as King Kong atop Big Ben prior to Italy's match against England 

Prior to Italy's clash with England in Euro 2012, La Gazzetta dello Sport shows Balotelli, who is black, swatting soccer balls while atop Big Ben. Racism has been a concern at the European Championships, and Balotelli had said earlier that racism is unacceptable in 2012.

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BY BERNIE AUGUSTINE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Monday, June 25, 2012, 2:36 PM

Updated: Monday, June 25, 2012, 3:19 PM

Players competing in Euro 2012 were concerned that racism could be a problem with fans in Poland and Ukraine. They probably didn’t expect to be the subject of racial insensitivity in the press.

On Sunday an Italian newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, published a photo-illustration of Italy’s star striker, Mario Balotelli, as King Kong atop Big Ben swatting away soccer balls.

Although the intent of the cartoon seemed to be that Balotelli and the Italians would topple England, the execution was clearly done in poor taste. Italy won the match in a shootout, 4-2.

Before the tournament kicked off, Balotelli — who was born in Palermo but is of Ghanainan descent — addressed his concerns about racism in Poland and Ukraine, the co-hosts for the European Championships.

“Let’s see what happens at the Euro. I hope that there will not be a problem,” he told France Footall. “Because I really can’t handle that.”

“I cannot bear racism, it’s unacceptable for me. If it had happened again I would straight away leave the pitch and go home. We are in 2012. It can’t happen,” the 21-year-old added.

Despite efforts to stem any racist outbursts, racism has been an issue at the month-long tournament. In Italy’s group-play match against Croatia, Croatian fans directed racist chants at Balotelli and a banana was thrown onto the pitch during the match. The Croatian Football Federation was fined 80,000 euros ($106,000) last week for their fans’ actions.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/euro-2012/euro-2012-italian-newspaper-shows-striker-mario-balotelli-king-kong-atop-big-ben-win-england-article-1.1101983#ixzz1yv0M4qqn

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Police Kill Woman In East Flatbush - Brooklyn, New York

The woman shot dead by a Brooklyn cop after she crashed a stolen car was part of a violent crew who police say forced a man into his home at gunpoint, robbed him and shot him as he ran away.

Shantel Davis, 23, took a bullet in the chest during a wild struggle with police after she tried to drive away from the smashup on Church Ave. and E. 38th St. in East Flatbush on Thursday, cops said.

No gun was found on Davis. Her rap sheet — which included robbery and drug busts — shows she was no stranger to run-ins with the law.

Davis was due in court Friday on charges stemming from an attack on April 23, 2011 — when she and a band of brutes allegedly held a man hostage as they robbed his Clarendon Road apartment, court papers show.

The heist netted cash, video games and jewelry, the documents show. But the thieves threatened to take 29-year-old Ralph Ragoobar to East New York and torture him for more loot. He managed to break free and started running down the street, court papers show.

That’s when Davis’ crew opened fire, striking the fleeing man three times in the back and once in the leg. He survived the wounds.

“I was shot five times,” Ragoobar told the Daily News. “I just want to move on with my life.”
Davis and two others were later booked on charges that included kidnapping, attempted murder and weapons possession.

Davis was out on $25,000 bail when two narcotics cops saw her blow a red light at E. 48th St. and start speeding westbound down Church Ave. about 5:35 p.m. Thursday, cops said.

The two plainclothes officers — who sources identified as Detective Phillip Atkins, 44, and Police Officer Daniel Guida, 27 — began to follow Davis in their unmarked car as she sped through a series of red lights before she crashed, cops said.

Davis was driving a 1998 Toyota Camry that she allegedly stole the week before. Armed with a pistol — and just a block away from her E. 52nd St. home — Davis approached the car’s owner, Vilma Craig, 57, and told her to hand over the keys, sources said.

“She had the gun pointed at me,” Craig told the Daily News Friday. “She took my car, my pocketbook and everything in the car.”

It was not clear whether the two cops knew the car was stolen when they approached Davis after she wrecked it.

The 5-foot-6, 185-pound Davis slid into the passenger side of the car in an attempt to flee, cops said.
After a brief struggle with Guida, Davis hopped back in the driver’s seat and tried to drive away.

Atkins, holding his service-issued Smith & Wesson 9-mm., began to grapple with the frantic woman and tried to stop her from putting the car into gear.

But Davis managed to put the car in reverse and hit the gas. During the struggle, Atkins fired one shot, hitting Davis in the chest and killing her.

Atkins had never fired his weapon while on duty, cops said, but court papers show he has been the defendant in six federal lawsuits.

But some say litigation is common for active officers like Atkins, who boasts more than 800 arrests during his 12-year career.

“It’s unfair to measure a narcotic detective’s performance by the lawsuits that are filed against him,” said Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives' Endowment Association. “Drug dealers are interested in one thing: making money, either by selling drugs or filing lawsuits.”

Friends and neighbors described Davis as “a sweetie.”

“She was sweet,” said friend Kelvia Joseph, 24. “She did her stuff on the side, but she was a good person.”

With Denis Slattery, Kerry Wills and Rich Schapiro
rparascandola@nydailynews.com