Posted on 03/05/2009 9:42:45 AM PST by flutters
The NAACP and other community groups are calling on the Obama administration to reopen a federal investigation into what they say are civil-rights violations by Columbus police.
At a City Hall news conference planned for 2 p.m. today, the groups will ask that the president and Attorney General Eric Holder reverse a 2002 Bush administration decision to drop the case.
President Barack Obama and Holder are scheduled to be in Columbus on Friday for the swearing in of 26 police recruits whose jobs were saved by federal economic-stimulus money.
The Rev. Joel King, a Gahanna resident and nephew of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., said this morning that he supports using federal money to pay the new officers but opposes Mayor Michael B. Coleman's request to get more federal help to continue police strike forces in high-crime areas.
He and others think the strike forces engage in racial profiling against black men and children.
King also said a series of police shootings over the past year merits federal attention.
He cited two shootings in particular: Edward Hayes, who was killed by a Columbus officer on the Near East Side in June, and Michael A. Harrington Jr., who was killed after an election-night party last November at a Downtown nightclub.
Hayes had a gun, but his younger brother said he was running from police and had no intention of using it. Police said Harrington had tried to hit them with his van.
Members of the NAACP will be joined by other groups at the news conference: the Community Leadership Council for Justice, the Grassroots Ordinary People Movement and the Baptist Ministerial Alliance.
The Clinton administration's Justice Department, where Holder served as deputy attorney general, sued Columbus in 1999, alleging that police officers engaged in a pattern of civil-rights abuses, including false arrests, illegal searches and excessive use of force.
The suit was dropped in 2002 after George W. Bush took office.
Yea, and Zer0 and Holder are black as well....
COOL, they`re swearing in 26 more rights violators.
Why don`t they pad themselves by pre-protesting the new cops being sworn in...couldn`t hurt the rep.
“He and others think the strike forces engage in racial profiling against black men and children. “
And just who is committing all of the crime you’re complaining about? Hmmm?
What a boob.
BTW, I hope there are some protesters at the Shrine Temple for tomorrow's contrived show by Obama and Holder. This is going to cost Columbus a bundle as Coleman smooches the Messiah's gluteus.
If I recall, Jackson fought against Holder and the Justice Department 10 years ago.
Maybe the white community will start getting tired of it and try to settle some real scores of our own. Such as: trillions of dollars wasted in various social programs.
I also hope there are protesters. I would like to go, and I'm not far from Stelzer Rd., but I have to work. :(
I would love to give all of these police haters exactly what they are crying for. Wall off all black communities and make them police free zones.
Me, too.
Too many people are still afraid of being labeled with a meaningless word: “Racist.”
I've been using that one for years. The sad reality is that so many people will not accept solid facts and call us liars for stating them. I can't begin to count the number of times blacks have called me a liar for stating factually that blacks make up 13% of the US population. It's a lost cause among the hateful brainwashed out there.
Oh, in that case carry on, you fine upstanding potential rappers who are on the cusp of turning your lives around and getting your GED. No crime here!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.