LAPD guns down 13-year-old Black youth

Just days after the city of Los Angeles rewarded two Los Angeles police officers directly involved in the brutalization of Black people with money and freedom from prosecution, police committed another racist killing Feb. 6. This time, like many others in the past, the victim was just 13 years old. He was killed simply for trying to get away from the police.

Devin Brown was shot and killed by a Los Angeles police officer at 83rd Street and Western Avenue. The victim was behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry that police said had backed into a patrol car after leading officers on a short chase.

Police officers Dana Grant and Steve Garcia were on patrol shortly before 4 a.m. when they saw the Toyota drive through a stoplight. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the Newton Division officers turned on their police car's siren. At 3:49 a.m., Garcia radioed to say they were pursuing a possible drunk driver.
According to the police, the chase was over in minutes after the car skidded turning around a curve and came to a stop. The car's other passenger, a 14 year old, got out and ran away.

According to the LAPD, the Toyota began to move backwards and hit the cop car. The Toyota then drove forward nine feet, coming to rest alongside the police car.



A few minutes and 10 bullets later, the cops called for an ambulance.

According to a senior law enforcement official, Garcia shot at Devin through the Toyota's passenger side windows. Garcia was reportedly standing away from the patrol car when he shot.

Obviously, the shooting cop's life was not in jeopardy. However, he decided that a Black youth who dares to defy him is worthy of the death penalty.

The corporate media is emphasizing the poor disciplinary record of Devin Brown, who was attending a magnet school. They also emphasize that the car was reported stolen.

However, neither of these alleged facts were known to the cop who shot Brown. All he knew was that he was Black and in an oppressed community where the authorities never punish police brutality, but rather encourage it.

IAC: Disarm LAPD

Following are excerpts from a statement released by the Los Angeles Interna tional Action Center after the killing:

"The shooting of 13-year-old Devin Brown was yet another atrocity perpetrated by the most dangerous gang in Los Angeles--the LAPD--who increasingly become more deadly towards youth, especially Black and Latino youth.

"The reaction of Police Chief Bratton is reminiscent of his reaction to past cases of police atrocities committed while he led the New York Police Department. Under former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's direction, William Bratton orchestrated a new level of racist police brutality against innocent victims, including the fatal choking of a young Latino, Anthony Baez, and the shooting death of African immigrant Amadou Diallo, who was shot 41 times.

"It was therefore no surprise that Bratton callously said that the shooting of this 13-year-old honor student last Sunday [Feb. 6] was just a matter of a bad policy he was reevaluating and it would be changed no time soon.

"Likewise, when Stanley Miller was kicked in the head and brutally beaten with a metal flashlight last June by LAPD cops, Bratton excused himself from this embarrassment to his leadership by claiming he was in the process of reevaluating the policy on using metal flashlights as weapons. However, at the time of Miller's beating, Bratton had been in control of the LAPD and that policy for over a year. In fact, the use of metal flashlights as weapons had been going on for many years in Los Angeles.

"Any further excuses of Bratton's performance and any confidence anyone has that either the mayor, police commissioner or any friends of these folks will be able to bring justice to this situation is beyond ludicrous. What was the result in the last two high-profile atrocities involving police--who were actually caught on videotape?

"As former Chief of Police Bernard Parks used to say almost every time a case of police brutality was exposed under his watch, all of these incidents are in fact 'within policy.'

"...Perhaps it's the job?

"Another excuse for this prevalent abuse by cops is that they have to make 'split-second decisions' and their job is a non-stop merry-go-round of stress and danger. Let's examine that:

"The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put out a list of the "Top Ten Most Dangerous Jobs" in 2000, and cops are not on it. The list is based on how many job-related fatalities occurred for every 100,000 workers employed in each job category. Timber cutters are killed the most--122.1 per 100,000. Fishers are next, with 108.3. Airplane pilots are third ... Farmers are 10th with 25 deaths per 100,000. Police are off the chart, with a death rate of only about nine per 100,000.

"The fact is that the 'split-second' excuse does not hold water and is another attempt at covering up the obvious--the LAPD acts in oppressed communities like an occupying force, much like the U.S. forces in Iraq today, who are ordered to kill (with impunity) and target the innocent.

"For this reason it is absolutely irresponsible to allow the LAPD to arm its officers with guns. Allowing the LAPD to carry any weapons provides a dangerous risk to the general public and especially Black and Latino youth.

"...All progressive people, no matter what issue they gravitate towards, should be able to relate to this war on oppressed people. It reminds us of the terror by the INS against immigrants here. It has the stench of genocide being waged against the people of Iraq, Haiti and Palestine and it is an aspect of the repression necessary to try and force a population living in a system that cannot provide jobs, health care and peace into submission.

"This fight has all of our names on it--let's show our solidarity with the people facing police terror and strengthen our voice and might. We will not submit!"


Do we blame the "victim" or law enforcement? Should the parent take some responsibility in this manner? What about black society? Should "we" take blame for giving up our independence to work for white corporations? And lastly, do we continue to blame white people when we know there history of killing blacks that would be treated much differently in their community?

This building was burn so bad that you can actually see a gulf of smoke rising to the sky. Also it took this fire over a day to burn itself out and still the building metal frame held up. Surprising? It took about an 1hr and 30 minutes for the world trade center to collapse from "extreme" blaze, but let alone, this building never collapse. I find that to be evidence that the world trade center was blown up and the planes sent into the building was just to throw people off. It was a systematic thing to cause the WTC to collapse so the government could pass laws that will impede on the american citizen's freedoms. 

various scenes of how extreme this fire was.. which actually was worse then the world trade center since it involved every aspect of the building, but "strangely" the building never collapses. Could it be a conspiracy? 

Spanish firemen hose down the blackened Windsor Building, a 32-story skyscraper in the heart of Madrid's commercial district February 13, 2005. The fire, described as the worst in Madrid's history, ravaged the building but caused no injuries and the tower stayed upright despite fears of collapse.  

FBI Investigates Cop's Killing of Black Teen

The FBI launched its own investigation Wednesday into the murder of 13-year-old Devin Brown who was shot and killed by Los Angeles Police.

"The FBI has now joined the investigation and will be looking into this from the U.S. Attorney's Office perspective, related to potential civil-rights violations," said LAPD Chief William Bratton during a news conference.

Brown, an African American, was killed Sunday after police suspected the eighth-grader was driving a stolen vehicle. After a brief chase, the car backed into to police cruiser. Officers fired 10 rounds at the car, according to police.

During a news conference earlier this week, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn requested that police alter their policy concerning firing at occupied vehicles and urged a thorough investigation into the shooting. “I am joining in the anger and the frustration, and I stand here with great concern over this latest use of force,” Hahn said. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) described the killing as another instance of police behaving “as judge, jury and executioner.”
“We will not be quiet. None of us can be silenced in the face of repeated injustice,” said Waters, referring to the Brown case and that of Stanley Miller, who was beaten with a flashlight by police. Last week, the district attorney found insufficient evidence to prosecute the officers involved in the Miller case, even though the incident was caught on tape.

“When I learned about the killing of 13-year-old Devin Brown, an African-American boy, on the street corner in South Central Los Angeles, quite frankly, my reaction was, ‘Once again, the police in our community act as judge, jury and executioner,’ ” Waters said in a press release.
Initially, police reported that Brown, a student at a Los Angeles magnet school for the gifted, was a gang member. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kevin Mitchell, a gang-prevention specialist who knew Brown, told the Daily News that Brown was not in a gang – “yet.”

“It’s a bad crowd he was starting to hang with, but he wasn’t a gang member yet. God called him before the gang bangers called him,” Mitchell said. Brown’s 14-year-old driving companion ran from the vehicle, was apprehended and booked on auto theft.

The officers involved in the shooting, Steven Garcia and Dana Grant, have been assigned to desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

Los Angeles Police Commissioner Rick Caruso said the officers “never intended” to kill anyone. He expressed regret during a meeting with members of the community. “To the African-American community and to all of Los Angeles, I apologize,” he said.

_____________________________________________

What can be done to prevent such tragedies?

L.A. Police shoot to death a 13-year-old Black boy. 

New Diet Guidelines Say Count ‘Cals’ Not ‘Carbs’

Stop counting carbs and start to count your calories, advise health officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. The new dietary guidelines, which were released today, not only empshasize the improtance of watching your caloric intake, but also suggest that Americans need more exercise.

A far cry from the low-carb mantras adopted by so many people trying to lose weight in recent years, the government says common sense measures like exercising at least 30 to 90 minutes a day, cutting back on sugar, fat and salt, and upping your intake of fiber, vegetables and, yes, the carbohydrates found in whole grain foods is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. In addition, health officials are changing the way they will describe food portions: "servings" will now be called "cups".

"These new dietary guidelines represent our best science-based advice to help Americans live healthier and longer lives [and]... help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers," says Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services. Indeed, a 13-member panel of health experts commissioned by the government spent nearly a year researching the diet and health of Americans before issuing the new recommendations, which will be reflected in an updated version of the Food Guide Pyramid.

Get a list of the new dietary guidelines>>


Here's a rundown of some of the most important updates to the dietary guidleines:

Calories:
2,000 per day (This can change based on age, gender and activity level. Check with your physician for specific daily caloric allowances.)

Daily Exercise (moderate to intense):
30 min- Maintains your weight and reduce risk of chronic disease in adulthood.
60 min.- Prevents gradual, unhealthy weight gain in adulthood
60 – 90 min.- Sustains weight loss in adulthood.

Fruits and Veggies:
Fruit- 2 cups of per day
Vegetables- 2 ½ cups of per day

Carbohydrates:
Whole Grains - 3 or more ounces of each day
Half of all grains eaten should be from whole grains.

Dairy:
Milk- 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat
People with dark skin (because skin pigmentation can affect vitamin D absorption)- consume extra vitamin D from foods like dairy, meat, eggs or from supplements. Older adults and people with insufficient exposure to sunlight are advised to consume extra vitamin D, too.

Fat:
Total Fat intake- 20 to 25 percent of daily calorie allowance
Saturated Fats- 10 percent or less of daily calorie allowance
Cholesterol- 300 mg or less per day.

Salt:
1 teaspoon (2,300mg) or less of sodium each day
African Americans, people with hypertension and middle-aged to older adults- Consume no more than 1,500 mg of salt/sodium per day.

Alcohol:
Women- 1 drink per day
Men– 2 drinks per day

Will you take the government’s new diet advice? What changes have you already made to your diet based on health guidelines or medical studies?

Healthy Diet