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'"l 5 0B/20' 3 - UWSON LIBRAS ^COLLECTION UNC-CH CHAPEL HILL UME 92 - NUMBER 42 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2013 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30 QAACP Surveillance - Cops spied On Moral Monday protesters By Michael Biesecker SLEIGH (AP) - The Raleigh Police Department con- :d undercover surveillance at meetings of the North lina chapter of the NACCP held to organize mass sts of the Republican-led state legislature, a city cil member says. ileigh City Council member Mary-Ann Baldwin said officials confirmed the surveillance to her on Oct. 7 wing inquiries by The Associated Press. .aleigh Police did attend meetings,” said Baldwin, woman of the council’s Law and Public Safety Com- e. “I was distressed to learn about this. We were re nt to even be involved because we don’t think arrest- >eople for speaking their minds is the right thing to ildwin said she was told Raleigh officers attended the iCP planning events to help ensure public safety and -ity. hey just didn’t want there to be any major issues were not prepared for,” she said. “They wanted to : sure things went smoothly.” te revelations about surveillance could have potential implications for hundreds of pending cases. )out 940 people were arrested at the weekly Moral day rallies opposing GOP-backed policies that pro 's said damaged public education, voting rights and ing people. Raleigh Police provided additional man- :r to the N.C. General Assembly Police during the sts, with city officers often escorting arrestees on way to jail. ite NAACP president William Barber said he is con- :d Raleigh police chose to conduct surveillance at the ling meetings, which were typically held in the sanc- ' of a nearby church. He stressed the protesters were violent and said they had nothing to hide. If the of- s had worn uniforms or introduced themselves, they d have been welcomed, Barber said. t’s not like we were planning a bank heist,” he said, stly, what we did was pray and sing.” le weekly planning meetings were announced in ad- e and generally open to the public. However, there portions of the meetings during which news report- vere asked to leave so protesters could receive in- ation from volunteer lawyers about what to expect jy were arrested. Barber said he is worried if police ers and prosecutors are privy to the legal advice pro- 1 to the protesters that might have violated attorney- t privilege. / Joyner, a professor at the N.C. Central University »ol of Law representing several of the protesters at said he and other defense lawyers are likely to seek 3s of any police surveillance reports through discov- notions. te surveillance first came to light at the trial of Sala- Muammad, a U.S. Army veteran and labor activist fed on May 13 while at a Moral Monday protest. eneral Assembly Police Chief Jeff Weaver testified :ceived advance intelligence reports from another law rcement agency about the protesters’ plans. Asked ig in a break which agency had provided him the re- s, Weaver said he could not discuss operational de- uring her cross examination of Muammad, Assis- District Attorney Mary Elizabeth Wilson asked the ;ster a series of questions suggesting she had some vledge of what occurred in the NAACP meetings. Continued On Page 15) Durham Branch : reedom Fund Banquet Set "he Durham Branch NAACP’s 39th Freedom Func iquet will be held, Nov. 1 at p.m. at the Durham Ar- ry, 220 Foster St. "he Honorees are: Mrs. Margaret Keller and John C. :eepie” Scarborough, III. Special Recognition to: Dr )ert J. Lefkowitz. Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, pres- at, NC NAACP. Master of Ceremonies Rev. Curtis ;ewood, HKonJ Coalition Leader, NC NAACP. For ticket information call 919- 682-4930 Young ladies participating in program celebrating the 127h Anniversary of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church. See pictures on page 2. Groups criticize NC officer arrest in man’s death By Mitch Weiss CHARLOTTE (AP) - Hours after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg po-. lice officer fatally shot an unarmed man, the department made a rare move: It charged the officer with voluntary manslaughter. Most police departments, including Charlotte, usually take weeks - sometimes months - to complete an investigation of a police shoot ing. But the decision to quickly charge Randall Kerrick is now draw ing sharp criticism from police groups and being followed closely by law enforcement departments across the country. Critics call the department’s move a rush to judgment and say it will have a chilling effect on officers in the field. “What it does is it shakes their confidence because, like it or not, most cops like to think their department has their back,” Randy Ha gler, president of the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police, told The Associated Press. “That’s not to say the department is going to cover anything up. They just want the department to give them a fair shake. That’s all we ask for. And officers in our community don’t necessarily all feel that way.” Dan Trelka, police chief in Waterloo, Iowa, said he’s been follow ing the case and warned that filing charges quickly could put officers at risk. “My concern is we’re going to have an officer - any officer some place in the country - hesitate when they are justified in taking action and lose their life,” he said. Police shootings are generally high-profile stories in local com- ■ munities. And when race is involved they often attract national at tention. In Charlotte, the officer charged in the shooting is white; Jonathan Ferrell, the man who was shot and a former Florida A&M football player, is black. Ferrell’s encounter with police was set in motion at 2:30 a.m. Sept. 14, when his car ran off the entrance road to a suburban neigh borhood about 15 miles from downtown Charlotte. After crashing his car into trees, Ferrell kicked out the back window and headed up a hill to the first cluster of houses he could see. Police said Ferrell knocked on a door seeking help. The woman inside called 911, thinking he was trying to break into her home. Kerrick and two other officers responded to the call. They found Ferrell on a road that leads only to the neighborhood’s pool. Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them and Kerrick fired 12 shots, hitting Ferrell with all but two. Ferrell died at the scene. At first, Kerrick - who has been with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police since April 2011 - and the two other officers at the scene were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an inves tigation probe into the shooting. But later that day, Kerrick, 27, was charged with voluntary man slaughter and released on $50,000 bond. Police Chief Rodney Monroe said that while Ferrell did advance on Kerrick, the shooting was excessive. Monroe said the depart ment’s investigation showed the officer didn’t have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter. Kerrick’s attorneys said the shooting was justified because Ferrell didn’t obey verbal commands to stop. But the attorney for Ferrell’s family said the shots were fired in such close proximity that they never gave Ferrell a chance to respond. Civil rights leader have praised the police for quickly filing charg es. Ferrell’s family said the 24-year-old moved to Charlotte about a (Continued On Page 15) Prison sentence sought for Kwame Kilpatrick’s dad DETROIT (AP) - Federal prosecutors are recommending prison next week for the father of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Bernard Kilpatrick was convicted of a single tax crime by the same jury that convicted his son and contractor Bobby Ferguson of more serious crimes. The government is asking for a sentence of somewhere from 27 to 33 months. Bernard Kilpatrick was charged with racketeering conspiracy, but the jury couldn’t reach a verdict. He was acquitted of attempt ed extortion. Nonetheless, the government says there’s evidence to show the 72-year-old Bernard Kilpatrick worked closely with Kwame Kilpatrick to strong-arm people who wanted city work. The government says Bernard Kilpatrick made cash deposits of $605,000 during that period. Kilpatrick’s lawyer says he was a legitimate consultant. Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison. Wilder endorsing Democrat McAuliffe for Va gov RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Former Gov. Doug Wilder is endors ing Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial race. The nation’s first elected black governor tells The Associated Press he believes McAuliffe is the most inclusive and forward- looking of the candidates in the nation’s only competitive gover nor’s race. He also says that McAuliffe’s lack of state government experience may serve him well by freeing him to view govern ment in fresh ways. The endorsement came as a fresh Quinnipiac University poll showed McAuliffe leading Republican Ken Cuccinelli by 8 per centage points 26 days before election day in the swing state. Wilder says the next governor will inherit a well-managed state from exiting Republican Gov. Bob McDonnel. But he cautions that it’s never too late for those seeking the office to immerse themselves in details of Virginia’s budget.
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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