ILLUME 93 - NUMBER 30
fpCsBau!^^
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
‘Modified duty’ for medics
after fatal NYC arrest
By Verena Dobnik
NEW YORK (AP) - Four emergency workers involved in the medical response for a New York City
nan who died in police custody after being put in an apparent chokehold have been placed barred from
-esponding to 911 calls, the Fire Department ofNew York said.
The two EMTs and two paramedics removed from the city’s emergency response system are the latest
public safety workers to face reassignment as questions mount about Thursday’s death of Eric Garner,
two police officers - including the one who put his arm around Garner’s neck - have been put on desk
The medics’ modified duty restrictions will remain in effect pending an investigation into their actions,
fire department spokesman James Long said Sunday.
Video of the arrest shot by a bystander shows one officer wrap his arm around Garner’s neck as he
is taken to the ground - arrested for allegedly selling untaxed, loose cigarettes - while Garner shouts, “I
;an't breathe!”
THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA
Marvel unveils black Captain America
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ The new Captain America will be an African-American.
Marvel superhero Sam “The Falcon” Wilson will take over as the patriotic Avenger in an upcoming
installment of the long-running comic book series, Marvel Comics chief creative officer Joe Quesada said
July 16 during an appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”
Wilson first appeared as winged superhero Falcon in 1969 and was one of the first African-American
superheroes.
The change will come this November in “All-New Captain America” No. 1. The character was re
cently portrayed by actor Anthony Mackie in the film “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort said in a statement that former Captain America Steve Rogers
will be a mentor to Wilson as he takes on the new role.
“Steve’s spirit is as willing as ever, but his body is no longer up to the task of being Captain America,
so he’ll employ his skills as the new Cap’s remote strategic adviser,” Brevoort said. “He’ll also tutor Sam
in how to throw the shield, a skill that’s deceptively difficult for the new Cap to master.”
It’s not the first time an African-American character has portrayed Captain America in the comics.
Several characters have taken up the shield for Rogers over the 73-year-old history of the character,
including an African-American character named Isaiah Bradley in the 2003 series “Truth: Red, White,
and Black.”
Marvel has announced several superhero shake-ups this week, including that hammer-wielding Thor
will now be portrayed as a woman and Tony “Iron Man” Stark is relocating to San Francisco and releas
ing a new app.
Online:
http://marvel.com
The fire department disclosed
the medics’ reassignment after
a second video surfaced show
ing at least a half-dozen police
officers and emergency workers
circling a man who appears to
be Garner lying on the sidewalk,
handcuffed and unresponsive.
Long said placing the emer
gency workers on modified duty
- which includes a notice in their
state health department file that
they are not to respond to medi
cal calls - is department protocol
when questions arise about a
medical response and was not a
reaction to the post-arrest video.
The fire department said the
emergency workers are employ
ees of Richmond County Medi
cal Center, the Staten Island
hospital where Garner was taken
by ambulance and pronounced
dead. Authorities said the father
of six likely had a heart attack,
but more tests are needed to
determine the exact cause and
manner of his death.
A Richmond County Medical
Center spokeswoman did not im
mediately respond to messages.
Long said the fire department
took action against the hospital’s
emergency responders because it
oversees the city’s 911 system, a
patchwork of public and private
ly-operated emergency services.
The restrictions on the medi
cal personnel came a day after
the police department said it
reassigned Officer Daniel Pan-
taleo, the officer who used the
apparent chokehold on Garner,
and another unidentified officer
while prosecutors and internal
affairs detectives investigate.
Chokeholds are banned under
department policy.
The department said it
stripped Pantaleo, an eight-year
veteran of the force, of his gun
and badge.
Court records show that with
in the past two years, three men
sued Pantaleo in federal court
over allegedly unlawful, racially
motivated arrests. Pantaleo did
not return a telephone message.
Earlier Sunday, the Rev. Al
Sharpton demanded justice for
Garner and accountability from
citizens who attack police offi
cers during an appeal from the
pulpit at Manhattan’s Riverside
Church.
Garner was “choked by New
York City policemen,” the Har
lem preacher told the congrega
tion. “What bothers me is that
the nation watches a man say 'I
can’t breathe’ and the choking
continues, and police surround
him and none of them even say,
'Wait a minute, stop! He can’t
breathe!’”
MS. ALICE COACHMAN DAVIS
First black woman to win
Olympic gold dies in Georgia
President Obama hugs a young girl in the audience following his remarks on the economy at Sheesman Park,
Denver Colo. July 9. (Official white House photo by Pete Souza)
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - The first black woman to win an
Olympic gold medal, Alice Coachman Davis, died early
July 14 in south Georgia. She was 90.
Davis’ death was confirmed by her daughter, Evelyn
Jones.
Davis won Olympic gold in the high jump at the 1948
games in London with an American and Olympic record
of 1.68 meters (5.51 feet), according to USA Track and
Field, the American governing body of the sport. Davis
was inducted to the USA Track and Field Hall of fame in
1975, and was inducted to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
in 2004.
“Going into the USOC Hall of Fame is as good as it
gets,” she told The Associated Press in a 2004 interview.
“It’s like Cooperstown, Springfield and Canton,” she said,
referring to the sites of other prominent Halls of Fame.
Davis was the only American woman to win a gold
medal at the 1948 games. According to Olympic historian
David Wallechinsky, Coachman was honored with a 175-
mile motorcade in Georgia when she returned from Lon
don. However, the black and white audiences were segre
gated at her official ceremony in Albany.
Recollecting her career in the 2004 interview, Davis
speculated that she could have won even more Olympic
medals, but the Olympics weren’t held in 1940 or 1944
because of World War II. She retired at age 25 after win
ning the gold medal in London.
“I know I would have won in 1944, at least,” said Da
vis. “I was starting to peak then. It really feels good when
Old Glory is raised and the National Anthem is played.”
Davis attended Tuskegee University and also played
basketball on a team that won three straight conference
basketball titles. She won 25 national track and field cham
pionships - including 10 consecutive high jump titles - be
tween 1939 and 1948, according to USA Track and Field.
Growing up in the deep South during the era of segrega
tion, Davis had to overcome multiple challenges.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia says she was prohib
ited from using public sports facilities because of her race,
so she used whatever equipment she could cobble together
to practice her jumping.
“My dad did not want me to travel to Tuskegee and then
up north to the Nationals,” Davis told the AP. “He felt it
was too dangerous. Life was very different for African-
Americans at that time. But I came back and showed him
my medal and talked about all the things I saw. He and my
mom were very proud of me.”
Davis won her first national high jump title at age
16 according to USA Track and Field, and worked as a
school teacher and track coach after retiring. An elemen
tary school in her home town is named in her honor and
opened in August 1999 according to Dougherty County
schools officials.
Vera Williams, a secretary at Meadows Funeral Home
in Albany, said Meadows will be handling Davis’ memo
rial service, but plans haven’t been finalized yet. Davis’
cause of death was not immediately disclosed.