Chicago holiday shooting -19 wounded - 1 dead, so far

Chicago holiday shooting -19 wounded - 1 dead, so far

https://crimeshop.org/2016/11/25/chicago-holiday-shooting-19-wounded-1-dead-so-far/

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Chicago, IL 17 dead, 42 wounded

Chicago,  IL 17 dead, 42 wounded

https://crimeshop.org/2016/11/01/chicago-il-17-dead-42-wounded-halloween-weekend-violence/

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Deal to end mass incarceration in the United States

An end to mass incarceration in the United States

When the call for an end to mass incarceration doesn’t make sense.

As of right now Chicago has experienced, 489 shootings for the month of August, 84 have been ruled homicides.

This brings the number of shootings in Chicago this year to 2,858.

This weekend just so happens to be a holiday weekend which tend to prove pretty deadly in Chicago. Chicago is 142 shootings away from hitting 3,000 shootings this year.

That’s not a lot when you look at the first 10 days of the year, Chicago experienced 120 shootings. That was winter and this is summer, more people and guns are out.

Dwyane Wade’s cousin, Nykea Aldridge was gunned down in cold blood on Friday afternoon while pushing her baby in a stroller. Dwyane Wade happens to be a guard for the Chicago Bulls, his dream come true was to play for the Chicago Bulls, he is from Chicago.

Now a beloved member of his family was murdered because she ended up in the crossfire of gang members who wanted to shoot someone else.

So forget gun laws, they are not working in Chicago, gang members don’t purchase guns legally anyway. What about the existing criminal laws on the books that are clearly not enforced?

Laws that could have prevented Nykea’s murder.

The two men arrested for Nykea’s murder were according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, out on parole, not probation, parole, one of the two was out on parole on an existing gun charge.

Darwin and Darren Sorrells have multiple priors and don’t really seem to give a shit about things like the law, life, women, children, nothing.

Had Chicago’s judicial system actually enforced the current laws and sentenced each according to the crimes they had committed prior, neither of these men would have been out of prison and would never have had the opportunity to murder Nykea or anyone for that matter.

In a day and age where I hear non-stop talk about mass incarceration, I have to wonder are we honestly seeing the whole picture? Yes, great we get some stories where a petty marijuana dealer who received a rather long sentence, but is that the entire story?  Are we asking for the right thing clearly or is it to generalized?

In truth we do not truly have a mass incarceration issue within the prison system. Our prison systems are not loaded with your typical stoner, hippies or petty shoplifters, the mentally ill, and pretty much basically non-violent drug offenders.

Darwin Sorrells had been sentenced to 6 years in prison in back in January 2013 on a gun charge and he was released early on parole.

Derren Sorrells is a known gang member who also happens to be on parole for motor vehicle theft and escape. He absconded from justice, hence the escape charge?!?!?

Early release and parole for two men who more than showed the legal system they had absolutely no intention of abiding by the law let alone the rules of parole.

When are we going to learn that the while the judicial system is unfair to some, to others it is too lenient.

Repeat offenders and violent offenders should have no early release and no good time. In fact they should be sentenced more accordingly to the crimes they have committed. Violent offenders should never be afforded any graces.

I dated a former violent offender once, I didn’t know it at the time but I can tell you this firsthand, they are great at manipulating and telling counselors, therapists, parole officers, prison guards and family members just what they need too, so that they can fly right under the radar yet continue to commit crimes without the benefit of getting caught.

Don’t ever kid yourself into thinking the majority of these guys will reform, they won’t, they do not want to change. Given the opportunity to continue with the behavior that landed them in prison, they will continue to break the law.  

For most violent offenders they have no regard for any law whatsoever.

Confusion comes into play when looking at the numbers for the so called mass incarcerated because people more often than not don’t truly understand the difference between jail and prison.

They are in fact, believe it or not different by definition. The two biggest differences are, length of stay and jail’s are typically run by local law enforcement agencies.

So you can have misdemeanor offenders, felons and federal prisoners all housed in the same jail at the same time for different types of charges. They can be already sentenced or awaiting bail or a court date.

Some states will keep a felon in jail rather than transport the prisoner to prison if the felon’s sentence is a year or less. Some might keep the them longer or for less time. It depends on the state.

In quite a few cases a prisoner in jail will be charged with a felony then the DA will bargain the charges down so someone just lost his job, his home etc while awaiting a court date because he couldn’t bond out. Which by the way happens to be a judicial system problem.

Because of the confusion of where a prisoner is housed and the type of crime committed, I believe that many individuals including the media are vastly confused over the idea of mass incarceration. I too often hear the media refer to jail as prison. It’s not and the media should not refer to a jail as a prison.

According to Fordham University School of Law, professor John Pfaff, who studied the 1980’s-2000’s, he learned that more than half of the extra or added prisoners were in fact violent offenders.

He says that of that “only about a 5th of prison inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses, only a sliver of those are in for marijuana. While many of these incarcerated drug offenders have prior convictions for violent crimes. The median state prisoner serves roughly 2 years before being released; 3 quarters are released within roughly 6 years.”

The other key issue is repeat offenders, sometimes while out on bail an offender will be charged with another crime and if the court does not see the newer crime they simply cannot sentence someone accordingly.

Sometimes a court will know about it and choose not to “deal” with it hoping another judge will see it and do something about, sometimes they don’t even care if the other judge will “deal” with it.

Mass incarceration though, the numbers that everyone continues to toss out, the stories, none of that speaks the truth.

When we talk about things like mass incarceration, we have to draw a distinctly clear line for our elected leaders so that they can understand what we are talking about.

Are we saying that we feel too many people are arrested for laws on the books that no longer make sense like laws with regards to marijuana or are we talking about crimes that are violent in nature?

Are we talking about Betty who didn’t pay her traffic fine, court costs or the like who was arrested and thrown in jail for a week or two and ended up losing her job and still can’t pay the fines?

Are we talking about someone who was arrested for the 4th time on a DUI charge in a state that doesn’t charge a 4th time offender as a felon and couldn’t post bail?

Are we talking about someone who was picked up for being a public nuisance while intoxicated, jailed for a few days because they couldn’t post bond then fined beyond their means, and sentenced to classes they really don’t need?

The point is, we need to clear up what it is we are asking for and expect in return, you can’t just toss something out like “end mass incarceration” and expect a result, it doesn’t work that way.

When I look at cases like the Sorrells brother’s who murdered an innocent bystander, her murder was absolutely preventable if they had been appropriately sentenced and not out on parole.

Mass incarceration means different things to different people, it means different things for different reasons and on different levels. 

We must be clear about what it is we want from our Government. 

Mass incarceration is not the bigger issue, judicial reform is. Holding non-violent offenders without bond for a charge that will be plea bargained down anyway is cruel and punishment enough.  

Allowing two violent offenders out early without having had half a chance to pay for the crimes they committed is a call for Judicial Reform at all levels.  

Cristal M Clark

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Son of Chicago Police Officer Murdered

Son of Chicago Police Officer murdered

Chicago, where the killing never stops

On 8/15/16 - 7 activists joined together in an effort to protest the murder of innocent 19 year old Arshell Dennis, son of a Chicago police officer.

A young African American man who had a promising future, he had everything to live for and did nothing that warranted his murder on this past Sunday in Chicago.

He came home for a few days to surprise his sick mother for her birthday. It’s been reported by local media that at the news of her son’s death, her screams could be heard echoing down the block.  

While this made the news all over, what didn’t make the news was the protest, except for local media outlets in Chicago, large networks failed to cover the story endlessly and with as much drama and gusto as they do when they cover a protest that involved a police officer shooting someone, moreover a white police officer who has shot an African American. Which shows just how  those networks truly practice in the art of fair and unbiased reporting.

I believe it is very much worth our attention because the 7 activists that gathered are activists who also protest police misconduct and brutality. Guess that's what made it less of a newsworthy story to the more major national media outlets. 

According to activist activist Ja'Mal Green "This young man was taken supposedly by our own, and we're going to stand up for Arshell, we want this killer to be brought in so that we can have justice, because Arshell didn't deserve this. Nineteen years old. Nineteen."

Ja'Mal was arrested last month by the way, during a protest about recent police shootings, he was charged with hitting an officer.

Ja’Mal and the other 6 protesters get it, they truly get that all black lives matter, regardless of who pulled the trigger.

The activists met at the corner of where Arshell was murdered on Sunday morning. Arshell was heading back to college at St. Johns University in New York where he was in his junior year studying journalism.

A gunman approached Arshell and his friend as they sat on the front porch of a residence and opened fire, police officials said. The friend, who is 20, was shot in the arm and side.

On Monday, the activists expressed their support for the family of Arshell, and told reporters that they condemn violence against police officers and their families.  

Michael Davis, the local block club president and member of the Wrightwood Improvement Association told local reporters "We want to let people know that this is not the new normal. That our community is not taking this lying down."

He went on to say "In the wake of what's going on today in Minneapolis and other cities where we see police shootings and riots, we want people to know that we protest peacefully, for both situations that involve police and that involve criminals. It doesn't matter to us which."

The Black Lives Matter Movement as a whole should be standing in solidarity with these 7 individuals who not only protest what they feel is police bias and brutality against black Americans, but also the murder, shooting and brutality by their own against each other.

The number of shootings in Chicago went up this week from last week by the way, we are sitting at 2,677 shootings for the year. 121 people have been shot in Chicago within the last 8 days.

Stand together against against the 2,677 people who have been shot in Chicago this year most of which were shot by their own or the White Supremacist who on Tuesday night, thought that it would a good idea to stab a black man in Olympia, Washington in some crusade against Black Lives Matter to avenge police…

So although these 7 individuals did not gain national, non-stop media coverage for their efforts.. I paid attention and I applaud these 7 individuals who are leading by example by not only protesting what they consider police bias and brutality but, also protesting the killing of an innocent young African American Man by one of his own.

Cristal M Clark

IOS users can find The Crime Shop on Apple News

@thecrimeshop

2,556 people have been shot in Chicago

2,556 people have been shot in Chicago

So far this year

Yes you read that right, 2,556 individuals have been shot in Chicago so far this year.

Out of that, 2,166 were shot and wounded, the other 390 individuals are dead.

Chicago crossed the 2,000 point back in June. The July 4th weekend started off with a bang, 62 wounded and 4 were killed.

On Monday of this week alone 9 were shot and killed while 13 others were wounded.

Police have stated over and over again the violence in Chicago is attributed to feuding gangs and sadly a lot of the violence is being brought about by the citizens of Chicago, not the police.

For the month of August alone, to date Chicago has had 137 shootings.

So while our Administration and the Black Lives Matter movement are calling for change because they seem to feel that police do not value “Black Lives,” they are ignoring the staggering amount of shootings in Chicago. Many of the victims by the way are not white.

Are we picking and choosing which Black Lives Matter or is it that the Black Lives in Chicago simply do not matter?

The President recently commented with regards to officer involved shootings of young black men “all Americans should be troubled…” He also said “To be concerned about these issues is not political correctness. It’s just being an American.”

Is Chicago no longer part of America because being an American, I am deeply concerned that our administration is turning a blind eye to the rising violence in Chicago.

Do Black Lives only matter if it’s a cop pulling the trigger?

or

Do Black Lives only matter when they can be labeled as racism or bias at the hands of white cops?

The impression that I am getting from Obama, Washington, Congress and the Black Lives Matter movement is that they are picking when and where black lives really matter and it's not Chicago.

That translates pretty loudly to Black Lives Matter only if it's a cop who pulled the trigger but not another black citizen, or gang member. And fuck Chicago.

The senseless crime committed against blacks in Chicago not to mention the loss of black lives in Chicago has been so blatantly ignored by the Black Lives Matter Movement as well as in Washington both by Congress and President Obama that it’s quite frankly, sickening.

Stop preaching about officer involved shootings of young black men while you sit back and watch them get killed every day in Chicago by individuals who aren’t cops.

Instead, take the time to help pull Chicago together again. You know the state that has encountered the 2,556 shootings this year…

Cristal M Clark

@thecrimeshop

IOS users can find The Crime Shop on Apple News

If you want to see the stats daily with regards to shootings in Chicago check out http://heyjackass.com/ these guys keep a great running toll of the situation.

Department of Justice enacting national policing reforms

Department of Justice enacting national policing reforms

Is that the answer we need?

Some are asking for it, some say we don’t need and somewhere in the middle of the argument is the DOJ.

It is not as easy or timely as one might think. We live in an age where we want instant gratification and when we sit back and look at cases of police misconduct we tend to become frustrated that the process is taking too long.

In the wake of officer Brendan O’Brien’s suicide, the Oakland, CA Police Bureau has been rocked by a scandal involving Brendan and several of its officers as well as neighboring police agencies.

Oakland by the way is currently and has been under a consent to decree for 13 years which is costly, but it imposes court oversight of reforms. Oakland was once considered one of the most corrupt police departments in the country.

The city of Oakland, CA has spent more than $13 million to pay for officer monitoring, equipment like body cameras, court fee’s, auditors and training.

Yes you read that right the city paid for it, meaning it was paid for by taxpayer dollars.

It works and then it doesn’t work as Oakland has shown us with it’s most recent scandal. While policing in the city has improved, for instance use of force has dropped significantly, clearly sexual misconduct somehow slipped through the cracks. Still however, according to some the reforms flopped.

According to the Guardian as I type this 586 individuals have been shot and killed by police in 2016 in the United States. Not all of them are black.

If we look at Chicago, over 100 people showed up at Truman College on Tuesday to share stories of shootings, beatings and even robberies by officers of the Chicago Police Department. The are begging the Justice Department to do something about the abuse by the Chicago Police.

Some of the people asking for help would describe the police in Chicago as ruthless killers, mobsters and predators.

Yet when we look at Chicago as a whole, it is riddled with crime that seems to run out of control at times. In some cases it is easy to understand why the police might overreact and shoot someone, however when you hear stories like Theodore Daffin’s you wonder.

Theodore's run in with police left him with a deep scar in the shape of a vagina that was cut into his belly, by police.

Other stories reveal that people were shot and killed simply for opening the door to police.

But investigations like these that are conducted by the DOJ could take months if not years to conclude, then if the DOJ has enough evidence to prove systematic civil rights violations to take the Chicago Police Department to court, well it would take even more time in terms of years before anyone saw any type of reform within the police department.

Again, it would be costly as well.

So that begs the question, should the DOJ enact national police reforms which would affect all of our nation’s police departments?

IF you said yes, riddle me this, is the DOJ even capable of doing that?

Right now it takes years just for the DOJ to do it’s job and that is simply just not good enough.

The other part of that when I look at places like Chicago, I have to stop and wonder, why did it take the DOJ this long to get involved? Seeing over 100 people who managed to travel in sweltering heat to show up and tell stories of abuse at the hands of Chicago police, it amazes me that these individuals were not heard sooner.

Then, I wonder why they weren’t heard before Tuesday. Why did it take so long for anyone to hear these people?

National reforms are a good idea but not a well thought out idea because not all police agencies are a problem. Not all police within a department are a problem. Not even racial bias is always a problem with departments, but other issues of police misconduct are.

Then we have departments that seem to be able to walk on water, they may not always be able to solve the case but they try, they are not abusing criminals or law abiding citizens.

One place to start would be getting the DOJ involved sooner. The big question is, does the DOJ have the staff or time to handle getting on board sooner rather than waiting until over 100 people show up after years of systematic abuse at the hands of a police department?

Another really good place to start, begin isolating departments that tend to show racial bias more than other departments, which is really quite simple when it comes down to it.

Besides, most legal experts agree that a national reform plan is highly unlikely because it would have no political will.

One thing a lot of people may not know or understand is that a large part of the DOJ’s budget goes to the War on Drugs through the Bureau of Prisons and the FBI. That means only a small fraction of it goes to investigations of police misconduct.

Changing the budget for the DOJ requires action from Congress to re-appropriate funds. Congress isn’t doing a lot in terms of action right now in case anyone hasn’t noticed.

Some would argue that the bigger issues are:

Politics, in that our nation's politics do not have a strong enough commitment to its public as of today. And we unfortunately need them in order to make changes with things like police reform.

And the biggest issue of all, many would argue is that large amounts of money designated to fight the war on drugs have allowed police departments to militarize and become more aggressive in their approach.

Ahh but another solution does exist and it's one that a lot of people are eyeing as a possible solution .

The DOJ could make some of the grants offered to police departments contingent upon departments being in compliance with the Civil Rights Act as well as other Federal laws…

Here is a small break down of what some of that looks like:

Since around 94 the DOJ has allotted something like $15 Billion to police departments around the country in community oriented policing service grants. And that my friends, well it’s just one of the types of grants the DOJ offers to police departments.

The DOJ says that in 2015 the Chicago police department received over $3.1 million just to hire 25 new officers.

The Chicago police department has received at least, a cool $5 million in grants from 2007-2013.

No one likes to talk about it but the threat to take that kind of money away from police departments might just help resolve a lot of issues with police misconduct.

That would certainly entice Chicago to clean up much faster than the DOJ’s ongoing investigation will.

In Oakland even with the consent to decree, the department was able to keep its internal investigation of sexual misconduct from the court ordered auditor for months. I wrote about it before if you missed it.

By withholding Federal funds from police agencies and departments rife with problems, it would bring about the much needed change many are calling for in certain communities.

Taking that money or the possibility of the ability to even qualify for a grant would hurt police departments and it would in turn force them to act much more quickly to reform than the DOJ’s investigation and possible outcome.

In order to do even that however, well we’d need politics, and right now the political will to change things is pretty much stalled out somewhere.

Maybe someone playing Pokémon Go can manage to find our political leaders political will somewhere along the way???

Our answer is that we need our nation’s political leaders to find the political will it needs to make the right kinds of changes instead of just play around and not give a shit.

We can go about this the long way or the short way. It’s taking money away from departments who are problems or letting the DOJ have years to investigate then wait even more years and years to see change.

As much as I hate to admit this again, but this is yet another reason voters are swinging towards Trump. In business if you don’t take swift action it can be costly, business leaders don’t wait they act.

Political leaders, they tend not to act quickly enough. They have the wait and see approach when instead they should be reciting “Founded on the Principles of Right,” until it sinks in and they get it.

Sadly, this is another time where we have to ask our leaders if they are even listening and then if they hear the words we are speaking?

Cristal M Clark

@thecrimeshop

https://crimeshop.wordpress.com

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