Police hold an entire city in a State of Siege - scare one, scare all (enough to leave) and Whirlpool gets their golf course/environmental disaster!
A Benton Township man and his 70 year old mother face up to two years in jail for FALSELY being charged with resisting and obstructing police during a fire at their home.
A Berrien County jury took less than 90 minutes to find them guilty. Floyd Wade Jr., a next door neighbor told the jury that L.D. Fuse was only standing in the yard when police used a taser weapon to disable him. "I did not see him do anything wrong," Wade said. "He was just standing when the officer shot him." Wade testified that he was standing 6 to 7 feet from Fuse when police tasered him. Wade said Laura Fuse screamed, "You shot my baby." When her son was disabled, she became hysterical.
Timothy Kopaceski testified that he lives two blocks from the Fuse home. He, his wife Stephanie, and their two children heard the commotion and walked over. Kopaceski said he saw Fuse on the ground after being stunned by police, trying to get up. He said police administered a second jolt and an officer picked up Laura Fuse, manhandling her as he moved her to a police car. Stephanie Kopaceski testified she also saw Fuse on the ground and patrolman Scott Igert should "pay the price" for the way he treated a 70 year old woman. The jury found the Fuse family guilty - They were motivated by something other than the truth... but we're aware of problems with the Berrien jury system...
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Police brutality and profiling are severe only to the extent that county powers permit. Whirlpool Corp., the Berrien County administration, court system, and media (mainly the Herald Palladium) have colluded to create the various over-the-top abusive law enforcement agencies which have been in operation for decades here.
Benton Harbor police officer Andrew Collins is on trial for aggravated assault and disturbing the peace at Vickie's Sandbar, St. Joseph, MI. Collins is charged with assaulting Richard Imler, a bar bouncer who suffered a fractured skull when he was kicked, punched, and knocked to the ground. Collins is also being investigated for failure to follow protocol and failure to turn in drugs which were found in his possession. He has a long history of planting drugs on people, in cars, etc.
Benton Harbor police Chief Al Mingo should be held accountable for Officer Collin's actions. Collins once filed a false police report, was caught, and given 30 days off work without pay. He threatened to go public with the illegal activities of the BH police dept. and county court system. Mingo immediately took back the 30 days and gave Collins only five days. Where is the U.S. Dept. of Justice?
Benton Harbor: 94% black with police dept. 87% white. Black genocide from the cradle to the grave. Black life is at risk. The blue print for how the systematic killing of African-Americans is being carried out in BH is not invisible.
Addendum - A ray of justice: Collins resigned from the BH Police Dept. on Wed. (3/5/08), found guilty of assault and battery in Berrien County trial court on Friday. Collins also is the subject of an "internal investigation" in the dept. The state police and FBI should be called in to investigate not only Collins but Chief Mingo and the entire dept.
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Berrien County Jail is known for violating inmates constitutional rights
INCREDIBLE, UNBELIEVABLE CONDITIONS:
personal humiliation and intimidation
no tissue
no soap
no writing paper
50 degree cells
infected with disease
inedible food (25 cents spent per serving)
$10 per week 13" TV rental but turned on/off at will by deputy with no money back
$12 to get booked into jail (you pay them to arrest you)
fifteen second doctor visit is $25
overcrowded
allowed change of clothes once a week - inmates sleep in daytime clothing
all mail inspected including attorney correspondence
an inmate gets one small soiled towel and one soiled sheet
$43/day to stay there
phone calls all recorded and cost triple the normal amounts
The county and phone company have formed a monopoly so the inmates can be charged extra money and a super high rate. Rev. Pinkney has lost sixteen pounds so far.
Prisoner Rights:
http://www.schr.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoners'_rights
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/criminal_help/prisoners.html
We wait for newspapers, TV, and radio to do the right thing.
Not to mention Gov. "if you vote for me, Whirlpool, I'll get you that golf course" Granholm.
checks to BANCO for heroic whistleblower Pinkney's legal fees:
BANCO
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
FREE PINKNEY
