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Ezell Ford

 

African-American communities throughout the country have long been plagued by police brutality. The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Ezell Ford (pictured) last year reignited a discussion about the relationship between police officials and the communities they serve. In an effort to address the national issue, President Barack Obama created the “Task Force on 21st Century Policing” to find ways that will help to strengthen community policing and trust among law enforcement officers and the communities they serve through an open dialogue. During the opening session of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing earlier this week, police leaders shared that they believe there isn’t anything wrong with the way that they are conducting themselves. The police officials in the meeting said that it was the people within local communities that need to change. “We all have the same responsibility toward society. I don’t think a police officer should be held to any kind of a higher standard,” said Chuck Canterbury, President of Fraternal Order of Police. “But we should take the lead and we should work with the communities to help build that trust.” He also stated that there is a subculture in American society that glorifies violence and disrespect toward the police. Other police leaders that spoke to the panel echoed his sentiments. Read more.


LAPD Police Chief Refuses to Fire Cops Who Killed Ezell Ford

It’s been almost half a year since Ezell Ford was killed after being shot by LAPD officers, and local activists in the South Los Angeles community are still fighting for justice. The leaders of #BlackLivesMatter recently met with Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, demanding that the two officers that were responsible for Ford’s death be fired. Beck refused to grant their request but said that he would make sure that his team is more respectful of the demonstrators that hold protests outside of the police headquarters in downtown L.A. “We will be here until we win,” said #BlackLivesMatter leader and chairwoman of Pan African Studies at Cal State L.A. Melina Abdullah. “We will get justice for Ezell Ford.”According to the protestors, Beck said that the shooting investigation wouldn’t be complete until the spring of this year. Read more.


Rosie Perez Leaves ‘The View’

Many people were ecstatic when they heard that Rosie Perez was joining “The View,” because the outspoken, Brooklyn-bred actress seemed like the perfect fit. However, her time on the show has been short-lived. After only four months, Perez will be leaving the ABC talk show. Perez took off the entire month of January so that she could focus on playing a role in Broadway’s “Fish in the Dark.” Although she originally had planned to return to the show, she has decided not to come back. Although Perez greeted viewers every day with a smile on the show, things weren’t reportedly going well behind the scenes: Perez supposedly got in to a heated argument with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell last year. Read more.

Police Officials Blame Brutality Issues on Local Communities  was originally published on newsone.com