Mediaboss Marketing

DINWIDDIE A Circuit Court judge has denied a defense request to hold the body of the man who died earlier this month at Central State Hospital while in custody of Henrico County deputies, saying that a corpse is not a T-shirt" or something else that can be easily stored.

The request came Wednesday morning during a bond hearing for Kaiyel Dajour Sanders, who was in charge of the detail that transported Irvo Otieno to Central State on March 6 and who the prosecution called the most culpable of the 10 people facing second-degree murder charges. Otieno died shortly after arrival at CSH after seven deputies and three CSH security guards held down, and in some instances, lay across Otieno on the floor of the hospital administration area. The prosecution says Otieno was smothered under the weight of the people holding him down.

Otieno, a 28-year-old Kenya native living with his mother in Henrico County, was an aspiring writer, musician and singer who also had been dealing with mental-health issues for several years. At the time he was taken into custody over possible involvement in a neighborhood burglary until his death at the hospital three days later, Otieno was in a mental crisis and appeared in videos to be very lethargic and out of touch with reality. Deputies said they had to restrain him after becoming combative at the hospital, a claim the prosecution and his family refute.

Circuit Judge Joseph Teefey seemed somewhat perplexed after co-counsel Torrey Williams asked for a motion to preserve the evidence in the commonwealths case, which essentially was Otienos body. His remains currently are at the state medical examiners office in Richmond, and the ME has said it could be 10-12 weeks before a final report is issued.

Williams asked for the body to remain in the ME custody until they could get their own certified medical examiner to do an independent autopsy. Teefey repeatedly asked Williams what evidence he had to warrant such a motion, and Williams said it was concern driving the motion that not all of the commonwealths evidence was going to be available this early in the case process.

When you start with concern, youre heading down the road to speculation, the judge said. What evidence do you have?

None, Williams said.

Teefey was not finished. He asked if Williams had reached out to anyone yet to perform the independent autopsy, to which Williams replied he had not.

Teefey suggested that the defense quickly get someone with similar credentials as the states coroner to observe the autopsy process. He was, however, not going to order Otienos body not be released to his family for burial just because of speculation.

Quite frankly, were not talking about a T-shirt or a vial of blood, Teefey said. Were talking about the dignity of the human body. Im going to deny your motion.

The preservation motion was made after Teefey set Sanders bond at $25,000 when Commonwealths Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill called him the most culpable, the most responsible defendant in Otienos death because not only was he in charge of the detail at CSH but he also was the one who restrained Otieno the most of any of the deputies there, and spent most of the 12-minute restraining period holding Otienos head and upper body down. He also was the deputy seen in CSH surveillance footage feeling Otienos neck for a pulse once the deputies removed themselves from him.

More:Surveillance video shows deputies, hospital workers pinning Irvo Otieno to the ground

The most emotional moments in all of the bond hearings came during Tabitha Renee Leveres appearance right after Sanders time in court. One of the three witnesses was a retired Henrico sheriffs employee who worked with Levere for 10 years and tearfully called her the kindest person I ever met.

Levere could be seen wiping her eyes during the hearing and on a couple of instances was given tissues by Baskervill.

One of Leveres neighbors called her our rock at their apartment community because she always looked after the elderly residents. Juliana Hester recalled how Levere dropped everything she was doing and rushed a neighbor to the hospital after he apparently had a stroke.

We all feel so much safer with her in the building, Hester said.

Baskervill contended that Levere was the least hands-on of the suspects. She can be seen in the surveillance video assisting a nurse in rolling Otieno over for an injection after everyone got off of him.

However, Baskervill said, Levere's lack of action in persuading her colleagues to stop the restraint contributed to the final outcome.

If any one person had shown emotional care or common sense for Mr. Otieno, hed still be here today, Baskervill said.

Baskervill said Levere had tried to speak to Otieno while he was at the jail, but she claimed he called her a bitch.

[Levere] realized he was not going to deal with females, either, the prosecutor said.

Teefey set Leveres bail at $5,000, the lowest amount of all 10 suspects in the case.

By Wednesday afternoon, all 10 of the defendants had been granted bond. With the exception of Sanders and Levere, all of them were either $10,000 or $15,000, and all came with the stipulation that no one attempted to contact a co-defendant or have anything to do with anyone in the case for the duration.

Other defendants in the case are deputies Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; and Brandon Edward Rodgers, 48; and CSH security guards Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg, Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield, and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.

All 10 were indicted Tuesday by a Dinwiddie grand jury on the charges.

More:Mother of Irvo Otieno 'happy' with indictments of deputies, hospital staff charged in his death

Otienos family attorneys announced Wednesday that Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at Otienos as-yet unscheduled memorial service. While the exact date and time are unknown, the location will be in First Baptist Church of South Richmonds Chesterfield annex.

Sharpton is founder and president of the New York-based National Action Network, a civil-rights advocacy organization. Sharpton has been a prominent figure in recent high-profile cases involving the deaths of Black men and women across the nation.

Family co-counsel Ben Crump said the time and date of the service should be announced within the next few days.

More:Civil rights leader Al Sharpton to deliver eulogy for Irvo Otieno who died at mental health hospital

Meanwhile, the Dinwiddie County chapter of the Virginia NAACP has become the latest to weigh in on the events of March 6 at Central State.

Chapter president Betty Brown said in a statement that the group stands in solidarity with the Otieno family in seeking justice for those responsible for his death.

It is imperative that law enforcement officers are trained in crisis intervention when they encounter an individual with mental health issues until certified Behavioral Health personnel arrive on the scene, Brown wrote.

Earlier Wednesday, the chair of the Dinwiddie Board of Supervisors, Mark Moore, issued a statement also condemning the actions at the hospital and waited to reiterate that no one in the Dinwiddie County sheriffs office was involved in Otienos death.

More:Dinwiddie judge denies defense motion for gag order in Irvo Otieno murder case

More:Commonwealth's attorney Baskervill on charges against deputies: To refrain from acting would be a breach of duty

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

See the original post here:
Dinwiddie judge denies defense motion to hold body of mental patient - Progress Index

Leading the push for a Virginia-based FBI are the states two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Warner, in discussing the ferocious debate, referred to Hoyer in the practiced and professional tones of a heavyweight rival in a boxing match with thousands of jobs on the line.

Ive got great respect for Mr. Hoyer, and Im anxious that the process proceed, Warner said. Weve got criteria, we made our last and best final offers last week and I feel good about where Virginia stands.

Rep. Steny Hoyers (D-Md.) home-state passion is being put to use in the battle over the location of the next FBI headquarters.|Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

The FBI headquarters face-off has stoked fierce divisions among two congressional delegations that interact more than nearly every other pair of states, excepting the Dakotas or Carolinas. Yet its not the only fresh fault line between Virginia and Maryland, whose Democratic senators split over disapproving a progressive D.C. crime law, with the former duo backing the rollback and the latter backing the D.C. Council.

Then, of course, there are the standard tension points: bragging rights over the Chesapeakes famous blue crab and football (the Virginia Cavaliers are set to take on the Maryland Terrapins this fall).

The FBI battle has dramatically intensified recently, ever since Marylanders learned that Virginia would have at least one leg up in the process. Thats because the agency leading the headquarters hunt, the General Services Administration, plans to weigh the two sites proximity to the FBI academy in Quantico, Va., as a larger part of its overall decision.

This goes beyond a rivalry, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). This is about the mission of the FBI and getting the taxpayers the best deal. But Van Hollen made one point clear: The oyster wars, that was part of our longstanding rivalry. Just for the record, Maryland won the oyster wars.

Members of the two Senate delegations, all of them Democrats, insist though that they agree on more than they disagree, highlighting their work together on WMATA funding, H-2B visas and their support for federal employees.

Generally, were together more than not, said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). I have the utmost respect for my two colleagues from Virginia.

Still, the competition is stiff for the FBI building. Hoyer, the former House majority leader, is perhaps the most fervent FBI-to-Maryland booster of all. He recently drove to Virginias proposed headquarters site in Springfield, snapping cell phone photos to help make his case.

More than a decade after then-FBI director Robert Mueller first walked into his office to discuss the subject, Hoyer estimated in an interview that he spends about one-fifth of his time per week on the new headquarters. Hes worked with Wes Moore, Marylands rising-star governor, to deploy every possible resource on their states behalf, including personal pleas to Biden and the new White House chief of staff, Marylander Jeff Zients.

The Free States pitch is bolstered by the NAACP as well as civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, centered on a push for equity that Black community advocates say is critical for Prince Georges County and for Bidens own reelection.

And that pressure campaign has infuriated many Virginians, some of whom have quietly gone to the White House themselves with an entreaty to ignore it.

Things could soon get even nastier. Hoyer did not rule out flexing some of his power over the federal purse this fall if Marylands bid is rejected. He and Van Hollen are both the top Democrats on a spending panel that oversees funding for the very agency in charge of the headquarters search, the GSA.

I dont think wed go quietly into that dark night, Hoyer said when asked if he would try to influence the selection through his Appropriations Committee perch if Virginia wins. Van Hollen and I will still be where well be.

Virginians, though, insist they wouldnt let the FBI building clash derail another spending bill. The headquarters was one of the final hangups delaying passage of Decembers government funding deal, with Hoyer in particular refusing to yield until he secured new language that helped keep Marylands bid alive.

Marylands stance shocked the Virginians, including Warner, who ultimately went to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to help end the standoff. Schumer eventually reached a deal with the two delegations.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who represents the Springfield site, responded coolly to Hoyers suggestion that another spending bill could hang in the balance: Threats to retaliate against a professional decision made on the merits, I think, are unworthy of any senior member of Congress, and I hope will not work.

Connolly himself has plenty of experience with Beltway-state squabbling that, as he put it, goes back to King Charles. As a top official in Fairfax County, he once got embroiled in a lawsuit between the two states over the location of a drinking water pipe that went all the way to the Supreme Court which ultimately ruled for the Old Dominion.

He added that hes disappointed by the element of desperation in Marylands jockeying during the last few months, particularly its case for diversity and equity he pointed to the more than 100 languages spoken in Springfield.

Kaine, meanwhile, insisted that the fight for the FBI building is not an anomaly for the two states and described it as a friendly competition.

I dont view this as different than other instances where Maryland and Virginia have squared off, Kaine said. Virginia would love to have NIH. Virginia would love to have some of the intel agencies, the NSA in Maryland. Im sure Maryland would love to have some of the things that are in Virginia.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) insisted that the fight for the FBI building is not an anomaly for the two states and described it as a friendly competition.|John C. Clark/AP Photo

This time, however, the Hill is paying even more attention to the two states because theyre also home to two national political players in their respective parties: Moore and Glenn Youngkin, Virginias Republican governor.

Moore and Youngkin have been planning to sit down together after they both won in November, according to a person familiar with the discussions. In the meantime, Moore challenged Youngkin to a one-on-one pickup basketball game to determine the FBIs future hub. Youngkin did not formally respond, according to a person close to Moores office, though the Republican governor did tweet back: Game on! (Moore also accurately picked UVA to lose in the first upset of March Madness in his bracket. The Terps won the same day.)

While Virginia Democrats acknowledge its a bit awkward to root for handing Youngkin a big political win in the FBI building as he eyes a potential 2024 bid, they say a bipartisan approach is also critical. Kaine, Warner and Youngkin wrote a joint Washington Post op-ed on Thursday that made the case again for their state. And if Maryland makes any maneuvers in year-end spending bills, for instance, Youngkin could call on House GOP leaders to stop them.

Hoyer predicted Youngkin wouldnt hesitate to use a potential FBI win on the campaign trail, whether hes seeking his partys presidential nod or a different prize. Im sure he would, he said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are already looking ahead to what could be the next fight. The White House announced last week that Bidens new disease-fighting agency, ARPA-H, will house its headquarters in the D.C. metro area.

Its location will be chosen by GSA.

Read more:
Long-friendly neighbor states are in a bitter battle over the next FBI HQ - POLITICO

An Alabama pastor and voting rights activist, who is the half-brother of the Rev. Al Sharpton, pleaded guilty Friday to federal tax evasion, mail fraud, and drug conspiracy charges.Kenneth Glasgow of Dothan entered the plea in Montgomery federal court. The guilty plea avoided a trial that was scheduled to take place next month. He will be sentenced at a later date. Glasgow, the founder of The Ordinary People Society, is a well-known Alabama activist who has worked on the restoration of voting rights for former prisoners, prison reform and other issues. He has been a frequent critic of the state prison system and police in his hometown.Prosecutors said Glasgow admitted not paying income taxes on thousands of dollars he withdrew from the charities and also to claiming Social Security disability benefits by falsely claiming on mailed forms that he had trouble driving. Prosecutors said Glasgow received traffic citations between 2015 and 2020 relating to approximately 27 different traffic stops, all of which indicated that Glasgow was the driverGlasgow also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. Prosecutors in 2021 charged Glasgow and another man with the drug conspiracy charge. The U.S. attorney's office said in a press release that Glasgow faces up to 20 years in prison, along with substantial fines and restitution. Kenneth Glasgows actions not only endangered the community, but defrauded the American taxpayers, Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI said in a statement. His guilty plea should help to dissuade others from following this same path.Related stories:Alabama activist out on bond for capital murder jailed on 3 additional chargesAl Sharpton's half-brother arrested again while on bond

An Alabama pastor and voting rights activist, who is the half-brother of the Rev. Al Sharpton, pleaded guilty Friday to federal tax evasion, mail fraud, and drug conspiracy charges.

Kenneth Glasgow of Dothan entered the plea in Montgomery federal court. The guilty plea avoided a trial that was scheduled to take place next month. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Glasgow, the founder of The Ordinary People Society, is a well-known Alabama activist who has worked on the restoration of voting rights for former prisoners, prison reform and other issues. He has been a frequent critic of the state prison system and police in his hometown.

Prosecutors said Glasgow admitted not paying income taxes on thousands of dollars he withdrew from the charities and also to claiming Social Security disability benefits by falsely claiming on mailed forms that he had trouble driving. Prosecutors said Glasgow received traffic citations between 2015 and 2020 relating to approximately 27 different traffic stops, all of which indicated that Glasgow was the driver

Glasgow also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. Prosecutors in 2021 charged Glasgow and another man with the drug conspiracy charge.

The U.S. attorney's office said in a press release that Glasgow faces up to 20 years in prison, along with substantial fines and restitution.

Kenneth Glasgows actions not only endangered the community, but defrauded the American taxpayers, Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI said in a statement. His guilty plea should help to dissuade others from following this same path.

Related stories:

Alabama activist out on bond for capital murder jailed on 3 additional charges

Al Sharpton's half-brother arrested again while on bond

Visit link:
Al Sharpton's half-brother pleads guilty to federal charges ...

Rev. Al Sharpton stepped onto the national stage as an activist in 1980s New York City, a time of heightened racial tension in the Big Apple, and has become a nationwide voice in the social justice movement.

In the documentary Loudmouth, which premieres on BET before the NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 25, Sharpton, a Brooklyn native, recalled the simmering racial environment in New York City and around the country at that time.

In one incident that ignited a racial firestorm, Bernhard H. Goetz, the so-called subway vigilante, who is white, opened fire on four Black teenage boys in 1984 on a Manhattan train, partially paralyzing one of them. Goetz claimed self-defense because he believed he was going to be mugged when they asked him for $5. Three years later, a jury acquitted him of attempted murder.

In another high-profile incident, a mob of white teens wielding baseball bats chased a 23-year-old Black man, Michael Griffith, to his death on Dec. 20, 1986 in Howard Beach, Queens. The thugs, angered by seeing a Black man in their neighborhood, yelled the N-word at Griffith, who was struck by a car fleeing the mob.

Amid the boiling racial tension, Sharpton recalled that New York Mayor Ed Koch, a Democrat, used racist dog whistles, like the term Black poverty pimps, to appeal to some white voters.

Sharpton has given voice to our trauma and anger for decades showing no signs of slowing down as a younger generation of activists continue the struggle for racial justice and equality.

Over the years, hes mastered the tools of activism. Here are five lessons from his playbook revealed in the documentary.

Sharpton said in the story of the hunter and the lion, the hunter always wins. Why? Thats because the hunter writes the story. In the hunters narrative, the lion is always depicted as inferior and unworthy.

Translation: The system writes the story, which is always slanted. Everytime we come into a case the first thing we have to do is fight the wrong narrative, Sharpton says. They try to criminalize and demonize the victim.

Its one thing to orate about the evils of racism but another thing to shine a light on it, the preacher says. As a younger man, all the activists he studied emerged at a time when white people ignored complaints about injustice from Black leaders. So you had to be loud because you were not invited to address the public, he noted.

At the time of Griffiths death, the media largely ignored the case. Sharpton said he could have stayed at home and delivered speeches, but he decided that it would be more effective to go to Howard Beach and have folks there make the speech for him.

Understanding the power of capturing hatred on video, Sharpton drew news cameras to Howard Beach by leading a huge youth rally in the neighborhood. At the peaceful demonstration, Reporters interviewed angry Howard Beach residents who unabashedly spewed the N-word and said Black people are not welcomed in their community.

A jury convicted three white teenagers of manslaughter for Griffiths death after a tense three-months trial and 12 days of deliberations. The jury, which included just one Black person, also found them guilty of first-degree assault for beating another Black man, Cedric Sandiford, with a baseball bat that night.

It would have been easy to say mission accomplished, this victory changes everything, and go home.

But effective activists understand that theres a difference between moments and movements. You could have a good momentary victory without structural change in the criminal justice system, Sharpton admonishes.

Activists must learn how to expand support for social justice by navigating two widely held views that could stifle the movement.

Sharpton said white people often demand to know why he makes everything about race. At the same time, many Black people have asked him why hes leading marches because nothing is going to change, anyway.

Its somewhere between these two questions that Ive had to do a lot of my work in activism, the civil rights leader says.

Often, the public fixates on an individual incident and misses the underlying issue. Effective activism involves surfacing the systemic problem to bring about change.

Preachers learn to use biblical stories to highlight moral or ethical messages, Sharpton noted. He has applied that method to his social justice work. What happened to Griffith in Howard Beach is the story, but the issue is racial violence. Use the story to make the issue clear.

LOUDMOUTH premiers on Saturday, February 25 at 4:30 p.m on BET, BET Her, VH1 and will stream on BET+ following the "54th NAACP Image Awards". The film can also be seen on Showtime at a later date.

Continued here:
Loudmouth: 5 Lessons From Rev. Al Sharpton On How To Be An ...

The former couple met in the 70s, wed in the 80s and called it quits in 2004

Al Sharpton and his estranged wife Kathy Jordan have submitted legal docs to officially end their marriage, and the move comes 17 years after they separated.

Sharpton and Jordan met in the 70s, wed in the 80s and called it quits in 2004. The former couple just submitted divorce paperwork Thursday in NYC, TMZ reports. They share two adult daughters, Dominique and Ashley.

Read More: President Donald Trump calls Rev. Al Sharpton a racist in latest Twitter tirade

When Sharpton met Jordan, he was touring with James Brown and she was a backup singer. Since their split, the famous reverend has reportedly been linked with several women. In 2013, he began dating personal stylist Aisha McShaw, who noted on her website that she began her fashion journey as a stylist, styling housewives, corporate women, celebrities, and attending numerous red carpet events herself.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK OCTOBER 03: Rev. Al Sharpton with Aisha McShaw attend his 65th Birthday Celebration at New York Public Library Stephen A Schwartzman Building on October 03, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

McShaw debuted her ready-to-wear collection in 2017 during New York Fashion Week. She told Essence after her first show that, as a designer, shes coming into the game with something for all generations and something for every woman. Her debut line reportedly launched with 46 signature pieces.

Every woman wants to feel beautiful, confident and empowered. Thats my line. Its all about beauty and simplicity, McShaw said at the time.

During the Obama administration, McShaw attended multiple White House events with Sharpton. A 2016 Vanity Fair feature described her as the revs girlfriend of six years.

Read More: Al Sharptons daughter bags $95K settlement from NYC for sprained ankle case

The Daily News reported in 2013 that Sharpton was shocked by the criticism he received over his relationship with McShaw because he and Jordan had not filed for divorce. Sharptons aide, Rachel Noerdlinger, told the newspaper that His exact words to me were, Rachel, Im not announcing an engagement or a marriage. Dont I have a right to date when my marriage has been over for a decade?

Story continues

Its unclear if Jordan, the founder and president of the National Action Network, will be seeking spousal support, or how she and Sharptons estate will be split up.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast,Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Al Sharpton files for divorce from wife after 17 years of separation appeared first on TheGrio.

View post:
Al Sharpton files for divorce from wife after 17 years of ...