White Cop Resigns From Mt. Healthy Police Department After Alleging Racial Discrimination Against His Black Brothers In Arms

A white officer resigned recently from Mount Healthy's police department, calling it a “sinking ship infested with hatred and retaliation," according to a federal lawsuit filed by a black officer who was fired last year.

The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati points blame at Mount Healthy’s police chief, Vince Demasi, who took the helm of the small department in January 2015.

The unnamed officer resigned, the lawsuit says, because he “could no longer witness Chief Demasi discriminate and retaliate against African-American police officers."

Demasi declined to comment on the lawsuit because it is pending.

"What I will say is – we don’t discriminate, we don’t have discriminatory practices," he said. "We would never participate in that kind of conduct."

Mount Healthy City Manager Bill Kocher also declined to comment.

________________________________

The lawsuit, filed by Antwan Sparks, alleges the department retaliated against him after he made multiple complaints about racial discrimination he said he faced. It names the city as the defendant. It says Mount Healthy officials did not respond to Sparks' complaints.

Sparks is seeking to get his job back as well as unspecified monetary damages.

The lawsuit says the department’s leaders treated officers differently because of race and that black officers were disciplined for procedure or rule violations that did not lead to discipline for white officers.

_________________________________

The department is led by Demasi and two white sergeants, according to the lawsuit. Of the 16 officers under them in October 2015, three were black.

The city of 6,000 has about 2,000 black residents, according to U.S. Census figures.

An arbitrator in June ordered Mount Healthy to reinstate Sparks, but the department has not yet done that, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges Demasi, a former assistant police chief with the Cincinnati Police Department, expressed support for racially targeted policing. It says he told white festival attendees in May 2015 that he would "target African-American" youth for curfew violations since they "caused the problems in Mount Healthy."

Kocher said the lawsuit's allegations are being investigated, but no findings have been made.

"We take those things seriously," he said.

Lawsuit: No discipline until Demasi arrived

Sparks worked as a part-time officer for Lincoln Heights, left in 2013, and became an unpaid auxiliary part-time officer for Mount Healthy in January 2014, the lawsuit says.

He completed training and was promoted to paid part-time officer in February 2014. Sparks completed his one-year probationary period in February 2015.

The lawsuit says Sparks received no discipline before Demasi arrived in January 2015. About a week after Demasi arrived, however, the lawsuit says he extended Sparks probationary period, in violation of the union contract and the city’s employment manual. That was done, the lawsuit says, so that alleged infractions against Sparks could be used “as a basis to fail his probation.”

"Officer Sparks was treated fairly by Mount Healthy before Chief Demasi showed up," Sparks' attorney, Jennifer Branch, said in an interview.

In March 2015, Demasi, without explanation to Sparks, placed him on “no-duty” status, the lawsuit says. That meant he was not allowed to work as a police officer.

When Sparks missed a court hearing that same month because of his “no-duty” status, the lawsuit says, Demasi told a sergeant "to issue a written reprimand.” Sparks’ white partner, who also missed court the same day, did not receive a reprimand.

The lawsuit says the white officer missed three other court hearings the previous year. The department eventually did discipline the white officer – “but only after Officer Sparks complained he was being disciplined for missing court while other officers were not.”

Grievances filed

Sparks first tried to resolve the problems internally, filing grievances with the department and the city. Both were rejected, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges that on March 30, 2015, Demasi “stopped” Sparks at the police station when he was on his way to testify in court, making Sparks late. When he arrived at the courthouse, the case hadn’t been called. It eventually was dismissed when the accuser didn’t show up.

“Even though Officer Sparks arrived before his case was called, he received a written reprimand for failing to appear… at 9 a.m.," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Demasi’s recommendation to fail Sparks as a probationary employee, which effectively terminated his employment, happened after the city responded to Sparks’ discrimination claims.

Sparks challenged his firing through an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, saying the firing was discriminatory and retaliatory.

In January, an arbitrator ruled in Sparks’ favor, finding that he had successfully completed his one-year probationary period. The arbitrator ordered the city to reinstate Sparks.

As of Wednesday, Sparks had not been reinstated.

To Continue Reading Article, Please Click HERE to Be Redirected To www.cincinnati.com

Article Written By Kevin Grasha

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360 Carrollton, TX

Justin Belter Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

Jason Dickard Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

Portland Oregon Sued For $22 Million in Federal Court For Targeting Black Nightclub Owners

The lawsuit alleges Portland intentionally targeted black owned bars, 

including Exotica International Club For Men.

My Two Cents: I'm not surprised at reading this article. Black Owned businesses have always been targeted for harassment and closure in America since our founding days. Black People are fully aware of the dark history surrounding black owned business in white dominated America. We were never suppose to compete with white people. There is a telling documentary on YouTube called 'Black Wall Street' which goes deep into detail on this very issue. It takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1800's and a small black town that worked together to create thriving businesses that they all patronized and this small black town became the wealthiest black area in the entire country. 

What did the white side of town do? 

THEY BOMBED THE PLACE. KILLING THOUSANDS.

Laying waste to businesses and homes and churches. Black bodies were strewn everywhere. 

WHY DID THE WHITE PEOPLE DO THIS? 

Because they were ANGRY that SUCCESSFUL BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES WERE TAKING MARKET SHARE THEY FELT ENTITLED TO. 

They were losing money. Now these same black people were not allowed to EAT in their establishments and could only do business through the BACK DOOR. Never WELCOMED. But they were not allowed to have THEIR OWN BUSINESSES by which they could be WELCOMED. 

If you would like to watch the documentary 'Black Wall Street' (which should be mandatory for all African Americans because it gives an insight into the WHITE MIND and HOW THE WHITE MIND WORKS) you may do so below. The video has been posted for your viewing. 

The Article is Below the Video. 

BLACK WALL STREET

  

Portland Oregon Sued For $22 Million in Federal Court For Targeting Black Nightclub Owners

The way Donna Thames sees it, her former business in Northeast Portland was part of a proud tradition of social hubs that catered to black Portlanders.

"It was everything," says Thames. "It was the spot. It meant a lot to a lot of people. It was bigger than Cheers."

Thames says her business, Exotica International Club for Men, was a rare, black-owned strip club that enjoyed mostly African-American clientele and employees.

The way city and state officials saw it, Thames' business was dangerous. She was forced to close Exotica in 2015 after three men were wounded in a parking lot shooting.

Thames doesn't deny a shooting occurred on the club's property. Instead, she says city and state officials punished Exotica more harshly than nearby, white-owned businesses where violent crimes also took place.

Now, she's alleging in court that the government response was part of a pattern of Portland-area regulators cracking down on black-owned nightspots.

Thames is bringing a $22 million federal lawsuit against the agencies she says drove her from her business at the corner of Northeast Columbia and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards.

A 48-page complaint, filed Aug. 12 in U.S. District Court, claims the business was the latest victim of long-standing discrimination against African-American club owners by the city of Portland and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

"This case is about unconscionable, illegal conduct creating insurmountable obstacles to success of black club owners catering to black people and clubs offering entertainment and playing music appealing to black people," the complaint reads. "The city of Portland, working in partnership with state liquor authorities, has a long and shameful history of knowingly and intentionally targeting black clubs with all of their regulatory power in a concerted effort to drive the clubs out of business."

The Portland Police Bureau, the city's Office of Neighborhood Involvement, and Mayor Charlie Hales declined WW's requests to comment on the lawsuit, saying they do not comment on pending litigation.....

To Continue Reading Article, Please Click HERE To Be Redirected To Williamette Week, www.wweek.com

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360 Carrollton, TX

Justin Belter

Jason Dickard

Adams County School District Accused of Racial Discrimination Against Hispanic Parents, Staff

Adams County School District SUED for Discriminating Against Latino Parents, Staff

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- Two former administrators are suing the Adams County School District 14 claiming wrongful termination and discrimination based on their race.

The two former school employees say it was their job to help right the problems exposed by a federal Department of Education investigation into claims of systematic racial discrimination against parents, teachers and students in the district. But now both women claim the same system of discrimination left them unemployed.

Marisol Enriquez, a former human resources director for the school district, filed a lawsuit against the district Tuesday.

Her lawsuit came about one month after a similar lawsuit filed by Dr. Robyn Mondragon, the former Chief Academic and Equity Officer for the district.

A spokesperson for the Adams 14 school district said, “These cases are a part of ongoing litigation and therefore we can’t comment on them. However, what we can tell you, is that the district has always complied with all laws applicable to our work and we will vigorously defend the district and our board of education.”

Mondragon says the district pursued her in the months after the federal Office of Civil Rights report laid out numerous recommendations to improve its relationships with Latino staff, students and families.

“The parents felt like they were not welcome in the building. There was a separate lunch table that was assigned just for Spanish-speaking parents,” Mondragon told Denver7 Investigates. “I was pursued by the top executives … to come into Adams 14 and to support the district and really resolve the agreements to resolve. To bring some closure, to start the healing process and really move forward.”

Mondragon’s job involved investigating complaints of discrimination from staff and families. She said during that process she quickly learned the problems were deeper than she imagined.

“Once I'd start digging and asking questions absolutely every one of [the complaints] were valid,” Mondragon said. “It was incredibly alarming, it was like nothing I had ever seen.”

Mondragon claims the district’s now-former superintendent, Patrick Sanchez, encouraged her to change the findings of one of her investigations to make the administration look better...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE LAWSUIT AGAINST 

ADAMS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT! -> HERE

To Continue Reading Article, Please Click Here to Visit Denver 7 ABC News

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360

Justin Belter

Jason Dickard

White Privilege? Harvard University, Ivy League Colleges, offer Little Job Advantage For Black Graduates

Black Harvard Graduates Have The Same Shot At Jobs As White State School Grads

Racism is so pervasive in the US job market that even black Americans with Harvard degrees are at a disadvantage, according a new study in the journal Social Forces (highlighted in Inside Higher Ed).

Using carefully designed test resumes submitted for job openings, the researchers found that black graduates of elite universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and Duke were as likely to get responses from employers than white graduates of much less prestigious state colleges, such as University of California, Riverside, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Harvard University, Ivy League Colleges, offer No Job Advantage For Black Graduates

For both the races tested, there was a difference of about 6 percentage points between the response rates for graduates of state schools and those of elite schools. But that gap widens to 11 percentage points when you compare white elite college graduates to black graduates from the state schools. And it narrows to just 1.5 percentage points, within the margin of error, between white state school graduates and black graduates of prestigious schools.

University of Michigan sociologist S. Michael Gaddis, who conducted the study, expected a gap between elite and state colleges, he tells Quartz, and he expected a gap between black and white applicants overall. He did not expect, however, to see that even among elite schools’ graduates, there was a big gap between whites and blacks.

“If we really think that education is the great equalizer, then someone who reaches the pinnacle of that system…should be rewarded pretty equally,” Gaddis says. “I would have been surprised, to be honest with you, to see no gap at all. But to see that the gap for Harvard and the other elite applicants was basically the same was very discouraging - To Continue Reading Article, Please Click Here To Visit QUARTZ

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360

Justin Belter

Jason Dickard

Omar Mateen, Orlando Pulse NightClub Shooter: "Blacks Have Suffered Enough, I Have No Problem With Blacks"

Omar Mateen, Orlando Nightclub Shooter, Stated Blacks Have Suffered Enough.

African American Female Patience Carter Says Omar Mateen Wanted to Spare Black People

Patience Carter, 20 year old African American woman, injured in the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting by Omar Mateen. She said Omar Mateen said he wanted to 'spare black people' as 'black people had suffered enough already'

Worth noting..

20 year old African Female named Patience Carter, who was at the Pulse Club in Orlando, Florida in the early morning hours of the Omar Mateen Shooting said that the shooter mentioned he wanted to 'spare black people' and that 'black people had suffered enough already'. The statement was made right before the wall was blown out of the Restroom to let Police enter the club. It is reported that Omar Mateen called out asking were there African Americans in the room and when one African American replied in the Affirmative, the shooter put his weapon away and  made the statement. He began to shoot again when police entered the room.

Unfortunately African Americans, among many others, lost their lives in the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360 Carrollton TX

INVESTIGATION: THE REVIEWS OF JASON DICKARD ARE TRUE. RESEARCH THE MAN. ALL IS ONLINE.

INVESTIGATION: 

THE REVIEWS OF JASON DICKARD ARE LEGITIMATE. GOOGLE THE MAN. RESEARCH HIS PAST EXECUTIVE FAILINGS. THE BANKRUPTCIES. LOST CONTRACTS. EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS. 

In response to a new website that comes up under Jason Dickard's googled name that states the reviews of him are 'false' I simply ask the reader to google wingspan portfolio advisors and read about their Bankruptcy and read the reviews listed by their laid off Florida Employees (who were very vocal). Watch News reports showing their workers walking out the building with boxes of their belongings. One Florida Worker said that when the Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Executive team went down into Florida they started to lose contracts almost immediately because companies in Florida didn't like the way 'they did business'.. Wingspan Portfolio Advisors missed its very first loan payment and had to eventually file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The company was embroiled in controversy. Even Chase Bank cut ties with Wingspan Portfolio Advisors. The company is now DEFUNCT. No longer in operation. As soon as the company filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, it appears, within a few weeks, that Jason Dickard's new employer, Agility 360, which is located in Carrollton, TX was formed. The website has a lot of over the top language but who the hell knows what this company does. It first appeared that they would go into businesses and teach businesses how to better manage their affairs, or find ways the business could improve. How the hell can these guys do that when their last company went out of business in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in such a spectacular fashion. Missing its first loan payment. Laying off ALL of its employees. Losing ALL of its contracts. How is that possible? All I'm asking you to do is THINK.

Don't trust these guys. Check their track record. If you hired any other person, even a book keeper, you would check references and background and their track record. Before you entrust your business to these, in my opinion, FRAUDS, just fact check them. It's all, in my opinion, a huge HUSTLE. Jason Dickard, Justin Belter, Cesar Hernandez, and none of the other execs would hire someone with THEIR OWN TRACK RECORD in my opinion. So why should you trust THEM?

They don't deserve your trust. They have screwed and hurt too many people. Too many businesses that believed in them were left holding the bag. These men, in my honest estimation, are CON ARTISTS.

READ ALL ABOUT JASON DICKARDS PREVIOUS EXECUTIVE FAILINGS  (Bankruptcies, Lost Contracts, Massive Employee Layoffs, Missed Loan Payments) HERE -> 
http://wingspanportfolioadvisors.blogspot.com/2012/09/wingspan-portfolio-advisors-snapshot-in.html

Or simply go to the HOME page.

I Stand With Apple Over FBI Backdoor.

I Stand With Apple Over FBI Backdoor.

My Info Was Stolen In An OPM Database Hack. I don't Trust Them With A Backdoor To The Apple IPhone.

My info was stolen during a hack of the OPM's database. The OPM is the federal government's personnel department. They sent me a letter with a PIN# to sign up for a three year identity theft protection. After that I'm on my own. With millions of other Americans whose personal information was swiped. Probably by China. 

I see people on here bashing Apple for standing firm. You people disgust me. All just mindless sheep. All the govt has to say is 'TERROR! TERROR!' And you bend over like sheep and take it up the ass. You let the government violate all sorts of constitutional rights and privacy protections. 

We are giving up our freedoms out of FEAR. 

And the government KNOWS all they have to say is 'TERROR! TERROR' and they can access all of our information and invade our privacy and violate our rights. 

This won't be the first time the government will want to access an iPhone. It doesn't even have to be terror related. All they would need to do is utter the magic word 'TERROR! TERROR! BEEEE AAAFFFRRRAAAIID'! And we will allow them to do whatever Their hearts desire. This is wrong. The government will start to link EVERY ACT to terror. Because the American people no longer questions their motivations. 

I even doubt these nutcases were terrorists. They killed a bunch of people but they weren't backed by any government. They were just deranged lunatics. 

Even if they were terrorists should every single person in the world lose their right to privacy? Even those who are law abiding?

The government couldn't keep my info safe. They won't keep this Backdoor to an iPhone safe either. They will destroy apple. 

If a company creates back doors to its security system this will frighten millions of people away. There was another young entrepreneur who had created a very secure email system. The government came to him with demands to open up his system to let them peek inside. He refused. He shut down his company. 

The government can abuse these measures and WILL abuse these measures. I'm law abiding but I'm sorry... I don't want the government peeking in at all times on me when I'm not violating any laws. I value my privacy.

You may not. But I do.

I Stand With Apple.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot 

Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

Formation Beyonce Youtube Video Link - WATCH Beyonce Formation Video!

Beyonce Formation Video
(The Formation Video Link Is Below)

Way To Go Beyonce!!! 

I enjoyed both the Video and Beyonce's Super Bowl Halftime Show Performance and I applaud Beyonce for taking the time (and the risk) for speaking out against the injustice faced by black minorities. I'm saddened that black people are suppose to be 'silent' about the high percentages of black men who die in police custody or at minor traffic stops. This is shocking to MANY blacks, myself included, who don't have the platform that Beyonce does to draw attention to this matter. 

I found myself last night looking over images of dead, bloated black bodies floating in the waters of New Orleans, or simply being left to rot on the ground after the water had gone. No one cared. I often find myself getting so angry and so emotional. 

Now with the Flint Water Crises I find myself wondering are black people being willfully exterminated in America? Is this genocide? 

I put nothing past America. Or as many blacks think of America - Amerikkka. 

Poor blacks face so many injustices in this country everyday, our blackness sometimes can feel overwhelming. It's the first thing many people see when they see US. And the last thing many people remember about US. There is no Justice in America (for the Black Person). There is JUST US.  Instead of attacking this woman for voicing her concerns through song and melody - why not look into the reasons WHY Beyonce felt the need to speak out on these issues. It wasn't to capitalize off of black pain. Beyonce and Jay Z have both given millions of dollars to charitable causes in the Black Community. Right Now Beyonce is building a $7 Million Dollar Housing Establishment for poor minorities in Houston. Beyonce and Jay Z spent Thousands bailing out those unjustly arrested in Ferguson, Mo as well. 

So please don't attack this woman and claim she is 'capitalizing' off of black pain. She's not. She's given so much money and this shows where her heart is at. There also would not have been a need to reassert to the world that she takes pride in her natural features. White people like to say "oh well, if we did this there would be an uproar". As a black person living in America, I can say to white people - YOU DO THIS EVERYDAY. The women who are love interests in most Block Buster Hollywood movies are WHITE women. The Women who gloss the covers of your magazines are mainly WHITE WOMEN. With White European features. These are the women who have been pushed by your societies to the world as the 'Standard of Beauty'. Black women and dark skinned women have been under attack for their black, natural features. So Beyonce rightfully expressed 'Self Love' in how she looks. Her nose with 'Jackson Five Nostrils' and the Afro her daughter sports as well. Somehow the woman expressing 'self love' has angered white people. Are black people not suppose to LOVE THEMSELVES? Especially when we have been vilified across all fronts.

Again, this is not about 'hating' anyone. Or pushing hate. As a marginalized and oppressed group in America - this video simply offers a different perspective than the one that is constantly pushed on black people by the dominant society. It offers hope. Courage. Self Love and Perspective. 

I applaud Beyonce. Nothing in this video was hostile to cops or white people. Black women would not feel the need to reassert to the public that their features are beautiful if they weren't constantly bashed in the United States for being less than desirable. Simply because they are black with dark skin and black features. 

I, for one, find black women BEAUTIFUL. 

ENJOY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrCHz1gwzTo&feature=share

or

https://youtu.be/LrCHz1gwzTo

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot - Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

White Chicago Cop Rialmo Sues Estate Of Poor Black Teen ,Quintonio LeGrier, He Killed For Causing Emotional Distress

My cousin just called me besides herself with grief and anger after reading this story on cnn.com. The father of the black teen, who was the one that apparently called the police to help subdue his son was so overtaken with grief he could barely speak. His son was shot dead by a white Chicago Police officer who came to the residence. His son was mentally ill. Also, an errant bullet struck the neighbor who let in the police and she died as well. The man has sued the City of Chicago for several million dollars (as he should) for causing the death of his son and now, obviously in my opinion, motivated by MONEY, the white (part hispanic) Chicago police officer has lawyered up and he's suing the teen's family. Evidently he wants to get in on the GREEN. His wife is noted for making a comment "Well, if they can sue we can too". WTF?! 

I told my cousin this will be a groundbreaking case in that if the police officer is awarded money from the estate over this alleged 'Emotional distress' it will open the door for lawsuits around the country in every profession. A customer service agent can sue the a customer who threatens them or curses them or subjects them to emotional distress. A doctor or Nurse can sue their patient for the same. A dog catcher can sue the family of a dog who bites them. The mailman can sue the family whose walkway he slips and falls down on. This can go so many different ways. 

I have no doubt that blood thirsty, racist white people will applaud the lawsuit from this police officer but it can come back to haunt them. They have the MOST MONEY. They will be the LARGEST TARGET. Their kids do dumb shit all the time. Rich white kids (and poor ones too) get into scrapes with the law on an ongoing basis. Their parents are LOADED. If they become combative, curse, use racial epithets, etc. a favorable ruling on this type of case will open up the door to others suing the hell out of their families, etc. 

This should be a very interesting case. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Chicago police officer who killed Quintonio LeGrier has filed a lawsuit against the teen's estate.

Quintonio LeGrier

In a counterclaim filed last week, Officer Robert Rialmo alleges the 19-year-old whom he shot dead the day after Christmas assaulted him with a baseball bat and caused him to suffer trauma. He's seeking more than $10 million in punitive damages from LeGrier's estate.

Authorities have said LeGrier died from multiple gunshot wounds after the December 26 shooting. A neighbor, Bettie Jones, 55, was also killed. Police have described Jones as a victim who was "accidentally struck and tragically killed." They've described LeGrier as a "combative subject."

Father: No one helped my son after he was shot by cops 07:59

LeGrier's father and Jones' family have filed wrongful death lawsuits over the shooting.

The officer's lawsuit says Jones' death was LeGrier's fault, not his.

"The fact that LeGrier's actions had forced Officer Rialmo to end LeGrier's life, and to accidentally take the innocent life of Bettie Jones, has caused, and will continue to cause, Officer Rialmo to suffer extreme emotional trauma," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit provides the officer's moment-by-moment explanation of the incident, stating that the teen swung a baseball bat at him twice, barely missing both times.

The officer had his gun holstered and backed up as he shouted orders for LeGrier to drop the bat, the court document says. It was only after LeGrier continued his approach and ignored the officer's commands that Rialmo opened fire, according to the lawsuit.

Making a point

The shooting came as Chicago officials were in hot water for what critics have called a police culture of "shoot first and ask questions later." As details about the case emerged, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said there were "serious questions" about what happened and ordered changes in how city police officers are trained to handle calls involving people who may have mental health problems.

Chicago mayor: 'Painful and honest reckoning' needed after police shootings

Rialmo's lawsuit gives the officer's side in the controversial case, saying the officer opened fire after LeGrier "took a full swing" at his head, "missing it by inches."

"He told me that he felt the breeze of the bat passing in front of his face, it was that close," attorney Joel Brodsky told CNN affiliate WBBM-TV.

In a statement on Facebook, Brodsky said Rialmo "was taken aback by the speed in which the family of Mr. LeGrier rushed to file a lawsuit."

"He wants to make the point that having a relative killed in an officer-involved shooting is not the same thing as winning the lottery," Brodsky said. "Only the few cases of truly excessive use and abuse of force should be subject to legal actions."

Attorney for estate: Officer is 'trying to deflect'

Bill Foutris, an attorney who represents LeGrier's estate and the 19-year-old's father, said he had a good reason to file a lawsuit against the city quickly: preserving evidence.

"As a result of filing the lawsuit quickly we have gotten well over 40 DVDs of evidence, including police cams and police reports -- all things we would not have had if the suit was not filed when it was," he said. "It would have taken six months to get some of that evidence."

The officer, Foutris said, is trying to steer the conversation away from what happened that day.

"This counterclaim is an attempt to deflect from what the officer did," Foutris said. "He shot a teen four times in the back."

Differing accounts

Chicago's Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, which happened after officers responded to 911 calls from LeGrier and his father asking for help.

Rialmo's account of what happened contrasts with descriptions in the lawsuits filed by the LeGrier and Jones families.

Antonio LeGrier told CNN he called police after he heard his son.........

To Finish Reading Article, Please Click Here To Be Redirected To CNN.Com

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Has Agility 360 in Carrollton, Texas Found Their New Executive Vice President of Corporate Communication?

AGILITY 360 NEW HIRE?

I've seen some of the people Jason Dickard and Justin Belter have promoted. This woman would fit right in with that bunch. Now, if she would only drop the 'n-word' she'd be a shoo-in.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

New York Police Unfairly Evicting Black, Latino Families From Their Homes, Even When They Have Committed NO CRIMES

February 5, 2016

Sarah Ryley, special to ProPublica

The morning of May 4, 2011, Jameelah El-Shabazz watched out the window of her Bronx apartment as a team of police officers fanned across the rooftop of Banana Kelly High School. The 43-year-old mother of five said she didn’t think much of the scene — drug raids were common in her neighborhood.

As she did most mornings, El-Shabazz said she went to her bedroom to feed her newborn son and to worship before a shrine of candles and carvings arranged atop her wardrobe. Her most treasured object was a wooden tray her father had brought her from Nigeria. A deity of the Ifa religion, which she practices as a high priestess, was carved on its surface and covered in a residue of finely crushed eggshells. El-Shabazz used the substance, known in her faith as efun powder, to cleanse the shrine. She took fresh clumps of the powder from a cup and began to break it up in her hands.

That’s when the narcotics officers kicked in the door.

Her baby shrieked as the gun-wielding officers tore apart rooms looking for PCP, which an anonymous informant had claimed was being sold from the apartment. They ordered everyone to lie on the ground, then turned to her eldest son, Akin Shakoor, who along with another son was having frequent run-ins with police. El-Shabazz said the officers told Shakoor if he didn’t give up the drugs, “they would take all of my children away from me and make sure that I was put out of my apartment.”An altar in Jameelah El-Shabazz’s apartment in the Bronx. El-Shabazz had to repeatedly fight to keep her apartment after police mistook crushed eggshells for cocaine. (Edwin Torres for ProPublica)

As evidence, police seized 45 paper cups of the eggshell powder, the sacred wooden tray, and a small amount of marijuana. They arrested El-Shabazz, her teenaged sister Najah El-Shabazz, and Shakoor, then 21, and took them outside past the handcuffed residents of four other apartments that were raided that morning.

Najah was released, court filings say, but Jameelah El-Shabazz and Shakoor sat in cells on Rikers Island for the next week awaiting the results of police lab tests. Finally, the results confirmed what she had told the officers all along: the wooden tray and the 45 paper cups of powder were drug-free. Jameelah El-Shabazz and Shakoor were released from Rikers and fully exonerated.

But El-Shabazz’s battle with New York’s legal system was only beginning. That September, another of her sons called to say the police were back, this time with a lawyer and a court order to seal the Bronx apartment. Her entire family had to leave — immediately.

El-Shabazz was facing a nuisance abatement action, a little-known type of lawsuit that gives the city the power to shut down places it claims are being used for illegal purposes. The case against her was based on the same drug allegations that had been dismissed in May. Incredibly, the filing, signed by a New York Police Department attorney, stated: “recovered during the execution of the search warrant were forty-five (45) paper cups of cocaine.”

The nuisance abatement law was created in the 1970’s to combat the sex industry in Times Square. Since then, its use has been vastly expanded, commonly targeting apartments and mom-and-pop bodegas even as the city’s crime rate has reached historic lows. The NYPD files upward of 1,000 such cases a year, nearly half of them against residences.Barred From Home

Read about the 297 people who gave up their leases or were barred from homes as a result of nuisance abatement actions.

The process has remarkably few protections for people facing the loss of their homes.

Three-quarters of the cases begin with secret court orders that lock residents until the case is resolved. The police need a judge’s signoff, but residents aren’t notified and thus have no chance to tell their side of the story until they’ve already been locked out for days. And because these are civil actions, residents also have no right to an attorney.

Perhaps most fundamentally, residents can be permanently barred from their homes without being convicted or even charged with a crime.

A man was prohibited from living in his family home and separated from his young daughter over gambling allegations that were dismissed in criminal court. A diabetic man said he was forced to sleep on subways and stoops for a month after being served with a nuisance abatement action over low-level drug charges that also never led to a conviction. Meanwhile, his elderly mother was left with no one to care for her.

In partnership with ProPublica, the Daily News reviewed 516 residential nuisance abatement actions filed in the Supreme Courts from Jan. 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. Our analysis also reviewed the outcomes of the underlying criminal cases against hundreds of people who were banned from homes as a result of these actions.

173 of the people who gave up their leases or were banned from homes were not convicted of a crime, including 44 people who appear to have faced no criminal prosecution whatsoever.

Overall, tenants and homeowners lost or had already left homes in three-quarters of the 337 cases for which the Daily News and ProPublica were able to determine the outcome. The other cases were either withdrawn without explanation, were missing settlements, or are still active.

In at least 74 cases, residents agreed to warrantless searches of their homes, sometimes in perpetuity, as one of the conditions of being allowed back in. Others agreed to automatically forfeit their leases if they were merely accused of wrongdoing in the future.

The toll of nuisance abatement actions falls almost exclusively on minorities, our analysis showed. Over 18 months, nine of 10 homes subjected to such actions were in minority communities. We identified the race of 215 of the 297 people who were barred from homes in nuisance abatement battles. Only five are white.

Runa Rajagopal of the Bronx Defenders, who leads a division that represents people in the civil courts, called the practice a “collective punishment” on the entire family of those accused of a crime, “used by the NYPD to exert power and control largely over communities of color.”

The NYPD declined to answer any questions about specific cases.

Officials emphasized that because these are civil cases, they’re handled separately from criminal cases and thus have lower standards of proof.

“The law does not require criminal conviction, does not require [a] particular disposition of a criminal case, does not even require an arrest of anyone,” said Lawrence Byrne, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters in an interview with the Daily News last year.

Assistant Commissioner Robert Messner, who heads the NYPD’s Civil Enforcement Unit, concurred, saying, “You have to remember, it’s an action about a place. It’s not about people.”

The department’s chief spokesman, Stephen Davis, said in a statement that the suits are intended to prevent crimes from reoccurring at ‘repeat offender’ locations. “Each nuisance abatement order and settlement is signed-off by a judge.” Davis added.

Though a nuisance abatement threatened to force El-Shabazz out of her home, she doesn’t appear to have been the intended target. Two of El-Shabazz’s sons were already known to police when her apartment was raided in 2011.

Akin Shakoor had been arrested at the building at least twice before, in 2009, for misdemeanor possession of drugs. He pleaded both cases down to non-criminal violations. Her other son, Jehadh Shakoor, was arrested in the neighborhood with marijuana in 2008, and with PCP in 2009, and convicted of misdemeanor possession charges. (El-Shabazz said the officers also often harassed a third son, who was an honor student in high school and is now in college.)

The narcotics officer behind nuisance abatement cases against El-Shabazz and others, Detective Peter Valentin, has his own history. The Daily News earlier identified him as themost-sued officer on the NYPD’s 35,000-member force. Valentin was put on desk duty in 2014 for allegedly fabricating buys from confidential informants.

The NYPD has embraced nuisance abatement actions as part of its controversial “Broken Windows” strategy of aggressively pursuing low-level offenders to prevent more serious ones.Judges Frequently Approve Lockouts

The Daily News and ProPublica found that, overall, judges approved the NYPD's request to temporarily lock out residents in 75 percent of cases.​ Borough Judge Approved TCO ​ Bronx Kenneth L. Thompson Jr. 100% ​ Sharon A.M. Aarons 100% ​ Mark Friedlander 100% ​ Wilma Guzman 100% ​ Norma Ruiz 100% ​ Julia I. Rodriguez 96% ​ Alison Y. Tuitt 94% ​ Howard H. Sherman 88% ​ Edgar G. Walker 12% ​ Lucindo Suarez 4% ​ Brooklyn Johnny Lee Baynes 100% ​ Carl J. Landicino 76% ​ Sylvia G. Ash 8% ​ Dawn Jimenez-Salta 5% ​ Manhattan Milton A. Tingling 100% ​ Joan M. Kenney 70% ​ Carol E. Huff 41% ​ Cynthia S. Kern 6% ​ Michael D. Stallman 4% ​ Queens Orin R. Kitzes 100% ​

Source: Daily News/ ProPublica analysis of nuisance abatement cases filed Jan. 1, 2013 — June 30, 2014.

This decades-old approach — which has introduced large numbers of black and Hispanic New Yorkers to the criminal justice system through stop-and-frisks, summonses and misdemeanor arrests — has touched off waves of protests in recent years.

Though little heard of, nuisance abatement actions have long been a key component of the strategy. William Bratton, fresh into his first tenure as the city’s top law enforcement official, hailed such actions in a 1995 white paper on quality-of-life policing as “probably the most powerful civil tool available to the police,” allowing officers to “sweep down on a location and close it without warning.”

Since Bratton wrote those words, the number of nuisance abatement actions filed each year has quintupled.... To Continue Reading Article, Please Click Here To Be Redirected To ProPublica

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

Afro-Mexicans Turning Their Newly Found Relevance Into Power In Mexico

  

Walter Thompson-Hernandez displays a photograph of his parents, Kerry Thompson and Ellie Hernandez. Thompson-Hernandez identifies as a "blaxican" — another term for Afro-Mexican, the identity soon to be included on the Mexican census for the first time.

With February comes Black History Month in the U.S., a time designated to reflect on the history and contributions of people of African descent in this country. And while the month may invite debate among some, one thing rarely does in the U.S.: the idea of calling oneself, or being described as, black or African-American.

Walter Thompson-Hernandez,

son of an African-American father 

and Mexican mother, created the Instagram

account Blaxicans of LA.

In Mexico, however, it is unusual — so unusual, in fact, that up until now, Mexican citizens were unable to officially recognize themselves as "Afro-Mexican" on national censuses. That is set to change in the upcoming 2020 census, though. Already, a preliminary 2015 survey — conducted in preparation for the 2020 census — found that some 1.4 million people identify as Afro-Mexican.

To learn more about what this might mean — and why these changes are only happening now — NPR's Michel Martin spoke with Luisa Ortiz, CEO of Nova Mexico, a nonprofit organization that works with minorities communities.

NPR also spoke with people of mixed Mexican and African descent; their takes on race and identity can be found on the right side.

Here To Be Re-Directed To NPR

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

Justin Belter

Jason Dickard

Cesar Hernandez

Raj Sharma

Wu-Tang 'Fan' Martin Shkreli Proves His 'Street Cred' After Crashing The Breakfast Club For Interview

Black Man Builds Multi-Million Dollar Empire Promoting Black Family And Black Marriage

Lamar Tyler is the founder of BlackandMarriedwithKids.com, the largest black marriage and family website on the Internet. To take his course on Traffic, Sales and Profit, please visit BMWK.me/ybwoffer.

Boyce Watkins Examines Hollyweird 'White Men Don't Like Taking Orders From Black Men'

Toyota To Compensate Black, Asian Customers $21 Million For Racial Discrimination

Toyota has decided to compensate minorities with as much as $21 million, following the recent allegations of racial bias. Here’s how the move will add to the brand image of the company in the long

By Ghous Zaman on Feb 6, 2016 at 7:48 am EST

Toyota Motor Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:TM) has decided to compensate its black and Asian borrowers by paying them as much as $21.9 million, following federal regulators' allegation of discrimination. Toyota will settle the allegations of racial bias — which accused the company’s financing department to have excessively charged black and Asian customers in loan premiums. The company will pay 21.9 million to almost 100,000 affected customers, and has further set aside $2 million to be used if the same allegations rise again.

Toyota has been doing a lot to attract minorities to its products. In 2011, the company started featuring blacks and Asians in its ads — to derive company sales.

Moreover, on one occasion, Toyota’s former head of Marketing, Bob Zeinstra, said that the company makes ads for Hispanics, blacks and other minorities too.

Toyota claims to be the number one choice among minorities. The idea to keep minority consumers happy and satisfied has proven beneficial for the company. It is now on track to become the first Japanese company to have earned a record-breaking $25 billion in annual profits.

Following the recent incident, Toyota took initiatives to stop discrimination in its operations. The company has announced to put a restriction on dealers’ allowance of charging an interest rate. Previously, dealers were allowed to charge up to 2.5% interest on auto loans, which has now been reduced to 1.25%.

Toyota has denounced any kind of discrimination against any race or ethnicity,.......  

To Continue Reading, Click This Link To Go To Original Article

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Blogspot

Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

DUPED! Toyota Settles Discrimination Lawsuit Over Allegations It Unfairly Marked Up Interest For Black, Asian Car Buyers

Toyota of Mckinney Texas Photo

The Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reached a settlement agreement with Toyota Motor Credit Corp. that resolves allegations the company discriminated against African-American and Asian/Pacific Islander borrowers in auto lending. 

Toyota agreed as part of the settlement to significantly limit the discretion of its car dealers to use mark ups when it comes to interest rates on Toyota loans. Additionally, $19.9 million will be given in compensation to borrowers who took out loans from January 2011 to January 2016 and had to pay higher mark up because of the alleged discrimination. 

“Toyota’s reforms will level the playing field to ensure that all eligible borrowers – regardless of their race or national origin – can sign auto loans with fair terms and reasonable interest rates,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “While dealerships deserve fair compensation for the valuable customer service they provide, federal law protects consumers against higher price mark ups simply because of what they look like or where they come from. We commend Toyota for crafting a new compensation system that strikes an appropriate balance for dealers and consumers.”

To View Original Link, Click Here-

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

Justin Belter

Jason Dickard

Cesar Hernandez

Raj Sharma

Contract Drilling of Houston Texas Sued For Alleged Racial Discrimination Against Black Employees

Two former employees are suing a Houston-based drilling corporation, alleging violations to Title VII through racial discrimination and unlawful termination. 

Kenneth Davis, Jr. of Alabama, and David Hand, of Mississippi, both African-Americans, filed a lawsuit Jan. 29 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against Independence Contract Drilling Inc., alleging racial discrimination. 

According to the lawsuit, in 2013, Davis and Hand worked as floor hands for ICD at a facility in West Texas where they were the only two African-American employees at that facility. The suit says the plaintiffs were employees only for the purposes of Title VII requirements and both experienced racism and harassment._

The lawsuit states Davis and Hand went to their boss, Billy Hays, seeking transfers and to hold meetings to deal with the abuse, but there was no solution. Instead, the suit says, both were suspended without pay July 26, 2013, and a few days later, both were terminated for violating ICD’s cell phone policy after Davis and Hand recorded the abuse on their phones. 

Davis and Hand seek a jury trial, back pay and lost benefits, reinstatement or alternative front pay and compensatory damages, plus court and attorney fees. They are represented by attorneys David C. Holmes of Houston and Michael L. Grace of the Grace Law Firm PLLC in Quitman, Mississippi. 

Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case number 4:16-cv-00252

To View Original Article, Click Here To Be Re-Directed To SeTexasRecord

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

Agility 360 Carrollton Texas

Justin Belter

Jason Dickard

Cesar Hernandez

Raj Sharma

From The Grave: Black Soldier's Last Letter Home During War in Vietnam Describes Pervasive Racial Discrimination

Army 2nd Lt. Eddie Kitchen Jr. was killed less than two weeks after having written this letter from Vietnam in February 1968 to his mother Ethel Kitchen in Chicago. It was written after he had confronted fellow officers about the prominent displays of the Confederate Flag.

The letter follows:

2nd Lt. Eddie Kitchen 05341274; Co A 2139th.9th. Infantry Division; Apo 96371 S.F. California

Mrs. Ethel Kitchen;15 N. Kostner Ave.; Chicago, Ill. 60624

23 Feb 68

Mrs. Ethel Kitchen

My Dear mother, how are you and the rest of the family at this time. I am well and I hope when my letter reaches you it will find you and the rest of the family the same.

You know since I have been in Viet-Nam, I have observed an awful large number of Negro troops, more than what I believe the total number should be.

Maybe Clay (Muhammad Ali) has a good point in his accusing the draft board of discrimination. I do now believe they are practicing discrimination on troop assignments here.

I have also noticed the Confederate Flag being flown on many of the vehicles and displayed at some installations. This really does perturb me. We are fighting and dying in a war that is not very popular in the first place and we still have some stupid people who are still fighting the Civil War.

I believe the Executive branch of the NAACP plus the President and others concerned should be made aware of this situation and something should be done about it.

When I first joined my unit, a flag was being displayed. It was later taken down when I spoke to a couple of people.

Today, a unit joined us in the field to support us. I spoke to the CO, Commanding Officer, of this unit but he said he did not have time to discuss the matter with me. I will get his name and the unit. If you and Lewis (a brother-in-law) cannot do anything about it, then let me know and I will take further action on my own.

I do not believe the Negro soldier in Viet-Nam should be allowed to serve under the Confederate Flag, or with it. We are serving under the American Flag and the American Flag only.

I am quite disgusted in seeing some of the things I have seen here.

I have expressed my dislike with some of the situations which do exist. I do not know if this was a wise decision. But I pray that all will be well. I cannot just sit back and relax when I see such injustices.

As a Non-Commissioned Officer, I would have just torn the flag from the

vehicles, but as a Commissioned Officer I cannot lose complete control of myself.

I have had to punch one fellow officer already in order to gain a better understanding.

Now I do not expect you to have to worry about this, I tell you only because

I cannot tell these things to Evelyn (his wife). So I want you and Lewis to see what you can do about the situation.

The Negroes here are afraid and cannot do anything about the situation.

The unit is Company "A" 1/11 Artillery and the Commanding Officer is a Captain McFall.

Well, I will close. God keep you and yours, continue to pray.

Your Son,

Junior

To View Original Article, Click This Link To Be Redirected To The Cincinnati Herald

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors

Agility 360 Carrollton, Texas

Justin Belter

Cesar Hernandez

Jason Dickard

Raj Sharma

White People, Screwed by Conservatives Are Angry And Now Blaming Blacks, Other Minorities

'Trickle Down Economic' Policies Do Not Work.

They have NEVER worked.

Why? Because studies show the rich overwhelmingly HOARD their wealth instead of reinvesting it. Or they OFFSHORE their wealth.

So no matter how easy we make life for the rich. How many tax breaks and 'special privileges' we give them, the fact is the rest of society does not see a benefit. ONLY THE RICH SEES THE BENEFIT.

And why do white people love to blame blacks and immigrants for their problems? They voted in DROVES for Conservatives who demonized blacks who demonized having 'job security' and who are trying to 'take job security' away by saying "oh the lazy benefits".

So when the votes were cast for the Republican Agenda (right to work laws, etc.) offshoring began. Conservatives made the American workforce vulnerable where no one had any job security. Yet people are expected to go out into society and finance homes and cars and start businesses as their wages were declining and their jobs were no longer secure. Many people saw their benefits erode.

So now the average skilled white guy, making a decent salary, is seeing his job be taken away by an equally skilled foreign born immigrant, who is willing to do the same job for less than HALF the pay.

Now there is a princeton study that shows white middle class americans are dying at disproportionately higher rates than all other groups. Wonder why this is? They have no one to blame but  themselves. They should look in the mirror if they want to find the person to fault. Their votes have brought this on.

Corporations are outsourcing more  American jobs now than at anytime in history. The white man is being edged out.

 "Blue collar work has become more scarce and less well-paying in the past 30-40 years. This has affected people of all races, but it's really hit white people with a high school diploma or less education. Black people and Latinos are used to having to scrape by on the bottom rung, so the ups and downs in this job market aren't really anything new for them, just a chitty situation getting chittier a bit more year after year. 

For whites who used to have "good jobs" working in manufacturing or other heavy industries (or even lighter stuff like paper/textiles) they have seen a tremendous decline in both opportunities and wages. They are seeing that, like the minorities many of them like to bash, they are all just rats on a sinking ship, and they are getting more stressed out and desperate. The "American Dream" has been yanked out from under them, like the tablecloth Peter Venkmann pulls out under the fine china in the ballroom in Ghostbusters. The elite are the single vase of flowers that remain upright and intact after every other item on the table has been toppled or smashed.This is hurting lower skilled white men the most. In turn they've become more racist and more hostile towards minorities when in fact it is corporate greed, backed by Republican votes, that are driving all of this. So now the poor bastards are offing themselves."

Maybe they should do what the jerks at Wingspan Portfolio Advisors have done. Get together and figure out how to push a bullshit service at banks for a hefty sum. But oh, that's right.Wingspan Portfolio Advisors has gone out of business. Gosh they fell hard.

But the execs that were, it has been rumored, pushed out have suddenly thrown up another company called Agility 360 located in Carrollton TX. This will continue, what in my estimation, is a con game. As Wingspan Portfolio Advisors was burning to the ground financially and losing corporate contracts left and right, culminating in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, it's former Executives Justin Belter, Jason Dickard,  Cesar Hernandez and Raj Sharma were quickly throwing together a new company with a fancy website and over the top language. This is how the game is played.

If you 'look the part' and have 'inroads into major companies' you can easily pass yourself off as an 'expert'. Even when your previous venture crashed and burned.

And unbelievably these so-called 'Execs' who steered the Golden Child of Dallas which was Wingspan Portfolio Advisors into an unrecoverable dramatic decline are now heralding their 'Executive Skills' and the folks over the Big banks they are partnering with did not dig into their background. They simply fell for their BULLSHIT. It must have been old' blue-eyed Justin Belter that did them in. Nordic features on a white guy guarantees him success. Even when he deserves to FAIL.

Now if you are black, and you try to get a clerical job at the company they will dig all through your background and go back seven years to check you out.. But as white men (mostly white men) in Dallas TX who can give themselves fancy titles and throw up a fancy website and borrow money from family and friends to rent out a posh little enclave in North Dallas, you can pull your bullshit off in spectacular fashion and no one will EVER question your qualifications. There will be no Seven Year Background checks. Even when your so-called 'executive' expertise caused your previous company to CRASH AND BURN.

The Double Standards Amazing...

Looks like those pitiful poor bastards killing themselves because they are white and struggling in America could learn a thing or two from these assholes at Agility 360 in Carrollton, TX.

The Video Below is Unlisted on Youtube and only Available by Link
 

A reading of General Bert Stubblebine (US Army, Ret.) blog entry regarding the astounding news that the 45 - 55 year old "white American male" cohort has lost its longevity advantage, and what that means to the rest of us.