Norbits lost his conscious when he involved himself in the beating death of Greg Brown, a developmentally disabled individual. According to what I read Norbits had 'subdued' Brown with his baton and Brown later died from his injuries. The city admitted guilt in the form of a civil lawsuit filed by Browns family. As a resident of Champaign I attended the recent session that the city held at Hawthorne suites and a student from Central High asked "Why did some kid have to die before we could have this conversation" and that reflects the impact that young Kiwanes death has had on the community. <br>
<br>In reading some of the comments made on the NG website it really disappointing to me to see people act like Kiwane would be alive if he had just done what he was told. I can't help but wonder what kind of heart or compassion that people have to say such a thing. Would this have happened if two white kids had been trying to get in a house over in Cherry Hills? I doubt it. <br>
<br>I think it's also important to consider that Champaign takes many of it's cultural cues from the University of Illinois. Just look at the amount of worship that students and residents fawn upon the minstrel show that used to be the mascot. The News-Gazette published an entire book devoted to the former mascot and continues to perpetuate the social injustices that are in town. Even now the U of I does nothing to counteract the pro-mascot rallys and Assembly Hall dances that take place. I could say more, but it's been a long day and I'm beat.<br>
<br>Marti<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 3:45 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:j4tado@gmail.com">j4tado@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
I am new to this discussion group, but I like to pay attention to abuse of power in all of its forms.<br>
<br>
It seems Champaign is merely like any other city w/ a diverse population: we have a sizable minority, they are concentrated largely on one side of town, that side is largely poor or "lower-middle" class, and the police have an adversarial relationship to them. Not to mention an ignorant, reactionary mayor.<br>
<br>
Looking specifically at the issue of police training, or SOP, and the issue of our police carrying the ubiquitous Glock semi-auto pistol, it seems that Officer Norbits did not follow procedure when pointing his weapon. I was part of a firearms safety/training program held by the U of I Police several years ago, and they showed us the proper way to hold a firearm, and in particular a handgun, was to keep the trigger finger held out straight and off of the trigger unless we were absolutely ready to fire. The Glock doesn't have an external safety, however, it has a small lever in the middle of the trigger that has to be depressed before the trigger itself can be squeezed. Officer Norbits clearly had his finger wrapped around the whole trigger, which by procedure is ready to fire. He obviously had the muzzle trained on Mr. Carrington, because the bullet ended up in his heart. Gun aimed at "center mass", finger on the trigger, does not sound like an accident. Norbits should be fir<br>
ed on the basis of negligent homicide.<br>
<br>
And why doesn't he (Norbits) resign? He killed an unarmed kid. Where is his conscience? Years ago, back in the 80's, there was a Champaign detective, can't remember his name, who shot and killed an armed man who had shot at officers when they went to arrest him. That detective resigned himself from the force. He had been cleared of any wrong doing. He clearly had the right to shoot when being shot at. Why did he quit being a cop? Apparently he had a hard time dealing with it in his mind. One should question if a cop should remain on a job where they might do it again. Champaign will be synonymous w/ New York City and other cities in having a cop being allowed to rejoin the force after gunning down unarmed, innocent civilians. Does anyone feel particularly safe w/ that cop working the beat? What side of town will he be patrolling?<br>
<br>
Another thing to consider, in New York, it was discovered that the Glocks used to kill Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell were modified. This made the triggers ultra sensitive, enabling the officers to squeeze a trigger more rapidly, thus being able to empty a 16 shot clip in 4 seconds. I wonder how our officers weapons are set up. Do we have officers patrolling with hair triggers?<br>
<br>
Sounds like the CPD is a perpetual work in progress. Over the last two decades, a number of unarmed civilians have been killed by Champaign police when they should have been simply taken into custody. Whether it was the techniques used to restrain them, or use of firearms, the CPD is very slow to learn how to avoid this kind of tragedy. There is an element of danger out here, yes. Sometimes, the police might have to respond in a way that requires force. True. But what happened to Kiwane Carrington and others is entirely avoidable.<br>
<br>
Thanks for taking the time to read this.<br>
<br>
Justus Fortado<br>
<br>
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry<br>
<div class="im"><br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Jenifer Cartwright <<a href="mailto:jencart13@yahoo.com">jencart13@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 10:50:18<br>
To: Court Watch<<a href="mailto:announce@communitycourtwatch.org">announce@communitycourtwatch.org</a>>; AWARE peace<<a href="mailto:peace@lists.chambana.net">peace@lists.chambana.net</a>>; <<a href="mailto:stop@iresist.org">stop@iresist.org</a>>; <<a href="mailto:coalition@iresist.org">coalition@iresist.org</a>>; <<a href="mailto:peoplespotluck@lists.chambana.net">peoplespotluck@lists.chambana.net</a>>; Brian Dolinar<<a href="mailto:briandolinar@gmail.com">briandolinar@gmail.com</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [PeoplesPotluck] [Peace] And the FOP's response to Norbits'<br>
suspension<br>
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