[Peace] Coroner’s Inquest Into Kiwane’s Death / Court Hearing For Jeshaun

[Brian Dolinar]

At a coroner's inquest on Thursday, February 18, 2009 into the police
killing of Kiwane Carrington, six jurors ruled the death was an accident.
This came after Illinois State Police Special Agent Lisa Crowder, who
oversaw the investigation, stretched the facts in the case. Interviewed
after the hearing, James Montgomery Jr., the attorney who has filed a civil
suit on behalf of Carrington's family, said the testimony was a "smoke
screen" to make the youth look bad.

Under questioning by Coroner Duane Northrup, Crowder went over the
information collected by state police and the multi-jurisdictional task
force of what happened on October 9, 2009. She honed in on testimony that
Kiwane was putting his hands in and out of pockets on his sweatshirt.
According to Crowder, both Police Chief R.T Finney and officer Daniel
Norbits said when interviewed that they saw Kiwane moving his hands in and
out of his pockets. While this is the testimony of Norbits, interviewed four
days after the incident, this information was not, in fact, provided by
Finney when interviewed on October 9. Crowder also testified that no weapons
were found in Kiwane's pockets.

Police often claim they see a suspect's hands going "in and out of pockets"
when trying to justify a police killing. This rationale was used by New York
police after they shot 23-year-old Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo with 41
bullets in 1999. Closer to home, after African American medical student Toto
Kaiyewu was gunned down by police in April 2009, Villa Grove officer Adam
Deckard, who initially stopped him, said that he saw Toto taking his hands
in and out of his pockets.

Indeed, Crowder also exaggerated the facts in the police killing of Toto
Kaiyewu. When testifying at the coroner's inquest held in Vermillion County,
Crowder claimed that a worker at the convenience store where Toto was first
seen by police was fearful that she was going to be burglarized. This was
statement was never made by the convenience store worker.

At the inquest into Kiwane's death, Crowder confirmed that it was a bullet
from Officer Norbits' gun that killed the 15 year old. Yet she also said
that testing for the gunpowder residue on Kiwane's clothes was never
conducted. A forensics expert stated that from eye view it appeared as if
the gun shot did occur at close range. Crowder's explanation was that Kiwane
had several layers of clothes on, making it difficult to conduct a test. Of
course, the only layer that would require testing would be the outer layer.
Crowder said the clothing is currently in the possession of the FBI, who is
conducting their own investigation into the matter.

Kenesha Williams, Kiwane's sister said after the hearing that she was
"confused by the different stories." Attorney Montgomery said that answers
to the many questions in this case will come out in the civil suit.

*
State's Attorney Calls Protesters "Lazy" After Collecting 1,700 Signatures*

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, a continuance was granted in the case against
Jeshaun Manning-Carter. The next hearing will be April 13 at 2:15 in
Courtroom C. Jeshaun was the other 15 year old with Kiwane Carrington when
he was killed by Champaign police officer Daniel Norbits on October 9, 2009.
He is being charged with felony resisting a "peace" officer.

Before the hearing, a press conference was held by Champaign-Urbana Citizens
for Peace and Justice outside the office of State's Attorney Julia Rietz.
CUCPJ's Carol Ammons and Regina Pritchett, a graduate student at the
University of Illinois, read prepared statements to the media [see below].
They announced that they had collected 1,766 signatures to a petition
calling on the State's Attorney to drop the charges against Jeshaun. Some 40
supporters were also present. Neither Rietz nor her secretary would come out
of their offices to accept the petition or talk to the people.

Approximately 100 signatures were collected on Saturday when canvassing the
North End. Not one person who was approached in the historically black
community refused to sign the petition.

At Jeshaun's hearing, supporters crowded the hallway outside the courtroom.
They included members of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO),
concerned citizens from the community, and several black students from the
University of Illinois who have been working diligently to collect
signatures for the petition. On Monday night, they had held a teach-in on
the Kiwane Carrington case at La Casa on campus which drew a large crowd
despite the snowy weather.

I tried to ask questions of Rietz in the hallway after the hearing. Did she
have a response to the 1,700 signatures collected? Why did she demand on
drawing this case out for another 60 days? She refused to answer my
questions.

Yet shortly after, Rietz announced that she would be speaking to the media.
About a dozen supporters and members of the local media waited outside her
office. When she came out and saw the crowd, Rietz invited select members of
the media back into her office, behind closed doors, to respond to Jeshaun's
case. Members of WILL-580, WICD, WCIA, and WDWS were permitted. I was told I
would not be allowed into the private conference. In an interview with the
mainstream media, Rietz chided those who collected petition signatures,
saying they were "lazy" and should instead dedicate their time to mentoring
youth.

*
Statement by Regina Pritchett*

My name is Regina Pritchett. I am a graduate student at the University of
Illinois and member of this Champaign community.

Back in October I attended a lunchtime lecture series entitled: Meet the
Police BEFORE 2am that hosted members of the Champaign, Urbana and Campus
Police departments.  And it was during that discussion that students raised
concerns to the Police representatives about policing in and around the
campus area.   It was also here that a uniformed Champaign Police officer
said to the students, faculty and staff who were in attendance that "you
didn't have to worry."  He said and I loosely quote "we would never treat
you like we treat those people in North Champaign.  Those people are rough
around the edges and we have to be more aggressive with them.  But we
understand you're students and you're just trying to have a good time." The
Urbana and Campus police officers nodded in agreement.  This statement,
issued by a Champaign Police officer, was made on October 8th of 2009.

The following day on October 9th, 2009 at almost the same hour, a Champaign
police officer Killed Kiwane Carington. Jeshaun Manning, the surviving
witness that might testify against those men who killed his friend was
charged with aggravated resisting arrest of a peace officer.

In honor of black history month, I'd like point to a quote commonly recited
by the Great Rev. Dr. King in a letter from a Birmingham jail "that
injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  For me, Kiwane's
death and Jeshaun's charges are the incarnations of this quote by Dr. King.
I'm not clear on how officers can tell black students and community members
apart and I wonder as a black person if I might face discrimination because
a Champaign police officer thinks I'm one of "those people."  I have to know
that the special treatment offered to me by the Champaign police officer
might not be extended to me once I leave campus.  This quote reminds me not
to think of myself as part of some protected class of citizens. I know
better.  And I don't feel safe.  We sat down this week as students, faculty,
staff residents all a part of this larger Champaign community to talk about
what happened. I would like to also suggest that the campus and community
are uniting on this front.  And we will continue to unite until all me
members of our community are safe from police abuses of power as well as
abuses of the police power entrusted to our elected officials and governance
bodies.

Those of us who have gathered at the courthouse are here to ask District
Attorney Julia Reitz to not add insult to injury and drop the charges
against Jeshaun Manning.  As a community we demand equal and fair protection
under the law--Police us all the same!  We know that anything less than this
is a violation of all of our constitutional rights enumerated by the 14th
amendment.  We ask that the Champaign police department might defer to their
own value statement available online that says: "When questions arise
regarding the application of Department policies, the interpretation
resulting in the best service to the citizen should be followed."  We the
1,766 people who have signed this petition, we who have left work, we who
have left classes and we who were able to be here today are here to
represent the citizens of the Champaign Community who believe that the best
service to this citizen, Jeshaun Manning, is to drop the charges and for the
threat of a felony and reform school be taken off the table.  Anything less
will be considered a complete disregard for the citizens of this community,
a violation of due process and a stain of unequal protection for people of
color in this community.
*

Statement By Carol Ammons of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice *

On behalf of the over 1,700 signatures that represent the sentiments of over
1,700 residents from the Champaign and Urbana community, we thank you for
coming here today.  And in memory of Kiwane Carrington and his grieving
family, and Jeshaun Manning-Carter and his family, we stand in solidarity
with the living victim in this case.  We further believe that his mother has
chosen the appropriate response to this incident by providing and
participating in counseling with Family Advocacy Program   with the
University of Illinois Psychological Services and has been assigned a family
advocate to address further family needs.  We insist that the family should
be allowed to take care of its own needs and should not use the courts to
demand participation in a pilot program with no track record.

Four months after the incident, Jeshaun-Manning Carter remains caught in the
snare of the criminal justice system.  It is the position of CUCPJ that the
best interest of this child is to drop these charges.
By charging Jeshaun with aggravated resisting of a peace officer, the
States' Attorney is projecting the burden of the killing of Kiwane
Carrington onto the living victim as opposed to where the burden really
lies, which is in the hands of the officers and their actions on October 9,
2009.  Who pulled the trigger?

It is a sad day in this community when the unarmed witness to a killing has
to face the same two police officers, who with guns drawn on October 9,
2009, fatally shot his unarmed friend with impunity.  We are here today to
continue to register the concerns of many citizens of Champaign County who
are disturbed by the States' Attorney's decision to continue prosecuting the
living witness in what should be a criminal proceeding against the officers
involved in the killing of Kiwane Carrington.  Instead, this State's
Attorney has participated in the silencing of Jeshaun.  What is missing from
the investigative report are the testimonies of Kiwane and Jeshaun?
Tragically, Kiwane was forever silenced on October 9.

We believe that the lack of supervision by Champaign of its officers
threatens the safety of all residents and this prosecution mars the
integrity of the police department and States' Attorney's office.  The lack
of accountability continue to tear at the fabric of trust between law
enforcement officials and the communities they serve, making it more
difficult to solve or prevent crimes.

We understand that convicting any cop who wantonly kills is a colossal task
for even the most diligent prosecutor.  However, that challenge does not
remove the responsibility to provide for the truth to be known.  The one
protection that citizens have which ensures that all of the evidence is
before the people, is due process.   We, the people must hold these public
servants accountable for their actions.

Therefore, Champaign Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice in conjunction
with the petition signers call upon Champaign County State's Attorney, Julia
Rietz to drop the charges against Jeshaun Manning-Carter.

BD
-- 
Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
303 W. Locust St.
Urbana, IL 61801
briandolinar at gmail.com

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