Protest of UF police shooting incident of Kofi Adu-Brempong | Gainesville.com: http://bit.ly/bVfcAC via @addthis
Join the campaign, Justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong on Facebook!
Spread the voice!
BACKGROUND TO THE CASE:
A compilation of comments and newspaper reports edited by Nana Akyea Mensah, the Odikro
Kofi Adu-Brempong, a 35-year-old Ghanaian post-graduate student pursuing a Ph.D degree in Urban Geography, and working as a teaching assistant at the University of Florida, USA, who could barely walk without the aid of a walking cane, was shot with a bean bag gun three times, and shot in the face at close range with an M-4 Bushmaster, a military assault rifle, by the University Police Department (UPD) in his own apartment at Cory Village, on the campus of the University of Florida (U-F) for "resisting arrest" in an ordinary noise ordinance violation. All these occurred within 40 seconds of entry into the premises of a mentally and physically disabled, 5 foot 4 inch person by five able-bodied and supposedly "well-trained" police officers.Adu-Brempong's research areas include urban geography, urban and regional analysis and planning and spatial analysis and modeling with a research topic in urban spatial change in Ghana and implications for environmental sustainability, according to UF's Web site. On the professional network LinkedIn, Adu-Brempong lists his education at UF from 2005 through 2009. Another site where students rate professors is complimentary of Adu-Brempong. One entry from November 2009 said he likes to be called "The True Son of Africa" and is "an amazing guy." "He's a really great guy to just talk to after class and he really enjoys teaching," the entry stated.
Police Chief Linda Stump said officers had also been in contact with Adu-Brempong on Monday, but details on that contact were not immediately available. Stump said the incident began at 8:17 p.m. and marked the first time in at least a quarter century that a campus office had fired on someone on campus. "I do know that our officers had an on-again, off-again dialogue with him until about 10 p.m.," Stump said. "When we lost contact with him, our officers made the decision to enter his apartment." Once inside, officers said they found Adu-Brempong wielding a pipe and a large knife. The "pipe" in question was his walking cane!
Adu-Brempong had difficulty walking and used a cane, according to his neighbors and students. One neighbor said Adu-Brempong parked his car in the grass next to his apartment because he had problems carrying groceries from the nearby parking lot. One student who took his geography class last semester, Daniel Lynch, said Adu-Brempong suffered from ailments related to a childhood bout of polio. He said Adu-Brempong was hunched over when he walked and relied on the cane to get around. "He called himself the three-legged son of Africa," Lynch said.
The police had been informed of Kofi's mental problems the previous day, March 1st, 2010. According to a police report issued after the shooting, Geography Professor Peter Waylen contacted police to say that Adu-Brempong had sent an e-mail with troubling statements, which were redacted in the police report. Waylen told police Adu-Brempong had been having delusional thoughts for at least a year and that he had previously received help from a UF counselor because he was upset over a belief that the U.S. government was not going to renew his student visa, the report stated. Waylen and an officer spoke with Adu-Brempong at his apartment Monday. University of Florida police released a report from a police visit on Monday to the student and graduate assistant.
In a related article published on Monday, March 15, 2010, Nathan Crabbe of the Gainsville asks: "Was UF shooting avoidable?" and answers it in the subtitle: "Mental health experts: If police had used Baker Act, things may have ended better". Betty Strayer, who deals with Baker Act admissions as vice president for emergency services at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, said she sees a difference in officers who receive the training. Those officers tend to show more knowledge about the Baker Act and mental illness, she said. She said law enforcement need to be aware that they can use the act without threat of lawsuit or repercussions. "If we decide after the evaluation that they don't meet the criteria, then we release them," she said.
"I asked Adu-Brempong if he had any concerns that I could help with. Adu-Brempong advised that he was fine and did not need anyone's help," Officer Gene Rogers wrote in the report. "I advised him that Waylen and I were concerned for his safety and were there to assist him any way we could." The report states Adu-Brempong refused help from a counselor and stated several times that he was fine and that the group was bothering him. On March 2, 2010 was apparently having a nervous breakdown (due to visa renewal worries) in his apartment at UF's Corry Village housing complex. His shouting and other erratic behavior brought members of the UF campus police to Corry Village, where they surrounded his apartment and evacuated his neighbors.
After about two hours of oral negotiations (in which UF's understaffed mental health counselors were not involved), during which they confirmed that Adu-Brempong was alone and threatening no one, the police kicked down his door. Five officers entered the apartment. In less than half a minute (21 seconds!), they shocked Adu-Brempong three times with a taser, shot him twice with a beanbag shotgun, and blasted him in the face with an M4 military assault rifle. An ambulance took him to UF-affiliated Shands Hospital, where he remains with a bullet lodged dangerously near his spinal cord and unable to speak due to mouth injuries.
Dispatcher calls show that officials requested an ambulance at Corry Village just before 10 p.m. and that the incident initially reported stated the patient had shot himself and had facial wounds, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office reported. The call then stated that a knife and a gun were involved. Another call came in two minutes after 10 p.m. and was listed as an assist another agency with university police requesting that Sheriff's Office forensics investigators respond to the scene. This call reported that the patent had a gunshot and stab wounds and that this was believed to be a suicide attempt, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Art Forgey. However, the call taker later amended the report saying that this was an officer-involved shooting.
Adu-Brempong has been charged with aggravated assault on an officer and resisting an officer with violence. For over three weeks, he was under continuous guard by two county deputies before his family posted a $10,000 bond to prevent him from being transferred to the overcrowded local jail. Reported medical costs already approach $300,000.
As UF Student Fernando Figueroa stated during a recent demonstration on Democracy Now!: “We’re demanding that all charges be dropped against Kofi, because they’re trying to do, you know, kind of something what’s called extortion. Like they’re saying, ‘Oh, we’ll drop the charges if you don’t file a lawsuit.’ And so, we’re demanding that all the charges be dropped and that more severe action be taken against the offending officer, Keith Smith.”
Media reports include: "The officer who shot Kofi Adu-Brempong has been identified as Keith Smith. He has previously been reprimanded for an incident in which he allegedly harassed and threw eggs at African Americans while off-duty." Three Gainesville police officers received written warnings for their actions in these incidents, according to the city police department. Smith, hired in November 2005, received a verbal warning for his involvement and was removed from his recently assigned position to the narcotics task force, university police reported at the time.
Meanwhile instead of compensating Kofi for his totally undeserved and avoidable injuries, they have proceeded to charge Kofi! Keith Smith had one month of leave of absence and is back to the police force since 2nd April! Adu-Brempong is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and five counts of resisting an officer with violence, according to Alachua County court records. Police, in their arrest report, alleged Adu-Brempong threatened officers, both verbally and by his actions. Officers who were involved were Keith Smith, William Sasser, James Mabry, Stacy Ettel, and William Ledger, the report stated.
According to Brandon Kutner, the President of PBA, says the police did nothing wrong even though they knew about Kofi's mental condition the previous night!
Jamel Lanee: "David, the Police Benevolent Association is representing the five officers who were involved in the shooting on March 2nd. The investigation was in the hands of the F-D-L-E but was completed on Friday and turned over to the State Attorney. PBA members say they believe the results in the investigation in a comment Adu-Brempong made to a local newspaper will show the officers acted accordingly and by the book!"
Brandon Kutner: "Reference was made to the metal rod being a cane he used, errh, to walk possibly, urh, because of his, errh, childhood disease with polio, errh, by his own admission and by his own statement given to the Sun, he was lucid that night, urrhm, he knowingly pulled off that, errh, rod off his computer desk and swung it on the officers." Click here to: Watch Video
As Fernando Figueroa, of Gainesville SDS noted: “We will not let up until we gain justice for Kofi. We are taking a stand against police brutality and racism on our campus and throughout the country... It is astounding to see so few reporters covering the point blank shooting of an African man in the face here. This is the same campus where you could not walk ten feet without bumping into a reporter or TV crew following a white student’s famous ‘Don’t tase me bro!’ incident.”
TAKE ACTION!
Please, join the Coalition Against Police Brutality, Justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong to demand:
- UPD drops all charges against Kofi
- An Independent Grand Jury investigations into the shooting.
- Implementation of an independent review board for the UPD
- Indefinate unpaid suspension for the shooter, Keith Smith, pending investigation.
- Improvement of mental health and crisis services on campus to prevent future incidents.
- Elimination of UPD's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).
Updates on further organizing, Adu-Brempong's condition, and more are regularly posted at the "Justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong" Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=336549896343 (Facebook membership not required to view).
For More Information:
Dave Schneider- (407)-267-1419;
Justin Wooten - (352)-213-6519
Person doesn't use Facebook?
Fellow Ghanaians, Africans and citizens of a free and democratic world! Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere! As UF Student Fernando Figueroa stated during a recent demonstration on Democracy Now!:
“We’re demanding that all charges be dropped against Kofi, because they’re trying to do, you know, kind of something what’s called extortion. Like they’re saying, ‘Oh, we’ll drop the charges if you don’t file a lawsuit.’ And so, we’re demanding that all the charges be dropped and that more severe action be taken against the offending officer, Keith Smith.”
It has been said that the best way to pray is to speak to yourself, and the best way to speak to the authorities is to speak to your neighbours, family and friends about your problem and ask them to do the same thing! Whenever justice is not only fair, but also not seen by all to be fair, it is no longer a legal case, it becomes a political problem. This is the time for all of us to come out with original and creative ways of raising public awareness to this case if our own media is failing us. We should cry our own cry and shout our own SHOUT!
My attention to this case was on the 17th of March during my routine watch of Democracy Now! A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 800 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S. Slowly but surely, we will be heard! I did not just want to be a spectator of this struggle but a participant in it, even though I reside far away on the other side of the Atlantic. I followed it up with a google search and it was easy to find the group on facebook.
I simply realised that not many Ghanaians are yet aware of what is going on, that, it was going to take a lot of time each time someone decided to know what is going on enough to make informed responses. I decided to do a fact sheet and a regular news updates as my contribution for not being able to attend the Rally at the Plaza! This is therefore not an official site of Justice4Kofi, it is a blog of an active member. So far as one is being sensitive to the good work being done by the coalition, we can all play a part in getting the message across!
Over to you!
JUSTICE4KOFI NOW!!!"
Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pe
Blog: http://nanaakyeamensah.blo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheOdik
Latest News:
"Kofi Adu-Brempong, a Ghanaian doctoral student and teaching assistant at the University of Florida, on March 2, 2010 was apparently having a nervous breakdown (due to visa renewal worries) in his apartment at UF's Corry Village housing complex.
His shouting and other erratic behavior brought members of the UF campus police to Corry Village, where they surrounded his apartment and evacuated his neighbors. After about two hours of oral negotiations (in which UF's understaffed mental health counselors were not involved), during which they confirmed that Adu-Brempong was alone and threatening no one, the police kicked down his door.
Five officers entered the apartment. In less than a minute, they shocked Adu-Brempong three times with a taser, shot him twice with a beanbag shotgun, and blasted him in the face with an M4 military assault rifle. An ambulance took him to UF-affiliated Shands Hospital, where he remains with a bullet lodged dangerously near his spinal cord and unable to speak due to mouth injuries.
Adu-Brempong has been charged with aggravated assault on an officer and resisting an officer with violence. For over three weeks, he was under continuous guard by two county deputies before his family posted a $10,000 bond to prevent him from being transferred to the overcrowded local jail. Reported medical costs already approach $300,000."... MORE... ( If cops shoot unarmed man and nobody hears, did it happen? April 11, 2010, 3:25PM)
Public video of UFPD shooting of Adu-Brempong
Judging by the background of this guy, the given circumstances, the obvious overpower the cops' had over the suspect, the lack of rage of the suspect, the lack of a truly dangerous weapon, and the fact that he was disabled to the point of needing a cane to walk...
I seriously doubt the cops needed to shoot two AR-15 rounds at this guy and blow his fucking jaw out of his skull.
I want to see a cop go to jail over this.
Link to Gainesville Sun story
Replies: 8 — Last Post April 20 2:51pm by Dedalus
Post edited at 1:58 pm on April 20, 2010 by redhotchilis64
News from AM850.com
Shooting Video Released and Rally Held
The University of Florida’s Students for a Democratic Society posted a new video to YouTube showing the events of the night UPD shot Kofi Adu-Brempong. An anonymous neighbor of Adu-Brempong’s shot the 10 minute video. The SDS used the video at a Justice for Kofi rally yesterday at the Plaza of the Americas. Protestors marched to the office of State Attorney Bill Cervone’s office. SDS member Justin Wooten says the video shows the quick progression of events the evening of March 2nd. After about five and a half minutes, the video shows police breaking down the door and within the next minute firing on Adu-Brempong first with a taser, then with bean bags and finally an assault rifle. Wooten says the video is difficult to stomach. UF Spokesman Steve Orlando says he’s hopeful about negotiations between the student protesters and the university. He says the students have met with President Bernie Machen twice, and they have always been respectful.Posted: Wednesday April 21, 2010
ON YOUTUBE:
Video Alert for: Kofi Adu-Brempong
Shot on Campus with Police Assault Rifle
02:35
Police Brutality: Student Shot with Assault Rifle on Campus Kofi Adu-Brempong Shot on Campus with Police Assault Rifle
youtube.com
States attorney’s office occupied
Battle to get justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong continues
By Jared Hamil | April 21, 2010
Read more articles in Police Brutality
Students and community members joined a third rally, April 20, demanding justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong, the African student shot in the face by university police. (Fight Back! News)
Above:
Despite a 50/50 chance of rain, the protest kicked off with a few speakers from Students for a Democratic Society and Michael Leslie, a black professor at the University of Florida. (Fight Back! News)
Right:
During the occupation, the angry crowd used megaphones and shouted to bring a representative of the attorney’s office out of the back rooms to answer questions. (Fight Back! News)
Gainesville, FL - Students and community members joined a third rally, April 20, demanding justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong, the African student shot in the face by university police. Over 120 people showed up at the protest, which started in the Plaza of Americas, on the University of Florida campus, and ended at the State Attorney’s office. This took place after several meetings between the Coalition for Justice Against Police Brutality and the University of Florida administration - including the chief of the university police department, Linda Stump and the president, Bernie Machen.
Despite a 50/50 chance of rain, the protest kicked off with a few speakers from Students for a Democratic Society and Michael Leslie, a black professor at the University of Florida. From there, the protesters marched off of campus and into the streets, taking a lane of traffic while chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” Marching to downtown Gainesville, the protesters chanted outside the state attorney’s office and shortly afterwards occupied it. The plan was to present a list of demands to Bill Cervone, the state attorney. However, Cervone had left town earlier. MORE..
PBA Supports Officers Involved In Adu-Brempong Shooting
by Jamel Lanee · Apr 19th 2010 · See more Local News
The Police Benevolent Association is representing the five officers who were involved in the shooting of U-F student, Kofi Adu-Brempong. Union members believe the results of F-D-L-E's investigation on the shooting will show the officers acted accordingly and by the book. Click here to: Watch Video
PBA Supports Officers Involved In Adu-Brempong Shooting
"The Police Benevolent Association is representing the five officers who were involved in the shooting of U-F student, Kofi Adu-Brempong. Union members believe the results of F-D-L-E's investigation on the shooting will show the officers acted accordingly and by the book."
by Jamel Lanee · Apr 19th 2010 · Source: wcjb.com/
Rush Transcript:
Click here to: Watch Video
TV20 News Apr 19th 2010
David Snyder: "Good evening,... It is one step forward in the prosecution of a case against a U-F student who police say he started an incident that led to his shooting by U-F police, but it maybe the last step forward, before the Department of Law Enforcement completed its investigation into what led to the shooting of Kofi Adu-Brempong on March 2nd. Now it is up to the State Attorney's office to determine whether they would prosecute him.
Protesters have been calling for an investigation into the officers involved in the shooting. The TV20 Jamel Lanee is here to report that the police union says they did nothing wrong."
Jamel Lanee: "David, the Police Benevolent Association is representing the five officers who were involved in the shooting on March 2nd. The investigation was in the hands of the F-D-L-E but was completed on Friday and turned over to the State Attorney. PBA members say they believe the results in the investigation in a comment Adu-Brempong made to a local newspaper will show the officers acted accordingly and by the book:
Brandon Kutner: "Reference was made to the metal rod being a cane he used, errh, to walk possibly, urh, because of his, errh, childhood disease with polio, errh, by his own admission and by his own statement given to the Sun, he was lucid that night, urrhm, he knowingly pulled off that, errh, rod off his computer desk and swung it on the officers."Jamel Lanee: "We were able to contact Adu-Brempong's attorney, Larry Turner and he released a statement,
Larry Turner: 'I have not seen the report, and I hope to see it soon. I hope that it reflect a fair and impartial judgement. I will reserve judgement until we see the report.'The state Attorney says they are in the process of reviewing F-D-L-E's findings and it could take weeks before they decide to put forward with the case against Adu-Brempong. He is charged with resisting arrest and aggravated assault. The officers involved were on administrative leave but have since returned to work. Jamel Lanee, TV20 News."
--- Rush Transcript I TV20 News, Apr 19th 2010 · Source: wcjb.com/ This transcript has been made and certified by Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. Watch Video --
MARCH 12, 2010 12:36PM
University of Florida Police Shoot Student in the Head
Swat team acted without probable cause, according to Judge.
Today, as UF students return from spring break, President Bernie Machen emailed the student body to tell us of a shooting of a student by Campus Police last week. I have been off campus on-and-off this semester, engaged in filedwork for my PhD dissertation, so I did not hear about it when it happened March 2nd.
The victim is a PhD student in the Geography Department, Mr. Kofi Adu-Brempong, a native of Ghana, where his wife and family still reside. He is a UF Teaching Associate (as I myself have been), and has been in the graduate program since 2005. He also is disabled by polio, and walks hunched over with a cane.
He has lately been suffering from paranoid delusions, fearing that the government will revoke his student visa. Concern from his colleages in geography prompted them to alert the authorities prior to the shooting, but a police report from the day before the shooting suggested that he was not a danger to others and just wanted to be left alone. He refused counseling on March 1st.
Neigbors reported screaming from his apartment and called the police on the evening of March 2nd.
After a 1.5 hour stand off, officers stormed his apartment and officer Kieth Smith shot him in the head with an M-4 Bushmaster rifle, after Mr. Adu-Brempong allegedly brandished a knife and a "pipe"... MORE...
Brother of student shot at UF contends police brutality
By Cindy Swirko
Staff writer /www.gainesville.com/
Published: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 3:53 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 3:53 p.m.
The brother of a University of Florida student shot by police on Tuesday said Saturday the family believes he was a victim of police brutality.
Dr. Kwame Obeng visited his brother, Kofi Adu-Brempong, at Shands at the University of Florida Friday and said he is in very serious condition and under police guard.
Obeng said the family has gotten little information from UF on the incident, can't understand why police shot his brother and has hired an attorney to represent him.
"The family believes that Kofi is a victim of police brutality and we are demanding that he be released to the custody of his family," Obeng said.
"Kofi has never been a violent person. He is kind, compassionate and helpful. He is a father, son, brother and friend to many," Obeng said. "The family is very shocked by what happened. We have been very, very patient waiting answers as to what happened. So far we not been given any reasonable answers as to why such force was used on my brother."
University Police Chief Linda Stump and Capt. Jeff Holcomb, the agency's spokesman, could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.... MORE...
April 16, 2010 11:33 p.m.Attorney says grad student apparently shot in face, hand
Video may shed light on standoff with UF campus police officers.
Published: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 12:24 a.m.An attorney for the University of Florida student shot last week by campus police says his client was wounded in both the hand and face, while the student's brother says a bullet remains lodged near his spine and poses a threat for paralysis. More...
According to UPD public information officer Jeff Holcomb, all officers are prepared and trained to identify when the Baker Act needs to be enforced, or when a person can be involuntarily hospitalized after becoming a danger to themselves or others.
Was UF shooting avoidable?
Mental health experts: If police had used Baker Act, things may have ended better
Published: Monday, March 15, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 11:37 p.m.
Betty Strayer, who deals with Baker Act admissions as vice president for emergency services at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, said she sees a difference in officers who receive the training. Those officers tend to show more knowledge about the Baker Act and mental illness, she said.
Keep googling for the latest!
Results 1-10 of about 1,120 for Kofi Adu-Brempong (0.20 seconds)Mar 3, 2010 ... A University of Florida graduate student described as delusional but praised by
his students remained hospitalized Wednesday after being ...http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100303/ARTICLES/100309832 - -1k - Similar pagesMar 6, 2010 ... The brother of a University of Florida student shot by police on Tuesday said
Saturday the family believes he was a victim of police ...http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100306/ARTICLES/100309615 - -1k - Similar pagesMar 24, 2010 ... On March 2nd, graduate student and teaching assistant Kofi Adu-Brempong was shot
in the face with an assault rifle by officers of the ...http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=336549896343 - 110k - Similar pagesSee ratings and read comments about professor Kofi Adu-Brempong from University
of Florida in FL.http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=932619 - 36k - Similar pagesMar 8, 2010 ... wall post: "The inept UPD police force (who somehow still feel at liberty to
Taser anyone they want to), once again failed miserably at ...http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-417837 - 103k - Similar pagesMar 3, 2010 ... (Update posted at 4 pm) University of Florida police released a report from a
police visit on Monday to student and graduate assistant Kofi ...http://www.ocala.com/article/20100303/ARTICLES/100309855 - 103k - Similar pagesMar 21, 2010 ... They presented the board with a list of demands, including dropping all charges
against Kofi Adu-Brempong. The other important demand is the ...http://negotiationisover.com/tag/kofi-adu-brempong/ - 66k - Similar pagesApr 7, 2010 ... Gainesville, FL - 250 people rallied here, April 6, to support Kofi Adu-Brempong
, the University of Florida student who was shot in the face ...http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/4/7/gainesville-students-d... - 37k - Similar pagesMar 24, 2010 ... Crowd of several hundred demonstrators at the University of Florida in the
aftermath of the police shooting of Kofi Adu-Brempong, ...http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2010/03/kofi-adu-brempong... - 319k - Similar pagesMar 17, 2010 ... Have you heard of Kofi Adu-Brempong? Well, probably not so let me fill you in on
the shooting. Hundreds of students rallied at the ...http://todayshottopic.com/2010/03/17/kofi-adu-brempong-shoot... - 42k - Similar pages
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
No comments:
Post a Comment