Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20160711

Delrawn small was shot dead by a doctor to Police Officer after a traffic incident as delrawn plus role friend and three children looked on. Newly releleased surveveillanc contradictct the officers clam of self defense. We will speak to the attorney for Delrawn Smalls family. Then we look at a stunning expose into the privatized world of prison extradition in which prisoners are transferred across the country by forprofit van companies. In the second leg of his transports, he was picked up and the guards on the second leg admitted that were marking mocking his moans and groans and making fun of the whining and complaining he was doing. Within about seven hours, he was found dead, covered in urin in the back of the van. Amy and we will speak to congressman Keith Ellison about this weekends mass black lives matter protests and get an update on how he and other Bernie Sanders supporters are attemptiting to push the Democratic Party to adopt a more progressive platform. All thatat and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Protests against Police Brutality erupted across the United States over the weekend, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets and blocking roads, bridges and highways in cities including chicago, atlanta, baton rouge, st. Paul, los angeles, phoenix, and rochester, new york. More than 300 people were arrested nationwide, including more than 160 in baton rouge, where two white Police Officers lastd alton sterling tuesday morning. An africanamerican father of multiple videos of the killing five. Show Police Officers had sterling pinned to the ground before shooting him multiple times. Among those arrested in baton rouge was black lives matter activist who ran for mayor in baltimore. He was held for 17 hours. In minnesota, where philando cacastile wawas killed by polic, more than 100 people werere arrested on saturday night on interstate 94 during a standoff with police during which , officers in riot gear threw smoke bombs and pepper spray, while some protesters threw molotov cocktails and rocks at the officers. More than 20 Police Officers were injured. Philanando castile was killed during a trafficic stop for a broken taillight. The aftetermath of his deaeath s livestreamed on facebook by his girlfrfriend, diamond lavish reynolds in an extraordinary video in which she narrates the she is sitting next to him still in the car while she narrates his killing with the police wanting a gun at her and her fouryearold daughter. As her boyfriend lays dying next to her. Philando castile had been pulled over at least 52 times by police in recent years, receiviving 68 in fines, although more than half of his violations were later dismissed a record which mamany decrieded as an eme of racial targeting. Throughout the weekend, solidarity protests also erupted in phoenix, arizona, where Police Pepper sprayed a crowd of more than 1000 protesters. In memphis, tennessee, hundreds shut down the interstate40 bridge. In rochester, new york, 74 people were arrested. And in chicago, protesters blocked traffic by forming a peace sign with their bodies. In cities across the country, the Police Deployed militarystyle vehicles, smoke bombs tear gas to attempt to , suppress the uprisings. The heavily militarized response to the protests was encapsulated by a photograph, which has since gone viral, of a tall black woman in a dress standing gracefully in front of two Police Officers in full riot gear who appear to be running toward her. The photo was shot by new orleans photographer jonathan bachman. Its reported the woman was later arrested. During a protest in atlanta, where activists have been marching for four straight nightsts, one ofof the protestes spoke out. It is so beautiful to see my people and so many other people and different races coming together and making a stand and saying, you know what . We are tired of it. So lets move. Lets do something. Lets change. Today is the change. You are the change. We are all the changnge. We are history. We are the future. So what are you going to do about it . Amy in response to the uprisings, three countries havae issued travel warnings for the United States,s, including thehe majorityblack caribbean nation the e bahamas, which warned in particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also issued travell warnings. Meanwhile, in new york, a new video has s surfaced in the case of the fatal offduty Police Shooting of an u unarmed brookln man on the 4th of july. Delrawn smalall was drivivg with his girlfriend and three children through East New York when he and offduty Police Officer wayne isaacs had a confrontation while driving. The police initially claimed small got out of his car and punched offificer isaacs in the face. Butt now a grainy, blackandwhite Surveillance Video of the intersection shows small approaching isaacs car, isaacs then opens fire within a small stumbles away and second. Collapses on the street between twtwo parked cars. Isaacs then gets out of his car, appears to tuck his gun into his waistband, surveilled the scene, then walk away. On saturday, more than a dozen people were arrested during a march that blocked traffic across manhattan, including on the fdr drive. We will have more on the delrawn small case after headlines. A series of highprofile entertainers and athletes have spoken out against Police Brutality and in support of the black lives Matter Movement, including Beyonce Stevie wonder, and tennis star serena williams, who said to those of you involved in equality movements like black lives matter, i say this keep it up. Weve been through so much for so many centuries, and we shall overcome this too. Williams won her 22th grand slam tournament when she won wimbledon on saturday. The nationwide protests come as president obama is cutting short his trip to spain to fly back to the United States. He is expected to speak at a Memorial Service in dallas on this comes as new details tuesday. Have emerged about the shooting spree in dallas, during which a sniper opened fire at the end of an antiPolice Brutality march, on thursday night. Five policeilled officers, wounding seven more. On friday, Dallas Police identified the gunman as 25yearold africanamerican Micah Xavier Johnson of mesquite, texas, which is just north of dallas. Johnson was an army veteran who served in afghanistan in 2014. About six months into his tour, he was accused of sexual harassing a female soldier, and was sent back to the u. S. By the army. He also had a restraining order placed against him. Dallas police say johnson told them during the standoff that he was acting alone, was part of no was not part of any group and , wanted to kill white Police Officers. Authorities say they killed johnsoson by detonating a bombequipped robot which is sparking questions. This is suspected to be the First Time Police have killed a suspect using a bombequipped robot in the United States. A handndful of former popolitics and propolicece groups have lasheded out against president obama and the black lives Matter Movement in the wake of the dallas shootings. On friday, the head d of the National Association of Police Organizations William Johnson accused the Obama Administration of waging a war on cops. This comes despite the fact fewer Police Officers been killed on average under president obamas presidency than the average number killed under george w. Bush, bill clinton, george h. W. Bush, ronald reagan, and gerald ford. In fact, the safest two years for Police Officers over the last century were during the obama presidency. The years 2013 and 2015, which also coincided with the rise of the black lives Matter Movement. Meanwhile, former new york city mayor Rudolph Giuliani issued a tirade against the black lives matterer m movement while speakg on cbss face the nation. That is a nearly racist. Black lives matter. White lives matter. Asian lives matter. Hispanic lives matter. That is antiamerican and it is racist. Of course, black lives matter. And they matter greatly. But when you focus i in on 1 of less than 1 of the murder that is going on in america and you make it a national thing and all of you in the media make it much bigger than the black kid whos getting killed in chicago every 14 hours, you create a disproportion. The police understand it and it putsts a target on their back ht of every cop in america will tell you that if you ask them. Amy that was former new york city mayor Rudolph Giuliani. During another part of this interview, he falsely claimed that a new york city Police Officer who killed amadou diallo in 1999 was sitting in jail for 25 years. In fact, all four officers charged in his death were acquitted. In news from the campaign trail, vermont senator and democratic president ial candidate Bernie Sanders has announced he will join his rival, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, for a Campaign Event in portsmouth, new hampshire, on tuesday, where he is expected to issue a formal endorsement of Hillary Clinton. A half dozen women have spoken out about being sexually harassed by fox news chairman roger ailes. This comes only days after former fox news host Gretchen Carlson sued ailes for sexual harassment, saying he made repeated advances toward her. Carlson also s says when she rejected those advances, he retaliated against her by cutting her salary, curtailing her airtime and then refusing to renew her contract. One of the six women to speak with new York Magazine s says she was 16 when roger ailes brought her into his office, locked the door, and then pulled down his pants. When she refused to perform oral sex she says he chased her , around t the office untitil finally allowing her to leave the room. In news from britain, former Prime Minister tony blair could be barred from future Public Office in the united kingdom. Members of the British Parliament are hoping this week to vote on whether blair deceived the British Parliament in order to go to war in iraq. The move for a contempt vote comes after the release of the chilcot report, which blames tony blair for deliberately exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in the leadup to the iraq war. The International Criminal court is also considering proceedings against british soldiers accused of torturing iraqi prisoners in 2003. This comes as the pentagon has announced it carried out 10 strikes in iraq and 13 strikes in syria over the weekend. U. S. Defense secretary Ashton Carter is in iraq today. The family of an american journalist killed in syria in 2012 has sued the Syrian Government in u. S. Federal court. Sunday times reporter marie colvin died after a direct strike on a building where she was staying with other journalists. Her family says the attack deliberately targeted colvin hours after she had broadcast live from the building on cnn and spoke of indiscriminate shelling by the government in the oppositionheld city of homs. The committee to protect journalists says 96 journalists have been killed in syria since 2011. The majority are syrian. In news from south sudan, fighting has intensified in the capital juba. Fighting began last week as efforts to implement a Peace Agreement between the coununtrs twtwo main factionons failed. At least twowo United Nations peacekeepersrs were killed s suy evening and an estimated 200 people have been killed since last week. In cambodia, thousands are mourning the killing of political commentator kem ley. He was shot and killed at point blank range sunday while drinking a cup of coffee at a gas station. He was the founder of the Grassroots Democracy Party and a sharp critic of the countrys ruling cambodian peoples party, which is facing mounting opposition in the leadup to local and National Elections in 2017 and 2018. And the pulitzer prizewinning journalist whose work inspired the killing fields, has died at the age of 82. Newsday and New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg helped create awareness of the genocide taking place in cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s under the khmer rouge. Following the secret u. S. Bombing campaign in cambodia during the vietnam war. This is schanberg speaking with the daily mail in 1991. It is important to continue development. Without it, the countrtry is not going to grow ouout of this h hl they have been n in f for 30 ye. Sisince the u. S. Has some significant t measure of respononsibility fofor thathel, having initiated in one since the war in cambodia and then having supported t the kmer rouge for keeping the vietnam ese out of power, we owed this cambodia we owe this aid. Amy to see his interview on democracy now , go to democracynow. Org. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Protests against Police Brutality erupted across the United States over the weekend, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets and blocking roads, bridges and highways in cities including chicago,o, atlanta, baton rouge, st. Paul, los angeles, phoenix and rochester, new york. , hundreds of people were arrested nationwide, including more than 100 in baton rouge, where two white Police Officers sterling, the africanamerican father of five, last in minnesota, more than 100 tuesday. People were arrested on saturday night on interstate 94 during a standoff with police, during which officers in n riot gear threw smoke bombs and pepper spray. Protests have rocked minnesota since a Police Officer shot and killed Philando Castile, another africanamerican man shot during a traffic stop for a broken tail light. Whwhile the deaths of a alton ststerling and philandndo castie have s sparked the rececent wavf protests, we begin todays show looking at another Police Shooting from last week that has received far Less National attention. Shortly after midnight on july 4, an offduty new york Police Officer shot andnd killed an unarmed africanamamerican man from brooklyn after a traffic incident. Police officials said the officer, wayne isaacs, opened fire using his police gun after the man, delrawn small, approached his vehicle and punched him in the face. But newly released Surveillance Video counters that claim. The grainy black and white video shows the offduty officer shooting small as soon as he approached his vehicle. It does not appear to o show sml puncnching isaacacs. Small then stumbles away and collapses on t the street betwen two parked cars. Isaacs then gets out of his car , appearing to to tuck his gun into his waistband as he walks surveillance the scene, does not bend over to help them. He then returns to his car. Witnesses said the incident began when isaacs cut off smalls car. Delrawn smalls girlfriend, their 4monthold son and her two daughters witnessed the shooting from the car. Last week Delrawn Smalls , brother Victor Dempsey spoke out t at a candlelight vigil. You got that bad john, you do your job. You take that bad off, he still act like you have that bad john. Where is the video . We are asking for video. Yall go home after your shift. My brother aint coming back. On, you put the badges act human, just like us. Are all out here because we know w he was a good man. Lolook in our faces and tell me why you shot him. Dont c care at the end of the day, he got shotot by a cop for r no reason. Amy new York State Attorney general Eric Schneiderman has opened an invevestigation into e shooting. In a statatement released frida, schneiderman said as special prosecutor, i am committed to conducting a full, fair and independent , investigation of this tragedy, and will follow the facts and evidence including this Video Evidence wherever they lead. My heart goes out to the small family during this painful period. The New York Daily News reports the officer invovolved n the shshooting, wayne isaacscs,s accused in a 2014 lawsuit with a fafalse arreststn which the suspect was punched, kickcked d struck several times in the e hd and body. The plaintiff also charged that one of the arresting cops called him the nword before the case was settled for 20,000. The new York Police Department did not respond to democracy now s requests for comment. We are joined by the attorney representing the family of delrawn small. Welcome. It is great to have you with us. So why dont you go through what you understand took place on Independence Day in new york. On Independence Day, of all days. Girlfriend and his were returning from a barbecue and there were going up or down atlantic avenue when this car cut them off i think, at least twice. When they came to a stop light, mr. Small got out and w went upo the cop and said well, he did not know it was a cop. He said, what are you doing . I have my family in this car. That is as far as it got. The three shots. You know, he hit the ground. The video is very instructive in terms it shows that the cop had no urgency around what was happening. You see him get out of the car. He is very casual. He looks down. He does not even bend over to touch him to see if he is alive, and walks strolls back to s car. I think the video is very instructive in terms of the coldblooded nature of what happened. This was nothing as more than if i had stepped on n ant. Amy what took place afterwards . He did make a call, not clear to who. The state attorney generals thise has taken over prosecution or this investigation. Depending, of course, on the new York City Police department to collect the information because it does not have its own independent unit. We understand supposedly a call was made. The thing that stands out is, had this been a civilian who shot an unarmed civilian, whether he had a license for a gun or not, he would have been arrested. To this day, there is an arrest. I think that is what stands out, there hahas always been a double standard in terms of how the police are treated when they are involved in the shooting of a civilian. And this is no different. It sends a message to the Police Department that they are apart from the same rules that affect everybody else in society. And i think that is one of the reasons that underlies the continuing protest full. Amy i yesterdays New York Post, a very conservative paper in new york. While the New York Times reported two days ago that wayne isaacs remains on active duty as Eric Schneidermans office investigates, the New York Post releases the headline that video is second damming. Basically, he was blown away. It says the cop who has since been placed on administrative leave i dont know that is true or not. The key question is not whether or not he is been put on administrative leave, he should be arrested. He should have been arrested and he should be arrested at this point. Even before the video came out, he should have been arrested because even if his version of events were true, there is no justification for the use of lisle lethal force. He said delrawn small was punching him. He was sitting at the will of his car. Who could have drove off. He could of done anything short of shooting delrawn small. The video indicates he was lying when he said that and t there ws even l less justification for wt he did but it was reflective of an attitude that i could be anything i want in a black or Latino Community because i know from history that im not going to be punished for it. Amy what is interesting, over the weekend with everything that has happened in the continuous showing a video of alton sterling as well as Philando Castile, the stunning video of his girlfriend narrating his death as her hands are on the dashboard with an officer with a gun pointed at her and her fouryearold daughter, in the case of new york, chief bratton has been interviewed. He was with the secretary of Homeland Security who was in new york this weekend. Today, cnn is interviewing mayor double ozzie oh. But we dont see questions about this case. I mean, the video is shocking. York it is like before the video, it was as if there were no video this did not happen. So when they talked about the murders of black and during the week of july 4, it was just these two. And nothing around delrawn small stuff although, it happened on the fourth of july before the other with an initially there was press coverage at least in new york around that. It is a must as if there is no video, there is no crime that is committed. Now that the video has serviced, they are not even addressing it. Bratton was on national tv all day yesterdrday and never mentioned it. Oh, new york, we do have a problem because we had an offduty cop who coldblooded killed an unarmed man. And so i think theyre trying to do a spin on it. Amy this is new york police commissisioner bill bratton speaking sunday on face the nation. Police officers come from the community. They come from the communities they police. Increasingly much more diversity recently, increasing numbers of africanamerican, latino officers, and that is a good thining because the committed wants to see that. That is part of the way we bridge the divide that exists between police and community, a divide that has been closing and a divide that we hope over time and certainly here in new yoror, not onlyd the mayor, to bridge the divide, but to close it. Amamy that wawas Police Commissioner bratton. There is a mythology that if you put more black bodies or black faces in the department, youre going to get youre going to bridge the divide between the community. The Police Department. It is not simply changing bodies or changing faces. You have to change the culturee of the Police Department. And the culture not only an europe city, but across the country, is of white supremacy. It is more intensify within the Police Department. Given how the criminal Justice System deals with Police Officers who have committed crimes and committed murders and almost no instances are they even arrested, much less indicted, prosecuted, or god for bid go to jail, their behavior gets reinforced. Ohey are like a have a double in front of their shields, which is a license to kill. If that culture is not addressed, you end up with the same result. In apartheid south africa, there were black policeman who enforced apartheid laws in the townships. Blacknt simply having a person doing it, it was the culture and it is the culture in the United States of the Police Department across the United States, which is why you find the disproportionate numbers of blacks and latinos that are killed, pepeople of colored that are killed by police, particularly black male. Is wayne isaacs africanamerican. And delrawn small was africanamerican. How is his family coping . His fourmonthold was in the car. The family is coping, but, you know, black folks deal with tragedy does and i think at one point, the family members made we were at a press conference with Charles Barron and she said, i used to watch it on tv and i would see you there with i never thought it would be me standing here with you because someone in my family got killed. That black lesson people take out is that we are born having committed a capital offense, which is breathing while black. As the economic crisis in the United States worsens and people looking for explanations as why their lives are getting worse, the fallback in this country has always been that it is black folks fault. And when you compound that with the militarization of the Police Department, you know, all of the different weapons, the response he saw in ferguson when the began. S the militarization of Police Department across the country, not just physical equipment but mentality of i am a member of an armed force, not just a paramilitary force, but an armed force and i am approaching the enemy in the black community is viewed as the enemy. You can get the type of response you see in a video with delrawn small where the cop gets out of his car, just strolls over. No urgency. Looks down, walks away and strolls back because i just build a member i have killed an enemy, a member of the enemyy force. Amy we were not able to get comment from the new York Police Department. Have you on why wayne isaacs has not been arrested . No. No, we have not. At this point, that should be a question addressed to the new York State Attorney general around why he has not been arrested because there is no justification based upon the video or even the reasons he gave for why he killed them. Amy roger wareham, thank you for being with us. We will continue to follow this story. Roger wareham is the attorney representing Delrawn Smalls family. He is also a leading human rights activist. On, thef this is going case of freddie grays death and the Police Officers involved in his death continues in baltimore. Were going to look at private van companies which transport tens of thousands of people some who have not even been charged across the country. Some of those people transported have died. What is going on . Were going to look at a major expose. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We turn now to a shocking new joint investigation by the New York Times and the Marshall Project that looks at the privatization of prison extradadition, in which prisones are transferred across the country by forprofit van companies. The expose reveals what the reporters called a pattern of prisoner abuse and neglect in an industry that operates with almost no oversight. Each year, tens of thousands of fugitives and suspects many who have never been convicted of a crime are entrusted to a handful of Small Private Companies that specialize in state and local extraditions, as theyre called. Reporters with the Marshall Project reviewed thousands of court documents, federal records and local news articles and , interviews with more than 50 current or former guards and executives in the course of their investigation. They found prisoners were locked in vans for days with little access to water and food, companies hired guards without providing proper training, and guards had little incentive to adequately care for prisoners. The article tells the story of a number of prisoners transported in prison vans including one who died of a perforated ulcer, another who was sexually assaulted, and a a thirird who had to have e both s amputated from complications of untreated diabetes. For more, were joined now by eli hager, a staff writer at the Marshall Project. He cowrote the recent front page New York Times article, private prisoner vans long road of neglect. Lay out what you found. We found a small handful of companies are hired by sheriffs and Police Departments around the country to drive people across states to where they are wanted. And on these vans, prisoners, many of whom have not been convicted of a crime, are held for 5, 6, 7 days in a row on the van as it journeys around the country with little acaccess to food and water, few bathroom breaks, and shackled at the risk, wrists, ankles, and wastes and not see belted. Amy name the companies. Who is the Government Contracting with . By far, the largest is called Prisoner Transportation Services located in nashville, tennessee. They have dominated the market in recent years. There are a handful of mall, more flybynight companies. Security transport services is one. U. S. Corrections is another one that is actually set to merge with pts this coming months. Amy i want to turn to your marshall caught project cowriter alysia a santo talking about a woman named denise isaacs. She was a 54yearold mother who was living in kentucky. She was on probation with the Florida Department of corrections for a shoplifting charge. She owed some fines and had not done some community service, so she was picked up in kentucky by pts and was transported over the course of three days down into florida to be brought to face these probation violation. In orlando is when she really started experiencing a lot of symptoms of having a medical crisis. The guards actually did want to bring her, they tell us, that they did want to bring her to a hospital and they called headquarters and ask for permission bit because the companys policy is you have to seek permission to bring some of the to a hospital first before you can do it. They were told no. They continued on the journey and a few hours later at a talk about parking lot in miami, she was dead in the back of the van. Even before the guards called 911, they called the Company First to let them know. Amy that is your coauthor alysia santo. Dead. What happened next, eli . The miami police did come in to ask questions of the people on board the van and took statements, but they waited for ththe autopsy to come backck whh said she died of Natural Causes and that she had not been taking medication and went into withdrawal and the was the homicide involved, so they close investigation. Amy but she couldnt because she was in the van. Correct. Amy where the Companies Held accountable . There is a pending lawsuit the family is about to bring. Hehe on that, no. Amy lets go to another story that your coauthor alysia santo tells us. This is what happened to a man named michael dykes who suffered from untreated diabetes and had to have his legs amputated after spending three days in an inmate corporation van traveling from South Carolina to missouri, in july 2012. Michael dykes was living in South Carolina when a warrant was served on him at his home to face theft and fraud charges in missouri. Placed in the local jail in South Carolina for nearly three weeks to await that extradition. His stories similar to many in that the medical care he received at the jail was not adequate. He is a severe diabetic. At the time the event came to get him, he could babarely walk will stop yet sores that have been developing on his feet. He got into the van and says the insulin he needed was placed on the dashboard where it needed to be in a cooler. The company denied this. He was then transported over the course of three days. Basically, he did not receive any care for his ones and did not get his insulin. And the time he arrived, everything had gone downhill in a serious way for him and he eventually he could not resolve the sores on his feet and had to have his legs were removed from the knee down. Amy his legs amputated after being on a van for three days. That was alysia santo, coauthor of this New York Times piece. Eli hager, you are the other coauthor. Talk about what happened for him. He is also bringing a lawsuit. That is another one pending. Picture, hen the had his legs amputated from the knees down and that has brought a lot of hardship. Amy for folks listening, you can go to democracynow. Org. Were joined on video stream by Roberta Blake. She was arrested in 2014 after not returning a rental car on time. Two weeks big transported by Prisoner Transportation Services, pts, from california to alabama. On the phone we are joined by fernando colon, who worked as a private prison van guard for two years and now speaking out against the industry. Piece int published a collaboration with the Marshall Project and vice called, the horrible things i saw driving a van packed with prisoners. We welcome you all to democracy now , talk about what happened to you. The heat exhaustion, the there really no words to describe what i had gone through. When i was picked up, it was pitch black. I was in a segregation cage. I describe it as being in a cage within a cage of an oven. There was direct conditioning coming back to us. I take Blood Pressure pills. My medication was not given to me. Me byrt was ripped off of the male inmate. I was the only female. There were two legs to my journey. Both sides of was the only female. I was actually in the pts van right before the woman he spoke about earlier, denise isaacs, had passed away. Ame guards, same van is there was rightsmmodation for your. Amy roberta, your picked up for returning a rental car late . Yes. Amy had you been charged . Know, i had not been charged with any crime. Amy and someone came to your door . No, i was in ventura, california, and my husband and i had just been married two weeks. Andad worked all day decided to pull over on the side of the road and take a nap before we continue the 150 mile drive home. We decided to take a nap and the police came upon us and ran our names. I had no clue i had a warrant. Amy and then they transfer you to Prisoner Transportation Services, the van . Yes. I spent 10 days in jail in venture of ventura and pts came and picked me up. Amy how common is this, eli hager . Most of the things that she described are very common. First of all, not knowing you have a warrant out in another state is very common. Being held in a local jail for several days before being picked up by pts or one of these companies is also very common. To be the only woman on a van and yet toto be seated near or with men is also very common. Murderers, rapists, and people who have never been charged. Correct. You people convicted of murder and people only accused of small, firsttime offenses like dui or probation violations all sitting together. It can cause some violent situations on the van. Amy what have you done since this time, Roberta Blake . Have you sued. I have not. From calling around trying to find an attorney to actually take the case, people dont realize what actually happened. I believe they feel like i am lying about that there is no way it could be as bad as i am saying. In a cup innate front of 11 male inmates. I feel like a soon as i start tetelling them that it is like, oh, we will refefer you overer o the bar. I have n not found anybody whol take my case. Ththere are no lawaws governingt seems, over state lines. Amy i want to bring in fernando colon, who worked as a private prison van guard for two years now speaking out against the , industry. Youre currently a truck driver. We appreciate you taking this time. The piece you just wrote with the Marshall Project and vice called, the horrible things i saw driving a van packed with prisoners. You have been listening to these examples. You know what alysia Santo Eli Hager and have written about. Describe your training. Did you see people die on vans . Good morning. It is my pleasure to be on the show this morning. Goes, as the training training could last up to two classroomr as training. Basically, youre taught handcuffing procedures, cpr basic things like that. As far as real training, you will learn that on the job when you go out with your fto. It is basically all onthejob training, maam. Amy and these stories, a man whose legs were amputated because of diabetes, another who died, Roberta Blake describing having to urinate in a cup in front of other male prisoners she is in a van for 10 days. Yes, maam. There are occasions where prisoners are on board for about seven days. For example, i would pick up all over the United States. I would be back in florida, probably on the fifth or sixth day, and it would take another three days to deliver these prisoners to the different county jails and the different state and federal institutions. Sometimes it is hard there was an escape once upon a time. Companies that really strict as far as Opening Doors en route. We could only stop in a secured sally port, a secured area within the jail when you first drive in. There is not a jail every five miles. And sometimes for one jail to another by p 150 miles, 200 miles. It is hard to find a location to pull over to use the restroom. Localwould call the sheriffs. I would get on the phone and call the front apartment. To me, t those were secured are. As long as someone was there watching the goodell 911. Amy fernando colon, why have you decided to speak out now . Im going to give you one example of something that really bothered me. Basically, it was a liability thing for me. I did not want to have anything on my conscience that would, you know, ruined me for the rest of my life. There was one instance where i picked up a young lady. I cannot remember the state. , letsng to guess it was say, north dakota. This girl was about 18 years old, five months pregnant. She had an open warrant in florida. She was involved in a car accident. When you have a car accident, police are involved. I guess they ran her name. She came back with a warrant. She sat in the hospital for a couple of days. She had a broken neck and was wearing a metatal halo that goes around the whole neck and connect t to the shohoulders. She was five months pregegnant. I transported her on mymy van fr over five days. This young lady also suffered from seizures. Several times on the trip i would hear the chains rattling in the back and the prisoners yelling for my help. I literally had to stop the van in the middle of nowhere. I opened the doors for her and i would hold her in my arms and help her pass through the seizures. It was later told to me by her that caffeine helps. So every time shehe does she got three or four seizures on board. I would be on the side of the Highway Holding her in my arms and feeding her soda or in energy drink because of the caffeine. I thought, this could be my daughter, this could be my mom or sister. This could be anybodys family member. And to be transported like that with a broken neck, five months pregnant . It is inhumane. It needs to be federally regulated. Amy we are going to leave it there right now. We are one to come back to this conversation after the show and post it online at democracynow. Org. Fernando colon, thank you for being with us, p private prison van guard for two years and is now speaking out against the industry. Currently a truck driver. I want to thank Roberta Blake, who is just joined us, speaking to us about being held van in a virtue weeks in 2014. And eli hager, thank you u for being withth us. We will link to your peace with alysia santo called private , prisoner vans long road of neglect. When we come back, p sullivan Keith Ellison joins us. The Platform Committee representing Bernie Sanders. Stay with us. [music break] amy a shout out to the folks joining us here todayy at democracy now this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Protests against Police Brutality erupted across the u. S. Over the weekend with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets blocking roads, bridges, and highways in cities from chicago to atlanta, baton rouge to st. Paul, los angeles, phoenix, new york city, more than 300 people arresteded nationwidede including 160 in baton rouge where two white Police Officers killed alton sterling last tuesday morning, an africanamerican fodder five in minnesota. Philando castile was killed. More than 100 people were arrested at interstate 94 during a standoff with police. We go now to washington, d. C. , joined by Democratic Congress member Keith Ellison a minnesota, cochair of the house progressive caucus. Welcome to democracy now start off by talking about what happened to Philando Castile. What many people are calling for right now is the immediate arrest of the officer. Can you talk about whether you support this and what you feel needs to happen. Lets start off with the fact that Philando Castile was arrested 52 times before he ever got to the fateful one that resusulted in his loss of life. I really doubt this is just him being a bad or unlucky driver. It probably has much more to do with the fact he is a black man driving in one of our suburban communities and was targeted for that. People might say, how do you know that . Well, i do know that africanamerican teenagers are shot 21 four times more often than their white counterparts i know africanamerican motorist moretopped significantly than their white counterparts. It is reasonable to say that he was stopped for an impermissible reason that is raise. Then we arrive at the fateful day when he stopped and the first explanation they give is that he stopped for a busted tail light. Within moments, we see that his girlfriend is narrating in real time that he is going for his wallet as he was commanded to do, and then he is shot and killed by a shrill, panicked sounding officer as this young woman is incredibly well poised as she is narrating to the world ast is happening to philando her fouryearold child is sitting there. Look, im a defense attorney of many years and im not want to say that people dont get their due process. Everyone gets it. But in this particular case, it seems very clear to me that this officer is out of control. He used Excessive Force resulting in the death of Philando Castile. There needs to be accountability. Amy do you think you should be arrested . Arrest is part of the normal course of the police process, right . That is the way it goes. That is part of what happens. They could give him a summons and tell him to show up or they could arrest himim, b but obsesg on whether he is arrested or comes into the course is done ey as the system, to me, smaller point. The bigger point is, yes to be held accountable because you dont get to shoot people e has to be held accountable because you dont get to shoot people. This deal probably never should have been stopped that day. Amy what about an independent investigation . What would that look like in minnesota . I believe there should be an independent federal investigation, but i do support and i have called for that publicly, but i also believe that i think her must be an independent investigation. Attorneyhe county needs to publicly declclare he will not use the grand jury. This is a system used to literally whitewash Police Officer involved shootings, not just a minnesota, but all over the country. And i think we need our Prosecutorial Authority to step up and say, this is a law, these are the facts come a we are one to put this in front of a jury, and they get to decide what they decide. But there is going to be some accountability here because this is an outrageous, eat bread to make problem. Policeur reaction to the brutality protest that took place in dallas on thursday, very peaceful, and then a sniper opening fire and the killing of the Police Officers in dallas . The officers were there to try to protect and provide safety for the demonstrators. Therere killing is a horriblble, horrible atrocious situation, which we all have to condemn. But let me say this. Surever we do not make there is Police Accountability broadly, sick, demented, broken people will there is a chance they come out of the woodwork, goes up. You cant ever predict when someone is going to do Something Like this guy micah i cant think of his last name. Amy Micah Johnson. You never know when a horrific event like this is going to happen. But i can tell you this, i think we ensure the safety of our doicers when officers who not comply with the constitutional laws of our country all over the country are brought to account. Because that gives the public the general idea that there is equality before the law. Maybe e this could not have been stopped. Maybe this sick, demented homicidal person could not have been prevented. If we have greater accountability, if the public believes that if a citizen violates the law, they will be held accountable or an officer violates the law, they will be held accountable. Then people who did move toward the lunatic extremeses will bee suppressed and will be dissuaded direction thathe this guy obviously went in. Forve tremendous of the these officers. They were providing water. They were protecting demonstrators. It is a wearable tragedy and i honor their memory and thanked them and their families for the service they gave. Withino, it certainly our purview to say that we believe there are police who dishonor the badge that should be held accountable and so should citizens when they murder Police Officers. Of course, we know Micah Johnson has died himself. But i think that are two independent events, but tragic, and requirere our action to make sure we protect people. Amy Congress Member alison, i would ask you about the democratic Platform Committee. It is believed senator sanders is going to throw his support to Hillary Clinton tomorrow in new hampshire. Theyre going to have a joint meeting and press conference. What happened at the Platform Committee . Are you satisfied with the democratic platform . You are one of sanderss representatives. And my satisfied . No, because i tend not to be. I have a thirst for justice. Am i happy and do i believe this is the most progressive platform i have seen . The answer is resoundingly yes. I think Bernie Sanders, through his campaign and the appointee may to the platform draft in committee and the Platform Committee has set forth a set of ideals for the Democratic Party which will attract am excited to electrify the base. I think we have made dramatic steps forward. And the u union index. Were the strongest statement i think against tpp. We did not come out with a total rejection for it, but set of standards it clearly does not meet and said that any trade must meet these on amy were going to talk about that and post it on democracynow. Org. Congress member allison, thank you for joining us. [capti