Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20160922 : comparemela.

The North Carolina governor has to clear the state of emergency and called out the National Guard. Corine speak with naacp mack and artist and activist bree newsome who was i in the reets last night in arlolotte. Tulsasa, okhoma, or thehe community is reeling over video footage showing a white polilice officer shootiting and k killing 40yearold africann american Terence Crutcher while his hands were in the air. This is what we know. We know there was no gun in the car. We know he was unarmed. We know he was moving slow. We knew he did not commit a crime like the new york bomber did who is still alive. We knowll of these things, but my brorother is dead. Amy we willll go to tulsa to speak withth activist marq lewis of we the people oklahoma, then we go back to 1921, the night tulsa burned. It was black wall street a white wench bob marotta through the streets killing hundreds of blacks in a thriving africanamerican business district. Blacks. Army then bombed wall street. We will speak with hannibal johnson, author of growth black wall street. In the connecticut state troopers unwittingly record themselves fabricating charges against a protester . Michael picard was reportedly peacefully protesting in west hartfoford when a state trooper walked over and took his camera out of his hand, confiscated it, then to get back to his Police Cruiser but did not realize the camera was still recording. Youre not going to take my picture. It is pubublic property it isis illegal to take my picture. Amy we will speak with the legal director who is suing three state troopers for criminalng trumped up charges against the protester. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. North carolina governor pat mark kerry has declared a state of emergency in the city of sharlotte following p protest wednesday night. Four officersid were injured, many demonstrators were also injured. The next protest included a civilian on civilian shooting that left one man critically wounded and at least seven more people injured. The governor has also begun abs to deploy the National Guard. This was the second night of protests in charlotte following the Fatal Police Shooting of 43yearold African American Keith Lamont Scott tuesday while the police claimed they tased and shot him because he was armed, scotts family says he was not armed except with a book in his hand. They say hed been sitting in his car waiting to pick up his son after school. This comes as protests continue in tulsa, oklahoma, after Police Shooting of 40 euros African American Terence Crutcher who was shot by white officer betty shelby while his hands were in the air. Solidarity protest to demand justice for the two men were held last night in other cities, including here in new york. In indianapolis, every player on the wnba team, the Indiana Fever knelt during the National Anthem protest to protest the killings. Meanwhile, Baltimore County states attorney Scott Shellenberger has announced no charges will be filed against the Police Officer who shot 23yearold korryn gaines, as well as her 5yearold son kodi. Gaines was killed by the Police Gunfire on august 1 after a swat team broke down her door and stormed her home in order to serve a warrant related to a traffic violation. Her son kokodi was injured by Police Gunfire, bubut he surviv. In the wake of the Fatal Police Shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott, donald trump has called for a nationwide stop and Frisk Program, while speaking at a town hall meeting in a black church in cleveland, hosted byby fox nenews. Thehere is been a lot of violence in the black committee. I wantnt to know w what you wouo to stop that viviolence . You know, black on black crime . . Stop and i i would do frisk. We did i it in new york k and it worked incredidibly well. You have to be proactiveve. You u really help people sosortf chchange theheir mind automatat. You undersrstand. You have to o have inin my opinioion, i seeee what is g gon here and in chicagogo i think stop and frisk in new york city, it was so incredible the way it worked. We had a very good mayor. New york city was incredible the way that worked. I think that would be one step. Amy in more news on this weekends bombings in new york and new jersey, a New York Times investigation has revealed that the main suspect ahmad khan rahami, was flagged , twice for federal scrutiny in 2014, but was never questioned by federal agents. The first flag came from custom officials after he returned from pakistan. The second flag came after his father called the fbi after rahami reportedly stabbed a family member. During that phone call, his father referred to rahami as a terrorist. Authorities now say rahami was carrying a notebook that suggests he was inspired by isis. Rahami has been charged in a Manhattan Federal Court with bombing, property destruction and the use of weapons of mass , destruction but not with any terrorism related charges, suggesting prosecutors have not been able to tie rahami to any nonstate terrorist organizations. In mandan, north dakota, hundreds gathered wednesday to call for the release of lakota land defender olowan martinez, who was arrested on september 13 during a land defense action in which she locked herself to a piece of heavy machinery to stop consnstruction of the 3. 8 billn Dakota Access pipeline. Martinez has been held since then in the Morton County jail because she has a warrant out for her in nebraska where shes been fighting the presence of Liquor Stores in the small town of white clay, which is nearby her home on the Pine Ridge Reservation in south dakota. This is olowan martinez. She was speaking to democracy now ould we wewere covering the standoff at standing rock. It is a small town on the edge o or the border of f south dakokota and nebraska. It is quarter Liquor Stores, yes, Liquor Stores, you could call them. They make 4 billion in your just basically off the misery and suffering of my people who are struggling without all and alcoholism alcohol and ocalans him. Amy so it is sort of a town of Liquor Stores that sell to people on the Pine Ridge Reservation . Yes, the majority of the our call they sell comes from preserve or cap 344 and it is basically a very severe infection amongst our nation and some idea when we first heard fighting white clay was to heal the wound. Amy that i is olowan martitine. Shes been held for over a week on her protest. On wednesday, Oglala Lakota land defenders also disrupted the north Dakota Petroleum Council Conference in minot. They took over the stage while department of Mineral Resources director lynn helms was speaking, demanding an end to the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. They were then escorted away by police. In your at a university hemispheric protested for a second day against a proposed 8 tuition hike for 2017. The students are demanding free education. Last year, massive student protests across south africa forced the university to back down from plans to increase tuition for this academic year. On tuesday, at least 30 students were arrested and several were injured by police. The protests have forced the university to close for the week. The university of cape town was also closed wednesday amid fear of prorotests. In the democratic republic of the congo, Security Forces have killed dozens of protesters, amid massive twoday demonstrations demanding president Joseph Kabila step down after his second term ends in december. Human rights watch says 37 protesters and six Police Officers have been killed so far during the weeks conflict. The protests were sparked by president kabilas announcement that this years president ial elections wowould be postptpone. And this years right livelihood awards, known as the alternative nobel prize, have been announced in stockholm, sweden. This years winners are the volunteer rescue group the syria civil defense, known as the white helmets. Egyptian feminist mozn hassan. Russian human rights activist svetlana gannushkina. And turkish newspaper cumhuriyet, whose journalists have faced arrest, imprisonment and assassination attempts amid , turkeys increasing crackdown press. Onon the and those are some of e headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nermeen and im nermeen shaikh. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. North Carolina Governor Pat Mccrory has declared a state of emergency in the city of charlotte following protests wednesday night the police shot rubber bullets and pepper spray at protesters who threw fireworks and trash at officers in return. Authorities said quach officers were injured. Many demonstrators were also injured. The knights protest also included a civilian on civilian shooting that left one man critically wounded and at least seven more people injured. The governor has also begun steps to deploy the National Guard. Amy this was the second night of protests in the city following the Fatal Police Shooting of 43yearold African American Keith Lamont Scott on tuesday. The shooting happened around 4 00 p. M. Tuesday after Police Arrived to serve an arrest warrant for another person at scotts housing complex. Accounts of the shooting diverge sharply. While the police claim they first tased and then shot scott because he was armed and posed an imminent deadly threat, scotts family says he was not armed except with a book. They say hed been sitting in his car, waiting to pick up his son after school. Charlotte police chief kerr putney said the police did not see a book and that scott was seen entering a car with a gun. I can tell you a w weapon was seized, a handgun. I can also tell you we did not find a book that has been made reference to. Amy an eyewitness disputed the claim that scott had a gun and not a book. This is caheshia williams. They took the book and replaced it with a gun. That man sits out here every day. His son goes to school with my daughter. That man sits out here every day and wait for his son to get off the bus. You understand how that baby had to come home to that . Amy for more were joined in charlotte, North Carolina, by two guests. Naacp mack , charlottemecklenburg branch. And with bree newsome. Lelester she s skill the 3 30 ft flagpole o on the soututh carola statee capapitol in columbia, sh carolina a and u unhooked ththe confederate flflag as police ofofficers shouteded at her tote down. She shimmimied to the e top, tok the confefederate flalag in herd and shouted you come a againste with hatrered. I cocome againstst you in the ne of god. This flag comes down today. She did this the day after the mass funeral for the nine parishioneners and their ministr who were gunned down by a white supremacist in their church control some, south carolina. We welcome you both to democracy now corine mack, lets begin with you. Can you explain what took place on tuesday as you understand it, and the differing the differing accounts of what took place despite the fact that police do have video, but have not released it . Along with several other pastors, have been on the ground since mr. Scott was killed. And we spoke at linked with many, many people who live in the area and some who were eyewitnesses. And their account is in total arerast to what the police giving us. We were told mr. Scott was sitting in his car reading a book, as he had done many, many days throughout the course of his life. He was the person that picked up his son and also the person, many days, would pick up someone elses children if they could not make it. So it is interesting for us that ofan who had a daily regimen being seated in his car reading a book would now be seated in his car with a gun. Even more disturbed was the lack of transparency. In terms of the video i think it is important because of the climate we are in, the distrust of the Police Department and Law Enforcement that the video or those videos be shown to the entire citizenry of charlotte mecklenburg. Is a weit is important spent millions of dollars to ensure that each Police Officer had on a body cam. And or several cops on the day of this incident who did not. This is not something that has happened several times. It does happen far too often. Either they do not have on a body cam or they cut t off their bobody cam. Amy but therere were cops who d have the body cams . The Police Department has a video. Why dont they release that, as they did in oklahoma . That is our question, why wont you release it . I understand under the new house will, it doesnt truly go into effect until october 1. So if that is what theyre using to say as a deterrent for releasing the body cam, thahat cannot be sold because today is not october 1. Yesterday, surely was not october 1. We would like to see the video. Nermeen bree newsome, you are at the protest last night. Can you talk about what happened . Yes, so i actually got into town from illinois late last night. I got in after some of the protests around the omni hotel and the incident that happened which police are saying was a civilianoncivilian shooting. Theres some dispute about that. I cannot speak to that because i was not there personally. I did come in and the protest, yes. Amy can you describe those , what took place . The governor has declared a state of emergency. Disputingll, im not there was some vandalism that occurred last night. But just to give you a sense of what the climate in the scene was, i parked my car and walked over by myself. So sometimes away these incidents are depicted on television makes it seem as though the violence is much more widespread than it actually is. I connected with several people who were down there protesting not just what has happened in charlotte, but the whole institution of holy thing as it exists in the United States right now. Lack ofcifically, the accountability. There is a system of accountability in place. There is no real oversight in place when it comes to policing. So this is a real issue that people have. Were living in a police state. What we are witnessing across america, whether it is ferguson, baltimore, charlotte, is an uprising of those who are most impacted by this police state that is, africanamericans, latinos, young people, and lgbtq people of color. , the naacprine mack is calling for the release of the police video. How has the Police Department in charlotte responded to that request . Exotic it would not be released. Several of the clergy in charlotte went to see the mayor. It was in reference to the video. We will continue to request those videos. I think it is so important, as i stated before, to begin to build trust with the citizenry we need to know what you know, see what you are saying. Amy i want to turn to an activist in charlotte who is calling for a boycott of the city. This is bj murphy. What were setting up or is our black manhood an hour black people who are being gunned down in the street and we dont get no justice. What im calling for and what we are calling for is an economic boycott of the whole city of charlotte. Since black lives do not matter for the city, do not black dollarship matter. In our keep our money pocket. Were watching modernday lynching on social media, on television, and it i is affectig the psyche of black people. That is what you saw last night. Amy i am wondering, bree newsome, is that the general feeling . And if you could talk about the climate. According to reports this year, there have been six Police Killings of civilians. Yesterday when we first had you on, bree, you minutes you mention the killing of Jonathan Ferrell and the acquittal of the officer. There is definitely in economic connection as well between Police Brutality and these communities. Most impacted by Police Brutality are communities where the city has divested money for decades. Highly segregated communities. Our schools are now as segregated as they were in the 1960s. There were reports that just came out yesterday that wages twin black and white workers are now the same gap they were in 1979. What is happening is that cities and counties and states are using police as a catchall for all of the social fallout from their lack of investment. In education, and housing, in all of these things. So that is part of what people are responding to. One of the things we see consistently is that the city officials, the state officials seem to show more concern for pr