West Memphis City Council Shut's Down City Gov't to Hold Police Chief Accountable

Now this is what I'm talking about when I think of black folks coming together to use their political power. Shut Down the City Government! Let's hope this show of political will makes things happen. My good brother, Villager, at Electronic Villager has been following this story of good versus evil. His post reports on how the fallout from the killing of 12-year old DeAunta Farrow continues to mount in West Memphis, AR. Sgt. Erik Sammis resigned his job on the police force four months after he shot the innocent youth [video report]. Francis Holland and the Police Brutality Blog has also been following The Killing of Deaunta Farrow.
Read more of his post and how the Killer Cop Resigns While City Council Boycotts.

Source: WREG TV

The folks at WREG TV have also been following this case and have provided great coverage of the case. Here more here and below. don't forget to send any comments you have on the WREG coverage to: shaun.chaiyabhat@wreg.com



DeAunta Farrow

Is the police shooting of 12 year-old DeAunta Farrow the reason several seats at West Memphis City Hall were empty Thursday? Every black council member was a no-show at a regular meeting of the city council, and some say it was no accident.

There's talk of a boycott to force the resignation of the city's police chief after one of his officer's killed Farrow. The officer was cleared of any wrongdoing, but that hasn't stopped calls for the badge of the city's top cop. Now a threat of a boycott to bring city business to a standstill.

Mayor William Johnson says, "I've been in office nine years and this is the first time that we've had to cancel a council meeting because of a lack of a quorum."

It may be coincidence that every black city council member was a no-show, but operation HELP says it played a role.

"We asked our councilmembers not to participate because of the indifference and the insensitivity of the African American community from the Mayor," says Hubert Bass with Operation HELP. "And whatever other reasons that the council felt that they should not participate, that's on them. But we believe that they responded to us."

Other council members were shocked, and some think a boycott may be underway. Thursday's meeting was supposed to cover passage of a city budget as well as possible discussion of pay raises for council members. More HERE

AAPP: What do you think? Should the black city council membdes shut down a city, in order to get a police commissioner to resign?

Visit: African American Opinion Video Channel

The Killing of Deaunta Farrow

West Memphis Policeman shot and killed 12-year-old Deaunta Farrow.

The victim, DeAunta Farrow, graduated from the sixth grade at Maddux Elementary School .



DeAunta Farrow was killed June 22, 2007 when he was shot by West Memphis Police Officer Erik Sammis. Arkansas investigators have ruled that there is not enough evidence to prosecute Sammis for the shooting.

UPDATE: Special prosecutors, assigned to investigate the shooting of 12-year-old DeAunta Farrow, made their entire case public More HERE

Farrow's attorney, Javier Bailey and representatives for NAN said they were disappointed in the outcome of the investigation.

Sammis told investigators he believed DeAunta was holding a gun the night he was killed. The investigation revealed the gun found near the shooting scene was a toy.

Farrow's family says they do not believe DeAunta was holding a toy gun. They say they believe the toy was planted. Deborah Farrow says she did not see the toy gun until after the state's investigation was complete.

Farrow also said the gun is a replica of those used by the West Memphis Police Department.

Related Links

• Farrow's Attorneys React to State Police Report
• Farrow Case: No Prosecution for Officer

Slideshow

Deborah Farrow, mother of slain DeAunta Farrow, says she is disappointed in the outcome of the AR State Police's investigation.

Farrow also believes race played a role in the outcome of the investigation. She feels if the situation were reversed, with a black officer shooting a white child, she believes there would have been no investigation. She said the officer would have been arrested, not just relieved of duty with pay as Sammis was. Farrow questions why Sammis was able to continue to receive pay during the investigation.

The father of Unseld Nance also spoke during the news conference. Unseld Nance, Jr. was with DeAunta the night of the shooting. Nance, Sr. says he did not know where his son was until after police began questioning him. He feels police forced his son to answer questions in the manner in which he did.

Farrow's attorney and the NAN say they plan to fight the state's decision and also say a major announcement will be made Monday, November 26. Details of the announcement have not been released, but representatives say it is in regards to their investigation.

AAPP says: If this is a cover-up, which is the case many times with these types of shootings of black kids in urban communities, then these officers need to be prosecuted. It looks like a good ol' boy, it was only a black, red-neck cover-up to me.

If this is a case of a kid carrying a play gun, well, all parents Black parents need to teach their kids not to walk the streets with play guns or any type of gun in their hands, waist, or on themselves at all, the fact of the matter is they take their lives and place it into the hands of a cop, and they could be killed. More from my eye witness news.com