The post Black man’s fatal shooting by white security guard at Tulsa motel leads to charges appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>A white security guard is facing manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of a Black man in a Tulsa motel parking lot earlier this month.
The guard, Christopher Straight, was taken into custody on June 6 and charged with first-degree manslaughter for the death of Carlos Carson that day, according to a Tulsa police statement and police homicide unit Lt. Brandon Watkins.
Police were called to the Knights Inn around noon for a report of a shooting. Authorities said in a Facebook statement that Straight had been involved in an altercation with Carson.
“Based on our investigation, we discovered that the victim was walking past the suspect’s vehicle when the suspect emerged and sprayed the victim with pepper spray, seemingly without warning,” the statement said.
Straight and Carson got into a fight and Straight pulled out a pistol and shot Carson, who died at the scene, according to the police statement.
Carson, 36, was a guest at the motel and was planning to book a room for another night when he went to speak with the manager about his car being vandalized, his brother, Ananias Carson, told NBC News on Saturday.
Carlos Carson wanted the manager to look at the security footage, but the manager said he needed to contact the police, the brother said. Ananias said his brother got upset and the two men exchanged words.
Ananias Carson, who is a Tulsa police officer, said he believes his brother was walking back toward his motel room when he was confronted by Straight.
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The shooting was captured on surveillance video. Lt. Watkins told NBC News in a phone interview Saturday that Straight was sitting in his truck talking with the owner of the motel when Carson walked by.
Watkins said that Carson was “minding his own business” and “wasn’t making any kind of threatening gestures or anything like that.”
“The security guard just stepped out and sprayed him,” Watkins said. Carson threw a cup of coffee at Straight, and the two got into a physical altercation before Carson was shot.
Straight claimed he shot Carson in self-defense because he was being attacked, the police lieutenant said.
“You don’t get to pick a fight and claim self-defense,” Watkins added.
Straight was booked into the Tulsa County jail and was released after posting a $50,000 bond, according to Tulsa World. Online court documents show that he has a court appearance scheduled for June 26. An attorney was not listed for him.
The manager of the Knights Inn did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Saturday.
Ananias Carson said the family is handling the death of his brother, a father of three, as best they can. A funeral for Carlos, whom Ananias said was a family man who enjoyed fishing, was held on Friday.
“It was an unprovoked situation,” Ananias said. “That’s what makes it so hard to really deal with.”
He said he wouldn’t speculate on whether race was a factor in the shooting.
But, the brother said, “he didn’t deserve to be killed in that manner, and it speaks to the climate and speaks to what’s been going on in the country and why the country is in the state it’s in.”
Protests have been held across the country in response to the killings of African Americans, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks.
A few weeks prior to the shooting, Straight was given a citation for pepper-spraying a woman, Watkins said. The woman later declined to press charges.
According to the Tulsa World, Straight was previously a sergeant with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and worked at the jail. He resigned in 2018 amid an internal investigation, the newspaper said.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting comment Saturday.
Three lawsuits were filed by inmates against Straight for his behavior while on duty, Tulsa World reported. All three suits were dismissed by the courts, according to the The Washington Post.
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]]>The post Man’s death after police shooting outside Wendy’s in Atlanta sparks investigation, protests appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>Atlanta’s police chief resigned Saturday, the day after an officer fatally shot a man in a Wendy’s parking lot, prompting an investigation and protests.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Chief Erika Shields, a member of the Atlanta Police Department for more than two decades, stepped down and former Assistant Chief Rodney Bryant will serve as interim chief “as we immediately launch a national search for new leadership.”
Shields “has a deep love for the people” of Atlanta, Bottoms said. “Chief Shields has offered to immediately step aside as police chief so that the city may move forward with urgency in rebuilding the trust desperately needed in our communities.”
The Georgia NAACP had called for Bottoms to relieve Shields of duty.
The shooting occurred just after 10:30 p.m. after two Atlanta police officers were called for a report of a man asleep in the drive-thru, which forced customers to go around his vehicle, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is conducting a probe into the shooting.
The GBI identified the man who died as Rayshard Brooks.
Officers administered a field sobriety test to Brooks at the Wendy’s, which he failed, authorities said.
GBI director Vic Reynolds said at a news conference Saturday afternoon that Brooks was under investigation by Atlanta police for a suspected DUI in the incident.
As police attempted to arrest Brooks, he resisted and a struggle ensued, according to the GBI.
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“During the course of that confrontation, Mr. Brooks was able to secure from one of the Atlanta officers, his Taser,” Reynolds said.
The incident was captured on video and shows Brooks appearing to run from the officers with the Taser in his hand, Reynolds said.
After running a short distance, Brooks “turns around and it appears to the eye that he points the Taser at the Atlanta officer,” the director said.
“At that point, the Atlanta officer reaches down and retrieves his weapon from his holster, discharges it, strikes Mr. Brooks there on the parking lot, and he goes down.”
Reynolds said a witness was able to corroborate the information.
Brooks was taken to a hospital where he died after undergoing surgery. An officer was also injured in the incident and released from the hospital, a GBI release states.
The officers involved in the shooting have been removed from duty pending the outcome of the investigation, according to NBC affiliate WXIA in Atlanta. Their names have not been released.
The Atlanta Police Department could not immediately be reached by NBC News on Saturday.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. said in a statement Saturday that the GBI will turn over its findings to his department, but that his office has already launched its own “intense, independent investigation of the matter.”
“Lastly, our thoughts and our sympathies are extended to the family of Rayshard Brooks as we must not forget that this investigation is centered upon a loss of life.”
In cellphone video posted on social media by people who said they were at the scene, Brooks appears to be on the ground struggling with two officers before getting up and running away.
One of the officers appears to use a stun gun while running after Brooks. Moments later, gunshots can be heard.
Reynolds said the agency will digitally enhance video taken at the scene and plans to release it to the public later on Saturday.
“We want everyone to see what we have seen in this case. And that’s why, again, I would ask for some patience. I don’t want anyone, in any circumstances, to rush to any form of judgment.,” he said.
A crowd of people gathered at the scene to peacefully protest the shooting on Saturday.
“The body cam footage and all surveillance video from surrounding buildings need to be released immediately,” the Georgia NAACP tweeted Saturday. “@Atlanta_Police has had a culture of excessive use of force. Now #RayshardBrooks is dead. We demand immediate accountability.”
This is the 48th officer-involved shooting in 2020 that the GBI has been asked to investigate, the agency told NBC News.
Matthew Mulligan, Shamar Walters and Dennis Romero
contributed.
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]]>The post Black man’s apparent hanging death on tree in Los Angeles area under investigation appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>The apparent hanging death of a Black man in a community in northern Los Angeles County has prompted questions about authorities’ initial finding of suicide.
The body of Robert Fuller, 24, was found near Palmdale City Hall about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday by a passerby, county sheriff’s Capt. Ronald Schaffer said at a news conference Friday afternoon attended by some area residents.
“He was hanging from a tree,” Schaffer said. “Personnel from the adjacent fire station responded and determined that he had passed. Although the investigation is ongoing, it appears that Mr. Fuller has tragically died by suicide.”
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Someone in the audience said, “That’s a lie. That’s a lie.”
According to NBC Los Angeles, members of Fuller’s family and a sheriff’s investigator on the case said there was no indication he left a suicide note.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement earlier Friday the death was thought to be a suicide but that a probe is ongoing.
“Investigators have been in contact with Mr. Fuller’s family and are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Fuller’s death,” the statement said.
The county coroner’s office said in its own statement that a definitive cause of death has been deferred pending further investigation.
“When a cause of death is deferred, a deputy medical examiner is requesting additional investigation, including laboratory testing and witness statements, before providing a final determination on the cause and manner of death,” the office said.
Questions about Fuller’s death led demonstrators to gather Friday outside City Hall. The social media hashtag #JusticeForRobertFuller was being used to bring attention to the case.
On Friday, Kim Kardashian West urged her Twitter followers to endorse a Change.org petition calling for “a thorough and proper investigation.”
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]]>The post How Man’s Best Friend Is Sniffing Out Covid-19 appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>It’s not just the elusive vaccine that will defeat Covid-19, scientists are looking at all sorts of methods to contain the pandemic. One of the more unusual could be in recruiting man’s best friend. Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine believe that they can train dogs with a particularly keen sense of smell to diagnose people with the illness, even if they are displaying no symptoms.
Video by Tom Gibson
#coronavirus #dogs #medicine
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The post How Man’s Best Friend Is Sniffing Out Covid-19 appeared first on Virus Reports.
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