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]]>The daughter of a slain New York City police officer spoke out against the vilification of cops taking place amid the nationwide protests against police brutality.
“It’s honestly truly disheartening,” Genesis Villella told “Fox & Friends.”
Villella said that, having lost her police officer mom, she wants Americans to remember that police officers have families as well.
“They have children and loved ones that need them to come home unharmed. I just want everyone to know those police officers are human too. They have fears, they have love, and they bleed just like the rest of us,” Villella said.
“People like my mom, who was the most amazing person in my life, deserve to not be executed the way that she was because just because of her uniform.”
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Her mother, Officer Miosotis Familia, 48, was shot in 2017 by Alexander Bonds while she sat in the front seat of a mobile command post.
Familia, a 12-year veteran of the force, had been stationed in the mobile command post, which is used during major events and in high-crime areas.
“Tunnel to Towers” founder Frank Siller, who accompanied Villella in the interview, said that so far this year 116 police officers have died in the line of duty by either murder or other methods. Siller said that the foundation will make sure to offer support to those who are left behind due to their relatives in law enforcement being killed.
“They have given us the gift of a home,” Villella said.
Villella said that the Tunnel to Towers Foundation kept their promise of never forgetting the sacrifice her mother made.
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“And also to never forget us, the surviving family. We’re still affected by this tragic loss,” Villella said.
Tunnel to Towers is a non-profit organization that started supporting Gold Star families through $11 minimum donations from people around the country. It was started in honor of Siller’s brother, Stephen, a firefighter who ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel toward the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, while wearing 60 pounds of gear. Siller was one of 343 members of the FDNY who were killed that day.
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]]>The sister of a federal protective officer in Oakland who was fatally shot during a protest for George Floyd that turned violent told Congress on Wednesday calls to defund the police are “ridiculous”.
“It is a ridiculous solution to claim that defunding police departments is the solution to police brutality and discrimination because it’s not a solution. It gets us nowhere as a nation and removes the safety net protection that every citizen deserves from their communities elected officials,” Angela Underwood Jacobs said at the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on proposed changes to police practices on Capitol Hill.
Angela Underwood Jacobs, a Lancaster, Calif., city council member, gives an opening statement during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on proposed changes to police practices and accountability on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 10, 2020, in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)
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Jacobs’ brother, Patrick Underwood, was stationed in front of the U.S. Courthouse in Oakland Calif., on May 29 when a vehicle pulled up the building and opened fire at him and another contract security officer who both worked for Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service. Underwood was killed while the second officer was wounded.
Federal law enforcement officer Patrick Underwood, 53, was killed in Oakland, Calif. while protecting the U.S. courthouse during a violent protest for George Floyd.
Underwood’s death happened amid ongoing protests decrying police brutality after Floyd— an unarmed black man in Minneapolis— died after a former police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes.
Floyd’s death has sparked a national movement that has raised calls by activists and some liberals to defund the police.
While not all Democrats are on board with the idea to “defund” police departments, lawmakers are seeking legislation to pass sweeping reforms aimed at tightening accountability by police departments for uses of force and banning excessive force tactics such as the use of chokeholds, tear gas, and pepper spray.
After Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, testified to the committee, Jacobs, who is also a city council member for Lancaster, Calif., urged lawmakers to focus on reinvesting in other areas where racial disparities exist, such as education, jobs and housing rather than dismantling law enforcement agencies altogether.
Angela Underwood Jacobs and Philonise Floyd, a brother of George Floyd, are sworn in during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)
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She also condemned the use of violence against police officers and other tactics such as looting and burning– which she said has marred otherwise peaceful protests in dozens of cities across the country– calling these acts “blind violence.”
“The actions of a few are dividing us as a nation,” Jacobs said of Floyd’s death. “We will never solve generational systemic injustice with looting burning, destruction of property and killing in the name of justice.”
“When those in a position of authority choose to abuse their power, that is a very definition of oppression. And when innocent people are harmed in the name of justice, no one prevails. We all lose,” she added.
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“Police brutality of any kind should not be condoned, however, it is blatantly wrong to create an excuse out of discrimination and disparity to loot and burn our communities, to kill our officers of the law.”
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]]>Connie Hedgepeth is hoping someone will finally come forward and reveal what really happened to her daughter.
Faith Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old student at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, was beaten to death with an empty rum bottle inside her off-campus apartment in September 2012. Her brutal murder is now the subject of a new Investigation Discovery (ID) documentary titled “Who Killed the Co-Ed? An ID Murder Mystery.” It features interviews with investigators and loved ones eager to finally solve the case.
The special is part of “ID Presents: Nine at 9,” which offers new shows running nightly on the true-crime network.
“I’m hoping someone who knows anything will speak up,” the heartbroken matriarch told Fox News. “What could my daughter have possibly done to deserve this? What did she say? The people who did this to her, why? Someone must have information and we just don’t want anyone to forget what happened to Faith.”
Faith Hedgepeth is the subject of a new documentary on Investigation Discovery (ID) titled ‘Who Killed the Co-Ed? An ID Murder Mystery.’
(Image Courtesy of Ronald Hedgepeth)
When Hedgepeth’s roommate Karena Rosario walked into the bedroom, she was met with a horrific scene. Authorities said semen was discovered on the young woman’s body– found on the floor next to her bed — and blood was splattered on the wall and closet door. A nearby handwritten note scribbled on a take-out fast food bag read: “I’m not stupid b—-. Jealous.” It was Rosario who called 911 to report finding her roommate unresponsive on her bedroom floor.
“She’s unconscious,” a frantic Rosario is heard on the call. “I just walked in. There’s blood everywhere. I can’t believe this. Someone had to have been in there.”
When the police arrive, they found Faith covered in blood and nude from the waist down.
Hedgepeth, 64, said it was difficult to pinpoint exactly who could have harmed her daughter. She was an active member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe and aspiring doctor who quickly became friends with anyone she encountered.
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Faith Hedgepeth and pal Euna Chavis.
(Photo courtesy of Euna Chavis.)
“She had a lot of friends,” she said. “I mean a lot of people. She knew more people than I’ve ever known in my lifetime. Everybody knew her. I remember when we went over there [after getting the news], the circle of people who interacted with her at one point just grew bigger and bigger. She never met strangers. She was very open and friendly to everyone she met.”
The night before her death, Faith and Rosario arrived home from the Davis Library on the UNC campus just after midnight. The women decided to go out and arrived at the Wallace Parking Deck just before 1 a.m. From there, they walked to the Thrill bar. According to investigators, the roommates left the bar together at 2:38 a.m. and drove back to their apartment in Faith’s white Nissan Altima. Police said Rosario left the apartment again at 4:27 a.m.
Rosario returned at approximately 11 a.m. with a friend when she discovered Faith’s body.
“I fell to my knees,” said Hedgepeth on getting the fateful phone call. “I was just told she was dead. I was working when they told me she was gone. I kept saying, ‘You got the wrong person.’ But it was true. I couldn’t stop crying. But I had to get myself together.”
From left, Faith’s sister Rolanda Hedgepeth, mother Connie Hedgepeth and cousin Jonathan Hedgepeth join other family, friends and community members at a candlelight vigil at the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School in Hollister, North Carolina, to remember and pray for Faith Hedgepeth.
(Corey Lowenstein/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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According to The News & Observer in North Carolina, the Chapel Hill Police Department gathered a considerable amount of forensic evidence, performed hundreds of DNA tests and even generated a composite image of the killer based on DNA. A friend also reported a voicemail message from Faith that seemed to be a pocket dial. While the message was difficult to understand, experts have attempted to analyze it. Some insisted it captures moments from the assault.
The recording will be played in the documentary for audiences to interpret for themselves.
“If you hear it carefully, it sounds like she was crying,” said Hedgepeth. “And if that’s the case, these people were killing her.”
Released documents showed that Eriq Takoy Jones IV, Rosario’s ex-boyfriend, threatened Faith’s life if Rosario didn’t get back together with him, The Daily Tar Heel reported. Rosario brought a domestic violence protective order against him in July 2012, a few months before Faith’s death.
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Faith Hedgepeth and Karena Rosario.
(Image Courtesy of Ronald Hedgepeth.)
Then on the day before the murder, the outlet reported Jones posted a cryptic message on social media asking for forgiveness for what he was about to do. He posted a similar note on his Facebook page three days after Faith’s murder that said, “Dear Lord, forgive me for all of my sins and (the) sins I may commit today. Protect me from the girls who don’t deserve me and the ones who wish me dead.”
However, the outlet noted Jones’ DNA did not match the DNA found at the crime scene. And some have declined to submit DNA samples.
Hedgepeth admitted that while she’s just as determined as ever to seek justice for her daughter, not knowing who committed the heinous killing continues to break her.
“I remember one Sunday when I couldn’t even stay in church,” she said. “I just cried and cried. It still bothers me so much because she was alone. I think about it a lot and how there are people out there who could have done something like this to her. She had nobody to help her at that moment. I wonder sometimes, did she try to call out for me at that moment?”
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Faith Hedgepeth’s boyfriend Alex Demery and her niece Alexis Evans gather with hundreds to remember Haliwa-Saponi tribe member and UNC student, Faith Hedgepeth, during a vigil, September 10, 2012, at UNC-Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Hedgepeth was found dead in her Chapel Hill apartment on September 7, 2012.
(Travis Long/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Hedgepeth is hopeful the new ID documentary will create renewed interest in Faith’s case. And perhaps someone, anyone, can give her the answers she’s been desperately seeking for years.
“I want people to know someone precious was taken away from me,” she said. “You never think something like this is ever going to happen to you. You hear of unsolved murders all the time. But it’s frustrating when it’s your loved one. You try not to lose faith. But it can be hard. I’m just praying to God to give me the strength to go on for another day. I need to keep going for her.”
“Who Killed the Co-Ed? An ID Murder Mystery” airs Thursday, May 28th at 9 p.m. on ID.
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