Abayomi Azikiwe, Pan-African News Wire editor, speaks to crowd on September 17, 2003 (Photo by Patricia Lay-Dorsey).
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire Photo File.
220 Bagley, Suite 808
Detroit, MI 48226
313 963 8116
detcoalition@aol.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ron Scott, 313 587 6466
Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality Calls For
Prosecution of Officers in Weekend Police Shooting
11/30/06--Regarding the 2 individuals killed and wounded by Detroit police officers, including one off-duty officer, over the weekend outside National Wholesale Liquidators on 8 Mile and Van Dyke—the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality issued this statement:
“The Coalition urges the Detroit Police Department maintain proper levels of scrutiny and control of off duty officers who work for private institutions. Such officers should not be working in non-official security positions. Even the Detroit Police Commission agrees; they refused to authorize the practice of allowing officers to moonlight as private security because of the liability risks.
“These shootings, part of a disturbing pattern of increased incidents of this type, make a mockery of the Consent Decree position that emphasizes non-lethal enforcement alternatives. The Coalition demands that the DPD follow the guidance of the Detroit Police Commission in this matter.
“As a community, we call for a public hearing to address what seems to be another rise of the use of lethal force within the Detroit Police Department against citizens.”
Muslim leaders allege hate crime in Detroit
By Niraj Warikoo
Free Press Staff Writer
November 28, 2006
Shafik Shoaib, 51, of Detroit spoke to the media in front of his home on Piedmont in Detroit. He was allegedly beaten by a group of men Monday night
In what Muslim leaders are calling a hate crime, a 51-year-old Arab-American Muslim said he was beaten up at his Detroit home by a group of men who repeatedly swore at him and told him to "go back to where you came from."
Shafik Shoaib, a U.S. citizen born in Egypt, was allegedly attacked at his home in Detroit on Piedmont Monday night, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The assailants were a group of about 10 people who were white, Walid said. While beating him, members of the group used slurs and swear words, saying things such as "You're a (expletive) Arab," "You're a (expletive) Muslim," and "You're not a (expletive) American."
At one point, one assailant said that his "great great grandfather was born in America...you're not an American," according to Walid.
Walid said he was with Shoaib when he told his story to Detroit police today.
Shoaib's wife and kids were in the house during the attack, Walid said.
They also threatened to burn down his house. According to Walid, Detroit police are investigating the case and have made one arrest.
Shoaib said some of the people in the group, which included men and women, had been loitering around in the area in the past, smoking and drinking.
Shoaib was taken to Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn for treatment before police arrived at the scene. Shoaib said that his family had called Detroit Police five times during the attack, but no one responded before the ambulance took him to the hospital.
"Based upon the slurs that were stated during the attack, it appears these people have deep-seated Islamophobia in their hearts," Walid said. "We're extremely concerned about the assault, but we're also troubled by the extremely slow response time from the Detroit Police department."
Walid said that Shoaib suffered head contusions, lacerations, a busted nose, blackened eyes, torso bruises, and sprained knees.
Contact Niraj Warikoo at nwarikoo@freepress.com and 248-351-2998.
Detroit man charged in beating case
By Niraj Warikoo and Naomi R. Patton
Free Press Staff Writers
November 29, 2006
A Detroit man suspected of beating a 51-year-old neighbor while hurling ethnic insults at him was charged Wednesday with home invasion in the first degree and assault with intent to do great bodily harm.
Combined, the two charges carry a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Ernest Domenech, 19 of Detroit, is expected to be arraigned in the case later this afternoon, according to a news release from the office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Shafick Shoaib, 51 of Detroit, said he was beated up on Monday at his home on Piedmont by a group of men who made anti-Arab and anti-Muslim remarks while assaulting him. Shoaib, a U.S. citizen, was born in Egypt and is Muslim, while his alleged assailants are white.
Domenech, speaking on Tuesday from the Wayne County Jail, said he was not at home when the beating occurred.
"I wasn't there at the time," he said. "I went to the store."
Police are investigating another suspect who may have been involved in the attack, according to the news release.
“Mr. Shoaib is a long-time resident of the Warrendale area of Detroit and never had trouble with anyone until the defendant moved into the neighborhood," Worthy said in a statement. "This case is an extremely ugly neighborhood dispute that culminated in the defendant becoming violent. The primary motive for the home invasion and the brutal attack was because the defendant became upset about some words the victim allegedly said."
Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has asked prosecutors to charge the suspect with a hate crime.
But Worthy said that "while the evidence shows there were some ethnic insults uttered during the assault they do not support the two-year misdemeanor charge of ethnic intimidation."
Officer faces trial in death
Boy, 4, shot himself with cop's weapon
BY CECIL ANGEL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
November 29, 2006
A veteran Detroit police officer was ordered to stand trial Tuesday in the death of a 4-year-old boy who shot himself to death with the officer's department-issued handgun that he stored under a bed.
Louis Anderson, 58, of Detroit, was bound over for trial on one count of involuntary manslaughter, a 15-year felony, and one count of second-degree child abuse, a 4-year felony, in the death of his girlfriend's son, Kenneth Thomas.
At the time of the shooting on Aug. 10, Anderson was at his Detroit home babysitting five children all under the age of 6 and had fallen asleep, according to witness statements. Anderson told police the sound of his .40-caliber Glock handgun awakened him.
His defense attorney, Elbert Hatchett, had argued before Judge Kenneth King in Detroit's 36th District Court that the charges should be reduced to reckless discharge of a weapon causing death, a 2-year misdemeanor.
But King sided with the prosecution, saying that Anderson left the children unsupervised with an unsecured gun in the house.
"You know, I know, everybody knows children play under beds," King said.
Among the witnesses at the preliminary examination was the boy's mother, Jurrie Thomas. Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey found herself sparring with Thomas, who was supposed to be a key witness for the prosecution, but appeared to have changed her earlier statements to police to favor the defense.
The tension came to a head when Lindsey asked Thomas if she, at any time since Aug. 10, ever asked Anderson what happened. Thomas replied, "No."
"Never once asked how your son came to be killed in that house. That what you're telling us?" Lindsey asked.
"Yes. That's what I'm telling you," Thomas replied.
More words were exchanged before Lindsey paused.
"You love this man don't you," Lindsey said.
"Yea. I love him," Thomas said.
"And you love him more than you loved your child," Lindsey fired back.
"Don't even go there, Ms. Lindsey," Thomas replied.
Contact CECIL ANGEL at 313-223-4531 or angel@freepress.com.
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