Tag Archives: Delaware

Featured, Police Accountability, Videos

Family Of Wheelchair-Bound Man Killed By Police Challenges Officers’ Narrative, Citing Witness Footage

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An investigation is being launched into the shooting of Jeremy McDole, who was killed by police in Delaware on Wednesday. McDole was shot while sitting in his wheelchair on the street, and McDole’s family has cited cellphone footage from a witness to challenge the Wilmington Police Department’s narrative of the shooting.

Wilmington police reportedly responded to a call that McDole, a 28-year-old black man, was suffering from a self-inflicted gun wound in a neighborhood near the nursing home where he lived.

During a news conference following the shooting, Police Chief Bobby Cummings claimed that when officers arrived on the scene, they found McDole “still armed with a handgun” and they repeatedly told him to raise his hands.

Cummings said it was after McDole refused to comply and reached for a handgun at his waistband that four officers opened fire on him. Cummings also claimed that after McDole was killed, the officers found a .38 caliber gun at his side.

McDole’s mother, Phyllis McDole, interrupted the news conference and insisted that there was video evidence showing that her son was not armed.

[quote_center]“He was in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. There’s video showing that he didn’t pull a weapon,” she said. “I need answers.”[/quote_center]

The Delaware Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust is investigating the shooting. Richard Smith, the head of Delaware’s NAACP chapter, has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the shooting in order to “not have cops investigating cops.”

While Cummings has maintained that he couldn’t confirm anything until the investigation is complete, a cellphone video was released online that showed footage of the shooting.

WARNING: The following video contains graphic content.

The cellphone video appears to show Wilmington officers confronting Jeremy McDole on the street, where he is sitting in his wheelchair. As they approached with guns drawn, they yelled at him to “drop the gun” and to put his “hands up.”

McDole, who appears to be bleeding, fidgets for a few seconds, rubbing his hands on his knees and thighs, and then tries to raise himself out of his wheelchair. The moment his hand touches his waistband, the four officers open fire, striking McDole.

After he is shot, McDole freezes for a second and then falls out of his wheelchair and is motionless on the ground. No weapon appears to be visible in the bystander’s video.

McDole’s uncle, Eugene Smith, called the shooting “an execution” and said that when he saw his nephew 15 minutes before the incident, he did not have a gun.

[quote_center]“It was an execution. That’s what it was.” Smith said. “I don’t care if he was black, white, whatever.”[/quote_center]

Education, Politics

Del. Gov. Markell Vetoes Common Core Testing Opt-Out Bill, Veto Override Possible

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Delaware Governor Jack Markell vetoed HB 50 last week, a bill that would allow parents to opt their children out of Common Core’s Smarter Balanced Assessment tests.

The News Journal’s Matthew Allbright wrote, “Lawmakers and parent groups who supported the bill are furious and demanding the General Assembly override the action when it returns in January, which would require a three-fifths majority in both chambers.”

HB 50 previously passed the state’s House by a vote of 31-5 and the Senate by a vote of 15-6, meaning that, if every legislator who voted for the bill were to also support a veto override attempt, it would succeed.

“[HB 50] has the potential to marginalize our highest need students, threaten tens of millions of dollars of federal funding, and undermine our state’s economic competitiveness – all without adequately addressing the issues that motivated many to support the legislation,” said Governor Markell in a letter announcing his veto.

The Tenth Amendment Center notes that a provision in the 2002 No Child Left Behind law signed at the federal level by former President George W. Bush requires states to conduct the tests on 95% of students or risk losing federal funds.

A letter supportive of Markell’s veto from members of Delaware’s Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable read, “Should HB 50 become law and parents simply decide to opt their child out of the assessment, teachers and administrators will be unable to collect and use the data to address necessary improvements to the curriculum, as well as identify specific areas where students are struggling and where they are excelling. This is especially important information for our most vulnerable populations who may need additional support and assistance. Furthermore, we will be at risk of not complying with federal requirements with regard to test administration and school accountability, potentially jeopardizing millions in federal Title I funding, which directly impacts those children and schools that need support the most.”

HB 50’s sponsor, Representative John Kowalko (D-Newark), told The News Journal that Markell “is just flying in the face of what parents want in the state of Delaware and what they deserve and what they should get.” He added that he and other legislators would “certainly challenge this [veto] when we get back.”

Delaware Parent-Teacher Association president Terri Hodges called the veto a “slap in the face to Delaware parents.”

Yvonne Johnson, Delaware PTA’s vice president of advocacy, said, “We need the General Assembly to stand by the parents, their constituents and do the right thing and override what the governor did.”

The Delaware General Assembly has not yet attempted to override any of Markell’s votes as governor. Representative Kowalko told The News Journal, “I hope we have the votes [to override the veto]. I think those people who voted for the bill were very sincere. They supported this because parental rights were being demanded and should be given to them.”

Civil Liberties, Drug War, Featured, Marijuana Prohibition, Police State, Politics, States Rights, US

Delaware Governor Jack Markell Signs Bill Decriminalizing Simple Pot Possession

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On Thursday, immediately after the Delaware Senate finalized the Delaware General Assembly’s approval of House Bill 39, which decriminalizes marijuana, Democratic Governor Jack Markell signed it into law. According to The News Journal, the new law allows people in the state to privately possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis without facing jail time or marring their criminal records.

However, those caught with small amounts of pot will be punished with a $100 civil fine and forced to surrender their marijuana to police. According to the above-embedded video coverage by CBS Philly, the law takes effect in six months.

Additionally, the bill’s legislative text notes, “The public use or consumption of an ounce or less of marijuana will be an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $200 or imprisonment for not more than 5 days. This penalty is in line with the penalty for possession or consumption of an open container of alcohol in most municipalities in the state… This bill does not repeal or modify existing laws relating to medical marijuana or penalties for the operation of motor vehicles under the influence.”

A statement about the law by Kelly Bachman, a spokesperson for Governor Markell, read, “The governor remains committed to reducing the number of people entering the criminal justice system and refocusing resources where they are needed most and House Bill 39 supports these efforts.”

Reuters points out the fact that Delaware law previously penalized simple marijuana possession with up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,150.

The bill was introduced by Representative Helene Keeley (D-Wilmington). Republican lawmakers in the state stood unanimous in their opposition to the bill, citing their view that decriminalization sends the wrong message to children.

“This is a vote we’re going to really, really regret. Would you want your kid smoking weed? I think the answer is overwhelmingly no,” said State Senator Colin Bonini (R-Dover) in comments cited by The News Journal.

Despite this change to Delaware law, federal law still criminalizes the possession of marijuana, which it classifies, similarly to hardcore drugs like heroin and methamphetamine, as a Schedule 1 narcotic with no medical use.

[RELATED: Shona Banda’s Attorney Plans to Fight Cannabis’ Classification As Schedule 1 Narcotic]

In September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode tackling the federal government’s mixed messages on marijuana. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://youtu.be/zuX9y0hiqWE

Election, Featured, Politics, US

CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Husband of Democratic State Senator Charged With Stealing Election Signs

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On Wednesday, the Police in Middletown, Delaware issued an arrest warrant for Dana Long, the husband of Democratic Senator Bethany Hall-Long, on the charge of stealing campaign signs left on the roadway, such as the one featured in the video above that says, “Fix the Economy! Vote Republican.”

According to Delaware Online, the video from First State Liberty was taken after “28 signs were placed on Middletown Odessa Road at Silver Lake Road, and on the 700 block of Middletown Odessa Road,” on Sunday, removed and then replaced by the campaign volunteers on Monday, and then once again removed.

Campaign volunteers arrived with video cameras to stake out the spot where the signs had been removed, at 2:35am on Wednesday morning. In the video, they pointed out what the signs looked like, along with the fact that they were labeled “Paid for by The Republican Party of Delaware.”

At 4:01am, the volunteers reported that a car pulled up, a man got out, and he started lifting campaign signs.

The man, who has been identified as Dana Long, openly defended his actions, saying “There’s no name on these signs,” as he proceeded to carry the signs to his car.

In the video, the campaign volunteers documented Long stealing the signs, as well as his car and license plate number, and the fact that other, similar stolen signs were present in the backseat of his car.

According to Delaware Online, the charge against Long is a “Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a fine up to $2,300, including restitution and other conditions set by the court.”