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VOLUME 17 No. 845
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Friends and family of Alfaigo Terrell Davis carry his casket to a waiting
hearse at funeral held on February 28, at Paine College. Photo by Charles Jones
Bls the charge that some cops
are liars and thugs justified?
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
' AUGUSTA
The recent police killing of Alfaigo Davis
and the subsequent public outcry hasforced
the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department
to sit idly by while the professionalism of its
officers and the commitment to excellence
by its leadership has been called into ques
tion. Are the police getting a raw deal?
Augusta Focus does not think so. Whether
or not the police are ultimately let off the
hook in the Davis shooting, does not change
the fact that some in their ranks will con
tinue to be perceived by many in the com
munity as liars and thugs.
While the large majority of the 700-man
police agency may be blameless, dedicated
public servants, those rotten few who be
tray the public trust should be exposed and
purged from the ranks. What concerns many
in the community is that the police leader
ship ‘ails to tile seriousiv wlegations of
police brutality and misconduct. Thefollow
ing are just a few examples of reported
allegations of police misconduct. The large
majority of incidents never see the light of
day. Is there a pattern of police abuse or are
the following cases all merely isolated inci
dents?
Police terrorize family
OnMarch 7,1997, Lorraine Green’s home
was invaded by Richmond County deputies
in SWAT-team regalia. They were armed
and inabad mood. The officers, brandishing
semiautomatic pistols and hurling racial
slurs, proceeded to trash her residence and
‘conduct an illegal search on a vehicle. They
-didn’t find the individual they were looking
: for, yet they continued to point weapons at
-small children who screamed in terror. Ms.
Green and her son Antonio Green report
_that after terrorizing the women and chil
~gdren in the residence, the police proceeded
- to ransack the house, rip up upholstery, rip
siding from the frame of the trailer home
-and after searching a vehicle in the yard,
“confiscate the title. They showed no search
~warrant.
~ Police officials, however, argued that the
-search was executed according to the law.
Officer accused of brutalizing
homeowner
= On December 21, 1996, Claude Anthony
- met police officer Jason Vinson at the front
~door of his residence. Officer Vinson was
-responding to a burglar alarm that was set
off. According to Mr. Anthony, it was a false
-alarm, but when he attempted to explain it
" tothe officer, he was grabbed in a choke hold
and slammed to the floor.
“He never asked me for an ID. ] am being
charged with domestic violence and obstruct
ingan officer. [own the home.” Accordingto
Mr. Anthony, the official police report omit
ted important details and was altered. He
got nowhere when he attempted to com
plain to Officer Vinson’s superiors. After
Augusta Focus contacted the Richmond
_ County Sheriff’s Department, no one would
comment on the case. According to police,
the matter was being handled by the Inter
nal Affairs division. To date, nothing has
happened to Officer Vinson whose father is
- a high-ranking police official. :
(ulure: Black History Essay contest winners named Page 35
Worl: Nigerians, Gameroonians clash Page2\
Serving Metropolitan gAugulsm, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
Police shoot unarmed man, charge
him with assault
On March 20, 1997, Larry Roberson was
stopped by police. He jumped from his
vehicle and the police gave chase. While
running, he was shot in the leg. When
police caught up with him, they jumped on
him and began beating him in the head.
One officer attempted to shoot him at
point-blank range in the back but his gun
jammed. Another officer succeeded in
shooting Mr. Roberson several more times.
Mr. Roberson was unarmed.
The police account, however, says that
Roberson grabbed the police weapon and
attempted toshoot the police. Mr. Roberson
complains that he was dragged through
rough brush and denied medical treat
ment. All the while, the police repeatedly
called him “nigger.”
Mr. Roberson was recently acquitted of
the aggravated assault charge when his
attorney was able to discredit the police
testimony. On the stand, the two police
officers contradicted their own prior state
ments. However, he was convicted of pos
sessing a firearm. The case is being ap
pealed. :
Police terrorize family
in warrantless search
On June 26, 1997, six Richmond County
police deputies came to the residence of
Elizabeth Jones Roberson in the middle of
the night and announced themselves. She
asked how she could help them and they
said they wanted to come in. She asked
that they wait until she could get some
thing on, but they barged in anyway with
weapons drawn.
They said they were looking for her son,
Bobby Lee Roberson, who had recently
escaped from the Richmond County jail.
They did not have a warrant.
“He’s not here. You have to leave,” she
told them, but instead of leaving they
kicked in the bedroom door of her 16-year
old daughter Carla and shined flashlights
into her eyes. She was not fully dressed.
Finally, they left. Prior to terrorizing
the Roberson family, the police had con
ducted a similar raid on the home of the
children’s grandmother, 76-year-old Rosa
Roberts.
“They just walked on in. They didn’t
knock,” Ms. Roberts said. “It shook her up
so bad, she couldn’t talk.”
Police harass Muslim
On May 6, 1997, Richmond County
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Shawn
Muhammad, a member of the Nation of
Islam for allegedly selling copies of The
Final Call, his organization’s fund-rais
ing newspaper in the roadway. According
to Mr. Muhammad, he was not selling
anything at the time he was arrested, but
was merely crossing the street when
Deputy Jack Rackliff challenged him.
When Mr. Muhammad attempted to ex
plain to the deputy that he was not selling
anything, the deputy called for backup.
When Mr. Muhammad began to recite the
relevant state law one of the officers said,
“Take him to jail and let the judge deter
mine what the laws are.” Then he was
taken into custody. Mr. Muhammad was
unsure whether or not he was arrested at
the time because he was never read his
rights. Back at the jail house Mr.
Muhammad was harassed, handled
roughly — his clothes were ripped and
MARCH 5 - 11, 1998
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‘Augusta’s dirty -
~ little secret is out.
L o Yo P b RPR
- Sheriff Webster named
‘in "91 brutality lawsuit.
‘WBrutality allegations are “old hat” -+*
for local law enforcement agencies. =
By Froderick Benjomin Sr. ; e
Eight years ago, Richmond County Sheriff Charlie Webster
was a_cp—defendant in a police brutality lawsuit against the
city of Augusta. '
an incident where Ron
Rosenberg, a white 57-year
and punched in the Augusta
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defailed & pattern of abuse
Augusta and W
“County Sherifl's deputies.
- The charges against the po
lice filed in April 9,1991 sound
some community members
and organizations have lev-
ied at the current police administration headed by Mr.
We repeat some of the charges merely to suggest that the
issue of police brutality in Augusta, Georgia is not a new -
phenomenon. The question becomes — has anything really -
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Another police shooting
examines race issue
®Four police officers
shoot unarmed man
after high-speed chase.
Officers feared for
their life.
: BOSTON
(AP) A lawyer for an unarmed
Connecticut man who was shot
several times by police said Friday
that he can’t determine whether
race was an “absolute factor,” in
the Feb. 20 shooting.
The windows of Richard L.
Parker’s Jeep were tinted and too
dark to see inside to determine
race, attorney Elton R. Williams
said at a press conference outside
the hospital where his client was
recuperating.
The lawyer also pointed out that
Parker was a light-skinned black
man, further making racial iden
tity murky.
But Williams said he still
planned to file a federal lawsuit
accusing Somerset and Swansea
police of using excessive force.
Four officers fired about 40 shots
at Parker, 21, of New London,
Conn., when Parker appeared to
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- 5 =
Willie Taylor (R), the uncle of Alfzigo Davis,
the man slain by Richmond County deputies
talks with news personnel at a rally on
Tuesday. Davis’ sister, Charonda Davis looks
on. Photo by Charles Jones.
®, 0
Citizens push
@
for review panel
By Christy Allen
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
Approximately 40
people gathered in front
of the city municipal
building Tuesday after
noon to discuss the be
havior of Augusta police,
who have come under
close media and govern
ment scrutiny following
the shooting death of
Alfaigo Terrell Davis.
Theßev. Alfred Walker,
NAACP president, spoke
to the small crowd of sup
porters and members of
the media about his con
cerns of police policing
themselves. “We don’t
believe there is any im
partial counsel,” said
Walker, Hestated that his
organization has con
tacted the civil rights di
vision of the U.S. Justice
Department to further
investigate the death of
Mr. Davis.
Tuesday’s meeting fol- See REVIEW, page 3A
point a gun at police, according to
Bristol County District Attorney
Paul F. Walsh.
- Williams said Parker was hit
between eight and 10 times in the
legs and torso followinga car chase.
Parker remained in stable condi
tion at Boston Medical Center 6n
Friday.
Parker was shot by the four po
lice officers after he was pulled
over about 12:30 a.m., when a
Swansea officer saw his car weav
ing.
Parker allegedly fled, was pulled
over again, fled a second time, and
was pursued by three Swansea
officers and one Somerset officer
at speeds of up to 77 mph.
A sergeant called off the chase,
Walsh said, but at least four cruis
ers continued to follow.
Walsh said Parker, after losing
control and crashing, got out of
the car with his hands clasped. An
officer feared for his safety and
fired, he said, then backed away
from the car, tripped and fell back
ward.
Other officers thought their com
rade had been shot and they opened
fire, authorities said.
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AUGUSTA
lowed a rally a week ago.
Many of those who at
tended that meeting
voiced their frustration
at police department in
ternal investigations.
The Rev. Walker pro
posed that a review board
composed of citizens and
police officers be estab
lished. Frank Thomas,
the executive director of
the Human Relations
Commission for Rich
mond County, has been
suggesting for years that
a review board outside of
the Sheriffs department,
should be established.
The proposal for a re
view board was supported
by the Augusta Coalition
of Concerned Black
Clergy. Rev. Walker feels
the board should be com
prised of “people whowill