#deborah danner

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Bronx, NYC: Justice for Deborah Danner - The People Say ‘Guilty’!

Thursday, February 15 - 7:30 to 10:00 pm

Gather at Parkchester Station on the #6 Subway Line

Hosted by NYC Shut It Down: The Grand Central Crew #blacklivesmatter

On October 18th, 2016, Sgt. Hugh Barry forcibly entered Deborah Danner's Bronx apartment by himself, against protocol, and shot her twice in the chest, killing her. Knowing that the people of the Bronx would condemn him for murdering a grandmother who posed no deadly threat to him, Sgt Hugh Barry chose to waive his right to a jury trial. Today, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary cleared Sgt. Barry of all charges, including negligent homicide. Deborah was a 66 year old black woman who suffered from mental illness. She was vocal about the threat police violence posed to her. In a tweet the year of her murder she said: "How would you like to move around with a target because of the color of your skin? Black Lives Matter!" Join us today to let the corrupt judicial system and murderous NYPD know that the people say, Guilty! Sgt. Hugh Barry is a murderer, and Justice Robert Neary is his accomplice! We will rally at Parkchester station on the 6 Line and march for justice for Deborah Danner. Say her name!

[sarcasticcynic]

Accountability?

Image credit: Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times

“We are all aware of the all too frequent news stories about the mentally ill who come up against law enforcement instead of mental health professionals and end up dead.” --from “Living with Schizophrenia” by Deborah Danner, January 28, 2012

In case you don’t remember Deborah Danner: Police were called to the apartment of this 66-year-old mentally ill African-American woman in October of 2016, when neighbors reported her being “loud and disruptive.” NYPD protocol requires officers dealing with people with mental illnesses to wait for specialized units; failing that, they must either retreat or try to subdue using only non-lethal force (i.e., a stun gun). Sergeant Hugh Barry--who happens to be white--disregarded this protocol, entered Danner’s bedroom, and shot her dead.

Barry claimed self-defense, contending that he feared for his life (of course) because Danner threatened him, first with a scissors and then with a baseball bat. There were no other witnesses in the room--apart from Ms. Danner, whom Barry left in no condition to contradict him. A grand jury heard Barry’s testimony, but also considered other evidence accumulated during “months of investigation.” And this time the grand jury actually indicted Barry, charging him with “second-degree murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.”

Barry will almost certainly be acquitted, of course, as is the norm, but an indictment is still better than the usual consequences of nothing at all.

[autisticadvocacy]

Sgt. Hugh Barry was charged with murder and manslaughter in the death last October of Deborah Danner, a mentally ill woman.

"A New York City police sergeant who fatally shot Deborah Danner, a mentally ill woman, was charged with murder"

[bamnbamn]

I'll be following this closely.

[bamnbamn]

- From the New York Times

[smallamounts87]

[distanttenderness-blog]

“He later said that something about the look on her face—“eyes wide open, mouth wide open. . . She had that anger in her face that she was going to hit someone with that hammer”—caused him to fear for his safety. Fran Garrett later questioned the officer’s response: “What did the police see when they pried open that door? A Black woman? A lesbian? He said it was just a look on her face. What look would you have on your face if the police broke into your house? Could that have been the look of fear? I would have been in fear for my life too, especially if I already felt like they were going to kill me.” Once again, perceptions of Black women as “deranged subjects” prone to violence colored an officer’s response to a Black woman standing with a hammer, with deadly results.”

[awn-network]

Sgt. Hugh Barry was charged with murder and manslaughter in the death last October of Deborah Danner, a mentally ill woman.