Echoes of Trayvon Martin in the police killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr

[bash]

Echoes of Trayvon Martin in the police killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr

Another African-American man was gunned down by police, and no one was charged. This time the whole event was recorded

Amy Goodman
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 April 2012 22.15 BST

"My name is Kenneth Chamberlain. This is my sworn testimony. White Plains police are going to come in here and kill me." And that's just what they did.


In the early hours of Saturday 19 November, 2011, US marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain Sr accidentally hit his LifeAid medical-alert pendant, presumably while sleeping. The 68-year-old retired corrections officer had a heart condition, but wasn't in need of help that dawn. Within two hours, the White Plains, NY, police department had broken down his apartment door and shot him dead. Chamberlain Sr was African-American. As with Trayvon Martin, the black teenager recently killed in Florida, there are recordings of the events which include a racial slur directed at the victim.


The opening quote, above, was related to us by Kenneth Chamberlain Jr, when he appeared on the "Democracy Now!" news hour talking about the police killing of his father. Chamberlain Jr was holding on to the LifeAid pendant that his father wore around his neck in case of a medical emergency. Perhaps unbeknown to the White Plains police who arrived at Chamberlain Sr's door that morning, the LifeAid system includes a box in the home that, when activated, transmits audio to the LifeAid company, where it is recorded. Chamberlain Jr and his lawyers heard the recording in a meeting at the office of the Westchester county district attorney, Janet DiFiore.


Chamberlain Jr repeated what he heard his father say on the tape: "He says, 'I'm a 68-year-old man with a heart condition. Why are you doing this to me?' … You also hear him pleading with the officers again, over and over. And at one point, that's when the expletive is used by one of the police officers." One of Chamberlain Jr's lawyers, Mayo Bartlett, told me about the racial slur. Bartlett is a former Westchester county prosecutor, so he knows the ropes. He was explicit in recounting what he heard on the recording.


"Kenneth Chamberlain Sr said to the police, 'I'm a sick old man.' One of the police officers replied, 'We don't give a fuck, nigger!'" The recording also includes a taunt from the police, as related by Bartlett, "Open the door, Kenny, you're a grown-ass man!" It was when Chamberlain Jr related how the police mocked his father's military service that he broke down. "He said, 'Semper fi.' So they said, 'Oh, you're a marine. Hoo-rah. Hoo-rah.' And this is somebody that served this country. Why would you even say that to him?" Chamberlain Jr wept as he held his father's marine ring and veterans administration card.


The LifeAid operator that November morning, hearing the exchange live, called the White Plains police in a desperate attempt to cancel the call for emergency medical aid. Chamberlain Sr's niece, who lives in the building, ran down, trying to intervene. Chamberlain Sr's sister was on her mobile, offering to talk to her brother. The police denied any attempt at help. One was heard on the recording saying "we don't need any mediator".


The heavily armed police used a special device to take Chamberlain's door completely off the hinges and, as chillingly captured in the Taser-mounted camera, burst into the apartment. Bartlett recounted seeing Chamberlain Sr shirtless in the video, hands at his side, without the knife or hatchet that police claim he wielded, standing in his boxer shorts. "The minute they got into the house, they didn't even give him one command. They never mentioned, 'put your hands up'. They never told him to lay down on the bed. They never did any of that. The first thing they did, as soon as that door was finally broken off the hinges, you could see the Taser light up, and it was charged, and you could see it going directly toward him."


The last thing Bartlett hears on the Taser tape is "shut it off", meaning, turn off the video recording, which the police did. Within minutes, they would shoot Chamberlain Sr twice. Four months later, no one has been charged with the killing. Democracy Now! cohost Juan Gonzalez revealed the name of the shooter through his reporting in the New York Daily News, as White Plains Officer Anthony Carelli. Carelli is to be tried in coming months for alleged police brutality against two brothers, the sons of Jordanian immigrants, who say Carelli beat one of them, Jereis Hatter, while handcuffed, and called him a "raghead".


Martin was killed on 26 February. A Florida grand jury is expected to begin the investigation into his killing on 10 April. The next day, 11 April, a New York grand jury is scheduled to begin hearing evidence in the case of Chamberlain Sr. He was killed last November. In both cases, an African-American male was gunned down. In both cases, the shooter is known to the police. In Chamberlain's case, it is the police. And no one has been arrested.


• Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column. This piece was updated on April 6 2012, 09.49am to reflect breaking news – the officer was named as White Plains Officer Anthony Carelli.


© 2012 Amy Goodman; distributed by King Features Syndicate

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...chamberlain-sr

Ugh, this make me sick.

[BoyBettaKnow]

This isn't going to go down well is it.

We all know the police never does any wrong and it's not like they ever try to protect their own.

[squirrelbo1]

came here to post this.

[F34R]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...chamberlain-sr

Ugh, this make me sick.

We might have to petition CUGUY to create a sub thread for these topics.

[Yuuichi]

We might have to petition CUGUY to create a sub thread for these topics.

The anti cop forum. Might as well as many negative post bash makes about them. Guess he will call dominos when he needs help.

This incident is messed up if true. I am sure the audio rvidence will regonzie them, but wait didnt we discourage that in another thread yeah we did.

[btbam]

This has nothing to do with the martin case nor does it echo it. Ask any of the talking heads that reported the case they said it was about justice for trayvon this is also involving the police not a regular citizen like zimmerman . they are evoking trayvon to draw sympathy when the are unrelated. Both are tragic, but to lump them together is deplorable
Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk

[Yuuichi]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/03/justic...ss_igoogle_cnn

Theres your update.

[bash]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/03/justic...ss_igoogle_cnn

Theres your update.

Thanks, good to see a judge that has some sense. IMO if what they said is true and show the evidence he should get 2nd degree murder.

[Vulgotha]

This has nothing to do with the martin case nor does it echo it. Ask any of the talking heads that reported the case they said it was about justice for trayvon this is also involving the police not a regular citizen like zimmerman . they are evoking trayvon to draw sympathy when the are unrelated. Both are tragic, but to lump them together is deplorable
Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk

Absolutely correct. It's pretty vile to try and use that case as a means to draw more attention to your story.

This piece did not need such a flagrant violation of journalism ethics (lol) to draw attention to the heinous acts allegedly committed by the police department.

I'm hoping for justice here. Because these guys are sick bastards if true.

[Yuuichi]

This has nothing to do with the martin case nor does it echo it. Ask any of the talking heads that reported the case they said it was about justice for trayvon this is also involving the police not a regular citizen like zimmerman . they are evoking trayvon to draw sympathy when the are unrelated. Both are tragic, but to lump them together is deplorable
Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk

Your right.

[Funeralfog]

if every black person getting shot made the news, then there would be nothing else 24/7

[bash]

if every black person getting shot made the news, then there would be nothing else 24/7

This isn't just every black man. He was unarmed and shot by the police who made up a BS story and no one has been arrested while there is incriminating evidence (at least until it goes missing).

BTW WTF is the point of having a camera on the fucking police if they can just fucking turn it off?

[F34R]

This isn't just every black man. He was unarmed and shot by the police who made up a BS story and no one has been arrested while there is incriminating evidence (at least until it goes missing).

BTW WTF is the point of having a camera on the fucking police if they can just fucking turn it off?

You saw the footage? Please provide a link to this footage so that we can all know what you apparently know...

You must learn to stop putting so much weight on what you read in the media.

[weskurtz81]

This isn't just every black man. He was unarmed and shot by the police who made up a BS story and no one has been arrested while there is incriminating evidence (at least until it goes missing).

BTW WTF is the point of having a camera on the fucking police if they can just fucking turn it off?

Why do people think someone has to be arrested immediately? Generally, there is some sort of investigation and then an arrest is made at the appropriate time. We can't just go around arresting everyone and THEN build the case, that's not how our justice system works!

[bash]

Why do people think someone has to be arrested immediately? Generally, there is some sort of investigation and then an arrest is made at the appropriate time. We can't just go around arresting everyone and THEN build the case, that's not how our justice system works!

It's been 4 months and this case would have remained buried if it hadn't been for the media. They still haven't got a suspect even though there is damning evidence against the police.

[weskurtz81]

It's been 4 months and this case would have remained buried if it hadn't been for the media. They still haven't got a suspect even though there is damning evidence against the police.

How do we know? We literally have NO CLUE what the police department is doing, what's holding it up, we know NOTHING. At this point, we've only heard one side of the story. And if it comes out that this side is false, people will simply forget about it and do the exact same thing next time.

If the police were trying to bury this, we will find out, until then don't assume simply assume racist cops were trying to get away with murdering an innocent person, give it a little time to find out both sides of the story and make a decision on the matter when you have ALL the facts.

[keefy]

Aparently th ecop accused of kiling Kenneth is in court for an unrelated incident of police brutality.

The media cant al lie if they are then its called a conspiracy.

[btbam]

Aparently th ecop accused of kiling Kenneth is in court for an unrelated incident of police brutality.

The media cant al lie if they are then its called a conspiracy.

I'm afraid i have to break this to you, but the media lies all the time. They may not make up things, but the warp the truth to create a story. They omit, they sensationalize, they get viewers and readers. Journalists are the bottom feeders of society. Take this story for example. the author chose to include Trayvon despite there is no connection other than the victims were black. Different circumstances, different people, different everythign, but the author wants you to connect them. The author implies there is some epidemic of white people killing black people and it getting covered up. Strike One. They aren't informing you, they are creating a story.

[Fon]

This story sounds a bit too unrealistic. I haven't seen the recording but to what I read, the cops barged into his home, used the taser on him, asked for the camera to be turned off then shot him twice?.

[ex nihilo7]

As with Trayvon Martin, the black teenager recently killed in Florida, there are recordings of the events which include a racial slur directed at the victim.

Can someone who has listened to the Trayvon Martin recordings clarify if this is even accurate?

"Kenneth Chamberlain Sr said to the police, 'I'm a sick old man.' One of the police officers replied, 'We don't give a fuck, nigger!'"

Also, the race of the police officer isn't mentioned here.

[F34R]

Can someone who has listened to the Trayvon Martin recordings clarify if this is even accurate?


Also, the race of the police officer isn't mentioned here.

Some people "heard" the word "coon", while others hear it as "goon". The first would be a racially deragatory comment, the other isn't.

As far as the cameras go.. I always have mine on when I interact with the public. PERIOD. The amount of complaints officers get against them is astounding. Sometimes you have two or three, or more, people filing a complaint against you and it's your word against theirs. My cameras back me up and have cleared me of several allegations over the years.

It is a hassle to constantly have to defend yourself what seems to be on a daily basis these days.

[bash]

Some people "heard" the word "coon", while others hear it as "goon". The first would be a racially deragatory comment, the other isn't.

As far as the cameras go.. I always have mine on when I interact with the public. PERIOD. The amount of complaints officers get against them is astounding. Sometimes you have two or three, or more, people filing a complaint against you and it's your word against theirs. My cameras back me up and have cleared me of several allegations over the years.

It is a hassle to constantly have to defend yourself what seems to be on a daily basis these days.

You might not do it but who's to say other cops don't. I don't see why there isn't a device on it to prevent it from because turned off and a law to say if you tamper with it, you're fired on the spot. I really don't see why there is a law for them to have a camera on them when they can just turn it off at will.

[Sufi]

Also, the race of the police officer isn't mentioned here.

Why does that matter?

But my personal feeling says that it's probably a white guy (italian if the name says anything).

I have never seen or heard a black man say "raghead" or any other racial slur...other than, of course, a bunch of slurs against white folks. i.e. cracker, white trash, probably more that I don't know yet.

[Beast of Bourbon]

I never scream "lock this thread" but since the "black guys beat up white guy" thread was locked...

We already know who doesn't like the police and who asks for evidence before blaming them...
This is getting old.

[Funeralfog]

I never scream "lock this thread" but since the "black guys beat up white guy" thread was locked...

We already know who doesn't like the police and who asks for evidence before blaming them...
This is getting old.

a little too obvious