New Jersey
New Jersey hospital executive placed on leave after pointing out police brutality and systematic racism
A New Jersey hospital executive who pointed out police brutality and implicit bias was placed on leave after her post went viral.
A NJ hospital executive who pointed out police brutality and implicit bias was placed on leave after her post went viral.
New Jersey Hospital executive placed on leave
The administrative leave comes after NJ hospital executive Michellene Davis commented on a NorthJersey.com article. It detailed plans for armed police officers at schools in Fair Lawn.
“Who is going to train them not to shoot black children first?!?” Davis said in the comment. It did not appear on a public post, but screenshots were circulated on social media.
Davis’ post wasn’t public but happened to go viral after a person on her friend’s list took offense to the comment stating it was racist and took a screen shot. After the post went viral, people went to her employer’s page to complain of her comment.
Mike Bates went to the Facebook page of Davis’s employer and called for her to be fired for her remarks that he claims were “racist and discriminated against all law enforcement.”
“Would you trust your healthcare to a company where there is clearly racism at the top?? I wonder if they hire like attitudes as employees. Go elsewhere!!!!!” he wrote.
Similarly, when NJ101.5 reported on the incident, it painted Davis’ comment as suggesting police would shoot black children first, then quoted New Jersey Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Colligan as saying, “The anti-cop stuff is getting old. When we get painted with the same broad stroke just because we’re police officers, that’s racism in itself. You can’t paint every cop.”
My thoughts
I’m confused. Pointing out police misconduct and systematic racism is racism? It seems even when you talk about implicit bias, a very valid problem in our society, you are the problem. This is a lesson people of color learn everyday when posting on social media about social issues.
Davis didn’t make an anti-police statement. She made an anti-police brutality statement. Her question is valid and necessary. A plethora of people from different ethnic backgrounds are concerned with the presence of armed forces in schools. It is a valid critique of the state of law enforcement within the school system, especially in urban areas.
We need to get into the habit of refraining from calling black people racist for pointing out racism. It is a careless argument and furthers divides us instead of having a very much needed conversation on race.
Davis posted a public apology to her Facebook Thursday morning, calling her own words “extremely insensitive and offensive,” and proclaiming her respect for those working in law enforcement.
Though Davis apologized, she was placed on administrative leave.
Her employer RJWBarnabas Health wrote in a post on their own Facebook page that “Statements posted by RWJBarnabas Health official social media pages are the only statements that represent the views and policies of our organization.”
Sigh.
New Jersey
New Jersey man filmed shouting racial slurs at Black neighbors in viral video sentenced to 8 years in prison
In October, Mathews, 47, pled guilty to four counts of bias intimidation and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.
Edward C Mathews, the New Jersey man who was captured in a viral video in 2021 harassing his Black neighbors and hurling racial epithets, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Sentenced
In October, Mathews, 47, pled guilty to four counts of bias intimidation and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.
The charges stem from a July 2021 incident in which viral video showed him repeatedly calling his Black neighbors the N-word and another offensive slur outside a home in Mount Laurel, N.J.
“Our office is committed to combatting bias crimes and sending a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated in our community,” Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a statement. “Nobody should have to endure what these victims experienced.”
Mathews had been terrorizing his Black neighbors
Before the viral incident, a neighbor filed a harassment complaint against Mathews with the Mount Laurel Police Department. That same day, police received a report about a man who needed to be removed from the area.
When officers arrived to the scene, they found Mathews “using racial slurs while engaged in a verbal altercation with four residents,” prosecutors said. During a search of Mathews’ home, police found numerous psilocin mushrooms, which are known for their hallucinogenic effect, according to prosecutors.
Bradshaw said Mathews had been terrorizing his Black neighbors long before the viral moment, including a time when he allegedly left a threatening note on one of their vehicles. He was also accused of stalking, smearing feces on his neighbors’ windows and damaging their cars, NBC Philadelphia reported.
According to a report by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mathews apologized before his sentencing.
“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future,” he told the judge, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I want to commit to rebuild the community.”
Mathews must serve at least four years before he is eligible for parole, NBC reported.
Education
Meet 6-year-old genius Declan Lopez
Meet 6-year-old Declan Lopez who is now a member of Mensa, which includes the smartest of the smartest with an IQ of 138.
Meet 6-year-old Declan Lopez, who is now a member of Mensa, which includes the smartest of the smartest with an IQ of 138, that’s Einstein level.
Declan Lopez is a genius
To put this in perspective, the highest average score for people under 64 years of age is 109.
The gifted kindergartener reads on a third or fourth grade level.
She is interested in physics particularly “the force in motion”, Lopez told ABC7.
Lopez goes to school in Dover, New Jersey where she is a shining star.
Her parents started noticing Lopez’s intelligence when she was 18 months old.
“We were on a trip in the airport, and she just started to count in Mandarin,” Declan’s mom Meachel Lopez told ABC7.
Declan’s parents make sure she’s involved in social activities like karate, soccer and music theory. The family is also exploring coding classes.
All in the family
On top of raising an exceptional daughter, there is strong evidence showing Lopez’s little brother Maddox is following in her footsteps.
The Lopez family said they might get a DNA test to see if this level of genius runs in their family.
Crime & Justice
New Jersey High School Basketball Standout Fatally Shot
Latrell Duncan, a high school basketball standout in New Jersey, was fatally shot shortly after leaving school.
Latrell Duncan, a high school basketball standout in New Jersey, was fatally shot shortly after leaving school.
Basketball Standout Latrell Duncan killed
According to reports, Latrell – a sophomore at East Orange Campus High School – was shot four times at around 3:15 PM near his H.S. He was rushed to University Hospital in Newark where died just before 4 p.m.
No arrests have been made in connection to the fatal shooting. Investigators, however, are looking for “a group of people and a vehicle seen in the area at the time of the shooting.”
“Targeted”
In an interview with the New York Times, Latrell’s aunt Marsha Douglas, told the outlet her nephew and his friends were approached by a group of men after leaving school. The group exchanged words and then eventually dispersed.
But minutes later, two people wearing ski masks and carrying a gun confronted the teenagers on a sidewalk, said Douglas, who heard the account from her nephew’s friends.
Latrell Duncan was well on his way
Duncan, a 6’1 point guard, was one of the top 10 basketball players in New Jersey. He scored 180 points last season as a freshman at East Orange Campus, helping the team to a 15-9 record in one of the most competitive conferences in the state.
His AAU team, Garden State Bounce, had described him as a “floor general, team captain, and the best point guard our program has seen.”
“He was an excellent teammate,” the team added in a social media post mourning his loss, “a great friend, and a coach’s ideal player.”
Loved ones and the community are reeling after Latrell’s murder
On Tuesday, grief counselors were sent to the 1,660-student high school campus, said Khalifah Shabazz, the district’s lawyer.
“He was a loved student,” Douglas, Latrell’s aunt said. “We’re just really saddened….He didn’t deserve this”
A GoFundMe for Duncan’s family has been set up.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.
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