Innocent Columbus, GA Man Murdered

[Tim4319]

Dear Friends and Family,
I am writing to make you aware of a senseless tragedy that is becoming too familiar in this country. Another innocent, unarmed African American male was brutally murdered by so called "law enforcement". The man who was slain was named Kenneth B. Walker. This incident hits very close to home because Kenny was an extremely close friend.

Last Wednesday evening a local sheriff's special unit targeted 4 black men riding in an expensive SUV as possible "drug suspects". The reality of the matter is that every individual in that SUV was a college graduate, as well as responsible citizen. These four innocent men were dragged from their vehicle at gun point, and forced to lay on the side of a major Interstate like animals. Simultaneously one of the "John Wayne" sheriffs made a conscious decision to shoot Kenny Walker in the front of the head twice, with a H&K MP5 assault rifle. The coward who shot Kenny claimed that he made a "judgment call" because he couldn't see Kenny's right hand While Kenny lie dying on the side of the road, the bastards knowing full well at this point that they had targeted the wrong vehicle, still resented the other 3 gentlemen. They place them in 3 separate cars and held them in 3 separate cells. Furthermore, Kenny was shot at 9:00pm and his family was not notified until 1:30 am. They didn't even get a chance to say their farewells, because he died before they arrived. Of course they found no guns or contraband in the vehicle. 6 hours later they released the other men. They gave the driver his keys and said, and I quote "you're free to go, by the way your friend is dead".

Kenneth Walker was a loving husband, devoted father and responsible civic oriented individual who was involved in the local community. Not only had Kenny never been in trouble with law; when they pulled his record they couldn't even find a speeding ticket! So what it amounts to is that if you are a black male in this country, no matter how righteous, your life is subject to come down to a "judgment call". To add insult to injustice, this tragedy is being stonewalled and quietly swept under the rug by local government officials. From what we understand, the entire incident was caught on tape. The Sheriff's Department is refusing to release the tape, which is a matter of public record under the "Freedom of Information" Act. Columbus is a small town. The "Good Old Boy" network is very much alive here and the longer they hold the tape, the more likely it will be altered or disappear all together (remember the 90 seconds missing from the Cincinnati tape). If this had happened in a major city it would have gained national attention by now. This is where we need your help. Pass this email along to as many people as possible and contact the following news networks about this case.

www.cnn.com <http://www.cnn.com>; www.bet.com <http://www.bet.com>; www.abcnews.com <http://www.abcnews.com>; www.cbsnews.com <http://www.cbsnews.com>.
Will Rembert

[Bandit]

1. Disgusting

I just heard of another case in New York City of almost the same thing. A 19 year old black man was killed by police without warning. He was on a roof top listening to a CD player and the cop said he thought the CD player was a gun and fired without warning. White cops shoot blacks and get off scott free. What can you say?

[RT Atlanta]

2. Horrible

I am sorry for your friend's murder - that is absolutely disgusting and I hope that the perpetrators are held fully accountable for their actions.

[tom_paine]

23. Unfortunately, in Imperial Amerika, their prospects of facing justice are

small indeed.

About the same as John Ashcroft finding the Plame Leaker.

Nah, maybe just a little bit better than 0%.

[DUreader]

3. Is there a news link for this story?

?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

5. Here you go

http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=1604433&nav=8fapKFDD

[DUreader]

8. Thanks, here are printable links to the pages for dialups like me

Page One of Five Page Statement
Sheriff Ralph Johnson Statement on the Shooting of Kenneth Walker

http://www.wtvm.com/global/story.asp?s=1604433&ClientType=Printable


page 2

http://www.wtvm.com/global/story.asp?s=1604445&ClientType=Printable

page 3


http://www.wtvm.com/global/story.asp?s=1604458&ClientType=Printable


page 4 and 5


http://www.wtvm.com/global/story.asp?s=1604472&ClientType=Printable

[DUreader]

9. more news links:

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=us&q=Shooting+of+Kenneth+Walker&btnG=Search+News



The Challenge of Policing Police Brutality
The Wilmington Journal, NC - Jan 28, 2004
... city since 1995. In Columbus, Ga., police came under fire for the
shooting death of 39-year-old Kenneth Walker. The unarmed man ...

Civil rights only one part of Urban League's mission
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - Jan 29, 2004
... He quietly began conducting his own investigation of the Kenneth Walker
shooting. In coming days, he said he will release those findings. ...

Walker family responds to sheriff's statement regarding shooting
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - Jan 20, 2004
... The cacophony related to the I-185 shooting of Kenneth Walker needs to
come to an end. The unrevealed facts of the case need to be told. ...

Policing police brutality a challenge
Louisiana Weekly, LA - Jan 26, 2004
... that city since 1995. In Columbus, Ga., police came under fire for
the shooting death of Kenneth Walker, 39. The unarmed man was ...

Sheriff speaks
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - Jan 17, 2004
... 10 fatal shooting of Kenneth B. Walker by a sheriff's deputy were released
to the public Friday by Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson. ...

Read Page 3 of Sheriff Ralph Johnson's Statement on the Shooting ...
WTVM, GA - Jan 16, 2004
... the Yukon were being removed from the vehicle; Kenneth Walker was shot by Deputy
David Glisson at approximately 8:58 PM. The weapon involved in this shooting ...

No details likely to be public soon
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - Jan 23, 2004
The completion of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's probe into the Kenneth Walker
shooting and the transfer of those findings to the district attorney's ...

Read More of Sheriff Ralph Johnson's Statement on the Shooting of ...
WTVM, GA - Jan 16, 2004

Authorities release details in fatal shooting by Muscogee deputy
Access North Georgia, GA - Jan 17, 2004
... that named Deputy David Glisson as the one who fired the shot that killed Kenneth
B. Walker, 39. Johnsons report made no determination whether the shooting was ...

[Tim4319]

12. Here is a link

http://www.blackpressusa.com/news/Article.asp?SID=3&Title=National+News&NewsID=3183

[david_vincent]

4. Murder

I'm so sorry for you, and for your friend's family.
If you've described the incident accurately, then this is clearly
murder.
Without going into a long rant about the freedom from legality
that most police in America enjoy, I would like to point out just
one thing: your statement that this would have gained national
attention by now if it had happened in a major city is debatable.
When I was living in the Seattle area, police shot and killed someone without cause every few months. Almost all of the victims were African American. I can't remember a single one of them even losing his job, let alone being charged. One Bellevue cop shot two people in less than two years, IIRC, and he was not even disciplined. These incidents were always hemmed and hawed out of the way until they fell out of the news and, supposedly, people "forgot" about them. As if.
And I can't imagine that Seattle is any different from other major cities. So my conclusion is that this kind of thing happens all the time, without gaining "national attention".
A lawyer should be able to force the sheriff's department to release the tape. That said, anyone who has been down South knows that the
good old boy mentality, while in place everywhere, is much stronger there. I suggest fighting for justice at the state level, because local authorities will never deliver the truth unless they're ordered to do so.

[no one in particular]

6. nevermind

nevermind

[Kathy in Cambridge]

7. I'm so sorry

Those cops should be prosecuted-I hope the ACLU and African-American groups are working on getting his family justice.

[marie123]

10. so quick to make this a race issue

no surprise there

In any even read the other side of the story as there always seems to be.

The cop had been on the force for 22 years with a clean record. If he was out to get AAs he certainly waited a long time.

There is an independant investigation going on now. I will save my judgement until that is completed

[Kathy in Cambridge]

14. Ummm...it is a race issue

Racial profiling happens everywhere. You deny cops target African Americans?

[prolesunited]

15. A clean record meaning he hasn't been caught yet

or a clean record meaning he hasn't ever done anything.

BTW, I love the abbreviation of African-Americans. Is that some subtle word association Republicans have going to Alcoholics Anonymous?

And, in your mind, what "facts" will come to light that will absolve the officer of shooting an unarmed man?

[marie123]

18. you are too smart

yes my AA is subtle word that I associate with going to Alcoholics Anonymous.

I am not sure what the facts will be after the investigation. I am just holding my opinion until I get all the facts in. Something you might consider doing.

[DrWeird]

26. If the black man in the SUV...

shot the cop twice in the head because of a "judgement call" because he couldn't see where the cops hand was, I doubt you'd be giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[Bandit]

19. Just curious as to why you think they were pulled over in the first place.

The letter said because the cops thought they were connected to drugs. Why would the cops think that since they had never seen those people before this instance? Could it be because they were black and riding in an expensive automobile? Just curious how a Republican looks at this issue.

[truthspeaker]

20. I, too, want all the facts but...

The fact that none of the survivors were arrested for anything, and that none of them had weapons on them or criminal records, is very damning.

I've been pulled over a few times, and I've never been ordered to lie on the ground or even get out of my car. Like the four men in this story I do not have a criminal record. There is only one difference between me and them. Care to guess what it us?

[Bandit]

22. I bet it is because you drive a Pinto

:silly:

[KG]

21. it is a race issue.

4 black men in an expensive SUV = drug dealers.

it's called racial profiling. happens every day, in every city.

this is the reality of america today, wheather you want to acknowledge it or not.

[plurality]

11. I'm sorry, but I'd probably be banned if I said what I really thought

All I can say is that when the government or agents of the government no longer protect the interests of the people, but actually harm the interests of the people, it is no longer a government, but an unjust tyranny. How many murdering cops that recieve no punishment from the courts will people continue to tolerate?

[tom_paine]

16. Correct, plurailty

Well satted and absolutely true.

However, since this is still the Beginning of Empire, when many of the wretched remanants of the Old Republic are still protecting us, and further, until the Imperial Family consolidates their unchecked tyrannical power at the top, our lives will be OK.

But that will happen eventually (unless the Impeial Family is stopped and the Old American Republic is restored...which is not very liekly, though not impossible) and we must all be ready when it does.

[tom_paine]

13. Amerika is going backwards

Unfortunately, I expect this sort of thing to be on the rise as Imperial Power makes itself felt across the land and the Busheviks start to feel safe treating homosexuals and African-Americans as they once treated them (and never really stopped, just slowed) and as they keenly wish to treat them again.

You are correct, I'm afraid in that any homosexual or African-American's life is forfeit when they fall into the clutches of "law enforcement", partiuclarly where Bushevik Loyalists control all the law enforcement apparatus.

I hope I am wrong, but I am afraid, like so many other things here in the Amerikan Empire, things are going to get much worse before they get better...and they may not get better at all.

As a straight white guy, I feel terrible for what is about to happen to the African-Americans and homosexuals, but it won't be too much later that they get around to other, but I'm not sure anything short of Civil War II wil change it. (even then things might not get any better, AND DEFINITELY WILL GET WORSE IN THE SHORT TERM if it comes to that)

The Imperials are in control. Total Control. And, like all Totalitarian Scum throughout history, they have gamed the system to remain that way.

[Rainbowreflect]

17. I am so sorry.

This story is being emailed to everyone I know. The least we can do is get the story out there.

[BeFree]

24. I thank God I was born white, this time

When I think of all the face to face time I've had with the 'Law' on the hi-ways and bi-ways of this country, and never once having been led away in cuffs,(knocking on wood) I wonder: If I was Black, would I have been so fortunate?

No, I think I would be dead by now. Several times.

Why do so many cops hate so many Americans?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

25. I used to get stopped for speeding all the time-never got a ticket

or harrassment. I often wondered that if I weren't a blonde, blue-eyed woman if things would be different. Anyone that says racial profiling doesn't exist is delusional.