They let his killer walk free. [Joe McKnight] [Black Lives Matter]

[ckaihatsu]

They let his killer walk free.

We can't let Joe McKnight's killer go free.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Sports/WireAP_7dd39a6e810547c2a13065fd2dbe338a_16x9_1600. jpg

We can't let Joe McKnight's killer off the hook.

If Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand won't file charges, the District Attorney must.


Take Action (http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/joe-mcknight-indict-killer/?t=2&akid=6572.872082.X9KMcL)


Dear Chris,

"This isn’t about race," said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand after he released the killer of former NFL star Joe McKnight with no charges.1

In 2016, when a white man chases down a Black man in his car and shoots him, it's hard to imagine it had nothing to do with race. And if one thing IS clear, it’s that the decision to let Ronald Gasser--previously arrested in 2006 for beating someone in another road rage incident--go free of charges is about protecting yet another white murderer.2

Today, we'll see the NFL honor Joe McKnight's life during today’s games, while the systems that were supposed to protect him make it clear that his Black life didn't matter to them. It's enraging. But if the Sheriff's department won't file charges and arrest Gasser, the District Attorney’s office must. In 2012, when people stood up to demand the arrest of George Zimmerman after he killed Trayvon Martin, we won.3 At a time when Donald Trump's election has increased racist attacks, local officials have to make it clear that Black lives matter.4 Will you sign the petition to make sure Ronald Gasser doesn't get away scot-free?

Tell Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick Jr.: Don't let Joe McKnight's killer walk free. Press charges now. (http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/joe-mcknight-indict-killer/?t=3&akid=6572.872082.X9KMcL)

The decision to let Ronald Gasser go has everything to do with race. Louisiana has the highest arrest rate in the country--there’s absolutely no reason McKnight’s killer would’ve usually been let free.5 Police don’t need to provide enough evidence to convict a suspect, just a probable cause that they committed a crime. At the very least, evidence allows the Sheriff to charge Gasser with unlawful discharge of a weapon--which includes shooting most guns within 5,500 feet of a road or highway.6 Yet, he was charged with absolutely nothing. This case is eerily similar to an incident in which NFL star Will Smith was killed in a road rage incident, and the killer, Cardell Hayes, was immediately arrested on charges of second-degree murder.7 The only difference is Hayes is Black, and Gasser is white.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Normand hinted that consideration of Louisiana’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law could be a factor in this case.8 And we know, from the cases of George Zimmerman and Marissa Alexander, that Stand Your Ground too often falls apart in court when used to protect Black people and stands as firm as the pillars of white supremacy when used to protect white killers. Research shows that in ‘Stand Your Ground’ states, white people who kill Black people are 354 percent more likely to be justified in court than white people who kill other white people.9 We can’t allow police to hold up a law like ‘Stand Your Ground’ as an excuse to let Joe McKnight’s killer walk free.

Right now, there’s nothing legally stopping Ronald Gasser from fleeing the country. Tell the Jefferson Parish DA to indict Gasser now. (http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/joe-mcknight-indict-killer/?t=4&akid=6572.872082.X9KMcL)

Until justice is real,

--Arisha, Rashad, Scott, Clarise, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:

1. "Should JPSO have arrested Joe McKnight's shooter? Experts disagree," The Times-Picayune, December 2, 2016

2. "Joe McKnight's shooter was cited in 2006 road rage incident, beating at same Terrytown spot: JPSO," The Times-Picayune, December 2, 2016

3. "Trayvon Martin shooting: A timeline of events," CBS News, July 12, 2013

4. "Racist Incidents Are Up Since Donald Trump's Election. These Are Just a Few of Them," TIME, November 13, 2016

5. "Joe McKnight's killer went free in an area with the highest arrest rate in the country," Think Progress, December 3, 2016

6. "Should JPSO have arrested Joe McKnight's shooter? Experts disagree," The Times-Picayune, December 2, 2016

7. "One went straight to jail after killing NFL star; one went home," The Times-Picayune, December 2, 2016

8. "Joe McKnight's shooting: What we know Sunday morning," The Times-Picayune, December 4, 2016

9. "5 Disturbing Facts About The State Of Stand Your Ground On The Second Anniversary of Trayvon Martin's Death," Think Progress, February 26, 2014




Color Of Change (http://colorofchange.org/?akid=6572.872082.X9KMcL) is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong. (https://act.colorofchange.org/donate/donate/?source=holiday2014footer&akid=6572.872082.X9KMcL)

If you're absolutely sure you don't want to hear from Color Of Change again, click here to unsubscribe.

[ckaihatsu]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-joe-mcknight-arrest-20161206-story.html


Sheriff goes on tirade as man is charged in fatal shooting of former USC star Joe McKnight

Former NFL running back Joe McKnight, 28, was fatally shot Dec. 1 in an apparent road-rage incident in Terrytown, La., outside New Orleans, according to authorities. Here's a look at McKnight's history.

Jaweed Kaleem Jaweed Kaleem Contact Reporter

DECEMBER 6, 2016, 5:15 PM

A man who was released from jail last week after he admitted to killing former USC football star Joe McKnight has been rearrested and charged with manslaughter, Louisiana officials announced Tuesday.

Police arrested Ronald Gasser, 54, late Monday for the Thursday afternoon shooting death of McKnight outside New Orleans.

Gasser, who told police last week that he fired his gun at McKnight, had initially been released with no charges just hours after his arrest as officers sought more details on the case. Police faced heavy criticism for the release, with news reports and activists saying the shooting was racially motivated. Gasser is white and McKnight, 28, was black.

Social media swarmed with comparisons to police shootings of black Americans that have ignited protests across American cities.

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The men had reportedly clashed during a road rage incident that led to the shooting. The incident had been described by the president of the local National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People branch as a “black man [who] was lynched” because of its public nature on a road in Terrytown, La., just southeast of New Orleans.

But in a remarkable, wide-ranging and expletive-laden news conference Tuesday in which he chastised community members for demanding swift justice, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand defended his department’s handling of the case and said that activists had gotten it wrong.

No single witness has said until this day that there was one racial slur uttered.
— Newell Normand, Jefferson Parish sheriff

“No single witness has said until this day that there was one racial slur uttered,” the sheriff said as he described the incident as “two people engaged in bad behavior.”

An angry Normand pounded his fists on the lectern, saying the public is too quick to jump to conclusions about race in connection with shootings. He read messages, laden with expletives and racist and homophobic slurs, that he said were received by local officials who had defended the police investigation.

The language prompted MSNBC, which was broadcasting the news conference live, to cut away and apologize to viewers.

The sheriff, who is white, said some of the strongest words were directed at the only black member of the Jefferson Parish Council, Mark Spears, who was called a “punk” and an “Uncle Tom.” Spears had defended police last week and pleaded with the community to not rush to judgment on the shooting.

“We collectively should be ashamed of ourselves,” said Normand. “We began to criticize people for just asking for pause, let the process take its course. But no, that wasn’t enough. We had to make demands. ‘We want justice now. If we don’t get it now, if we don’t get it our way….’ It’s not about the right thing. It’s not about justice. It’s not about the process. It’s about what we want and what we want now. And we don’t care who we disparage in the process.

http://www.trbimg.com/img-5847165d/turbine/la-kmparker-1481053824-snap-photo/400/400x225
Ronald Gasser, 54 (Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office via AP)

"We better reflect and look at ourselves in the mirror. Are we going to continue to tear ourselves apart? We don’t even give people the opportunity to do what they are supposed to do,” he said.

Later, when a reporter asked if he understood why community members would be sensitive to a white man shooting a black man, the sheriff said that people should be more concerned about “black on black murders” and that the “fear is misdirected.”

Normand, who said the department interviewed Gasser for more than 12 hours and conducted more than 160 other interviews since Thursday, argued that even though Gasser had admitted to the shooting last week, police needed more witnesses and details.

“Our arrest is only as good as a prosecution,” Norman said, suggesting that Gasser was released “for strategic reasons” in order to entice more witnesses to come forward. The sheriff also said the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law complicated the investigation.

“If people don’t think we know what we are doing strategically… tough. I don’t care,” the sheriff said.

Normand said a “key witness” came forward Saturday after Gasser’s release and that police got Gasser’s permission to search his home. It’s unclear what the witness said or what was found in Gasser’s home.

Tuesday’s announcement’s came after days of protests in front of the Sheriff’s Department, where NAACP members and clergy held signs saying “a man was lynched” and “justice” as they demanded answers about the shooting. On Tuesday, NAACP representatives joined ministers in a news conference to say they were cautiously optimistic about the new arrest and charge.

”There’s partial satisfaction, but obviously Gasser should have been charged earlier. In similar cases in the past, a person in his situation would not have been charged with manslaughter but second-degree murder,” said Morris Reed, president of the New Orleans NAACP chapter, in an interview. “There is a chorus of individuals who want more serious charges. A man was summarily executed on one of the busiest intersections of Jefferson Parish County in the daylight and witnesses abound, and that is all the charge is?”

Reed said the sheriff was wrong to admonish activists who had questioned the role of race in the death. “We have to focus on all homicides that occur in the black community,” he said. “Preachers preach every Sunday from the pulpit on black-on-black homicides. Does that mean it gives others the license to kill us as well?”

Normand said on Tuesday that McKnight’s death came after he and Gasser were both driving “erratically” and cutting each other off on Thursday just southeast of the city. The sheriff said Gasser started a “verbal altercation” with McKnight and, when they were stopped at a red light next to each other, McKnight exited his car and went toward Gasser’s window.

“Gasser pulls his weapon ... and fires three shots at Joe McKnight, killing him,” the sheriff said.

Gasser got out of his car after the shooting "to see what actually happened to him,” Normand said. The sheriff said Gasser told police he was scared of McKnight but that witness interviews did not match up with parts of his account.

McKnight also had a gun in the car, police said, but the gun and car belonged to his stepfather. The sheriff said there was no evidence McKnight suggested to Gasser that he had a weapon.

McKnight, who had played at USC for three seasons from 2007 to 2009, turned pro in 2010, when he was drafted by the New York Jets. He spent three seasons in New York before joining the Kansas City Chiefs. His NFL career ended in 2014 after he tore his Achilles’ tendon.

He joined the Canadian Football League, playing briefly for the Edmonton Eskimos before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders in late 2016. McKnight had been in talks with the Minnesota Vikings about a return to the NFL and in the meantime was working at a mental health organization, according to an interview that his brother, Jonathan McKnight, gave to TV station WGNO.

Gasser owns a telecommunications firm as well as a real estate business, according to the New Orleans Advocate. He was previously arrested in 2006 and charged with simple battery for a road rage incident in the same intersection where McKnight was killed.

The charge was dismissed, but the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said last week that the case would be reviewed again.

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Jaweed Kaleem is The Times' national race and justice correspondent. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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UPDATES:

5:15 p.m.: This article has been updated with reaction from the NAACP and more details about the sheriff’s news conference.

10:35 a.m.: This article has been updated throughout with staff reporting, details from sheriff’s news conference.

This article was originally posted at 6:55 a.m.


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