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2 Lives Cut Short: Remembering Young Women Shot At Movies

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LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — One was a talented artist who sang in an all-female band and planted trees to beautify her neighborhood. Another was studying to be a radiology technician and looking forward to a future with a longtime boyfriend.

Jillian Johnson, 33, and Mayci Breaux, 21, were shot and killed last Thursday while watching the movie “Trainwreck” at The Grand 16 movie theater in Lafayette, leaving stunned friends and family questioning how two lives off to such promising starts could end so tragically.

Police say John Russell Houser, 59, stood up about 20 minutes into the movie and began firing before ultimately taking his own life.

Funerals for both women were scheduled for Monday.

Friends of Johnson, like Pudd Sharp, remembered her as a woman of talent and warmth. At an event to remember the victims he pointed out people wearing T-shirts she designed and described her as a funny, talented and welcoming woman. He said she was a “tastemaker,” the type of person that if you showed up at a club or restaurant or an event and she was there, you knew you were in the right place.

“She was just a really nice person, just in the horribly wrong place at the wrong time,” Sharp said.

Hundreds of mourners turned out for a vigil Saturday night, wearing T-shirts and holding signs with the words “Lafayette Strong,” which has become a rallying call in the wake of the shootings. Organizers played a recording of a folksy ukulele-and-voice song recorded by Johnson, who also played in a local band called The Figs.

Joseph Shelvin, 66, was a neighbor of the Johnson family. He said Johnson spruced up the neighborhood by planting crepe myrtle trees.

“The trees are blooming. She helped motivate people to do things. She got together about 100 kids from UL (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), we all picked up trash, put it to the street, and the city picked it up. It was amazing to see the yards were absolutely clean,” Shelvin said.

Breaux, who was from Franklin, Louisiana, was studying to be a medical radiology technician at Louisiana State University-Eunice and was expected to start next week doing clinical work at a hospital in Lafayette — the same hospital she was taken to Thursday after she was fatally shot.

In Franklin, an old town in Louisiana’s sugar cane country, hundreds of mourners attended visitation services for Breaux Sunday evening. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also made an appearance at the funeral home, but did not speak with media.

Anne Oestriecher, a 52-year-old cousin of Breaux said she had been dating her boyfriend Matthew Rodriguez for years before the two went to the movie theater Thursday. Rodriguez was shot in the chest but survived.

“They were planning their life together; they were ready to get out of school and get married and start a family. And she and Matt went to the movies,” said Oestriecher who spoke with tears on her face. Breaux had a younger sister and older brother and “tons of cousins” Oestriecher said, adding she would miss Breaux’s smile the most.

“She was the quiet one; she was the one, everybody is running around like crazy, she would sit there quietly and just be enjoying everybody and enjoying everything and then suddenly bust out laughing because somebody said something that made her smile,” she said.

The Franklin-Banner Tribune reported that Breaux was voted “Most Beautiful” by her senior class and was crowned Carnival Queen in 2012. She also worked at Coco Eros Fashion Boutique in Lafayette for about a year where she was remembered as a cheerful woman with a generous smile for customers and those with whom she worked.

“Everyone at the store would remember her,” said Thea St. Germain, 24. “She was that kind of person to leave an impression on you.”

Ice-T and Coco Are Pregnant!

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He’s already a granddaddy, but now he’s gonna be a daddy again at 57.

We’re talking about Mr. Tracy “Ice-T” Marrow. And we all know there can’t be a daddy without a mommy and of course that would be 36-year-old Coco Marrow.

 

Rapper Styles P Reveals Daughter Committed Suicide

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Styles P may be one of the toughest rappers in the game, but The LOX member displayed another side of himself while revealing that his daughter committed suicide last month.

Taking to Instagram, Styles P opened up about the situation on social media, according to Design&Trend.

“I rarely speak on my personal issues and I usually express my pain the through music but today I will share a little with you last month my wife and I lost a daughter and my son lost a sister . My baby girl took her life and there are no words to describe the day to day pain we have to endure and maintain through but in dealing with pain you find yourself dealing with the creator and asking questions and going through emotions most would not understand,” the rapper shared while giving something for fans to think about.

“But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t take this time out to say from the most humbled part of my heart and soul to say to y’all that the dream most of us chase is not !!I repeat is not !!more valuable than the love you get from your family and friends it may seem like it is but it ain’t they print money and make material s**t every day but once you used a love one that’s it the spirit is with you but you will miss the physical and won’t be able to speak to them how you want to until you get home to the other side.”

Despite the effect of the tragedy on him and his family, Styles P made sure to end his note on a strong positive note.

“So I just want to tell y’all keep it family 1st and don’t get lost and lose your focus the fam is way more important than anything else… We lost a daughter but gained an angel. Love is love… ghost,” he wrote.

Below is Styles P’s Instagram post in its entirety:

Screenshot 2015-07-29 09.10.50

 

 

BACK-to-SCHOOL EVENTS PLANNED for BIRMINGHAM STUDENTS

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School starts Wednesday, Aug. 5, and several back-to-school rallies and giveaway school supply events are scheduled for Birmingham City Schools. Don’t see your school listed here? Call your school to see if they have something planned.
 Also, if you haven’t registered your child for school yet, there’s still time. For more information about registration, www.visit bhamcityschools.org.

Public Events
The following events will be open to the public.

Thursday, July 30
  • School Board Member Lyord Watson Jr. will host a community meet and greet with Superintendent Dr. Kelley Castlin-Gacutan on Thursday, July 30 at Ruffner Mountain. Event starts at 6 p.m. The address is 1214 81st St. South. RSVP requested at watson4education@gmail.com. (School supplies will not be distributed at this event, but this is an opportunity to meet the superintendent.)

Saturday, Aug. 1
  •  The Second Annual Lock & Learn school supply and back pack giveaway with the Joe Lockett Show on 101.1 FM WYDE will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Hamburger Heaven Homewood location, 180 Oxmoor Blvd. Clear backpacks will be loaded with essential school supplies donated by area businesses.

Saturday, Aug. 8

  • Phoenix Suns player Eric Bledsoe will provide free backpacks and school supplies at Railroad Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8. Later that evening, he will join other NBA players and play in a basketball exhibition game at Parker High, his alma mater. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the game will start at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. The school is located at 900 Fourth St. North.
  • More Than Conquerors Faith Church will present its annual R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Back-To-School Rally on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 12 p.m. at the church, 1327 Dennison Ave. SW. School supplies, backpacks, hot dogs, sodas and chips will be provided.

 

School Events
The following events are for students at the listed schools.

 

  • Arrington Middle, 2101 Jefferson Ave., will host its Bulldog Back-to-School Bash on Thursday, July 30 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Registration will take place in the school’s media center for grades sixth through eighth grade. Supply lists and food will be provided. For more info, call 231-1130.

 

  • Arrington Middle, 2101 Jefferson Ave., will host its sixth grade orientation on Sunday, Aug. 2 in the school lunchroom from 5 to 6 p.m. Birmingham City Schools Vice President Wardine Alexander, the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, Be You Academy and a host of other school community partners plan to attend.
  • Bush K-8 will join Rotaract Club of Birmingham to distribute free school supplies and backpacks on Saturday, Aug. 1 from 9 – 10 a.m. Bush K-8 remains temporarily located at the old Center Street Middle School, 1832 Centerway South, because the original Bush K-8 building will undergo renovations soon. For more information about the giveaway, call the school: 231-7190.
  • On Friday, Aug. 7, Bush K-8 will host “This is How We Do It at Bush K-8 School,” which will include a fashion show on how students may use their uniforms to fit casual, business and dressy occasions. Mississippi motivational speaker and life coach Theo Schaffer will encourage students to strive for excellence. Free book bags and school supplies will be available in a drawing. The event, which is from 9 to 10 a.m. in the gym, is for grades third through eighth.
 Please note that Bush K-8 is temporarily located at the old Center Street Middle, 1832 Centerway South because the original Bush K-8 building will undergo renovations soon. The school is currently accepting kindergarteners, too.

 

  • Glen Iris, 1115 11th St. South, will host a parent orientation from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2. Parents will meet their child’s teacher, get a brief overview of the school curriculum plans and drop off supplies.

 

  • Jackson-Olin High School, 510 12 St. Ensley, will host freshman orientation Monday, July 27 –  Friday, July 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Incoming ninth graders will tour their new school, and learn about school rules, procedures and expectations. A parent meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 29. On Friday, July 31, a pep rally, service project and cookout will be held for incoming freshmen. School supply lists will be provided throughout the week. Call 231-6431 for more information.

 

  • Martha Gaskins Elementary, 200 Dalton Drive, will host its back-to-school orientation for parents and students on Monday, Aug. 3 from 5 to 6 p.m.

 

  • Minor Elementary, 2425 Ave. South, Ensley, will join Rotaract Club of Birmingham to distribute free school supplies and backpacks, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1.

 

  •  Phillips Academy will host orientation on the following days:
Tuesday, July 28, sixth grade; Wednesday, July 29, seventh grade; and Thursday, July 30,  eighth grade. All sessions will be held at 6 p.m.
 Orientation for kindergarten through fifth grade will be held Sunday, Aug. 2. Kindergarten through second grade will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. Third through fifth grade will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Parking is available in the adjacent, grass-covered lot on the 23rd Street North side of the building. All sessions will start in the school auditorium. Sign in will occur in the individual teacher classrooms.

 

  • Enjoy a spaghetti dinner, learn what’s in store for the new school year at Smith Middle and get to know the PTA during the Back-To-School Dinner and AVID Parent Night at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3. Event will be held in the gym, 1124 Five Mile Road.

 

  • Woodlawn High School will host Woodlawn Day, which will include school registration, school tours and distribution of IDs, locker assignments and schedules, on Saturday, Aug. 1. Freshmen should report between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sophomores, juniors and seniors should report between 1 and 3 p.m. All Woodlawn students participating in Woodlawn Day will receive a free T-shirt and book bag. Refreshments will be provided. The school is located at 5620 First Ave. North.
  • Wylam K-8, 701 Erie St., will join Rotaract Club of Birmingham on Saturday, Aug. 1 to distribute free school supplies and backpacks to students, starting at 9 a.m. School registration will also be available. For more information, call 231-6800. Registration will end at 12 p.m.
  • The Woodlawn Innovation Network will host a back-to-school rally on Sunday, Aug. 2 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. for WIN schools, which include Putnam, Hayes, Avondale, Oliver and Woodlawn. The event will take place at Social Venture, 5529 First Ave. South.  Games, food and a dunking booth will be available. Parents and students will be able to meet teachers and administrators.

Phone Scam

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The Birmingham Police Department has received several calls from citizens advising that they were called by some claiming to be from the Birmingham Police Department or the ‘Alabama State Police’.  The caller told the victims that they were being investigated or had not paid their back taxes.  The caller identified the victim by first and last name.  The caller attempted to gain personal identification information from the victim and told them if they did not comply that the Birmingham Police Department would arrest them within the hour.  The Birmingham Police Department does not contact citizens in an attempt to gain any personal information and will not arrest them if they do not comply.  Citizens should be mindful to never give anyone any personal information if they are contacted by someone purporting to be law enforcement or a government agency and threatening to arrest them if they do not comply with their request.

 

“The Georgia Voice,” an Atlanta-based newspaper that “covers stories of local and national importance to Georgia’s LGBT communities.”

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ALABAMA STATE
UNIVERSITY
Office of Media Relations & Public Information


The ink is barely dry on his diploma, but alumnus Darian Aaron has already been tapped as the editor of “The Georgia Voice,” an Atlanta-based newspaper that “covers stories of local and national importance to Georgia’s LGBT communities.”

 

“I’m humbled by this amazing opportunity to lead one of the premier LGBT publications in the country,” said Aaron, a Georgia native. “With this new role, I will become the first African-American editor of ‘The Georgia Voice’ and the face of the publication. It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I look forward to returning home to help tell the stories of one of the most vibrant and diverse LGBT communities in the nation.”

 

Aaron graduated with honors from ASU in May of 2015, earning a Bachelor of Arts in communications. As a student leader, he founded AMPLIFIED, the University’s first LGBT-chartered student organization.

 

A prolific and talented writer, Aaron already has become recognized as an award-winning digital journalist, blogger and author. He is best known for his acclaimed LGBT blog, “Living Out Loud with Darian,” and his ‘coffee-table book,’ “When Love Takes Over: A Celebration of SGL Couples of Color.”

 

Aaron said the instruction and mentoring that he received at Alabama State University helped to prepare him for a successful career in journalism.

 

“The academic foundation I received at ASU, along with the technical training in broadcast and print media, will undoubtedly serve me well in my new position,” said Aaron. “I couldn’t have asked for a better undergraduate experience. The professors in ASU’s Communications Department are truly extraordinary! It continues to mean the world to me that their investment in my success did not end the moment I received my degree.”

 

More from Aaron’s Bio

Darian Aaron has used his voice towards LGBT equality and visibility in print and on television, and as a contributor to several publications, including “CLIK Magazine” where he served as a staff writer, “The Advocate,” “The LA Times,” “The Huffington Post,” “The Georgia Voice,” “Project Q Atlanta,” “The Montgomery Advertiser” and “AOL Black Voices.” His work also has appeared on several LGBT websites, Keith Boykin, Rod 2.0, Pam’s House Blend and Mused Magazine among others. Aaron became one of a few openly gay black men to be profiled in “EBONY Magazine” in 2012 in the featured piece “Black, Gay and Christian: Where Spirituality and Sexuality Converge.” He recently completed fellowships in television and radio news reporting at WSFA 12 News and WVAS FM 90.7 in Montgomery, Ala.

 

Aaron has served as a member of the Atlanta Black LGBT Coalition and as an organizer for the annual State of Black Gay America Summit during Atlanta Black Gay Pride. In 2011, he was one of dozens of black gay activists invited to attend GLAAD’s first Media Institute in New York City. He received a GLAAD award for his work in Atlanta’s LGBT community the following year.

 

Aaron is a member of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists

Homicide Investigation

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Homicide Investigation

The Birmingham Police Department reports that the Cold Case Unit has obtained a Capital Murder warrant against Tricia Abney W/F 40 years of age in relation to a 1995 Missing Persons case that has now been ruled a homicide. Abney is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail on no bond.

In June of 1995 Justin Barnett W/M who was 23 years of age at the time was reported missing and never seen from or heard from again. In January of 2015, Cold Case Unit detectives received information with several new leads in this case. Due to evidence discovered during the investigation, Barnett has been declared the victim of a homicide. It is believed that Barnett was murdered at an apartment in the 7700 block of Sunrise Lane. Cold Case Unit detectives presented their findings to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and a Capital Murder warrant was issued for Abney’s arrest. The Crime Reduction Team arrested Abney without incident on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, without incident.

Tricia Abney
Tricia Abney

If there is anyone who has information pertaining to the case, they are encouraged to contact the B.P.D. Homicide Unit @ 254-1764 or Crime Stoppers @ 254-7777.

Sandra Bland’s only offense ‘driving while black’

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BY JESSE JACKSON
July 28, 2015

On July 9, Sandra Bland drove to Prairie View, Texas from Chicago, eager for a job interview at Prairie View A&M, the historically black college that was her alma mater. The 28-year-old woman, described as smart and generous, had expressed solidarity with BlackLivesMatter and the growing movement against mass incarceration and racially biased policing. Then she took a big risk: she was driving while black. Four days later, she was found dead in a county jail cell.

She was pulled over on July 10 by a white police officer, officially for failing to signal a lane change. She asked why he had pulled her over. He told her to put out her cigarette. When she questioned why, he demanded she get out of the car, threatened her with a stun gun, reached in to pull her out of the car and handcuffed her, pushing her down to the ground when she resisted and complained. She was driven to the county jail in Hempstead, a jail run by Sheriff R. Glenn Smith. A decade ago, the New York Times reports, Smith was sued by the only full-time black officer on the force for dismissing him after he complained about his supervisor’s racial slurs. He was suspended in 2007 for pushing a black man he said had spit on him. He was fired in 2008 after complaints about intrusive searches of African Americans in public. He was elected sheriff months later.
Pulled over for not signaling a lane change, Bland was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer and hit with a $5,000 bond. She spent three days in jail, finally arranging the money needed for a bondsman. She was found dead in her cell. Her death was ruled a suicide, a finding that her family disputes. How could a young woman, excited by the prospect of a new job, finally arranging to get out of that cell, choose to hang herself?
Waller County, an hour out of Houston, has an infamous history of racism. The Times reports on a study by the Equal Justice Initiative that found blacks were lynched after Reconstruction more frequently than in almost any other county in the state.
No official is defending the trooper’s behavior when he pulled Sandra Bland over. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay while an inquiry goes forth. The Hempstead mayor says he was “very, very upset” with what he saw on the videotape of the incident that was captured by a camera in the trooper’s car.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch noted that Sandra Bland’s death highlights the fears of African Americans when they come into contact with the police. “Many minority communities,” she said, “for so long have felt that law enforcement was coming in to essentially enforce laws against them, not to protect them.” Over 300,000 have signed a national petition calling on an independent Justice Department investigation of Sandra Bland’s death.
The fears Lynch alluded to are well founded. Sandra Bland’s is only the latest death. Across the country, more than two dozen others have died in police custody this year. As of July 26, police have killed, according to the Guardian, 657 people this year in the U.S. Nearly six of 10 (58 percent) were people of color. As William Boardman notes, U.S. police killed 59 people in the first 24 days of 2015, compared to the police of England and Wales, who killed 55 people in the last 24 years. Texas trails only California for the number of police killings.
We don’t simply need new cameras on police; we need a fundamental change of culture. Police forces should look like the communities they patrol. Police officers should live in those communities. Training must not only instruct police in the use of firearms, but in the mores of the community. And police cannot not be put in the position of an occupying force in desperately impoverished neighborhoods with massive unemployment and little hope.
Sandra Bland changed lanes without signaling. But that wasn’t her crime. Her crime was driving while black. The institutionalized prejudices and distorted practices that led to her death are unacceptable in a nation of equal justice under the law. Unacceptable and unaccepted.

Donald Trump and the Republican Party Freak Show

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By
James Strong

When The Huffington Post announced on July 17 it would no longer cover republican presidential primary candidate Donald Trump under its politics section, but under its entertainment category instead, media, politicians and others yelled “Wait a minute!”
The Politicususa.com website and Mother Jones, for example, contend that Trump’s candidacy is news worthy of serious media scrutiny. But The HuffPost Washington Bureau Chief Ryan Grimm and Editorial Director Danny Shea counter that “Trump’s campaign is a sideshow” and that “[Trump] is objectively a clown show” meant to sucker the media into believing his candidacy is serious.
In fact, many do not find The HuffPost’s decision stunning at all, because a freak deserves to be treated like a freak, if he wants to.
Additionally, when evil is under attack, he hopes you believe his friends rather than his enemies. But many of Trump’s friends in the Republican Party have now become his enemies. And when freaks turn against freaks, the freak show becomes more refreshing and exciting.
Who can forget going to a circus or seeing a horror movie in which the bearded lady mud-wrestles a beautiful blonde-haired, one-eyed woman? Or a dwarf boxes an Andre the Giant and knocks him out with an uppercut to the kneecap?
Moving the Trump presidential primary campaign coverage from the political section to the entertainment section, then, makes perfect sense. More media outlets should follow The HuffPost’s example. Besides, no sadder proof of a politician’s worthless character makes us laugh than to expose his worthless ideas in a comedy of ridicule.
Freak shows flourished in Europe and America between 1800 and 1940, when ignorance surpassed compassion. But, nowadays, empathy frowns on freak shows, because freak shows make fun of people with physical deformities resulting from no fault of their own. They are disabled, not cartoon characters to be stared at and laughed at.
And as we would not make fun of people in which one leg is shorter than the other or who cannot hear or speak, we should not make fun of those with extreme physical deformities just because they perform in a freak show.
The Republican Party, on the other hand, is a freak show, a political freak show, showcasing people with such moral and psychological disabilities as hate, racism, neo-Nazism, tyranny, terrorism, lying, hypocrisy and incompetence.
Their disabilities are metaphysical. And though we empathize with those whose disabilities are physical, we can only condemn those whose maladies are metaphysical. They are legitimate targets of mockery, derision and scorn.
In them, comedy and satire blend well together, like a strawberry, mango smoothie.
Few better examples of the Republican Party freak show exist than its presidential primary campaigns. Beginning with the 2000 presidential primary, its presidential candidates have raised the political freak show to levels more scary than an evergreen tree with eels as leaves and worms dangling from its limbs.
Herman Cain and Ben Carson, for instance, the black Siamese Twins, have embarrassed themselves, as well as mating cockeyed coo-coo birds, in the 2012 and 2016 republican primary campaigns respectively, even as some whites hoped they would eat chicken wings from between their toes.
Cain had the nerve to believe he could sexually harass white women who worked for him when he was CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and think the media would not find out about it. Carson has displayed his ignorance of American politics, culture and history with such lack of rational thinking that his simplemindedness on the issues has already branded him an incompetent drunk on canal water.
And who can ignore Sarah Palin, the camel girl, the queen of stupid, whose logic lacks logic, whose morals are silhouettes on the curtain of hypocrisy and whose Christian beliefs lie somewhere between the lake of fire and castor oil? She dropped out of republican primary contention in 2012 when even she realized she was too dumb and dim-witted to be president.
Trump, on the other hand, is a rare species, a unique freak. He combines all the republican disabilities under one rug of blonde hair. His appeal to racists, his attractiveness to neo-Nazis, his allure in the presence of Tea Party bigots—as well as his anti-black, anti-Latino and anti-veteran stances—rest on a cold premise:
Trump might suffer from bipolar personal disorder, like an apartheid Afrikaner or a Hitler or a python being eaten from the inside by the alligator it just swallowed. Hence, as we can empathize with the Elephant Man, we cannot with Trump. With the Elephant Man, we cry; with Trump, we barf. With the Elephant Man, we feel a tender spot in our hearts; with Trump, we catch tendinitis.
Furthermore, as we can see in the last four republican presidents, whose administrations were bloated with policies and demons that lead to hate, racism, recession, high unemployment, the rise of terrorism and incompetence in dealing with natural disasters and political crises, a republican elected as president in 2016 will probably lead to another recession, another session of higher unemployment and another round of incompetence as eerie as a foggy night.
And so, with The Huffington Post’s decision to move coverage of Trump’s presidential primary campaign from the political section to the entertainment section, we can correctly jump and clap and sing and eat popcorn by the handful. Because when the Republican Party primary begins, the freaks come out.

Copyright © 2015 by James Strong. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this column, or any part of this column, without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Send your comments to strongpoints123@gmail.com.

Anonymous Exposes Texas Police For Murdering Sandra Bland

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The Anonymous collective is enraged at the failed attempt by Waller County PD and the Texas Trooper Association to mask a blatant act of crime against an innocent woman. And we will not stand as Sandra’s death becomes another hashtag and then a statistic.