Priceless Vol 9 Number 4


Personal and Professional Empowerment www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


a White House Christmas


Page 9


Report: No One Keeps Count of the Number of People


Who Die in Police Custody With the recent deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, advocates for police reform have been shocked to learn that there are no accurate records that track the number of people who die in police custody.


Portsmouth NAACP


Freedom Fund Banquet


Page 8


Free December 2014


Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach since 2006 Images of


ODU NAACP 'Stand Up, Don't Shoot' Protest


Page 10


Ro Brooks Returns to OWN-Tyler Perry’s The Haves and Have Nots, Season 2


COURTESY OF EDNA SIMS


Actor Ro Brooks starring in OWN-Tyler Perry’s, The Haves and the Have Not, returns for Season 2 Premiere on Tuesday, January 6, 2015.


Viewers can remember, Brooks (Michael) met Hanna (Crystal R. Fox) at the same hospital Benny; Hanna’s son was in and learned that his six-year-old granddaughter Lizzie had been hit and killed by the same person who hit Benny in an hit-and-run car


accident.


Police in Ferguson, Mo., advance through a cloud of tear gas toward demonstrators protesting the killing of teenager Michael Brown. SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES


BY STEPHEN A. CROCKETT JR.


The recent deaths of unarmed black men at


the hands of


white police officers have sparked


debate and protests


across the nation. According to an Associated Press report, there are "no firm statistics" to determine if this is a new trend or merely business as usual when it comes to policing the black community.


"We have a huge scandal in that we don't have an accurate count of the number of people who die in police custody," Samuel Walker, professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha, told outrageous."


AP. "That's


According to the news site, police homicide records that have been kept amount to raw data and don't follow a structured process. AP notes


that law-enforcement agencies voluntarily submit information surrounding the deaths but that at best, that data is incomplete.


For example, "the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports ... track justifiable police homicides— there were 1,688 between 2010 and 2013—but the statistics rely on voluntary reporting by local law-enforcement agencies and are incomplete. Circumstances of the deaths, and other information such as age and race, also aren't required," AP reports.


The Wall Street Journal found— after a comprehensive analysis of the "latest data from 105 of the country's largest police agencies"—that federal data did not accurately report hundreds of fatal police encounters. The study also noted that "more than 550 police killings during those years were missing from the national tally or, in a few dozen


POLICE CUSTODY PAGE 15 This Edition’s Highlights


Sports Editorial Your Opinion Matters Hampton Roads Upcoming Events Scholarships Watch


Ray Rice Wins Appeal, Indefinite Suspension by NFL Lifted Give Our Children the Gifts of Longevity and Dignity this Holiday Season Why I'm Thankful -- Reflections of a Farmworker's Son City Manager Names Public Works Director in Norfolk Hampton Holly Days Parade Gates Millennium Scholars Program 2015


11 4 4


12 13 10


Both


the pain of losing someone they held dear, even if momentarily and had understood what the other was going through. Look forward to Michael and Hanna’s relationship


strengthening THHN’s 2nd season.


Brooks has worked on numerous films, television shows and commercials


Soul. including:


Transformers Revenge of the Fallen and A Beautiful


Television shows include:


FX’s Sons of Anarchy, Showtime’s Shameless, FOX’s Brooklyn Nine Nine and 24, CBS’s CSI New York, critically acclaimed HBO’s The Wire and many others.


Brooks is currently on the cover of Evolution Magazine with an in depth article on his life.


Now an accomplished author, Brooks has written a book entitled How To Go From Extra to ACTOR: The aspiring actors guide to stardom. His second edition updates and


RO BROOKS PAGE 5


'Tis the Season to Be Cautious... Before Giving to a Charity


If you’re considering a request


for a donation to a charity, do some research before you give. By finding out as much as you can about the charity, you can avoid fraudsters who try to take advantage of your generosity. Here are tips to help make sure your charitable contributions are put to good use.


These days, charities and


fundraisers (groups that solicit funds on behalf of organizations) use the phone, face-to-face contact, email, the internet (including social networking sites), and mobile devices to solicit and obtain


donations. Naturally,


scammers use these same methods to take advantage of your goodwill. Regardless of how they reach you, avoid any charity or fundraiser that:


• Refuses to provide detailed information about its identity, mission, costs, and how the donation will be used.


• Won't provide proof that a contribution is tax deductible.


• Uses a name that closely resembles that of a better-known, reputable organization.


• Thanks you for a pledge you don’t remember making.


• Uses high-pressure tactics like trying to get you to donate immediately, without giving you time to think about it and do your research.


• Asks for donations in cash or asks you to 'TIS THE SEASON PAGE 15


in


experience


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