Trespassing At Work???
Warning: This article reports a quote that contains profanity.
There is driving while Black, walking while Black, shopping while Black, and now, working while Black.
28 year old Earl Sampson wants to work. In fact, he wants to work so badly that he has retained his job although in the last four years, he has been put in jail 56 times, searched more than 100 times and questioned more than 250 times by the police. His crime? Being at work at the 207 Quickstop on 207th Street. The store is located in a predominately poor, Black neighborhood.
Alex Saleh, the 207 Quickstop’s owner, has filed a civil rights lawsuit in the federal court against the local police department. He said that Sampson isn’t the only employee who has been unjustly hassled by police officers. Saleh said that some of his customers are also stopped and frisked.
According to Saleh, about three years ago, police asked him to participate in a “zero-tolerance” program to reduce crime. He signed up, not realizing that he had essentially given the police the ability to stop and arrest people who appearing to be hanging around or trespassing. Shortly after putting a sign in his window for “Zero-Tolerance,” Saleh regretted his decision. The police came and started stopping his customers, writing them up for trespassing or other minor things like open containers of alcohol.
When Selah wanted to stop participating in the program and removed the sign, officers put the sign back and continued to monitor his store against his wishes.
Selah told the Miami Herald, “Police line them up and tell them to put their hands against the wall. I started asking myself ‘Is this normal?’ I just kept thinking police can’t do this.” Selah is of Palestinian descent and a native of Venezuela. He also stated that officers use racial slurs when addressing customers.
Last December, Saleh was also a victim of police harassment. He was stopped by six police officers for having a burned out tag light. “Why do they need six police officers on a car stop with a burned-out tag light?” Saleh stated that then sergeant Martin Santiago told him before leaving the scene, “I’m going to get you motherfucker.”
Saleh installed 15 security cameras in his store to protect his customers and employees from cops arresting lawful citizens, appearing to use excessive force against unresisting citizens, and conducting unwarranted searches inside Saleh’s store. He hopes that the video footage will help him win his case.
The Miami Herald reports that since installing cameras at his store in June 2012, Saleh has amassed footage of Miami Gardens police arresting people for trespassing despite them having permission to be at the store. Additionally, video footage shows the police conducting searches without a warrant and in at least one instance, reporting a trespassing arrest saying one of Saleh’s employees was loitering outside the business when video of the arrest showed him being taken into custody while he was working inside.
Chuck Drago, a former police officer and consultant on police policy and use of force, told the Miami Herald, “There is just no justifying this kind of behavior. Nobody can justify overstepping the constitution to fight crime.”
Howard Simon, Executive Director of the Florida ACLU, stated , “Doesn’t the City Commission know that they are exposing the city to either massive liability for civil rights violations? Either that, or they are going to wake up one day and find the U.S. Department of Justice has taken over its police department.”
Logically, after four years, the police know, or have reason to know, that Earl Sampson works at the 207 Quickstop. However, Sampson has stated , “They hop out of the car and search me before they even ask me for my name.’’
With official claims coming forth, Saleh is wary of the police and worried about his safety. He now has a licensed firearm.
The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian report:
Raw video footage taken at the store:
Posted on 11/24/2013, in Cops Gone Wild, Videos and tagged 207 Quickstop, Alex Saleh, Earl Sampson, Miami Gardens, police harassment, trespassing. Bookmark the permalink. 29 Comments.
I posted this on Facebook.
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Jackie,
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These cops appear to be a gang out to get the poor and minorities.
This must stop.
Who can protect these people from the police?
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these are gestapo tactics. we have to take the power back from our police. right now there isn’t even a federal agency that keeps track of police abuse.
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who’s palm does he need to grease to make this stop?
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HA!! Is that what it is, the cops want protection money?
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I posted this on Leatherman’s the other day. It is so unreal! I posted it on FB too. I mean WTF??!!!
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This is the man who is advocating for Ted Wafer; posts as “Justice for Ted Wafer” on blogs, has a blog promoting “BGI” White Supremacist ideology, and has the Justice for Ted Wafer Facebook Page. While the Carpenter Law Firm cannot prevent him from voicing his opinion, they cannot be proud of him.
D.P. apparently believes that a Black man working is responsible for trespassing.
https://twitter.com/support4GZ/status/404557959146926080
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Well, Xena you are NOT a racist; you are NOT delusional; you are NOT a lunatic. Never and I mean NEVER have you ever posted a raving comment.
You are one of the MOST caring people I know. You have a beautiful, kind heart. I am White and have never seen you post anything racist. You love the diversity represented in our country.
I want to thank you for all of your well-thought-out and well-researched articles all of which you have presented with calm and logic.
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@Yahtzee. Thank you for your kind words. Bullies like to define their target victims, but they do not define me. What does concern me is after being subjected to the consistent, malicious attacks of D.P., I can’t imagine what kids who are bullied go through. Kids do not often report cyber-bullying because of the false allegations that make them feel the need to defend themselves. For months now, D.P. has tried to provoke me to defend myself against his lies. I don’t do that — just call his lies, lies.
D.P.’s ignorance is profound. He hates attorney Crump so much that he is now claiming that he is guilty of the unlicensed practice of law because he is not a member of the Georgia Bar Association but is part of the legal team representing Kendrick Johnson’s parents in the State of Georgia. Bar Associations do not issue licenses to practice law. The highest court in states do that. Membership in a Bar Association is voluntarily. There are attorneys across the nation who practice law without ever having joined a Bar Association.
D.P. needs educating on attorneys admitted to practice before the federal courts, and also what pro hac vice is.
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Just an example of how D.P. lies. If he does this on Twitter, just imagine how he lies in his filthy, harassing comments.
We heard the 911 calls. It was George Zimmerman who said that his girlfriend is pregnant. In his effort to demean others, D.P. is calling George a liar.
https://twitter.com/support4GZ/status/404834664939921408
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Anyone who needs to use the moniker of a cartoon as he has, is touched in the head.
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@racerrodig. You do remember that he also took the handle of a porn star?
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I don’t know who Renee Ambrose is, but I do know who David Piercy is and that he continues giving evidence of cyber-bullying. That now makes at least 4 names that Piercy has given to me while claiming that he knows everything about me, including my address.
I’m putting this out in public now because Piercy has threatened to rape and defile me.
By the way, there is a difference between “Weblog” and Word Press.
https://twitter.com/support4GZ/status/404523884658962432
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This man is sick.
We have your back, Xena.
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@Yahtzee. He is sick, vile, profane, and dangerous. Here is another one of his “identities” on Twitter and another blog.
https://twitter.com/BGIwatch/status/396427897692377088
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Yep…we do have your back. Everyone knows who the actual racist is. How come white guys like me can post on your site as well as 3 chics and such and there is no problem. When anyone of any color posts on any of those pro gun / white power / pro Z sites, our comments never make it on or are yanked within an hour.
The truth hurts I guess.
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@racerrodig. In my belief, mankind is all one race — human.
Racer, my back could not be covered by better people than those who support Blackbutterfly7. I thank you with every cell of my being.
Do you realize that your comment is profound? I have not known of one blog that supports White Supremacist ideology (while claiming not being racist), where there are any participants who are not White.
Every article they present is about race. Why didn’t they write on the case of Ralph Wald? Oh! I know! Because Wald and his victim are both White!! Same for Orr, same for Smithy. They are not interested in SYG unless the victim is Black so they can denigrate the victim.
When I posted on the Orr case, they went nuts with filthy comments and went off topic to denigrate Trayvon. That is when Ms. Filth and her minion first accused me of being racist. So, I’m racist for reporting on a Florida SYG case where the victim and defendant are both White?
When I posted the articles on Ethan Saylor and David Castellani, D.P. went crazy. It drives him nuts that I post articles about injustices and victimization without regard to race.
He’s obsessed.
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And I have your back as well. I have never gotten any racist comments on this site because I am white married to a black man. On other sites however, I have been called everything from uneducated to white trailer trash, and if I am married to a black man, we are probably on welfare living in the ghetto. When I tell them I am richer than Oprah, for some reason they don’t believe me. LOL
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@dreamer. Love you!
I am so sorry that you were exposed to people on other sites who enjoy humiliating others.
Oh, so they are okay with O.J. killing Nicole?
The category of the Yahoo group that this blog extends from is “Social Justice,” and it’s purpose includes “… it is intended to establish a social bridge for racial unity.”
Of those who joined the group, we didn’t say anything about what race we are because it wasn’t important. We had already come to know each other through our hearts, expressed in words. We are unified in purpose.
I would like to see any one of the haters find out that they need a kidney transplant, or blood transfusion and see if they ask “What race is the person that comes from?” And the answer? “Human.” Racial superiority only exists in their minds — or maybe unless their bodies prove to them otherwise. Death does not discriminate and neither should the living.
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Xena my sister, let us know what we can do for you. Let us know how we can combat the stalker. What ever you say regarding David Piercy, I’m listening. The Tyler Clementi matter made cyber bullying a crime. I believe a case can be made on your behalf.
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M1, thank you and bless your heart. I’ve looked into options and LE is involved. Piercy thinks that he can stay hidden by using proxy IP addresses. The latest came through a website owned by a man in China, but it is hosted by a company that I’ve contacted previously. What Piercy and his minions fail to understand is that each time they enter an URL to visit via a proxy IP address website, it leaves a record, including their real IP address.
He’s now progressed where his filthy comments constitute harassment based on race. It’s moved from a State to a federal matter. It’s his own ditch that he is digging deeper.
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You are always on the dot Xena! I was so just writing a piece about this myself and got so outraged I had to put the pen down for awhile.
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Hey Caleb! I know. It took me several days after I first read about it to finally write the article. Four years!!! You would think that every cop on the force would know who works there, their shifts, bathroom breaks, etc.
It sounds very much like how Al Capone operated in Chicago, just without a badge.
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I don’t understand why this case isn’t a #1 news story! The incident at Barney’s even seemed to get significantly more coverage than this.
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@Caleb.
I don’t have an answer other than, when there is pending litigation, some reporters do not go beyond “reporting.” There are few “journalists” now-a-days and even fewer investigative journalists. Then too, some editors will only allow one article on an issue, in 500 words or less.
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Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.
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Here is a link to all the Google listings for the Earl Sampson story:
https://news.google.com/news?ncl=dxBVQZC9wA8O4QM_sbL3TOwy1HNeM&q=earl+sampson&lr=English&hl=en
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“Miami Gardens Police Arrested a Man 62 Times for Trespassing Where He Works”
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2013/11/miami_gardens_police_arrested_a_man_62_times_his_crime_trespassing.html
Excerpt:
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