Top 5 Live-WURD Monday August 3

1. Police ID suspect in killing of officer; manhunt underway

Tennessee police officials on Sunday identified a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer, and an intense search for the man is underway.

Tremaine Wilbourn, 29, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Officer Sean Bolton, 33, on Saturday night, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said at a news conference.

Armstrong said Wilbourn was a passenger in a 2002 Mercedes Benz that was parked illegally in a southeast Memphis neighborhood on Saturday night. Armstrong said Bolton saw the car and shined his squad car’s spotlight on the vehicle.

Bolton then got out of his car and walked toward the Mercedes, Armstrong said. Wilbourn got out of the Mercedes, confronted Bolton, and they got into a physical struggle, Armstrong said.

Wilbourn then took out a gun and fired it, striking Bolton multiple times, Armstrong said. The officer died at a hospital.

 

2. Trooper in Sandra Bland arrest once warned for conduct

 The Texas trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a confrontation that began with a traffic stop was once cautioned about “unprofessional conduct” in 2014.

Bland, 28, was found dead in her Waller County jail cell three days after her arrest. Officials say she used a plastic bag to hang herself, a finding her family has questioned. Trooper Brian Encinia, who stopped Bland for failing to signal a lane change, has been widely criticized.

The AP obtained Encinia’s personnel file Friday from the Texas Department of Public Safety through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In a 2014 evaluation, his supervisor noted that Encinia “was given a written counseling for unprofessional conduct … for an incident occurring while at a school in Austin.” The documents provided no additional details and a Department of Public Safety official did not return a phone call seeking comment.

 

 3. No Charges Against University of Cincinnati Cops Who Were at Scene of Fatal Shooting

 Two University of Cincinnati police officers who were at the scene just after a fellow officer fatally shot a driver are not being charged, a prosecutor said Friday.

The Hamilton County grand jury did not return indictments against Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt. The announcement that they wouldn’t be charged came a day after former Officer Ray Tensing pleaded not guilty to murder and

voluntary manslaughter in the July 19 shooting of Samuel DuBose.

A police report and body camera video showed the two officers were on the scene just after the shooting. Footage showed Tensing getting up from the ground after DuBose had been shot.

Tensing’s attorney has said Tensing fired at DuBose because he thought he was going to be dragged under the motorist’s car.

 

4. Chip Kelly a racist? No way!

Chip Kelly said he was surprised by comments Brandon Boykin made to CSNPhilly that the Eagles coach was “uncomfortable around grown men of our culture.”

Boykin was traded to the Steelers on Saturday, seemed to imply what other ex-Eagles have said about Kelly: He has trouble relating to black players.

“When he left here last night [he] shook my hand, gave me a hug,” Kelly said. “Didn’t say anything. … I like Brandon. I really don’t know.”

Boykin, in a text message to Comcast Sportsnet, said this: “The truth is Chip is uncomfortable around grown men of our culture,” Boykin said in a text message to Comcast. “He can’t relate, and that makes him uncomfortable. He likes total control of everything, and he don’t like to be uncomfortable. Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn’t been important to him, but you guys have heard this before me.”

 

5. In Report, Justice Accuses St. Louis County Family Court Of Racial Bias

 In a scathing 60-page report, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division says the St. Louis County Family Court has engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitutional rights of children caught up in the juvenile justice system.

An investigation, which the department started in 2013, found, among other things, that the family court fails to provide children with adequate counsel, sets up systems that could coerce children into admitting guilt, and fails to provide probable cause for children facing delinquency charges.

Some of the most startling findings came when the Justice Department analyzed the statistics of nearly 33,000 cases. In short, they found that even when taking other variables into account, black children faced harsher treatment.

“Black children are disproportionately represented in decisions to: formally charge youth versus handle matters informally; detain youth pretrial; commit youth … to Division of Youth Services custody; and place youth in a secure Division of Youth Services facility after conviction …

Click here to read these stories on 900amWURD.

---

Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com and morning host on 900 am WURD radio. Click here to learn more about Solomon