Florida Sentinel Bulletin

WASHINGTON – In a major victory for law enforcement agencies, a divided Supreme Court on Monday ruled that police can take a DNA sample from someone who has been arrested and charged, but not convicted of a serious crime.

In a narrow 5-4 vote, the court handed a victory to the state of Maryland by saying that taking DNA samples from arrestees was similar to taking fingerprints. Of the 50 states, 29 have laws that allow DNA samples prior to conviction in certain instances, as does the federal government. All 49 other states backed Maryland in the case.

The Supreme Court reversed a decision made last April by Maryland’s highest court that overturned the 2010 conviction and life sentence of Alonzo Jay King for a rape committed seven years earlier.

In a majority opinion, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said DNA samples can be taken if police have probable cause to detain a suspect facing charges relating to a “serious offense.”

HOUSTON, TX  — Houston’s police chief told jurors on Tuesday that the 2010 videotaped beating of a black teen burglary suspect made him “sick to my stomach” and gave the police department a “black eye.”

Police Chief Charles McClelland Jr. testified that fired officer Drew Ryser — one of four officers who were indicted in the case — mistreated the teen during his arrest and failed to follow proper procedures.

Ryser, 32, is on trial this week on a misdemeanor charge of official oppression. He faces up to a year in jail if convicted.

“It made me sick to my stomach because it was an egregious use of force and the men and women of the Houston police department are better than that … they did not deserve that type of black eye,” McClelland told special prosecutor Jonathan Munier.

CHICAGO – An 18-year-old man was shot and killed in weekend violence that wounded at least 12 others across Chicago.

The teen was fatally shot outside of a reported family party, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

He was identified as Dionte Maxwell.

Three people were in custody in connection with the shooting including a 19-year-old man who allegedly shot Maxwell during a verbal argument after he was asked to leave the party, police said.

Two 16-year-old boys were reportedly charged with armed home invasion, attempt home invasion, and mob action in the incident Sunday, according to police..

All three were expected in bond court Sunday, however, charges were still pending for the 19-year-old man and he will not appear in court, Mirabelli said.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A 14-year-old boy was reportedly playing rough with a friend in Miami Beach when police approached the teens and ordered them to stop.

When cops asked Tremaine McMillian to point out his mother, they say the boy reacted in a way that justified being choked and slammed to the ground. McMillan gave the officers “dehumanizing stares” and clenched his fists in a threatening manner.

In juvenile court on Tuesday (May 28), McMillan’s family said that the officers’ claims were wrong as the boy was said to be feeding his six-month-old puppy with a bottle at the time. McMillian’s mother, Maurissa Holmes, captured the violent arrest of her son on a cell phone video camera. Police assert they approached McMillan after they saw him slam another boy into the sand, but the teenager says the cops came up to him on an ATV and slapped a puppy out of his hand. Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said that McMillian’s supposed actions after they approached him showed he was resisting arrest and the officers acted to “neutralize the threat.”

CLEVELAND, OH — A brawl that started over spilled punch at a kindergarten graduation ceremony Friday resulted in the arrest of eight people, authorities said.

Police were called when one participant pulled out a pipe and another a hammer. Two teenage girls apparently started hitting each other at Michael R. White Elementary School, and their families joined in, Cleveland police Cmdr. Wayne Drummond said. The fight involved adults and minors, he said. “You had adults fighting adults, juvies fighting juvies, and so forth,” he said as parents streamed into the building to pick up their children. “You just had a melee here.”

No one was hurt, Drummond said. It wasn’t clear whether the hammer and pipe were brought to the school or were grabbed during the fight from a janitor’s supplies or elsewhere, police spokeswoman Detective Jennifer Ciaccia said.

NEW YORK – Getting out of jail shouldn’t be a problem if you’re a drug kingpin.

In one particular case, a correction officer at Rikers Correctional Facility offered to help an inmate break out in exchange for $100,ooo in coke. Last Thursday, the now former CO was found guilty of charges including drug possession, conspiracy and bribery, though.

Former corrections officer Robert Whitfield has been found guilty for participating in that sort of transaction. And it all would have worked out well if the inmate hadn’t turned him in.

A new Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial couple and their child was forced to shut off its comments section on YouTube due to a large number of racist comments. Before the comments section was closed, comments included referenced “Nazis,” “troglodytes” and “racial genocide.”

In the commercial, a young biracial girl approaches her white mother saying, “Mom, dad told me Cheerios is good for your heart. Is that true?” The mother agrees, calling Cheerios “heart healthy,” and the girl smirks and runs off. The next thing you see is an African-American man, presumably the girl’s father, sleeping on a couch. When he wakes up, he realizes that there are Cheerios all over his chest where his heart is located. As of this Friday afternoon the video had been viewed over 278,000 times with 4,627 likes and 708 dislikes.

While the commercial received some backlash, it has also received some praise. One Facebook user posted: “Just had the pleasure of enjoying a Cheerios commercial that featured a biracial family. Talk about ‘good for your heart!’

Despite a life of adversity, poverty, and even homelessness, 18-year-old Chelesa Fearce is blazing a trail of academic success. Growing up in Clayton County, Georgia, Chelesa, along with her mother and three siblings, frequently moved from shelter to shelter, even living in her family’s car in times of need.

Regardless of the obstacles in the way, Chelesa stayed focused on her goals: scoring high marks in high school and attending a good college.

Thursday Chelesa graduated with a 4.529 GPA from Charles Drew High School in Clayton County, making her class valedictorian. Thanks to taking college courses for the past two years, Chelesa will enter Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia later this year as a junior.

During Chelesa’s high school years, her mother, Reenita Shepard, was laid off from her job more than once, resulting in the family losing their home. But Chelesa stayed focused on her studies even when bouncing from shelter to shelter, or on those most difficult nights spent in the car.

“At night I just had to open my book in the dark and use my cellphone light, just do what I had to do,” she said.

A man taken into custody by the Sacramento Police Department has died, and police are currently investigating the events leading up to the man’s death after being beaten by a female police officer.

According to police, a man walked into a local Metro PCS store and frightened a female employee with “unintelligible” statements. She called 911 and when police arrived, he attempted to barricade himself in the store.

According to the police press release, pepper spray and multiple baton strikes were used to free an officer that was in the suspect’s grasp. In addition, the release notes bystanders kicking the suspect, a security guard also using a baton on the suspect.

The suspect was eventually restrained and brought into custody after backup officers and a nearby off-duty Sacramento County District Attorney investigator arrived. After the subject was in custody, officers noted he wasn’t breathing.

The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. A police officer and the investigator were also taken to the hospital for medical treatment.