Meet the Members of the #SayHerName Mothers Network and Transcript from IMKC "A Mother's Nightmare"

MEET OTHER MEMBERS OF THE #SAYHERNAME FAMILY NETWORK

Fran Garrett, Mother of Michelle Cusseaux

Fran Garrett’s daughter, 50-year-old Michelle Cusseaux, was tragically murdered by the police in her own home in August 2014 when they came for a mental health wellness check. Under Arizona’s first responder law, multiple uniformed police officers arrived unannounced and with guns pulled. After Michelle refused to let the police in her home, Sergeant Percy Durpa pried open the locked security door, and was met with Michelle holding a hammer in her hands. Dupra claimed that he felt threatened, although no threats were made, shot her in the heart. Her mother and sister have explained that Michelle had the hammer, along with several other tools, with her in the living room because she was changing the locks in her home. When the paramedics arrived to take Michelle to the hospital they took her in for medical treatment at the hospital across town, instead of the one a few minutes away. Since Michelle’s untimely death, Fran has been very active in calls for police reform, notably marching her daughter’s casket through downtown Phoenix weeks after the shooting. Her efforts have been met with reforms on the part of the city of Phoenix, including the creation of the police department’s mental health advisory board and a seven-member police unit dedicated to crisis intervention. In addition, Fran worked closely with the AAPF to develop the Say Her Name campaign. Continuing to carry the torch for her daughter Fran organizes an annual mental health awareness and toy giveaway in collaboration with the local community, federal agencies, and local law enforcement.

Sharon Wilkerson, Mother of Shelly Frey

Sharon Wilkerson’s daughter, 27-year-old Shelly Frey, was killed in a Walmart parking lot by an off-duty police officer who was working as store security. Louis Campbell, a deputy sheriff and Houston area minister, shot and killed Shelly on December 6, 2012 in an attempt to apprehend her friend who he suspects to be shoplifting from a Walmart store. After entering their car, where her friend’s two children were waiting for them, Shelly was shot twice in the neck through the car window. Campbell later claimed that he fired shots in self-defense because the driver had attempted to run him over. After Shelly was shot, neither the driver nor the police sought medical attention for her. Her body was left in the car for eight hours. If Shelly received immediate medical attention, she would likely have survived. In the wake of her daughter’s death, Sharon Wilkerson has sought to elevate the story of her daughter and Black women like her who, often struggling with poverty and caretaking responsibilities, have run-ins with the law that prove fatal. Sharon has sued the deputy, the security company that hired him and Wal-Mart, hoping to secure justice for her daughter through the courts.

Cassandra Johnson, Mother of Tanisha Anderson

Cassandra Johnson’s daughter, 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson, was killed on November 13, 2014 during an encounter with police as her family watched from their home. Growing up, Tanisha had excelled as a student, and aspired to become a broadcast journalist. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her 20s, and began taking medication. On a cold night in Cleveland, Tanisha became disoriented and repeatedly tried to leave the house without shoes and wearing only a nightgown. Her brother called the police for help, but instead of an ambulance, two sets of police officers arrived. What should have been a routine mental health call turned deadly when one of the arresting officers used a takedown move and kneeled on Tanisha’s back. Tanisha’s heart disease and bipolar disorder were factors that heightened her vulnerability to the police’s violent tactics. She arrived at the hospital in cardiopulmonary arrest and could not be revived. Her death was ruled a homicide, but a grand jury cleared Cleveland police officers Scott Aldridge and Bryan Myers of all wrongdoing. Shortly before Anderson passed, the U.S. Justice Department released a report that found that Cleveland police lack the proper training to navigate encounters with residents with mental illness. The report found that officers resort to using force against the mentally and medically unwell in lieu of de-escalation techniques.

Since the killing of her daughter, Cassandra Johnson has been active in the Say Her Name movement, sharing Tanisha’s story and finding common cause with other mothers of Black women killed by police.

Maria Moore, Sister of Kayla Moore

Maria Moore’s sister, 41-year-old Kayla Moore, a Black transgender woman, was killed by Berkeley police who came to her home in response to a call for help from her roommate on February 12, 2013. Her roommate had summoned police because Kayla was experiencing a mental health crisis. Instead of escorting Kayla to a medical facility as requested, the officers attempted to arrest her on a warrant for a man 20 years her senior, who had the same name she was given at birth. Several officers overpowered Kayla in her own bedroom, suffocating her to death in the process. Afterward, officers delayed monitoring her vital signs, referred to her using transgender slurs, and failed to administer adequate life-saving treatment. Kayla’s body was also exposed during and after the police assault. Activists in Berkeley have organized to publicize her case, and her family has filed a lawsuit against the Berkeley police officers responsible for her death.

Gina Best, Mother of India Kager Gina Best is the mother of India Kager, a 27-year-old Black woman shot and killed by Virginia Beach Police on September 5, 2015, while in a car with her 4-month-old son. Four officers fired 30 rounds in under 15 seconds into the car killing India and Angelo Perry, who was driving the car. Her baby, Roman, survived the shooting. Police officers had allegedly tailed Perry for several days believing him to be planning to commit a violent crime. India, a postal service worker and navy veteran, was not involved in any criminal activity. India had another son, Evan, who was four when he lost his mother. Since her daughter’s death, Gina has sought to raise awareness around police brutality. Gina describes her daughter as “a beautiful soul” who was “very supportive, contemplative, highly gifted and extremely articulate.” India attended Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington DC, where she focused on visual arts. After her service attended art school in Virginia. She came from a family of police officers.

Rhanda Dormeus, Mother of Korryn Gaines

The mother of Korryn Gaines, who was shot and killed with her son in her arms, Rhanda Dormeus has spent the last 18 months seeking police accountability for the death of her daughter. Korryn, who was only 23 at the time of her death, believed herself to be in grave danger when the police arrived on Aug 1, 2016 to serve the mother of two a warrant for failure to appear in court following a traffic violation. Fearing for herself and her family’s security, Korryn barricaded herself in her house with a shotgun and livestreamed much of the subsequent, hours-long standoff before, at the request of the police, Facebook and Twitter shut down her accounts. Police then entered her apartment and fired, killing Korryn and injuring her son Kodi on a ricochet. As Korryn was armed at the time of her death, the shooting was considered justified by the Maryland State Attorney’s office and the officer responsible remains on the force, where he was subsequently promoted. In the wake of her daughter’s death and her own activism, the Baltimore County Police have increased the usage of body-cams, and have instituted new policies for engaging individuals who may present mental health issues.

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Additional Resources

• Say Her Name: A Webinar on Black Women and Police Violence. By the African American Policy Forum. 2015

• Invisible Betrayal: Police Violence and the Rapes of Black Women in the United States. By Black Women’s Blueprint. 2014

• Law Enforcement Violence against Women of Color & Trans People of Color. An Organizer’s Resource & Tool Kit. By Incite! Women of Color Against Violence

• “Law Enforcement Violence against Women of Color.” By Andrea J. Ritchie. In Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology. Cambridge, MA: South End Press. 2006

• “From Private Violence to Mass Incarceration: Thinking Intersectionally About Women, Race, and Social Control,” by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, in Overpoliced and Underprotected: Women, Race, and Criminalization, 59 UCLA L. Rev. 1418. 2012.

• Caught in the Net: The Impact of Drug Policies on Women and Families. By American Civil Liberties Union, Break the Chains, and Brennan Center for Justice at NYU. 2005.

• Whose Safety? Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcement. By Anannya Bhattacharjee. Philadelphia: American Friends Service Committee. 2001.

• Mapping Police Violence - 2017 Police Violence Report

• Citizens Police Data Project (Invisible Institute)

• Fatal Force, The Washington Post

• “Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color,” by Andrea Ritchie

• A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations For Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People Living with HIV (2014)

• Andrea J. Ritchie and Monique W. Morris, Ed.D., Centering Black Women, Girls, Gender Nonconforming People, and Fem(me)s: In Campaigns for Expanded Sanctuary and Freedom Cities. National Black Women’s Justice Institute and the Ms. Foundation for Women. September 2017

• Richard Saenz, Lambda Legal, Kara Ingelhart, Lambda Legal, and Andrea J. Ritchie, Barnard Center for Research on Women, “The Impact of the Trump Administration’s Federal Criminal Justice Initiatives on LGBTQ People & Communities and Opportunities for Local Resistance,” A Report by the National LGBT/HIV Criminal Justice Working Group, Lambda Legal.

• Reforming Police and Ending Anti-Transgender Violence, in “A Blueprint for Equality: A Federal Agenda for Transgender People”

• Building Momentum from the Ground Up: A Toolkit for Promoting Justice in Policing

• The Relationship Between Structural Racism and Black-White Disparities in Fatal Police Shootings at the State Level, Journal of the National Medical Association, Volume 110, Issue 2, April 2018, Pages 106-116

• Know Your Rights Guide

• Police Violence and Black Women’s Health

• The Violent State: Black Women 's Invisible Struggle Against Police Violence

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

News Report:

Police shot and killed a woman after a long standoff in Randallstown. A 5-year-old boy was also shot during the barricade, he is expected to be ok. Police say three officers went to serve arrest warrants on Korryn Gaines and a man who lived in the apartment. Gaines was wanted for failing to appear on several charges, including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest following a traffic stop.

Korryn Gaines Livestream, August 2016: Korryn: Who’s outside? Kodi: The police. Korryn: What are they trying to do? Kodi: They’re trying to kill us.

Rhanda Dormeus:

Well the traffic stop which I guess was the basis or the premise for her untimely death was in March of 2016.

Korryn Gaines Livestream, March 2016: Korryn: You sit right here with mommy. Don’t be afraid.

Rhanda Dormeus:

And so there was a struggle, they ripped her out of her car. Because actually she didn't want them to touch her children. She said, "Don't touch my children. She knew that her grandmother was on her way. Her grandmother lived right up the street from her. And so she was like you know don't touch my children.

I wasn't actually there to witness it so I don't wanna speculate. But based on what I was told when her grandmother got there is that they literally just snatched her out of the car, like ripped her out of the car.

And so a struggle ensued, a struggle did ensue. And she was taken into custody, she was taken to the hospital because at the time she was pregnant. She was pregnant with twins. And when they took her to the hospital they did her pregnancy test and her HCG count, which is the hormones that sustains a pregnancy, were okay. So once they released her after a few hours they took her, the officers, took her to a holding pen in Baltimore County. I believe it was in Woodlawn.

And they stuck her in a isolation cell by herself. Which means she's out of view and you can barely hear her. And I think they do-

Kimberlé Crenshaw:

For what reason did they give-

Rhanda Dormeus:

They didn't like her mouth, well they didn't give a reason but I'm sure it was because they didn't like her mouth. Which is a very similar situation that they did to Sandra Bland. What did they do, they isolated her. They put her off by herself.

Let me tell you something, that stuff is not by accident. When you isolate somebody especially when they're upset or can't figure out why they're being detained. And the emotions are already heightened.

You isolate people and it puts them in a vulnerable situation. Not so much that they would hurt themselves but it's there to break their spirit. To bring them down a notch for lack of a better word.

She had complained that she wasn't feeling well. They didn't give her any food, any water, she was severely- I still have the labs to prove it.

When they rushed her back to the hospital after hours and hours of her begging and crying and pleading, her HCG count had dropped which was indicative of her losing the babies. And so these are labs and things that are within I think it was like a 24 hour period that had went from normal to devastating.

Like she was showing signs of dehydration when she went back the second time. How? Because she wasn't given any water or food. Kim Crenshaw:

And so just to clarify they're aware that she's pregnant? Rhanda Dormeus:

Yes, yes.

Kim Crenshaw:

They're now aware that her levels, her indicators are becoming dangerous?

Rhanda Dormeus: