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Uhurus Seek Reparations For Teens Shot By Law Enforcement

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By STEVEN GIRARDI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 16, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - A black activist group is calling on governments to pay millions of dollars in reparations to the families of Javon Dawson and three other black teenagers who have been killed by law enforcement officers.

In addition, members of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement said Friday that they want an independent community review board with subpoena power established to review further investigations into the shooting death of Dawson, 17.

Those calls come after Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the investigation by Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe into Dawson's death.

McCabe released a report Tuesday clearing St. Petersburg police Officer Terrence Nemeth in the shooting of Dawson on June 7.

At a news conference Friday morning, Uhuru spokesman Nyabinga Dzimbahwe called the governor's request for a review "a clear admission that McCabe's investigation cannot stand on its own."

But Dzimbahwe said the Uhurus also want a community police review board created to oversee the FDLE investigation and others. He did not give specifics on who should be on the board or how they would be appointed, saying that would be up to the community to decide.

He said Uhuru organizer Diop Olugbala plans to travel the country to publicize the Dawson case and seek solidarity.

Dzimbahwe and Penny Hess, of the African People's Solidarity Movement, also said local governments should financially compensate the families of Dawson and three other teenagers killed by members of the St. Petersburg Police Department and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in the past 12 years.

In addition to Dawson, they mentioned TyRon Lewis, 18, shot by a St. Petersburg police officer in 1996 after nudging the officer with a stolen car; Marquell McCullough, 17, shot by sheriff's deputies during a drug raid in 2004; and Jarrell Walker, 19, shot by deputies during a drug raid in 2005.

In May 2004, a Pinellas County jury rejected a request by Lewis' family for $1.6 million in compensation after they claimed a police officer acted recklessly and used excessive force. In 1996, a grand jury declined to indict the officer for his actions.

The Uhurus have challenged the state attorney's investigation into Dawson's death, claiming it is "bogus" and that McCabe's relationship with the St. Petersburg Police Department is too close.

McCabe said Friday he didn't care to respond to the accusations.

"I pay little or no attention to them," he said. "They're not worth listening to, to be honest with you."

The Uhurus dispute McCabe's findings that Dawson was armed and had fired a gun into a crowd during a graduation party that police were called to break up at Masonic Shining Light Lodge, 3101 Freemont Terrace.

McCabe's report said DNA found on the .38-caliber handgun found in the lodge driveway was consistent with Dawson's, according to an analysis by the FDLE and an independent forensic laboratory.

Additional tests discovered gunshot residue on the pocket area of Dawson's shorts, the report states.

It also cites two witnesses who said they saw Dawson with a firearm, showing off the gun while in the parking lot of the Masonic lodge and firing shots outside the building.

Reporter Steven Girardi can be reached at (727) 451-2333.

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