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Memphis Police Taped Beating Transsexual Detainee - $1.3 Million Lawsuit Filed, by Mary Neal
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by duo | June 19, 2008 at 11:07 am
3090 views | 27 Recommendations | 18 comments
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Memphis Police Taped Beating Transsexual Detainee - $1.3 Million Lawsuit Filed, by Mary Neal
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Duanna Johnson is filing a $1.3 million lawsuit for her beating while in custody of Memphis/Shelby County police officers, which was caught on tape. A local television station carried the news story and a copy of the raw video on June 18, 2008.
See http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=8520836
See http://www.wreg.com/global/story.asp?s=8518971.
The film shows Duanna Johnson, a transsexual, being beaten and maced in February 2008, as she was restrained in her chair in the jail’s holding area by one policeman, while another beat her to the floor. The force of his blows was allegedly compounded by holding a pair of cuff links in his wielding fist. I wondered if this was also done to my brother, Larry Neal, who was secretly incarcerated until death in that same facility in 2003. Transsexuals and homosexuals are regarded by many people as being mentally ill, and some police will not tolerate mental illness in their prisoners.
Duanne Johnson has a right to freedom of sexual expression, but I suspect that to James Swain, Bridges McRae, and all the officers who voiced no objection to their abusive behavior, this inmate was just another nutcase who needed to be beaten to her senses. At least four federal lawsuits were filed against Shelby County Jail and the police department over the past two years for the abuse and murders of mentally ill subjects in custody. Yet, our Justice Department apparently can/will do nothing to curb violence against Americans with disabilities in custody there. Note that the officer who held Ms. Johnson still for her beating was not even discharged, but merely placed on desk duty.
See http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
See http://www.nowpublic.com/health/letter-memphis-cit-mary-neal
Because transsexual persons probably meet the Bluff City's police standard for deviant behavior, or mental illness, Ms. Johnson will need better luck in her lawsuit against Shelby County Jail and police there than the three mentally ill victims and their families who filed suit against those defendants in 2005/2006 for abuse and wrongful death. Their attorney reportedly had a heart attack right after filing their federal lawsuits, and as far as I know, their cases remain stalled to this day:
See http://braxtonandfriends.org/index.html.
Ms. Johnson's lawsuit will certainly require better legal representation than the case of Larry Neal, who died under secret arrest in that facility in 2003. The Cochran Firm is accused of merely holding his family's case against Shelby County Jail inactive for 10.5 months while the statute of limitations ran and the law firm pretended to represent them in a wrongful death action.
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CORRECTIONThe WREG report stated that the officer who HELD Ms. Johnson still for her beating (Swain) was the one who was fired by the time this piece was written. The officer who actually BEAT Ms. Johnson unmercifully (McRae) was the one placed on desk duty. Excuse me, please. Who would have thought the police officer who actually beat this "innocent until proven guilty" subject to the floor would be the one the Memphis Police Department "punished" with desk duty? I read the full news report, but had trouble absorbing this idea. Justice issues can be very confusing. President Sewell, of the Memphis Police Association, said the film shows some "good things in the tape for this officer." I guess this is a commendation for not Tasering Ms. Johnson to death, and McRae did seem to return to Ms. Johnson to ensure that her beating had been effective. Pardon me for the error.
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UPDATE - June 25, 2008
OFFICER McRAE FIRED
http://policemag.com/Forums/From-the-Editor/New-Forum-Features/Memphis-police-officer-fired-over-beating-of-transgendered-suspect/596.aspx
Officer McRae was fired after an administrative hearing which followed an outcry by the gay, lesbian, transsexual, bisexual community. More information and an uncut version of the film are available at the below link:
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/20/godwin-says-suspects-beating-made-me-sick/
SEE INTERVIEW WITH MS. JOHNSON, VICTIM OF POLICE ATTACK:
http://www.wbir.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=59700
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OFFICER FIRED OVER BEATING HAD OTHER ACCUSERS
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/27/officer-fired-over-beating-had-accusers/
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, June 27, 2008
During the last three years, residents accused former Memphis police officer Bridges McRae of beating up a mentally ill man, using excessive force, spouting racial slurs and stealing some money. None of those complaints was substantiated after they were investigated by internal affairs. . . . Police Director Larry Godwin said if an officer receives multiple complaints, the department may move the officer to another precinct to see if the complaints continue.
Mary Neal
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
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duo
Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (18)
at 11:12 on June 19th, 2008
duo, I wasn't sure what was newsworthy in this story. News should always be about posting current stuff - new things you've discovered. Please review What Makes News News. It can really help if you follow the old "W5" news formula -- making sure you have answered the questions: Who? What? Where? When? And Why? (You might want to check out our J-Tips for more help.)
at 11:50 on June 19th, 2008
duo, thanks for improving your story -- I can see you've put more effort into it. I've removed the flag and now more readers can see it. Thanks for your contribution.
at 11:40 on June 19th, 2008
Thanks. The video with raw footage of Ms. Johnson's police beating and related news story were just released yesterday by WREG-Memphis news. This latest aggression by Memphis Police officers against detainees should not be viewed as an isolated incident, so background info was made available to readers, also.
at 11:50 on June 19th, 2008
Ah, I see. I shall remove the flag.
at 11:51 on June 19th, 2008
duo, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 09:46 on June 22nd, 2008
Thanks, Amy.
at 12:08 on June 19th, 2008
duo, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 09:46 on June 22nd, 2008
Thanks, Rhonda.
at 05:13 on July 3rd, 2008
duo, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 06:18 on July 3rd, 2008
Thank you, Jordan.
at 18:22 on November 11th, 2008
This is so sad. I cry and pray for the family. Things like this do not have to happen. We must work on solutions to this it must not happen again.
at 19:54 on November 11th, 2008
IF NOT HER FAMILY,
THEN I HOPE ONE OF THE GAY/LESBIAN/TRANSGENDER GROUPS OR SOMEONE WILL UNDERTAKE HER CAUSE AND CONTINUE HER LAWSUIT. LOOK UP THE LAW OF SUBSTITUTION. ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE RELATED TO UNDERTAKE ANOTHER'S FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AFTER THEIR DEATH.
A civil action does not have to end with the death of the plaintiff. In Atlanta, an attorney was angry after the death of a little boy who was placed with an unworthy family by the Dept. of Human Services. He was not related to the boy - not even the same race, and he sued on the boy's behalf.
Thanks for your comments, Cynthia. No one deserves to be beaten or killed for being "different," which may or may not be the case here.
Mary
at 03:16 on November 12th, 2008
UPDATE - 11/9/08
Duanne Johnson Found Murdered Several Blocks from Her Home
- Execution Style, Gunshot Wound to the Head
I feel bad that I did not do more to warn Ms. Johnson that she really needed to get out of Memphis. I did write to several lesbian/gay/transgender groups on Internet and ask them to please warn her when I called her attorneys' office and the receptionist said Julian Bolton's name along with Ms. Johnson's attorneys' names. If this is the same lawyer, he used to work for the Johnnie Cochran Firm, and was managing partner when the firm defrauded my family. He was also a Shelby County Commissioner for 20 plus years, Chairman of the Commission, Treasurer, then back to Charman. And the Shelby County Commission owns and operates the jail where Duanne Johnson was beaten badly and where Larry Neal was held under secret arrest for 18 days until his death.
Being followed by up to four cars, and having DeKalb County, Georgia Emergency Response completely ignore me when I was cornered in the Chevron station in my neighborhood, I made these videos for protection:
COCHRAN FIRM FRAUD VIDEO 1 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ltCpy1uu0
COCHRAN FIRM FRAUD VIDEO 2 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ5d_wju2M8
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Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
at 03:19 on November 12th, 2008
I was not allowed to post the above update to my Duanne Johnson article - I am not allowed to be the administrator of any computer I bring home and hook up to the Internet. Within minutes, I lose that designation. Who do you think does that?
Mary
at 20:54 on November 12th, 2008
The NowPublic.com news story reporting Duanne Johnson's murder made front page today on Care2News Network, where many people CARE. The story, by BlackGirlThinking, is at this link:
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/transgender-woman-who-was-set-sue-city-found-dead
People should care about justice for all people, not just folks who look like you or share your sexual preferences. Ms. Johnson did not deserve to die for being "different" (she was a transgender person).
My brother did not deserve to be secretly arrested and die because he was "different" (he was schizophrenic).
Other people who have suffered or died in Shelby County Jail or by Memphis Police did not deserve to have this happen to them for being "different." See three more cases of deaths and abuse to mentally ill or "different" people at this link:
http://braxtonandfriends.org/index.html
And where is the United States Justice Department while all of these Americans are suffering and dying for their "differences"? That federal agency has the responsibility to uphold the civil rights of institutionalized persons in this country.
Be reminded that the USDOJ was in overview of the Memphis/Shelby Co. Jail when my mentally ill brother was secretly arrested and died there 18 days later, after lying to us during that period and denying having him, realizing his heart needed prescription drugs. But the USDOJ REFUSES to investigate Larry Neal's death. Why?
Why was a US DOT truck apparently with the cars that followed me and cornered me in the Chevron station? It followed me into the Chevron station and the driver sat there for over 30 minutes. When 911 did not come help me, my niece came. We tried to leave, but the US DOT truck came right behind us. We decided to go back and park, and the truck did, too! In all, I was cornered in that station for more than an hour. 911 never came, but my son-in-law did. They sandwiched me between the two cars, and we made it home. See Cochran Firm Fraud #2 above for details.
I have no answers as to why "different" people are apparently under attack in this - the third largest jail in the country - but I believe Americans should know and demand CHANGE!
Mary
at 18:39 on April 7th, 2009
I have tried to update this article many times. I don't know what the problem is, but readers may want to know that (1) former officer McRae treatened filing a workers comp claim or a lawsuit for hurting his hand while beating Duanna Johnson; (2) Duanna Johnson was executed (shot in the head) on Nov. 9, 2008; (3) the same attorney who was a Shelby Co. Commissioner AND manager of The Cochran Firm's Memphis office (Julian Bolton) in an undisclosed conflict of interest in the wrongful death of Larry Neal case (which the law firm never filed while misleading Larry's family) was also working at the law office where Duanna Johnson's attorneys were working; and finally, (4) Duanna Johnson's lawsuit against Shelby Co. Jail for her February 2008 beating by police had not been filed prior to her death on Nov. 9, or she might have had a car and never been executed while walking home at night. Less than three months remained on her statute of limitations to file suit.
Just put "Duanna Johnson" in NowPublic's search field for more articles on Duanna Johnson, including articles about her murder and funeral.
Blessings!
Mary
at 13:48 on April 27th, 2009
I am disturbed that transsexuality continues to be considered as "mental illness"!
at 14:03 on April 27th, 2009
I understand your feelings on that. There is a tendency among some law officers to judge citizens' worthiness of basic civil and human rights relative to their race, socio-economic classification, sexuality, age, national origin, religion, health status, gender, or just whether the police officer is having a good day or not. We are blessed to have many fine police officers; however, and the two policemen who abused Duanna Johnson were removed from the force.