#NNPA BlackPress

Another Black Man Targeted, Tasered and Beaten by Police

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Slightly before midnight on the evening of July 6th, an unarmed Black man, Kedrick Crawford, 45, is seen on camera being unsuspectingly and undeservedly assaulted by Baytown Police officers that left him having to be treated at Ben Taub Hospital for significant injuries to his face, chest, right eye, head and hands.

Published

7 years ago

August 20, 2019

Oakland Post

Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump and Baytown, Texas beating victim Kedrick Crawford at press conference held at Harris County Civil Courthouse in Houston, Texas.

Incident Caught on Camera Months after Tragic Shooting of Black Woman in Same Texas City

By Jeffrey L. Boney, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Police brutality…Will it ever end?

All eyes across the nation have been on the city of Baytown, Texas, ever since an unarmed Black woman, 44-year-old Pamela Turner, was shot to death on video by Baytown Police Officer Juan Delacruz back on May 13, outside of her apartment complex on Garth Rd. in Baytown.

Since the incident, no charges have been filed against the officer, although the killing was squarely caught on video. Nothing has been done about the police killing of Turner since that time, except that Officer Delacruz returned back to work after being on paid leave for three days.

Fast forward a few months later, and another high-profiled incident was also caught on camera, not too far from where Pamela Turner was fatally shot at close range by Officer Delacruz.

Slightly before midnight on the evening of July 6th, an unarmed Black man, Kedrick Crawford, 45, is seen on camera being unsuspectingly and undeservedly assaulted by Baytown Police officers that left him having to be treated at Ben Taub Hospital for significant injuries to his face, chest, right eye, head and hands.

Crawford states that he pulled into a local H-E-B parking lot on Garth Rd. to put an address into his GPS navigation app to get directions on his cell phone. As he was parked, he states that Baytown Police officers pulled up and approached his vehicle. After being confronted and questioned by police after claims that he looked suspicious while sitting in his parked vehicle, Crawford says that he gave police permission to search his vehicle upon their request.

Crawford said he was not worried about giving police the consent to search his vehicle, because he was confident he had done nothing wrong.

In the video, released by the Baytown Police department and obtained from the dash cam video of one of the officers, you can hear Crawford tell the officer that he had insurance and whatever else they needed to verify his identity and legitimacy, to which the officer is heard on camera responding, “And what does that have to do with anything?”

After the officers’ response, Crawford then asks the officer, “So when am I free to go?” to which the officer responds, “Whenever man!”

Crawford then asks a clarifying question to confirm that the officer told him that he was free to go whenever he wanted to, and as he continues to look on in confusion as to why he was stopped, five seconds later, the officer who told him he was free to go, comes up behind him and commands him to “put your hands behind your back.”

Confused and afraid for his life, Crawford asks why he is being asked to put his hands behind his back and why he is being handcuffed, repeatedly asking the officer, “What did I do?”

The officer, seemingly hostile, sternly notifies Crawford not to resist and emphatically makes a threatening statement saying, “I will drop you!”

According to a statement released by the Baytown Police Department, officials described the encounter as justified, proclaiming that Crawford’s “demeanor changes as he becomes increasingly nervous even though officers are being polite and cordial.”

In looking at this disturbing video footage, it is clear that Crawford is visibly confused and extremely unaware of why he is being treated this way by the officers.

Crawford then is seen on the video continuously asking the officers “What is going on?” until out of nowhere the officer is heard screaming out that he is about to use the Taser on him.

In the video, you hear Crawford screaming and emphatically crying out that he was going to get killed, while continuing to profess his innocence, along with a plea to the officers to be told exactly what he did wrong.

One of the most shocking things about the video footage, is when a third party in civilian clothing (blue shirt and blue jeans) is seen on the video appearing to place Crawford in a chokehold while wrestling with him on the ground.

The Baytown Police officers do nothing to stop this individual from physically interacting with Crawford, nor do they identify the person in the video as being a member of law enforcement. To date, that person’s identity has not been publicly disclosed.

After a few minutes of Crawford being tasered and beaten, the officer’s body camera goes dark, where at this point, all you can hear is audio of him continuing to scream and demand answers.

After the incident, Crawford reached out to nationally-recognized civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump to take on his case. Crump is already representing the family of Pamela Turner.

Crump, along with Crawford, his family and supporters, and the family of Pamela Turner, held a major press conference in front of the Harris County Civil Courthouse, where they demanded justice for Crawford, Turner and for there to be accountability for what Crump is calling a “pattern of excessive force” by the Baytown Police Department.

“We are here to make this plea and this demand, that this pattern of abuse by the Baytown Police Department on minorities must cease immediately,” said Crump. “Baytown, you cannot continue to attack American citizens just because of the color of their skin.”

According to a released statement by the Baytown Police Department, they state that, “at one point the officer searching the vehicle locates several small pieces of plastic bag, each of which contained several pills. Recognizing this to be consistent with narcotics packaged for sale, officers attempted to place Mr. Crawford in handcuffs at which time Mr. Crawford began resisting by pulling away from the officer.”

Crawford states that the items found in his car were actually antibiotics prescribed to him and not drugs for sale. Crump states that Baytown Police Department has not provided any proof of their claims to justify the instantaneous ramped up attack on Crawford.

“Remember, he (Crawford) committed no crime,” said Crump. “So the question is, how can you justify doing him (Crawford) like this after you just told him that he was free to go? It is unjustifiable and they (Baytown Police Department) haven’t offered anything to justify that because they cannot.”

The Baytown Police Department acknowledged the physical claims brought forth by Crawford in their released statement, saying that “due to Mr. Crawford’s persistent resistance, and the fact that the Taser failed to momentarily incapacitate Mr. Crawford, one of the officers delivered a series of elbow strikes and a closed fist strikes to Mr. Crawford’s head area in an attempt to disorient him so they could get him into custody.”

Crump says that the assault on Crawford was unnecessary and plans to exhaust all measures to get down to the bottom of how the assault transpired and what led to that action in the first place.

“We are going to analyze the video, once we hopefully get all the video, and allow our experts to look at every angle of it,” said Crump. “Once we finish our review, we hope that we don’t see police doing inappropriate maneuvers, as I have seen in other cases around America, where they try to create a scenario to seem like a person is resisting when they are not resisting.”

The daughter and sister of Pamela Turner called on Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg to do something about the killing of their loved one and get involved before more things happen as a result of the actions of Baytown Police Department officers.

“This is what happens when you stall District Attorney Ogg. When you push it to the side and sweep things under the rug, you keep getting instances like this,” said Chelsie Ruben, daughter of Pamela Turner. “The brutality keeps going on. It happens over and over, and it will keep happening until you do your job and do what you say you’re going to do. Thank God it’s not as worse as what happened to my mom.”

“I’m asking you to do your job Attorney Kim Ogg,” said Antoinette Dorsey-James, Turner’s sister. “When we met with you D.A. Ogg, you told me that there will be an investigation and to be calm and to take one step at a time. How long does an investigation take? It is clearly on the video, that my sister’s life was wrongfully killed and her life was taken away from her. My sister’s blood is already on Officer Delacruz’s hands. Don’t let it be on yours too.”

Crawford was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, to which the Harris County District Attorney’s Office ironically has chosen to accept those charges.

The Baytown Police Department says its Internal Affairs Division is still investigating the incident.

All in all, Crawford states that he is just happy to be alive after seeing many other incidents like his end up with the loss of life, but remains focused on continuing his quest for justice due to the assault committed against him by the Baytown Police officers.

“First of all, I am grateful to God that I’m still alive,” said Crawford. “I was, and I am, hurting all over my body. My chest is bruised. My ribs hurt. My face was all messed up. All you have to do is watch the video to see what happened to me. I just don’t know why they did this to me.”

Both Crump and Crawford are calling on the federal government to look into this matter.

Jeffrey Boney is a political analyst and frequent contributor for the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com and the associate editor for the Houston Forward Times newspaper. Jeffrey is an award-winning journalist, dynamic, international speaker, experienced entrepreneur and business development strategist. Follow Jeffrey on Twitter @realtalkjunkies.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

After Five Years, NY Police Officer Who Chokes Eric Garner to Death on Video is Finally Fired

Don't Miss

The Great March on Galveston

Oakland Post

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: Jim Crow 2.0 at the Pentagon

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 3, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Pete Hegseth insists that he is restoring “merit” to the United States military. But after months of dismissals, blocked promotions, and ideological purges, the evidence tells a different story. His campaign against so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has become something far more dangerous: an assault on equal opportunity that falls with particular force on African Americans, while also targeting women, Latinos, gay Americans, and transgender service members.

The latest example is both troubling and infuriating.

Once again, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly blocked the promotion of an exceptionally qualified woman—Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt is no ordinary officer. She became the Navy’s first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the most demanding leadership assignments in the world. Her career reflects decades of exemplary performance, operational excellence, and leadership under extraordinary pressure.

Yet once again, a distinguished military career appears to have been subordinated to an ideological agenda masquerading as “merit.”

I call BS!

The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

The pattern has become impossible to ignore.

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., only the second African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed despite a career that placed him among the most accomplished military leaders of his generation.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was removed despite decades of distinguished command experience.

Reports have documented interventions that blocked or delayed the promotions of Black officers and women selected through the military’s rigorous promotion system.

Now Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt joins the growing list of highly accomplished officers whose careers have been derailed for reasons that have never been persuasively explained.

Where is Congress?

Its silence has become deafening.

Congress has an independent constitutional responsibility to oversee the armed forces. Instead, too many lawmakers have watched silently while one of the nation’s most respected institutions is subjected to ideological litmus tests and political interference.

This is not military reform. It is testosterone-fueled performative masculinity disguised as a philosophy of military excellence.

The irony is impossible to miss. Hegseth repeatedly invokes “merit,” yet his rhetoric begins with the assumption that Black officers, women, and other historically excluded Americans must somehow justify their achievements in ways that white male officers are rarely required to do.

That is not meritocracy. It is prejudice wrapped in patriotic language.

No one is asking that anyone be promoted because of race or gender. Americans simply expect that promotions be based on demonstrated competence, leadership, integrity, and service. The officers being targeted have already proven themselves repeatedly under one of the world’s most demanding evaluation systems.

Their records speak for themselves.

The attack on African American military leadership has been especially pernicious.

For generations, Black Americans fought in segregated units, earned decorations while denied equal treatment, and repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to a nation that often failed to extend them full citizenship. They broke barriers not because standards were lowered but because excellence finally overcame institutional discrimination.

Today’s campaign against “diversity” threatens to revive old assumptions under new slogans.

The implication that Black generals and admirals somehow owe their success to affirmative action rather than extraordinary performance echoes some of the ugliest stereotypes of the Jim Crow era. Yesterday’s segregationists claimed Black Americans were inherently less qualified. Today’s culture warriors simply employ more politically acceptable language while inviting the same suspicion about Black achievement.

That is why Hegseth’s campaign increasingly resembles Jim Crow 2.0.

The targets may now wear stars on their shoulders instead of military patches on segregated uniforms, but the underlying message is hauntingly familiar: Black excellence is presumed suspect, while white excellence is presumed earned.

America’s military became the finest fighting force in history because it opened its doors to talent wherever it could be found. It grew stronger after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. It became stronger when women assumed greater command responsibilities. It became stronger when every qualified American was given the opportunity to serve to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Diversity is not a concession. It is a strategic advantage.

The nation’s adversaries do not fear an American military because it is racially homogeneous. They fear it because it draws upon the talents of more than 340 million Americans whose diverse experiences, perspectives, and abilities make our armed forces unmatched anywhere in the world.

Every politically motivated dismissal of a distinguished officer sends a chilling message throughout the ranks: excellence alone may no longer be enough if you belong to the wrong demographic group.

That weakens morale. It weakens recruitment. It weakens retention.

And ultimately, it weakens national security.

Pete Hegseth has every right to pursue military readiness. He has no right to redefine merit in ways that repeatedly cast suspicion upon the accomplishments of Black officers, women, and others who have devoted their lives to defending this nation.

America deserves better. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve better. The Constitution deserves better.

And unless Congress finds the courage to exercise meaningful oversight, history may well remember this period not as a restoration of military excellence, but as the moment political ideology attempted to resurrect, in modern form, the old poison of exclusion.

Jim Crow did not strengthen America. Jim Crow 2.0 will not strengthen America’s military. It will only diminish it

Wade Henderson
Strategic Advisor
Civil and Human Rights
wade@wadejhenderson.com

bpusa-syndication

Posts by bpusa-syndication

#NNPA BlackPress

New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial

By Emilie St. John (Contributor) Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction. Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District […]
The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

By Emilie St. John
(Contributor)

Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District Judge John Roach Jr. from overseeing the appeals process.

Two hearings have been scheduled on the motion for Aug. 9 and 10 in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to Fox4 News.

On July 14, Senior Judge Sid L. Harle of the 226th District Court was assigned to preside over the defense’s motion to recuse Collin County Judge John Roach. The assignment took effect immediately and authorized Harle to handle all matters related to the recusal request, the filing read.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office continues to defend its handling of the case by issuing a statement to NBC 5 DFW.

“The defendant’s new lawyers have filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings. The entire prosecution team and I conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel. We look forward to addressing these claims thoroughly in a Court of law in the coming weeks. The jury heard extensive evidence over the course of the trial and returned a unanimous verdict. We remain confident in that verdict and the fairness of the proceedings.”

Anthony’s new legal team, made up of appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys, was retained following Anthony’s conviction.

“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement.

“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events,” the release reads.

Anthony was charged with the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, April 2, 2025. Anthony has long maintained it was an act of self-defense.

The attorneys are representing Anthony pro bono. The nearly 200-page notice of appeal seeks a new trial because his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated.

“The cumulative and practical effect of these provisions was to exclude members of the public from proceedings at every stage,” the filing reads.

The filing also focused on an alleged “handshake deal” that kept Anthony from taking the stand in his defense.

The defense filing said the agreement was that the jury would not hear that Metcalf and his twin brother had been accused of racism and bullying in the past. In exchange, they also would not see Anthony’s cellphone records or his school disciplinary record, according to court documents reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Anthony’s former defense attorney, Mike Howard, said the defense relied heavily on that deal. The team chose not to ask certain questions of witnesses or call on a separate expert witness based on that agreement. It also abandoned plans to introduce testimony and evidence about the allegations against Metcalf and his brother.

Appellate attorney Russell Wilson is now handling post-trial proceedings and Anthony’s appeal. He recently sat down for an interview, stating, “The court committed multiple errors during the June murder trial, preventing him from receiving a fair trial.”

“You know, we file motions that we expect to prevail on, but we understand that there’s two sides to every story. And at the end of the day, it’ll be a judge that has to make these decisions, but we feel confident in the positions that we’re taking,” Wilson said during an interview with WFAA. “There were substantial issues that we thought a reviewing court needed to look at. We thought these were constitutional irregularities, and we could have them addressed now. And so, we put them into a motion for a new trial.”

Bree West, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, found it startling that so little time was given to Anthony’s team for such a serious “life or death” situation.

“I do think that it’s really challenging that potentially a court decided that you have 10 minutes to make that level of decision when it has the potential of being life-altering,” said West during an interview with Fox 4 News.

Judge Harle is no stranger to high-profile cases, having presided over the prosecution of a police officer charged in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Anthony was convicted on June 9 of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump!

WESTSIDE GAZETTE — The author criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric, noting his use of terms like “Dumbocrats” and “Communist” to describe Democrats and democracy. The column asserts that Trump’s current strategy involves creating doubt about midterm elections due to a lack of Republican agenda.
The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

Frankly Speaking

Wow! Wow! Wow! The swamp drainers have truly stepped down to new levels of stupidity. You remember Weapons of Mass Destruction? We now have Weapons of Mass Distraction. Trump has introduced Dumbocrats and Communists into the conversation about Democrats and Democracy.

Trump lies so much, and his current strategy is to set up doubt about midterm elections because he and Republicans have no agenda!

He has no “Trump “ card, but Iran has a strait! He called it a skirmish; it’s now a War. He said five days; now it’s five months. He said few casualties; now it’s 18 deaths. He knew nothing about Project 2025 but hired its architects! Trump lies about the lies and often forgets these little inventions called cameras and phones

We see and hear and then see and hear the inconsistencies.

I didn’t like 45 and dislike 47 even more!

The post LSMFT! Lord Save Me From Trump! appeared first on The Westside Gazette.

Based on reporting by Westside Gazette.

The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.