M a r k D i l l e y

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From an email from a friend:

I've been following the news from Benton Harbor, and this is the worst I've heard in some time. First, excerpts from a Jan. 16 message charging sexual harassment and brutality by police. Then below, Gov. Granholm awards Benton Harbor police chief Sam Harris with an MLK award. If you haven't been following the complex situation in BH, you might think this is all exaggeration and angry conjecture. Whether you agree with Rev. Pinkney's analysis or not, Sam Harris receiving an MLK award, at the same time his department is being charged with brutality and harassment, is gross and cynical politics played at the expense of Benton Harbor residents. Make your opinion known to Gov. Granholm and spread the word.....Thanks, Jackie

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From Rev. Edward Pinkney, 269-925-0001

During an emotionally charged Community Forum in Benton Harbor on Saturday January 15 it was reported that African-American victims of recent racial profiling were ordered to PULL THEIR PANTS DOWN IN THE PRESENCE OF POLICE
DOGS. In the past week I have heard the same report from three different people: the driver is ordered out of the vehicle by Benton Harbor police and dogs are released from the police cars. The men are told to pull their pants down or the dogs will "bite off their balls." Women are told to drop their pants or go to jail.

Over 50 "Driving-While-Black" complaints, many involving police brutality/sexual harrassment, have been documented at BH City Hall in the LAST WEEK ALONE.

A young man reported to me two days ago that a "white cop snatched my food and put his hands in my pocket. He grabbed my arm and twisted and bent it, trying to break it. He slammed my head against the car over and over, and kicked me between my legs over and over." A second cop stood by and kept saying that he had the wrong man, but the cop continued to beat him mercilessly.

At the Community Forum on Saturday a woman addressed the group saying, "The police are on an illegal hunt and it is a conspiracy." Her son graduated from college last spring, and is now taking classes and running his own business. His car is paid for. He was stopped by cops twice in one week and believes they were trying to provoke him. They used swear words and made accusations.

Sam Harris, the Benton Harbor Police Chief who has broken MANY Benton Harbor rules and regulations, was on TV news recently saying, "You can't get rid of me." He also said City Commissioners mean nothing to him.

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**Please Forward as Widely as Possible**

From Rev. Edward Pinkney, 269-925-0001 (January 18)

It is no exaggeration to say that we are living under the shadow of death in Benton Harbor. We are in the MOST desperate need possible for MANY people to contact Gov. Granholm. Express your outrage at what you read below.

GOV. Jennifer Granholm -
PHONE: 517-373-3400
FAX: 517-335-6863
EMAIL: http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995---,00.html
(scroll down a bit to: Share Your Opinion)
ADDRESS:
Gov. Jennifer Granholm
PO Box 30013
Lansing, MI 48909

Yesterday at a holiday celebration at Lake Michigan College Gov. Granholm gave the MLK award to Benton Harbor police chief Sam Harris who has broken more BH rules and regs. than anyone, and has presided over extreme police brutality and sexual harrassment. At the event, with a crowd of over 400 (95% white Republicans), Granhom said that PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS COMPLAIN, and that Harris SHOULD IGNORE THE OVER 50 COMPLAINTS filed in recent days against the BH police department. Yes, this is really what she said.

The people from Benton Harbor fled from the cowardly enemy of the south only to seek refuge in the same cowardly enemies in the north. They go into policing so that they can beat and kill us. They seek to kill us or get us killed at any price and do not care about our loyalty to them.

It is obvious that Gov. Granholm has defaulted on this promisory note in as far as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this scared obligation, Gov. Granholm has given the black people of Benton Harbor a bad check which has come back marked insufficient funds. The city is outraged. There have been more than 50 complaints in recent days about police chief Harris and the BHPD which has 27 officers, 20 of whom are white. Sam Harris is no MLK - maybe Luther, but no MLK. Today more than 100 registered voters called me about Granholm saying they will never vote for her again. I, Rev. Edward Pinkney, will never vote for her again. The governor's task force which was put together after the 2003 uprising in BH was a joke. The city of BH is in worse shape today than before the uprising. Residents of BH are growing weary of the gov. as police brutality and sexual harrassment continue to grow out of control. We have proof here in BH that a corrupt police chief produces corrupt officers. No citizen who stands on the principal of justice will vote for Granholm in 2006.

Once again the rich get richer. You don't build a city by allowing rich, white people to come in and remove revenue from the city. You build a city by providing jobs.

We live under the shadows of death. White people in Berrien County have nothing in their hearts but death for the African-American people of BH. We live under the shadow of death. Believe it or let it alone.

Rev. Edward Pinkney - 269-925-0001 anytime, night or day

ps - a vote for Granholm in 2006 is a vote for racism