Dover Delaware, 2012

On October 6, 2012 in Dover Delaware this blogger was confronted with claims of a lynching, an attempted lynching and a cover up that were not immediately credible ... Here is my weblog as I struggle to place in some kind of order all the information coming in since then. Although the topics in this blog have grown beyond the original case, still ongoing and unsolved to the minds of many, the focus is the same. Equal protection under the law.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Will there be a third story from DSU?

On March 1, 2012 Delaware University State University Associate Professor Dr. Jahi Issa was arrested at a student gathering at the Martin Luther King Student Center on the Dover campus of DSU. Dr. Issa's students wanted to meet at the King Center and walk together to the Administration Building to express their concerns at a public board of director's meeting.

   The ACLU of Delaware had been consulted by Dr. Issa and the students. After Dr. Issa's arrest the Executive Director of Delaware's ACLU said this:

ACLU Executive Director Kathleen MacRae said.

“At the time Dr. Issa was arrested students were gathering for the purpose of walking to the DSU Board of Trustees meeting to express their views on issues of importance to them,” she said. “DSU was not entitled to require a permit for that activity, any more than a town would have been under the circumstances.”
source link: http://www.doverpost.com/article/20120321/NEWS/303219995

 Initially Campus spokesperson Carlos Holmes had stated as fact that Dr. Issa and his students ignored a lawful order to disperse, and Dr. Issa became verbally abusive, prompting the contact with campus public safety officer patrolman Buchwald and chief Downes. http://www.doverpost.com/article/20120302/NEWS/303029999#art-tit

 Perhaps the University was mindful of all the cell phones present at the event, because the story changed. Claiming Dr. Issa needed a permit wasn't going to wash so there couldn't have been a lawful order to disperse, in fact there was no such order. No problem, just change the story.

  By December 4, 2012 at a pre-trial motion hearing, that narrative had changed. Now the story was that Chief Downes had introduced him self to Dr. Issa and invited him to come to his office and discuss the situation. According to Chief Downes Dr. Issa said "Fuck You" and struck him in the chest with a forearm blow prompting patrolman Buchwald to arrest Dr. Issa.

  Dr. Issa is further charged with resisting arrest. Unfortunately for the University a brave student uploaded a YouTube video the day after the testimony December 5, 2012. This video shows what the one the University presented as evidence ( without proper discovery and over defense objections ) left out. The actual encounter. Chief Downes also testified that he had touched Dr. Issa on the shoulder in a calming manner which prompted the 'forearm blow' to the chest.

  Now the story is going to have to change again.




    This video clearly shows Chief Downes grabbing Dr. Issa's arm from behind. Dr. Issa can't see who has a hold of his arm. When Dr. Issa sees patrolman Buchwald he is shocked and cooperates immediately. Resisting? You mean when his blood pressure was high over 200 and he fell to the ground begging for EMS?

     The university subsequently fired Dr. Issa. Dr. Issa had been teaching his students about the historical significance of lynchings in the context of a racist flyer that was distributed in Dover along Division Street in late 2011.

  Dr. Issa was also a vocal defender of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, critical of the management of Delaware State University and what he believes is an 'ethnic cleansing' at DSU and other HBCUs' across the country. This isn't a new issue at DSU or elsewhere.

 One has to wonder why the state is so zealously trying to destroy Dr. Issa? From the video his students appreciated their professor being man handled none too much. 


  So the University has changed their story and both versions have problems. Isn't it time to drop these bogus charges and restore Dr. Issa to his job? The longer this goes on the more dirt will come out. You have to wonder what the University and prosecutors are thinking?

  I'm not even remotely wondering. Local media is avoiding this like the plague, ignoring it like they are ignoring Henry Fordham's story in last month's posts.

 Here's my question, should DSU get a third chance to cook up a story against Dr. Issa? A state school receiving public money? Or should they just stop being stupid?

Please consider a contribution towards Dr. Issa's defense fund @ http://hbcuinstitute.org




No comments:

Post a Comment