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Georgia Reaches $4.8 Million Settlement with Family of Black Man Killed by a State Trooper

The state of Georgia will pay the family of Julian E. Lewis, a 60-year-old Black man killed by a state trooper in August 2020, $4.8 million in a settlement— the largest settlement in the state since 1990– according to CNN.

Lewis was shot in the face and killed instantly by 27-year-old trooper Jacob Gordon Thompson when he tried to stop a traffic-related offense in Screven County, Georgia.

According to CNN, a statement released by Hall and Lampros said, “While the record-making settlement does not bring back her husband for widow Betty Lewis and other family and loved ones, it sends a powerful message to the State and those in law enforcement and other positions of power that unnecessary use of force against innocent citizens is unlawful, morally corrupt and carries legal consequences.”

Thompson was fired from the Georgia Department of Public Safety and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault but a for fatally shooting Lewis.

From :

When Lewis refused to stop, Thompson gave a brief chase before using a “precision Intervention technique,” sending the car to a stop in a ditch, according to a statement released by Georgia Bureau of Investigation at the time the incident occurred.

Thompson then fired one shot, striking Lewis in the face. Lewis was pronounced dead on the scene.

Lewis’ wife, Betty, and the rest of his family have asked a different grand jury to take a look at the case and the US Attorney’s office said they are in discussion with the FBI about the circumstances of the shooting, according to CNN.

Andrew Kanoris said in a statement, “The events of that August night should never have happened. Shooting an unarmed man without cause is unconscionable, and violates the freedom that the United States Constitution guarantees all individuals. We were prepared to sue the trooper, the department and its leadership asserting both Constitutional claims as well as state law tort claims,” according to CNN.

Source: Georgia Reaches $4.8 Million Settlement with Family of Black Man Killed by a State Trooper

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Jim Acosta on refugee ‘contradiction’: ‘Welcoming Afghans, but sending Haitians back’

“Is there a contradiction there?” Acosta asked DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about America’s treatment of refugees.

CNN anchorman Jim Acosta singularly questioned U.S. immigration policy this weekend when he interviewed Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Acosta noted to Mayorkas on Sunday that America has welcomed at least 50,000 Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort in their homeland, but is sending back Haitian refugees.

“We’re welcoming Afghans, but we’re sending Haitians back. Is there a contradiction there?” Acosta asked, as reported by Newsweek.

“Not at all,” replied Mayorkas, the first Latino and first immigrant confirmed to serve as Homeland Security secretary. “Those two processes are quite different. We are bringing in Afghan nationals by air after they have been screened and vetted. That is a safe, orderly and humane process.”

CNN anchorman Jim Acosta (left) singularly questioned U.S. immigration policy this weekend when he interviewed Alejandro Mayorkas (right), secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (Photo: CNN)

“That is quite different,” he contended, “than irregular migration, illegal entry in between ports of entry in a time of pandemic when we have been quite clear, explicit, for months now that that is not the way to reach the United States. And it will not succeed.”

President Joe Biden‘s administration is ramping up the deportation of Haitians, with increased flights leaving Del Rio, Texas. Associated Press is reporting up to eight flights a day will depart to send migrants back to the Caribbean nation struggling with natural disasters and political turmoil.

Mayorkas confirmed he will be traveling to Del Rio, where thousands of Haitian migrants are camping, to assess the situation.

The Afghan refugees coming to our shores aided the U.S. war effort, Mayorkas explained.

We have seen a significant influx of Haitian migrants in Del Rio, TX. But we are surging resources, and @DHSgov is taking a multi-prong approach to this. https://t.co/AWD5isegmX

— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) September 20, 2021

#NEW: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will travel to Del Rio today to receive an operational briefing on what steps are being taken to address the current migrant situation.

— Sandra Rodriguez (@KRGV_Sandra) September 20, 2021

“This is who we are as a country. We stand up for the people who stood up for us,” he maintained. “We are providing refuge to individuals who assisted us in combat in Afghanistan. We are providing refuge to vulnerable women, journalists, young kids.”

“This is one of our greatest traditions as a country,” Mayorkas told Acosta. “We have committed relief to those individuals, and we are delivering it. And we are delivering it while securing the safety of the American public.”

Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley recently said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch, “That ICE [the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] would continue to carry out the mass deportations of our Haitian neighbors — with Haiti in the midst of its worst political, public health and economic crises yet — is cruel and callous.”

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Source: Jim Acosta on refugee ‘contradiction’: ‘Welcoming Afghans, but sending Haitians back’