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In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Wilhelmina J. Rolark THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 by The Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send change of addresses to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $55 per year, two years $70. Papers will be received not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to: THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E Washington, D.C. 20032 Phone: 202 561-4100 Fax: 202 574-3785 news@washingtoninformer.com www.washingtoninformer.com
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4 APRIL 14 - 20, 2022
wi hot topics
COMPILED BY WI SENIOR EDITOR D. KEVIN MCNEIR AND WI SENIOR WRITER STACY BROWN
Ten Dead after Multiple Drug Overdoses in Northeast The Metropolitan Police Department reported on April 12 that 10 people have died since April 9 from drug overdoses. Seven others required emergency medical assistance after overdosing on the same “bad batch” of drugs distributed in the Ivy City and Trinidad neighborhoods in Northeast. A spokesperson for D.C. Police confirmed that all of the fatal cases were caused by cocaine that was mixed with fentanyl. Police said naloxone was used on several of the overdose victims which helped to save their lives. The most recent over-
dose deaths harken back to another string of overdose deaths reported in D.C. this year. On Jan. 28, MPD reported 14 overdoses resulting in nine deaths. The January overdoses were clustered in a Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. A joint investigation by MPD, the DEA and the FBI determined that a mixture of Fentanyl and cocaine caused those deaths. Two adults have been arrested and are facing drug charges in those cases. Those who recently died ranged in age from their mid-30s to 60, according to police. WI
Officers in Death of George Floyd Reject Plea Deal
At Least 29 Injured in NYC Subway Shooting
Three former Minneapolis police officers charged with the murder of George Floyd have rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors. Former officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng face state charges of aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder. A federal jury convicted the trio of violating Floyd’s civil rights earlier this year. Derek Chauvin, the officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, accepted a federal plea deal in January after state prosecutors won a murder conviction against him last year. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill held a hearing on April 12 to consider a request to allow live video of the upcoming federal trial for the three officers. While details of the plea offer were not disclosed, prosecutor Matthew Frank told the court that each officer was extended the same deal. However, each rejected the offer, Frank said. Earl Gray, who represents Lane, said it was difficult for his client to cut a deal with federal prosecutors because he hasn’t been sentenced in the federal case. The judge, in that case, has yet to set a sentencing date. Each of the officers remains free on bail pending sentencing. The officers face life in prison following their conviction. “Nothing will bring George Floyd back to his loved ones but with [the guilty] verdicts, we hope that the ignorance and indifference toward human life shown by these officers will be erased from our nation’s police departments, so no other family has to experience a loss like this,” Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump stated following the jury verdict in the federal trial. “The Floyd family will have to relive the traumatic disregard for George’s life once again in June when these officers will stand trial in state court. We hope, and we expect, that these officers will once again be held accountable for their lack of humanity,” he said. WI
At least 29 people were shot or otherwise injured after a lone gunman in a reflective vest and a gas mask threw smoke bombs on a subway car in Brooklyn and began shooting Tuesday morning, April 12. A manhunt remains underway as details continue to emerge in this developing situation and the NYPD has reportedly discovered a U-Haul truck with Arizona license plates in connection with the shooting. Police say the shooting happened on a Manhattan bound N train making express stops just before 8:30 a.m. and that the suspect was seen mumbling to himself before donning the gas mask and removing a canister from a bag before the car began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire with a handgun, striking several people on the train and on the platform at the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park. Shell casings were recovered on the train and on the platform along with a handgun that had three extended round magazines. One in the gun jammed, which is believed to have saved lives. While the cameras in the station were inoperable, law enforcement officials were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander's cell phone video. No arrests have been made but NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who remains under quarantine due to his COVID diagnosis, released a video statement. “We're praying for all New Yorkers who were injured or affected by today's attack,” he said. “So far, we know that we have a multiple number of injuries, including victims of gunshot wounds . . . We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorized even by a single individual. The NYPD is searching for the suspect at large, and we will find him.” Officials confirmed 10 of the victims, who range in age from 17 to 50, were shot, and five are listed in critical but stable condition. None of the injuries are considered life threatening. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the suspect “cold hearted and depraved” and warned that he remains on the loose and dangerous. WI
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