Category: CNN Regional

By Jamie Mayes

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Tamika Palmer said her fight for justice for her daughter, Breonna Taylor, is far from over. Six years ago, Taylor was shot and killed by officers in a botched police raid.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice against Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, two former LMPD officers accused of falsifying the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant for Taylor’s apartment. Their felony civil rights charges were dismissed in August.

Palmer said the latest development reflects a long-standing lack of accountability.

“There’s been a lack of accountability just from the very beginning,” Palmer said. “I don’t understand the people making decisions about whose life matters and who doesn’t.”

Taylor family attorney Lonita Baker said the family still has not achieved the justice it sought.

“When you take away, at this point, the consent decree gone, not defending the appeal, the Brett Hankison conviction, and now dismissing the case where there’s clear evidence — where another officer agreed to testify,” Baker said. “If you can’t be held accountable when there’s clear evidence as a police officer, when can you be held accountable?”

In its filing, the DOJ said, “The government has determined that this case should be dismissed in the best interest of justice.”

Baker and Palmer strongly rejected that reasoning.

“To say that to dismiss the case would be in the interest of justice is violating their ethical obligations as prosecutors and violating everything we know about the criminal justice system,” Baker said. “And it only continues to expand the belief that the criminal justice system does not work for everyone the same.”

“I’ve never had a lot of hope in this system to begin with,” she said. “It’s just always been a wait and see.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By James Maloney

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    SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont (WPTZ) — Following unrest in South Burlington last week, many are questioning local police compliance with Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy.

The policy was created around 2009 by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and was adopted by the Vermont General Assembly in 2012.

It’s meant to create clarity on officers’ decisions when it comes to identifying a person and enforcing the law equitably.

The policy has been amended multiple times since it was created, and every law enforcement agency in Vermont is required to have one.

Certain language within it is being questioned following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in South Burlington on Dorset Street. Vermont State Police were called in for crowd control, and Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said they created a safe “corridor” for ICE to serve a federal warrant that they received.

However, many on the scene protesting saw this as state police helping ICE. Both Section 5 and Section 6 are dedicated to immigration law and interactions with federal immigration authorities.

V. b. reads: “Agency members should not make warrantless arrests, detain individuals, facilitate the detention of individuals, or otherwise expend resources investigating or enforcing unlawful entry or unlawful reentry cases unless such actions are (1) necessary to ensure public safety or officer safety (imminent risk of physical injury to subject, officer, or third party) or (2) integral to the investigation of criminal offenses unrelated to immigration law.”

Morrison has vehemently denied that state police facilitated the arrests that were made on March 11, and that it was a public safety function.

“There were no serious injuries and no deaths,” she said at a press conference this week. “That has not been the case in some of these other encounters that went violent quickly.”

While ICE did have a criminal warrant for one individual inside, three others were taken into ICE custody. Police said they did not know that was going to happen when they found out the person on the warrant was not inside the property.

“Unless the person that they wanted produces themselves … I think it’s impossible, I don’t see the result changing. They were still going to enter the home to search and confirm,” said Chief William Breault, with the South Burlington Police Department.

Despite this, one state senator says she witnessed state police help ICE to serve the warrant every step of the way- believing it was a violation.

“It is time to reevaluate our fair and impartial policing policy and ensure that it is strong enough,” said Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D- Essex Junction. “I have been saying for years that that policy should be in law, in statute, not just policy.”

Neither Vermont State Police nor South Burlington police have launched internal investigations, but said they are doing “after-action reviews.”

The Burlington Police Department is reviewing the actions of one officer for their use of force.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Luana Munoz, Luis Xavier De Peña

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    LAKE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A Lake County woman is on life support after her colleagues say she tried to stop a customer from stealing tires at Just Stop Tires in Mascotte on Monday.

The owner of Just Stop Tires, Roy Cruz, called Ashley Tyer the heart of the company.

“She had so much love, but she was so tough,” said James Kelly, Tyer’s co-worker and friend. “She was, like, a tomboy and a pretty girl all at the same time.”

Tyer has worked for the shop for seven years. Her colleagues say she was more like family than an employee.

Kelly said he had just finished putting used tires on a customer’s vehicle, a job that amounted to just $95. However, Kelly said the customer did not want to pay.

“That split second I turned around and walked in the office, he was already letting the jack down,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the man got into his car and peeled out of the business and onto the road when his car stalled.

“I was thinking, grab the tag because he isn’t going to go far. We have the tag. We have the car. We have his name. We have everything,” Kelly said. “Ashley stood in front of him so he wouldn’t go, and he didn’t care. He just scooped her up.”

Kelly said Tyer was clinging to the hood of the car as the man sped off. He drove for half a block before turning a corner.

Tyer went flying off the vehicle and that is when Kelly realized how badly she was injured.

“It’s a lot to take. She wouldn’t want us to sit here and cry about it. She would actually call me a couple of names if she were here right now,” Kelly said. “Like, ‘Suck it up.’”

Kelly said Tyer had been working on turning an old, large tire outside of the business into a flower bed. Now, he is finishing what she started as a way of honoring a dear friend.

Mascotte police have not made an arrest in the case yet, but they tell WESH 2 they are working with other agencies to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Erika Stanish

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    FAYETTE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — One Fayette County middle schooler is proving that no one is ever too young to make a big impact.

Spencer Novak is just 14 years old, and he’s already leading a mission to give back to those who have served our country.

Coming from a long line of veterans, Spencer was inspired to find a way to honor veterans’ service and sacrifice. That’s why he created the Fayette Freedom and Honor Foundation.

“Their trade of service always just came down on me, and I figured the best way to serve my community was giving back to the veterans who fought for this great country,” Novak said.

The foundation’s mission is to support local veterans in nursing homes.

“We’re dedicated to serving the local veterans of our communities, specifically in nursing homes,” Novak said. “Our model is, ‘Honor their service, provide their needs.'”

This weekend, he held a donation drive at Laurel Highlands Middle School, collecting toiletries, socks, slippers, blankets, and non-perishable food items that will now be delivered across seven nursing homes in the county.

Spencer says seven truckloads of items were donated, completely exceeding his expectations.

“I was just so shocked by our community, and I thank them so much for how they’ve rallied behind our cause,” he said.

Spencer says this is just the beginning and hopes to continue building the foundation that was created just last month. He says he’s thankful to those rallying behind the cause.

“Our goal is just to honor every single one of those veterans of Fayette County, no matter what they’ve done or how they’ve served or what branch of the military they were in,” Novak said. “We’re looking to honor every single one of them. We don’t want one veteran forgotten about.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Christine Sloan

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    NEW JERSEY (WCBS) — A New Jersey teen is back home from Israel after a journey that took him through three countries, at times on foot.

Ephy Carlebach, 18, attends yeshiva school in Beit Shemesh, one of the first Israeli cities Iran attacked during the war.

“Nine people were killed, 20 were injured. We felt the impact of that missile,” he said. “When you see other Jews in Israel were killed, it really, it hurts.”

He added, “Every day was a life and death situation. There were rockets falling from the sky.”

Carlebach recorded a video of a missile in the sky as he ran to a shelter.

“It was pretty intense, looking up and seeing ballistic missiles, cluster bombs, rocket shrapnel falling from the sky,” he said.

Carlebach’s plan to return to New Jersey to spend Passover with his family was snarled when his original flight from Tel Aviv got canceled. His father, Rabbi Mendy Carlebach, came up with an alternative travel plan – a three-day journey taking Ephy Carlebach through Israel, Egypt and Greece.

“I called some friends of mine in Israel and I asked them about the safety aspect of it, and they reassured me, yes, it’s safe,” Mendy Carlebach said.

It started with a five-hour bus trip through Israel.

“There was two or three alarms, I think, while I was going, which is pretty crazy ’cause you’re not in a shelter,” Ephy Carlebach said.

Then, he took a cab ride to the Egyptian border and crossed on foot to the other side, where a vetted taxi driver took him to a Sinai Peninsula airport for a chartered flight to Athens, then to Newark on Thursday.

“It was hectic because a lot of people were taking the same route that I took,” Ephy Carlebach said.

“I tracked him. I asked him to send me his live locations,” Mendy Carlebach said.

Ephy Carlebach said he was in a shelter almost every day and the experience taught him Israelis are unified, especially during war.

“War or no war, I am having a great time in Israel,” Ephy Carlebach said.

He plans on going back.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Steve Maugeri

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    PEMBROKE PARK, Florida (WFOR) — Federal employees are relying on community aid as the government shutdown continues, marking the second time since November that some workers have had to report to their jobs without pay.

G. Brinson, a federal employee, said the ongoing uncertainty is stressful.

“You just don’t know what’s gonna happen. There’s a chance we gotta take and continue to pray and hope we go through this. How long that is, I have no idea,” Brinson said.

Brinson is now worried about affording basic necessities.

When asked if she could keep up with rent, she replied, “So far, yes. Next month… no.”

She lives near where Pembroke Park holds its food drive and had to attend one in November, never expecting to return. “It may not be much, but it’s something that’s gonna help so we can sustain ourselves,” she said.

Brinson did not have time to wait in the long line that stretched down 52nd Street, but the town accommodated walk-ups. Town officials later gave CBS News Miami some food to deliver to her.

Joe Donzelli of the town of Pembroke Park noted that the shutdown is affecting people who have never needed help before. “We have folks during the best of times who have insecurities. Now you have the partial government shutdown. You have folks who are trying to find out where their first meal is going to come from who have never had to figure that out before,” Donzelli said.

The town’s reliance on donations helps supply thousands of pounds of fresh food. The donations ran out in a few hours due to the demand.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Stacey Sager

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    NASSAU COUNTY, New York (WABC) — It’s a world away from the hallways of a public high school in Nassau County. Roosevelt Schools Superintendent, Dr. Shawn Wightman made a trip at his own expense to San Marcos, Guatemala, to make a special delivery for a student.

“Are you haunted by Alvaro’s story?”

When asked if Alvaro Velasquez’s story haunted Wightman, he said, “Yeah. It’s very difficult as a superintendent, a father, to think about if something like that were to have happened to any of my kids.”

Last May, only weeks away from his high school graduation, Velasquez was randomly picked up by ICE and never made it to his graduation.

“He wasn’t a hardened criminal or anything like that, didn’t have any type of record. That was the moment when everybody realized that this is a real thing,” Wightman said.

Velasquez was taken to a detention center in Texas, where he spent months alone, before self-deporting to Guatemala.

In September, Dr. Wightman visited the detention facility because he felt Velasquez deserved his cap, gown and diploma. But he was turned away.

“A very stark reality for me going in there, because there was a barrier,” Wightman said.

He knew he needed to try again.

After refusing to give up, Wightman took two plane rides and a five-and-a-half-hour car trip through the foothills of Guatemala, where he was finally reunited with Velasquez and his family.

“This is amazing for me. He helped me. And he supported me, for all this time,” Velasquez said.

“When he got detained, it really upset a lot of us,” Wightman said.

In Roosevelt, where the student population is 65% Latino and Hispanic, it was only the beginning.

Since Velasquez was detained, three other students in Roosevelt have had their lives upended by ICE.

One was detained, another is likely to be deported, and a third, whose father was detained, now has to work to support the family.

Velasquez came to the U.S. alone when he was only 16 and has been through so much.

“I’m not feeling I’m alone. I know I have him and my family,” Velasquez said.

He also has his diploma from a man who taught him not to abandon people you care about.

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By Phil Taitt

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    NEW YORK (WABC) — Passengers on board the flight from Montreal arriving at LaGuardia described the terrifying moments when their plane collided with a fire truck.

This was the last thing they expected as they made it to their destination safely, only for a deadly collision to take place between the Air Canada jet and a Port Authority fire truck.

This crash claimed the life of the pilot and the co-pilot of the plane.

Forty-one people had been taken to the hospital, which included someone they were travelling with whom they said had a broken nose.

“One of our friends was like several rows back from us and like we walked past him on our way out because he was trying to find his glasses and his nose was totally broken and bleeding on his face,” the passenger said. “A lot of people smacked their head against the seat in front of them.”

“We got checked out, we have a couple of bruises, but we’re just tired and want to go to bed,” another passenger said.

The front of the regional jet sustained significant damage just moments before 11:40 p.m. Sunday.

As it was rolling down the runway it slammed into that vehicle which was responding to another incident.

The Port Authority provided an update early Monday morning.

“The plane carried 72 passengers and four crew,” said Kathryn Garcia, Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “The AR FF vehicle carried two officers. In accordance with our emergency plan, initial numbers indicate 41 passengers and crew transported to hospital. Thirty-two have been released but there are also serious injuries.”

The NTSB is investigating the crash. The FAA issued a notice that the airport operations will remain suspended until at least 2 p.m. Drivers are urged to avoid the area near the airport.

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By WABC Eyewitness News

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    NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) — The air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) was evacuated for a short time after a report of smoke.

An FAA spokesperson confirmed there was no fire and the controllers evacuated the tower due to a burning smell from an elevator.

The air traffic controllers were moved to the backup facility on site.

Flights were forced to hold, but then air traffic controllers were seen moving back to the tower by 8:30 a.m.

Flights were spotted landing at the airport and the ground stop was lifted.

Nearby LaGuardia Airport remains closed after a plane collided with a truck on a runway.

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