Month: March 2023

An arrest warrant was issued for Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter in connection to a fatal January crash that killed two members of the Bulldogs’ football program. Carter is charged with the misdemeanor charges or reckless driving and racing.

On the morning of Jan. 15, offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash that injured two other passengers At the beginning of the investigation, Carter told police that he was nearly a mile away from the car when the crash happened, but later said he was close enough to see the car’s taillights and acknowledged he was alongside the other car. Police now believe Carter and LeCroy were racing before the early-morning incident, after initially believing it to have been a single-car crash.  The investigation found that LeCroy and Carter “were operating their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing shortly after leaving the downtown Athens area at about 2:30 AM,” and police also said the two drivers engaged in reckless driving, including switching between lanes, driving in opposite lanes of travel and driving at high rates of speed “in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other.” Police said LeCroy’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.197 at the time of the incident, and investigators determined “that alcohol impairment, racing, reckless driving and speed were significant contributing factors to the crash.”

Carter acknowledged the warrants on Wednesday afternoon, tweeting: “There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing. The statement also claimed that some reports about the January crash and charges against him are inaccurate. Numerous media reports also have circulated this morning containing inaccurate information concerning the tragic events of January 15, 2023. It is my intention to return to Athens to answer the misdemeanor charges against me and to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented. There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.” 

After the news was the warrant was made public, Georgia coach Kirby Smart also released a statement: “The charges announced today are deeply concerning, especially as we are still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community. We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while supporting these families and assessing what we can learn from this horrible tragedy.”

Editorial credit: Kelly vanDellen / Shutterstock.com

New York City has agreed to pay hundreds of protesters who were surrounded, arrested and subjected to excessive force by police during a George Floyd protest in 2020. The lawsuit alleged that the NYPD “arrested and charged the protestors without probable cause and subjected them to excessive force, as part of a planned police action involving some of the most senior members of the NYPD… The NYPD in an operation planned by the highest levels of police officials, kettled protesters on East 136th Street between Brook Avenue and Brown Place and unleashed a brutal assault on more than 300 people, who were injured, arrested, and detained for hours.”  Hundreds of protesters who were demonstrating against police brutality and racism after Floyd’s death were encircled and corralled by a group of police officers wearing riot gear and riding bicycles in a controversial practice known as “kettling.”

According to court documents, the proposed settlement filed in federal court late Tuesday said the city would compensate approximately 320 people who participated in the protest June 4, 2020, in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx.  The city agreed to pay eligible class-action members $21,500 each, as well as another $2,500 to each person who received a desk appearance ticket. The two named plaintiffs in the case would receive another $21,500 “service award,” according to the proposed settlement, which must be reviewed and approved by the court before taking effect.

A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department said in statement that the 2020 protests were a “challenging moment for the department as officers who themselves were suffering under the strains of a global pandemic did their utmost to help facilitate people’s rights to peaceful expression all while addressing acts of lawlessness including wide-scale rioting, mass chaos, violence, and destruction.”  Joshua Moskovitz, an attorney for the protesters, said on Wednesday, “The settlement, in our view, reflects an acknowledgment by the city that the NYPD’s actions in Mott Haven on June 4 were tragically wrong.” Attorneys for the protesters said in a statement about the proposed settlement:  “This is believed to be the highest per-person settlement in a mass arrest class action lawsuit in New York City history.”

Editorial credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com