NAACP Faults Bush and Ashcroft "Low Esteem for Civil Rights"
The U.S. Justice Department has cleared law officers in
Nashville, Ark., of criminal wrongdoing in the death of a man in police
custody. The Justice Department's Civil Rights
Division reviewed the case and concluded no criminal prosecution was
warranted. Specifically, the letter states Howard County Deputy Gary B.
Cogburn and Nashville Police Officer Steve Dallas were cleared of any
alleged civil rights violations after the September 2003 arrest of
Larry "Nicky" Hill Jr., 27, of Nashville. The Hill family filed a civil
rights complaint against the department for use of
excessive force. Speaking on behalf of Hill's family, Arlington C.
Dumas, president of the Flint, Mich., NAACP Branch, expressed his
dismay at the Department of Justice's findings. "It is a sad day in the
history for civil rights that the U.S. Department of Justice would come
to that conclusion," Dumas said. For him, it was no surprise, though.
"You have a Department of Justice leader, (U.S. Attorney General John)
Ashcroft, who was appointed by Mr. Bush that has a low esteem for civil
rights," Dumas said. [more ] and [more ] and [more ]
According to reports, Hill fled from Dallas during
the course of a routine field sobriety test. He was apprehended by
Dallas and again resisted arrest by struggling and fleeing into a
wooded area, reports state. Dallas sprayed Hill with pepper spray after
he was apprehended a second time and cuffed Hill. The lawsuit contends that while trying to
arrest Hill, Cogburn "unnecessarily and with unnecessary force" struck
Hill in the right side of the head with his right fist. It was that
injury, as well as officers' subsequent "refusal to obtain medical
care" for Hill, that caused Hill's death, according to the suit. The
results of an independent autopsy concluded that the ``manner of Hill's
death should be ruled as homicide'' because his death occurred as a
result of a violent struggle with police officers. [more ] and [more ]
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