Outrage and organizing after officers ‘assaulted’ woman at Waffle House

Atty. Benjamin Crump, who has handled other cases of mistreatment and killing of Blacks by police, is representing the victim and family. A town hall meeting was scheduled for May 1 at Final Call press time and Rev. Al Sharpton was to be at the meeting at AME Church in Mobile, Ala.

At a press conference, Atty. Crump said the young woman was the victim of a racially motivated attack and was “assaulted,” “choked,” and “brutalized” by police.

Attorney Crump said two White women are willing to testify that Ms. Clemons was not bothering anyone, was not a threat and police were wrong. He released affidavits from witnesses that contradict police accounts of what happened.

The Nation of Islam in Mobile, Ala., through contacts with Muslims in Birmingham connected the family with Atty. Crump, according to Preston X of the area study group.

Police responded to a call around 2 a.m., April 22 from an employee at the Waffle House restaurant in Saraland, which is a suburb of Mobile, Ala. Saraland has a population of about 13,000 people but less than six percent of residents are Black.

“The relations of Saraland with the people of color, Black people, have always been unjust and has always been discriminatory,” community organizer Terrell Simmons, of Mobile, Ala., said. “We receive harsh treatment every time we encounter the police. It’s outrageous. Some people on the lesser side are afraid because they have endured the same treatment from police for so long. Most of the young people are angry.”

The initial incident sparked a protest at the restaurant and the Mobile NAACP chapter held a town hall meeting and press conference for the family. Lamar Howard, Ms. Clemon’s stepfather, attended the meeting. “The people agreed with me that we should protect and elevate our women and that we should not sit by and let them get away with treating our women this way,” said Mr. Howard. “The people don’t want to wait for the justice system. The NAACP asked people to be patient because justice takes time and the people were not pleased with their position and want action now.”

But Imam Ronald Ali, first vice president of the NAACP of Alabama, also said the way Ms. Clemons was dressed and not having basic “home training” were factors in what happened and she could have avoided the way she was treated. She should have trusted the system and cooperated with the police instead of going back and forth with them, he said.

“This situation didn’t start with good behavior, let’s be clear on that … What we see is one of our young sisters, our children under the influence of bad behavior,” said Mr. Ali. “She will find justice but she won’t restore her dignity from what happened to her.”

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