Police officers in Arizona shot three beanbag rounds at a 26-year-old Black construction worker in front of his fiancée and their children late last week, according to ABC15 Arizona.

The incident, which took place in Mesa, Arizona, was captured on video by a neighbor. In the video clip, the man, Lorenzo Jones, can be seen emptying his pockets and giving his keys to his fiancée, Tenisha Gaston, while several young children were standing beside him. Despite putting his hands up and complying with the officer’s orders, Arizona police officers shot bean bags directly at Jones. As the young lady and children are screaming, they continue to shoot him three more times.

A video, caught on a mobile phone by a neighbor, Shampall Williams, was posted on Facebook.

“This is not right, said Gaston. “What’s going on in the world, and now I am dealing with this.“

Gaston witnessed the shooting as she and her children were standing with him as he was being shot.

“He is a good man,” Gaston said, “My kids were scared.”

Gaston met with a local pastor and a lawyer last Friday.

“There was no need for this,” said civil right attorney Benjamin Taylor. “Under the law, he was complying. He had his shirt off, no weapons on him. He wasn’t a threat.“

“In policing, we see a lot of excuses when we talk about force and excessive force and what was justified and what was not,” said Pastor Andre Miller. “Nobody reasonable is saying ‘Yeah, I would have shot this guy.’”

Jones has been charged with aggravated assault on an officer, three counts of aggravated assault on a minor, resisting arrest, marijuana possession, assault causing fear of physical injury.

In a statement, Mesa police chief Ken Cost said, “They [the officers] felt that he was armed and dangerous.” “It would be premature for me to comment on the split-second the officer made the decision.”

He stated that a use-of-force review should take about a week and he is not “going to jump to a conclusion on that until I have all the information.”

“We understand that any time force is used it raises a lot of questions. Less-lethal tools are exactly that, less lethal, and were developed to prevent violent actions, protect the public, save the lives of suspects as well as officers,” Mesa police said in Friday’s statement.

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Broad Mesa Police reforms don’t satisfy critics

Posted on June 28, 2020April 15, 2021 by The Community Armor Project

Tribune – MESA – Mesa Police will launch a new Critical Incident Review Board in about 30 days to more thoroughly critique a wider variety of use-of-force incidents as part of a series of reforms.

“I really think that’s like smoke and mirrors. That’s really nothing,’’ – Pastor Andre Miller – New Beginnings Christian Church

Full Article – https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/broad-mesa-police-reforms-don-t-satisfy-critics/article_67ae018a-b800-11ea-84c4-5ffc1fdb7e4a.html

Mesa protest, prayer gathering focus on police | News | eastvalleytribune.com – East Valley Tribune

Posted on June 14, 2020April 15, 2021 by The Community Armor Project

Mesa protest, prayer gathering focus on police | News | eastvalleytribune.com – East Valley Tribune

The tone of two events in Mesa aimed at addressing systemic racism was remarkably different, with one a prayerful rally for change and the other the first protest over the slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

But in the end, the goal of the protest last Tuesday and the prayer gathering on Wednesday was the same: to work towards more equality in the way people of color are treated by police.

The prayer vigil sponsored by Rev. Andre Miller at New Beginnings Christian Church in Mesa was focused on unity, while the march sponsored by Rev. Reginald Trotter of Phoenix was aimed at reigning in excessive force and racial profiling.

“God has brought us here for such a time as this. Change is here. Change is knocking at the door,’’ said Rev. Tyronne Stowe, a former National Football League linebacker with the Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins.

“If we don’t get it right here, don’t expect to make the trip,’’ he said, alluding to heaven. “There ain’t going to be no segregated heaven.’’

Miller, who said he has served on a Mesa police use of force advisory committee, said his goal in sponsoring the prayer event was to bring people together.

It drew Mesa Mayor John Giles, Councilwoman Jen Duff, Tempe Mayor-elect Corey Woods and Tempe Police Chief

Sylvia Mohr.

Giles and Duff knelt on the asphalt in the church parking lot in prayer, joined by at least 200 others, including some Scottsdale Police officers.

“The message is, ‘it takes all of us to fix all of this,’’’ Miller said. “We have to get together to do the hard work to make America better.’’

John Goodie of Gilbert, a retired Mesa park ranger and a longtime Mesa civil rights advocate who helped establish Mesa’s Martin Luther King Day celebration, said he has been victimized by structural racism his whole life as a large black man.

Recently, Goodie said, he was standing behind an elderly white couple at an ATM in Gilbert. The woman noticed him and quickly became so nervous that they bolted toward their car, leaving their debit card behind.

Goodie said he followed them to the car. At first, the woman refused to roll down her window, but when she noticed Goodie holding her ATM card, she gladly accepted it and apologized for her reaction.

“Together, we are all better,’’ Goodie said. “That’s what I have been about my whole life, to celebrate our differences and our likenesses.’’

Pastor Palmer Chinchen, of The Grove Christian Church in Chandler, spoke at the event and encouraged church members to attend.

“We wanted to come as an act of solidarity with our African American brothers and sisters. We want to make changes to end racism,’’ he said.

Alluding to Floyd’s death, Mohr said, “the shield can be tarnished by the acts like we saw,’’ but tragedy can spawn “true transformative, systemic change.’’

She added, “There is no one who despises bad cops more than good cops.’’

By all accounts, the protest march a day earlier through downtown Mesa was peaceful, starting at Mesa City Hall and heading down Main Street before ending at Mesa Police headquarters.

Trotter said the focus was on improving Mesa police interaction with blacks, who he said have suffered excessive force and racial profiling.

“Nothing was happening in Mesa,’’ despite a series of protests in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Trotter said. “What really motivated me is that Mesa has a lot of problems, a lot of issues.’’

“Mesa has a history, a tendency, to be very aggressive,’’ he said, with relatively small violations turned into major problems because of racial profiling.

“I would say they need more training on de-escalation rather than using excessive force,’’ he said. “The racial profiling has to stop.’’

He said he has invited Chief Ken Cost to address the protesters at a follow-up protest, after Cost declined to do so at the first protest, citing scheduling conflicts.

Trotter said Mesa also needs a civilian police review board similar to the one recently established in Phoenix. Phoenix City Council last week voted to provide more than $3 million to fund the panel’s operation.

Trotter’s son, also Reginald Trotter, alleges he was the victim of excessive force by Mesa Police in November 2018 when he fought with police while they were arresting him for cutting through a park after hours and cocaine possession. A notice of claim is pending against the city.

Rev. Trotter said there were similarities in police tactics used against his son and against Floyd by Minneapolis police, but Assistant Ed Wessing said he cannot comment because of pending litigation.

“As you know, Mr. Trotter has filed a notice of claim with the City of Mesa related to this incident. It would be inappropriate for the Mesa Police Department to provide any further statements related to this incident due to pending litigation,’’ Wessing wrote in a response to an inquiry by a TV station.

“The Mesa Police Department continues to be progressive and is committed to process improvement,’’ he added.

Phoenix-area pastors address racism, what’s happening in our country – AZFamily

Posted on June 1, 2020April 15, 2021 by The Community Armor Project

Phoenix-area pastors address racism, what’s happening in our country – AZFamily

Some pastors are using what is going on in America to convey positive messages to their congregations and officials across the Valley.

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Churches across the Valley are addressing tough topics like racism, rallying and rioting.

“It is a hard thing to address, one, as a pastor, and two, as an African American man, and three, as an African American man with African American sons,” said Andre Miller, a pastor at New Beginnings Christian Church in Mesa.

Pastor Andre Miller of New Beginnings Christian Church in Mesa — 3TV/CBS 5

Miller said although it’s a trying time, it’s a time that can be a catalyst for change.

“We trust God as a believer, but then we also take practical steps to get in the places where our voices are heard, where we can effectively move forward with policy changes that are beneficial not just to African Americans but beneficial to everyone,” said Miller.

Officers join in peaceful protest demonstrations in downtown Phoenix

A small number of protesters were outside of the Phoenix Police Headquarters around 5 p.m., hours before the curfew at 8 p.m.

He said it’s important to remember we’re all human.

“When you look at protesting and what happened with Martin Luther King, he ended up having sit-downs with people who were in power, Lyndon Johnson, to effectively move forth the Civil Rights Movement,” said Miller.

Miller said he’s having conversations with police chiefs across the Valley, opening up a dialogue for change.

“We have to be honest about the black experience,” said Miller. “We have to be honest about what is happening in the streets, the streets of America. We have to be honest about how people police. We have to be honest about many times the ball has been dropped in terms of egregious acts by police officers.”

In downtown Phoenix, Pastor Brian Kruckenberg changed his sermon to address what’s happening in our country.

“The scripture says that we should mourn when our brothers and sisters are mourning and that we carry each other’s burdens,” said Kruckenberg.

His church prayed Saturday night that people could protest peacefully.

“When someone is hurting, you need to listen to why they’re hurting and certainly my black brothers are hurting differently than I do in this simply because of their experience,” said Kruckenberg. “I need to learn from that.”

Bishop of DC church outraged by Trump visit: ‘I just can’t believe what my eyes have seen’

Valley church helping neighbors pay rent – ABC15 Arizona

Posted on April 21, 2020April 15, 2021 by The Community Armor Project

Valley church helping neighbors pay rent – ABC15 Arizona

MESA, AZ — A Valley church is showing the community they are there for them by handing out cash to those who need help paying their rent.

Pastor Andre Miller, with New Beginnings Christian Church in Mesa said he felt compelled to do something after hearing so many stories about people losing their jobs, and wondering how they would make ends meet.

“The need is there so we just sprang into action. I just wanted to make sure we could do something to help mitigate some of these burdens people are experiencing right now in this pandemic,” said Miller.

The church started a fundraiser to help neighbors in need. So far they have been able to help eight struggling families.

One of them was Kristen Smith, a single mother who lost her job at the bank. Smith has been tapping into her savings to pay her bills.

“My rent still needs to be paid, I still have an electric bill, my car payment, insurance needs to be paid,” said Smith.

The church helped her with $250 dollars which was enough to cover her expenses after she used some of her own money from her savings account.

Cheris Jackson is another Valley woman who is extremely grateful to get help from her pastor. “I was real worried until the pastor reached out to me. I am the type of person, I don’t like asking,” said Jackson.

Tattoo artist Beau Banks did not attend Pastor Miller’s church, yet he too got a helping hand when he reached out for help.

“I almost like came to tears, yet it was pretty moving,” said Banks, who said he would have been evicted had he not received help from the church.

Miller said the church is raising funds so they can help more families in need.

You can help them out by visiting their fundraising page here.

Valley police chiefs come together for forum on community relations.

Posted on February 28, 2020April 15, 2021 by The Community Armor Project

ABC 15 Arizona – MESA – Rather than screams, chants and protests; it was a calm, civil conversation among those who lead some East Valley police departments, and those who live in the cities they serve.

“With everything that’s happening, we gotta do it now,” said Pastor Andre Miller of New Beginnings Christian Church, who invited four East Valley police chiefs, and community members to New Beginnings Christian Church off Gilbert Road and Main Street in Mesa. “We can’t just keep kicking the can down the road or keep waiting for the next big incident or next big situation to happen.”

Full Article – https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/valley-police-chiefs-come-together-for-forum-on-community-relations