Shooting and Protest
A University of Florida student from the African country of Ghana, Kofi Adu-Brempong, allegedly 'psychotic' for a year or so, was shot in the face by a police officer last Wednesday here in Gainesville, Florida. In the hospital, Kofi's condition was recently upgraded from critical to serious. Kofi was said to have had polio as a child, and moved around with the aid of a cane. Charges of police brutality have been leveled against the officers involved in the shooting and arrest. A press conference was held about this shooting Saturday, and a protest has been planned a couple of weeks from now. MindFreedom Florida members will, of course, be marching with the other marchers. I'm posting an Associated Press bit on the matter that appeared in the Miami Herald.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/05/1514687/report-officers-shot-student-swinging.html
Report: Officers shot student swinging metal rod
The Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A police report says officers shot at a University of Florida doctoral student as he swung a metal rod at one of them during a confrontation at a campus family housing building.
The arrest report filed Friday charges 35-year-old Kofi Adu-Brempong with one count of aggravated assault on an officer and one count of resisting an officer with violence. A judge had rejected the charges earlier this week, saying the accompanying report didn't provide probable cause for the arrest.
Adu-Brempong remains in serious condition at a hospital.
Police said he barricaded himself inside an apartment in the building on Tuesday night. Two shots were fired during the altercation, which police say occurred after they unsuccessfully tried to peacefully subdue the man.
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Supporters of Kofi Adu-Brempong have created a facebook page.