Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 21 August 1997 — Page 4

The Muncie Times, August 21,1997, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF

Sen. Braun gets $400,000 for Drug Night Court

First AME Zion in Los Angeles damaged by fire

U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D111) has announced a $400,000 award from the U.S. Justice Department to the Cook County courts, which include Chicago, to be used to add a drug court unit to existing night courts. According to the senator, establishing drug courts will help get users off drugs and help cut down on

the number of drug related crimes. Some of the money will be used for drug treatment for non-violent offenders who come through the courts, officials said. Moseley-Braun said the nation’s first drug court, in Miami, had led to 33 percent drop in rearrests for those who have been through it.

LOS ANGELES—First African American Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Los Angeles, suffered $600,000 in fire damage. It took 45 minutes and 105 firefighters to put the blaze out. The Rev. Windle Tucker, pastor of the church, said the sanctuary was severely damaged and services would

not be able to be held at the church. The fire is under investigation by the FBI and the city arson team. Since 1996 several churches, mainly in the southern region, have been intentionally damaged by fire. Tucker says he hopes that is not the case for First AME Zion.

Activist in court after clash with police

Black Police Chief looses job over evidence

NEW YORK, N.Y.—A veteran New York community activist and the member of the Black Panther Party is charging brutality in court, after he said he was attacked by several police officers last September. Shep McDaniel said he was assaulted by the officers after he intervened in a discussion between them and two black women in a Bronx street. McDaniel said he was accosted by a police officer, attempting to get a

notepad on which he had written down the numbers of nearby police cars. A scuffle followed and three other officers pounced on him, McDaniel said, pinning him to the sidewalk and beating him with their nightsticks. The lead officer in the assault, Sgt. James Caban, has been suspended on charges of grand larceny, unlawful imprisonment and police misconduct, after he was secretly videotaped by another victim, this past June.

Police Chief Gerald McCauley of Arcadia, Ok., resigned after admitting he took evidence, marijuana seized in an arrest and used it to replace lost evidence in another case. McCauley entered a guilty plea before the county district attorney who allowed McCauley to surrender after the prosecutors filed charges against him. McCauley was given a 6-month

suspended sentence. He said the marijuana from the first rase was either flushed or thrown away in the woods. McCauley could have been charged with a felony but was not. Prosecutors say their objective was to get McCauley out of office and make sure he is prevented from ever being a police officer again.

MANY FACES OF FATHERHOOD Challenges and Joys Delaware County Conference on Fatherhood Sponsored by: The Family Development Committee of TEAM work for Quality Living and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies of Delaware County Wednesday, September 24,1997 — Horizon Center • Muncie, Indiana Fathers will understand the unique role they play in the development of their children’s potential self-esteem, self-worth, and self-discipline. THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER: WADE HORN, Director of the National Fatherhood Initiative, Lancaster, PA. For further information and to receive a brochure, please contact Krista Bartlett, School of Continuing Education, 285-5679.