by Ayvaunn Penn, Your Black World

http://yourblackworld.com/2011/07/27/13-year-old-boy-shot-8-times-by-chicago-police/

CHICAGO — Jimmell Cannon, 13, was shot 8 times in the shoulders, hand, and leg by Chicago Police on Monday [July 26] in West Humboldt Park neighborhood. While he is at Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, his family is looking for answers. The way they saw the events unfold is not the same thing Chicago Police report.

According to NBC Chicago, “Chicago Police say a 13-year-old boy was pointing a weapon at officers when they were forced to shoot him….but the teen’s family said Jimmell Cannon wasn’t holding a gun and that his hands were up in the air when shots were fired.” Cannon’s family says that they were at a birthday party for a cousin when the shooting took place. NBC Chicago reports in more detail:

“Police said in a statement that officers were responding to reports of gunshots around 11 p.m. when they tried to talk to the teen in the 4200 Block of West Cortez. Jimmell Cannon apparently matched the description of the gunman. The Fraternal Order of Police said the boy had what appeared to be a pistol in his hand and ran away from the officers…The teen then refused orders to drop the gun, according to police, and pointed it in the direction of the officers. An officer fired, striking him. The Fraternal Order of Police said the officers handled the situation properly because a weapon was pointed at them.”

Police later discovered the weapon was just a BB gun [ed.: the family has denied the child had a BB gun]. Cannon’s father, Jimmy Porter, says that his son is in stable condition and is expected to recover. He did add, however, that his son was shot twice in the same hand, and that his hand might have the most serious injury. Cannon’s family says that he is a good kid and is not caught up in the wrong crowd. NBC Chicago reports that “Cannon is a 7th grader at Brian Piccolo Specialty School.”

Ayvaunn Penn is the founder of Your Black Poets and an award winning writer completing her degree in English and philosophy. To inquire about her freelance editing services, click here. To like Ayvaunn on Facebook, click here.

CBS 2′s Suzanne Le Mignot reported on child’s condition and state of mind:

“Cannon was recovering at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County on Tuesday, wearing a neckbrace, his ankles cuffed to the side of his bed.

Police said the restraints are necessary, even if a suspect has been sedated. It’s normal police procedure. They also disputed that the boy was shot eight times, saying only six shots were fired.

Jimmell, who was listed in stable condition, is expected to recover.

“He’s scared. Every time he wakes up, the police is sitting at the foot of his bed, not the same officer that shot him, but he’s getting the same visual, because it’s the last thing he remembers is being shot,” Kenyatta Canon said. “When he opens his eyes, he just cries.”

Police Shoot 13-Year-Old Boy, Parents Dispute BB Gun Possession

2 separate police-involved shootings overnight

Updated: Tuesday, 26 Jul 2011, 3:23 PM CDT

By Joanie Lum, FOX Chicago News

Chicago – Chicago police shot a 13-year-old boy on Monday night. Police said the teen pointed a weapon at them, but his parents are telling a different story.

The parents identified their son as Jimmel Cannon. The boy is talking and recovering at Stroger Hospital, according to his parents, but was shot 8 times, with wounds to his hands, shoulders and legs.

The shooting happened in the 1000 block of North Kedvale Avenue in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood. Police said they were called to the area at about 11 p.m. Monday to investigate shots fired. They saw the boy, who matched a description. Police said he had a weapon and refused to drop it when police told him to.

The boy’s parents, Kenyatta Cannon and Jimmy Porter, said the boy wasn’t holding anything and had his hands in the air when he was shot. They said their family was attending a birthday party at Kenyatta Cannon’s mother’s house Monday night and Jimmel’s little brother was with him when the shooting happened.

Jimmel’s parents said the boy was supervised at the time of the incident, as well.

Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden told the Sun-Times Media Wire the weapon turned out to be a BB gun but that police acted appropriately, because toy guns are often indistinguishable from the real thing and the officers feared for their lives.

There was another police shooting on the West Side around 8 p.m. Monday that left a man in critical condition.

Police said Joe Banks, Jr. ran away when they tried to talk to him near Sawyer and Ohio. Several officers chased him and said he pulled out a gun and refused to drop it. He was then shot.

No officers were injured.

On Monday, Joe Banks, Sr. said his son didn’t deserve to be shot.

“[Chicago police] are trigger happy,” he said. “My son is not a gang banger, he’s not selling drugs. He’s a plumber. We’re a decent family.”

CHICAGO POLICE ON RAMPAGE: 42 PEOPLE SHOT THIS YEAR (excerpts)

Additional information on Joe Banks shooting

Three hours earher police claim that they stopped Joe Banks, 21, and he pulled a gun, so they shot him. . . . Witnesses tell of cops swarming into the neighborhood. All of a sudden they took out after Joe, who didn’t seem to even realize that the cops were after him because he was just trotting along holding up his pants.

Witnesses say a cop coasted up on his bicycle behind Joe, pulled out a gun and shot him in the back, barely missing his heart. Cops cuffed him and jumped on his back so hard that they broke 2 of his ribs. There was no gun. The cops then beat and arrested 3 of Joe’s family for daring to yell that the police had “done wrong”!

These are not exceptions. Woodlawn, June 2011: JonRynn Avery bled to death in his own bathroom after the police chased him through the plate glass front door of his house. (Click on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/jonrynn-avery-killed-runn_n_895533.html.)

Englewood, June 2011: Flint Farmer was killed in a hail of police bullets; they claimed his cell phone was a gun. (http://www.officer.com/news/10280349/chicago-officer-fatally-shoots-man-pointing-a-cellphone-at-him.)

The Chicago police have shot 42 people this year, almost double the rate of 2010, and brutalized many more. Chicago – home of the first Black president – is gunning down Black and minority youth in the streets. Chicago – host in May 2012 of world leaders for the G8 and NATO – is gunning down Black youth in the streets. The police chief justifies this by painting the victims as thugs who “pull out guns and shoot at police officers… with wanton disregard.” This is a bold-faced lie to cover up the extreme brutality and murder of an occupying army let loose on communities of the oppressed.

Revolutionary Communist Party report: click on http://bit.ly/ppluUa.