I sat in on Britney Spears's new testimony today – more disturbing allegations + emotional pleas from the singer to end the conservatorship and remove her father.
“I’m here to get rid of my dad + charge him with conservatorship abuse ... I was always extremely scared of my dad."
She alleged that her hair vitamins and coffee were taken away from her “Ma’am, that’s not abuse, that’s just fucking cruelty. Excuse my language but it’s the truth.”
She added: “They were always trying to make me feel like I’m crazy, which I’m not.”
She alleged that her hair vitamins and coffee were taken away from her: “Ma’am, that’s not abuse, that’s just fucking cruelty. Excuse my language but it’s the truth.”
She added: “They were always trying to make me feel like I’m crazy, which I’m not.”
She reiterated that she was forced to take medications against her will, saying, “I think they were trying to kill me.”
She said she did not want to face another evaluation, saying she had been misled in the past. “I’m not willing to sit with anyone to be evaluated.”
She alleged that her father took away her driver’s license for eight months and she got most emotional, breaking down, when she recounted his intense control over her, saying he controlled her travels.
“My dad needs to be removed today.”
She again talked about her concerns with her healthcare, at one point saying, “I did not want to give blood or be on lithium.” She said again she was forced to work and perform against her will, adding, “I was threatened … there should be no threats to me at all”
“I want to press charges for abuse,” she said of her father, adding that she wanted a restraining order.
She was allowed to bring on a new lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, who questioned why a permanent conservatorship had been put in place back in 2008 and saying his law firm would be investigating.
Rosengart, Britney’s new lawyer: “There’s a real question as to why Mr Spears does not voluntarily step aside today? Today. Does anybody really believe that Mr Spears’ involvement in the case is in the best interest of Ms Spears? If he loves his daughter, it’s time to step aside”
Vivian Thoreen, Jamie Spears’ lawyer, said he has been there for her 24-7 since day one, and “he only wants the best for her.” She also suggested that Britney’s claims were untrue and should be investigated: “Many of her characterizations or memories are just incorrect.”
NEW INVESTIGATION: a California prison sergeant sexually abused an incarcerated woman for months, then harassed/stalked her for yrs after her release, records show.
(content warning for this thread: prison abuse, sexual assault, stalking)
Nilda’s ordeal began 2016 at CCWF, CA's largest women's prison. Then 33, she'd spent nearly half her life inside + was nearing a parole hearing, her 1st opportunity to plead for freedom. Her cellmate had become abusive/violent. She was desperate for a bed move + to avoid trouble.
NEW: Video reveals San Bernardino sheriffs fatally shot Savannah Graziano, 15, a reported kidnapping victim, while she was unarmed + following deputies instructions to move to them.
They continued shooting even after one officer said "Stop shooting her"
San Bernardino has refused to release video of the killing of the teenage girl since 2022, but @joeyneverjoe filed records requests + pushed for their release + shared the footage with @guardian
The video + audio evidence shows how the sheriff initially spread misleading claims.
@joeyneverjoe @guardian CJ Wyatt, Savannah’s uncle, told me: “There needs to be better training so that unarmed people aren’t killed. Hopefully this video can be used for training – something has to be done differently. She didn’t have to die.”
“There are great questions as to whether it was appropriate to use deadly force against a 15-yr-old autistic kid having an episode. We need to see the video and the moment of the shooting … but it doesn’t seem like anyone was in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury.”
The family called 911 while Ryan was in crisis, reporting he'd attacked a family member + was breaking things. The woman told dispatcher: "He said he’s going to run away and then he came back to the house.” She reported that he had a piece of glass but didn't mention any weapons.
There's a clear pattern: Cops instantly escalate an encounter w/ person in mental distress, fail to communicate, rush to shoot + then continue to blame the victim after learning they were unarmed.
Jason Maccani had a fork, but LAPD first reported it as man “armed with a stick.”
Jason Maccani's brother Mike told me: “LAPD's story keeps changing, and the details get more frustrating and sad, but it doesn’t change the end result. That’s what hurts the most. Jason was experiencing a mental health crisis and he was killed in his moment of greatest need.”
NEW: There's been a 300% surge in deaths of unhoused people in Los Angeles amid worsening fentanyl + housing crises.
@craftworksxyz + I obtained 10 yrs of autopsy data, revealing 2,000+ deaths last yr. Hear from folks on the street about the rising toll➡️theguardian.com/us-news/2024/f…
@craftworksxyz From 2014-2023, 11,573 unhoused people died in LA County, with steadily rising death tolls every yr, according to medical examiner autopsies. It's a significant undercount as the ME does not track all deaths. Health officials estimate there are 20% more deaths not captured by ME.
@craftworksxyz Last yr, 2,033 unhoused people died in LA, a staggering 291% jump from the 519 cases the medical examiner recorded in 2014 + an 8% increase from the 1,883 fatalities in 2022.
The data suggests the crisis is so severe that roughly six unhoused people die every day in Los Angeles.
Police in the US killed more people in 2023 than any year in the last decade:
•At least 1,232 killed, 3+ a day
•445 victims were fleeing police
•rise in killings by sheriffs + in rural areas
•Black people killed at rate 2.6x higher than white ppl
Data via Mapping Police Violence's @samswey, who notes: “The majority of cases have not originated from reported violent crimes. The police are routinely called into situations where there was no violence until police arrived and the situation escalated."
@samswey 139 killings (11%) involved claims person was seen w/ weapon; 107 (9%) began as traffic stops; 100 (8%) were mental health checks; 79 (6%) were domestic disturbances; 73 (6%) were no offenses alleged; 265 (22%) involved other alleged nonviolent offenses.