The Final Call

Another death and call for a federal probe

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(FinalCall.com) - The loss of a child can be devastating and when the death is seen as unjust the loss is so much more painful, said Craig Stingley of West Allis, Wisc. “It shakes the core of everything you ever believed; there is anger, resentment that causes you to lose your faith in the system that is to protect you and give you justice,” he said.

The father of four lost his youngest child, Corey Stingley, 16, on Dec. 29, 2012 and was deeply upset by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s failure to pursue charges in the case.

District Attorney John T. Chisholm announced in January that “the State does not feel that it can meet the burden of proof” that three White men were aware that in restraining young Corey it would cause his death or “great bodily harm.”

“I have no faith in the legal system in this country, hope feds will do the right thing,” Mr. Stingley said. The hurting father has contacted the Justice Department and said he received a letter from the U.S. Attorney General’s office saying there would be investigation into possible civil rights or hate crime violations.

A Justice Dept. acknowledged Mr. Stingley’s request but would not say if the department would launch an investigation when contacted by The Final Call.

Corey Stingley was in a West Allis convenience store Dec. 14, 2012 when a store clerk accused him of trying to steal bottles of liquor. The three men, none of whom were law enforcement officials, reportedly restrained the teen for police, according to the district attorney.

During a January press conference, Mr. Stingley showed a video from the store where the young man was clearly placed in a choke hold.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s report, which was included in the District Attorney’s report obtained by The Final Call, says: “Corey Stingley died from Anoxie Encephalopathy (lack of oxygen), asphyxia, and physical restraint. There were petechial hemorrhages to indicate lack of oxygen, and a small contusion to the neck.”

The District Attorney’s report continued: “Corey Stingley was transported to Froedtert Memorial Hospital where he became a pulseless non-breather and had a brain injury from being deprived of oxygen.”

Student Minister William Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 3 in Milwaukee, speaking at a recent press conference, said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan often refers to “justice as a principle that never sleeps. It goes to bed with you and wakes up with you.”

“There is anger in the community,” Mr. Muhammad told The Final Call. People want to know why the district attorney is protecting these three White men, he said.

“We have had several rallies,” Mr. Stingley said. “There is support from Blacks and Whites in West Allis.”

The U.S. Census Bureau, reports that West Alli, Wisc., a suburb of Milwaukee has a population of 60,441, Whites comprise 86 percent, Latinos 9.6 percent and Blacks 3.6 percent. “We have lived here for eight years, and Corey, a football running back at the local high school, went to that same store at least 100 times, because we live just two blocks from there,” Mr. Stingley said.

Those men had no legitimate reason for putting their hands on Corey, he added.

“Min. Farrakhan outlines for us how we are being portrayed in the news on a daily basis. In Milwaukee the news shows always lead with a story of robbery, portraying Blacks negatively,” said Mr. Muhammad. A Milwaukee newspaper wrote Corey “attempted to steal alcoholic beverages, never saying allegedly,” he said.

Khalil Coleman, 27, a Milwaukee youth activist and member of Occupy the Hood, said there is no justice for Black males in Milwaukee. Black youth are criminalized, those three White men saw Corey as an animal, he said.

“We are still smarting from the same District Attorney refusing to indict the three White cops that had Derek Williams handcuffed in the back of their squad car in July 2011. He didn’t rule on that until June 2013,” Mr. Coleman said. “Look at the video, you can hear Derek Williams telling the officers he couldn’t breathe; and the reason for his arrest was that he was suspected in a robbery. Yet he had no prior record.”

“We will keep marching until we get justice for Corey,” vowed Mr. Stingley.