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4 The Courier sun • APRIL 28, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Man gets shot four times during a dispute in Woodhaven By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@qns.com @robbpoz Police continue to investigate the shooting of a 27-yearold man in Woodhaven early in the morning of April 24. According to authorities, the man was shot four times about his body following a dispute in the vicinity of 90th Street and 88th Avenue at 4:17 a.m. on April 24. Law enforcement sources said the man got into a dispute with an unidentified male, who then shot him in the stomach, knees and buttocks before fleeing. Officers from the 102nd Precinct and EMS units responded to the scene. The victim was brought to a local hospital for treatment of injuries not considered to be lifethreatening. A source familiar with the investigation said the victim Police officers are on the scene of a shooting in Woodhaven. was being uncooperative with detectives in providing information about the incident. The victim was observed on the ground writhing in pain, with a man standing next to him and a male and female standing next to a dark-colored sedan nearby. Within seconds, the man standing next to the victim picked him up and ran northbound Photo by Robert Stridiron on 90th Street, while the male and female fled southbound on the street, sources said on Monday. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800- 577-TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential. South Ozone Park community wants special prosecutor to probe police-involved shooting By Alan Burton editorial@qns.com/@QueensCourier Less than a week after a man was fatally shot by police following a pursuit in South Ozone Park, the man’s family and a local lawmaker called for a special prosecutor to investigate the incident. State Senator James Sanders joined with family and friends of George Tillman, who was gunned down by NYPD officers in South Ozone Park on April 17, at St. Clement Pope Church on Thursday night for a meeting focused on the deadly incident. Attendees sought to determine what would be the best course of action in pursuing a special prosecutor to investigate the case and expressed demands for increased transparency and accountability within the NYPD. Civic leaders and Sanders called for an external oversight board to replace the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau, which currently investigates matters of police misconduct. Also in attendance as a show of solidarity and support for the Tillman family was Nicole Paultre Bell, whose fiance Sean Bell was also killed by NYPD as he sat in his car in 2006. A.U. Hogan, associate director of StudentsFirstNY and president of Baisley Houses, asked the audience to consider “how is it that one of the neighborhoods with the least crime has the most police contact,” in reference to the high occurrence of negative police encounters Photo courtesy of state Senator State Senator James Sanders addressed residents at a special meeting in Jamaica. in the South Ozone Park neighborhood where Tillman died. Hogan went on to say that in neighboring Jamaica, where more police officers are needed, they are nowhere to be found. The subject of when to release footage of the shooting was also heavily discussed during the meeting. Tillman’s cousin Helen Leek expressed that too often cases of police brutality lose momentum after footage of an incident is released prematurely. “We’re waiting for the right people to release the footage to,” Sanders said. “I’m asking that people hold their footage until we figure out whether the case will go to the attorney general or the Queens district attorney.” Along with discussing a plan for securing a special prosecutor, the Tillman family also shared with each other fond memories of Tillman. Anthony Tillman Sr., his uncle, said that “George was born in Jamaica and was raised to be a fine young man and a Christian. “He would come from Maryland to my home here to talk about God with me,” Anthony Tillman Sr. continued. “The people have lost a valued member of the community.” The family also collectively disputed James Sanders the NYPD’s narrative, citing that Tillman had no motivation to engage the pursuing officers in a shootout as he was a licensed electrician with no prior record who was active in the life of his five children and was only being accosted by the officers for an open container in the first place. Sanders publicly thanked Governor Andrew Cuomo for his quick action in submitting the case to the Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Bell further urged the audience to stay united in seeking reform. “We need real change, and that means getting an indictment,” she said. Special ceremony at Jamaica Hospital honors organ donors By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed A special flag-raising ceremony at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on April 20 honored organ donors who helped give new life to others while also encouraging more people to consider donating. The event, which took place outside of the Jamaica Hospital emergency room entrance, commemorated National Donate Life Month and urged Queens residents to register for the New York State Donor Registry. One organ donor’s mother, Margaret Valsechi, shared a heartfelt story about her 26-year-old son Steven, who had accidentally fallen to his death from his apartment balcony in Ireland. “When Steven passed, we were asked about organ donation and we agreed to it because it was the final gift that we could give Steven, in agreeing to what he wanted to do and while I sat with him and I held his hand, I thought about other family members in other hospitals, holding their loved one’s hand, hoping and praying for a lifesaving transplant,” Valsechi said. “On the days that I don’t want to get out of bed and cope because my child is dead, I look at those babies framed picture of a recipient’s children and I look at him Steven’s photograph and I know that my son did an amazing thing, so it helps,” she told QNS. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz raised the flag in honor of National Donate Life Month and presented a proclamation alongside distinguished individuals such as Bill Lynch, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Jamaica Hospital and board member of LiveOnNY, an organization dedicated to promoting organ donation citywide. Also participating were Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman and Jeffrey Lewis, LiveOnNY clinical services director. “These flag-raising ceremonies are really a testament to the community and the hospital’s commitment to organ and tissue donation,” Lewis said. “I don’t know if everybody realizes but there’s currently over 100,00 people waiting for organ transplants right now … so organ donation is a good thing, it’s a helpful thing and people waiting, those in need, aren’t going to find an answer to their problem without us.” “Today, as you’re all standing here … let’s think about the sacrifice that they made in terms of making somebody else alive. Let’s think of the courage of our people that basically go up and talk to a family that’s on the distress about thinking about organ donation and more importantly, let’s try to challenge out there. Every one of you, you have the opportunity to make a big difference,” Lynch said. QNS Photo (Left to right) Alicia Hyndman, New York State Assemblywoman of District 29, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Bill Lynch, Executive Vice THE COURIER/Photo by Brianna Ellis Organ donor mother Margaret Valsechi.


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