Appeals court upholds Cleveland mayoral candidate Eric Brewer's 2016 misdemeanor convictions, though police had neither reasonable suspicion nor probable cause to pull over his car and search it, and seemingly racist and unfair municipal and appellate judges that heard the matter are allowing cops to do as they please to Black people....Blacks are 4 to 6 times more likely to be stopped by police than their White counterparts via racial profiling....Brewer, who is not disqualified from running for mayor, has 45 days from the decision to ask the Ohio Supreme Court to hear the case....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com, Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, and Imperialwomencoalition.com, Ohio's Black digital news leaders
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| Cleveland mayoral candidate Eric Brewer |
CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM-BOSTON HEIGHTS, Ohio- Cleveland mayoral candidate Eric Brewer, dressed as a woman and claiming his name was “Erica,” was arrested 22 months ago for alleged marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license, though data suggest that the cop at issue had neither reasonable suspicion nor probable cause to pull his car over that day in October 2015.
Last week Brewer's misdemeanor convictions were upheld by the 9th District Court of Appeals in Summit County in a unanimous decision, an indication, said sources, that police can do whatever they want to Black people and their actions are upheld by seemingly unfair and racist judges at every level.
Studies show that nationwide Blacks are four to six times more likely to be stopped by police than their White counterparts.
The former East Cleveland mayor and outspoken Black journalist is among eight candidates challenging Mayor Frank Jackson in this year's election for Cleveland mayor.
The outcome of the case has no bearing on his mayoral aspirations since the case involved misdemeanor convictions.
Boston Heights is a village of Summit County and is 32 miles south of Cleveland, a city of Cuyahoga County, the state's second largest of 88 counties.
Its 1,300 residents are overwhelmingly White and the village has a median household income of some $98,000.
Brewer acted as his own lawyer in the case, including on appeal, and argued a lack of probable cause or reasonable suspicion for police to even pull his car over.
The controversial Brewer, who began his writing career at the Call and Post Newspaper and once published his own newspaper, the Challenger, and edited the now defunct Cleveland Life newspaper, was found guilty in Stow Municipal Court of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license by Judge Lisa Coates in March 2016. He was fined $1526.
The controversial Brewer, who began his writing career at the Call and Post Newspaper and once published his own newspaper, the Challenger, and edited the now defunct Cleveland Life newspaper, was found guilty in Stow Municipal Court of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license by Judge Lisa Coates in March 2016. He was fined $1526.
Police stopped Brewer’s black Mercedes on state Route 8 at about 1 a.m. on Oct 23,. 2015 after checking a law enforcement data base, data show. And after arresting Brewer and towing the car police say they found the marijuana and paraphernalia, a coincidence, they say.
The mayoral candidate was driving with a a suspended license, police said, though that is not a legal basis for pulling his car over since anybody could have been driving and Brewer had not broken any laws that police witnessed. And how police managed to search his car without his consent or even a claim of alcohol or other substance abuse impairment, raises a claim of a possible unlawful search and seizure under the 4th amendment, among other illegalities, case law suggests.
“I go by the name Erica,” Brewer, 63, initially said when he was pulled over, a dash cam video of the incident reveals.
He eventually gave his name, police said.
He eventually gave his name, police said.
Public records also reveal that he was wearing a black and white dress, a wig, high heels and makeup, another indication that he may have been the subject of racial profiling, and harassment.
Photos of Brewer dressed as a woman made national news in 2009 when he was mayor of East Cleveland, a majority Black and impoverished Cleveland suburb.
He lost his re-election bid that year to Gary Norton, whom East Cleveland voters recalled last year.
Brewer was cited in 2013 for driving with a suspended license after Akron police stopped him. He paid a fine in that case and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenews
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