1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Content warning. This podcast discusses violence, murder, suicide, civil unrest, 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: aggressive policing, racism, and lynching. If you or anyone you 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: know is considering suicide or self harm, or just need 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: to talk about problems, please call the National Suicide Prevention 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: Lifeline at one eight hundred two seventy three eight two 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: five five, or text the Crisis text line at seven 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: four one seven four one. It was October sixteenth, two 8 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: thousand eighteen. Then I decided to lay down in despare bedroom. 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: Danie was in the kitchen having a discussion with his 10 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: uncle Danny. I ended up having a crazy dream about 11 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: a anther and the panther was pulling on my hand, 12 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: holding on my hand and arms, and we were trying 13 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: to hold each other. And I woke up to my 14 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,559 Speaker 1: arm and hands throbbing, and it hurt it so bad. 15 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: And the dream, the dream, it's get it alarmed me. 16 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: It scared me so bad that I decided to call 17 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: my husband, Derek at work. He finally walked in the door, 18 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: which was probably thirty to forty minutes later. When he 19 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: comes in, he notices the lights are on in the basement. 20 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: I'm the type of mother where I'm very specific about 21 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: leaving the power on because I know that it runs 22 00:01:54,160 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: the build up. Knowing that it was I that the 23 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: lights were still on in the basement. Derek, he yells 24 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: down for Danyae and there was no answer, and he says, 25 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: Danyae is not down there. So I'm like what. I 26 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: run downstairs myself and I didn't see Danyae, but I 27 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: saw the brick by his sleeping area, and so I 28 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: get alarm, like was this brick? And I run up 29 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: the steps to see if danye was outside something. And 30 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: I opened up the porch door and something tells me 31 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: to just look around. My attention was drawn over to 32 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: the left side of the yard and I see my 33 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: chair on the ground and I start walking slowly. Uh, 34 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: and I something was there was a light. It must 35 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: have been the sunshining down just rising and I see, uh, 36 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: some legs. Did she think? What was wrong at all? 37 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: A baby? And men? Damn? Hello? Keep coming with going 38 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: on like you didn't get work with? Okay, hold the person? 39 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: You all right? I can't go get dny B. I 40 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: can't see him treating in the backyard. Oh can't you hate? 41 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: Good place? Got the ambulan? Yeah, just don't look like 42 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 1: other things. The guy have to want the boy to okay, 43 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: I'll listen to its meaning, can go down. We'll move 44 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: him down now some minute, work down like this, we 45 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: like put up right. Hello, may court, you want to 46 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: come in the shape just to go there and now 47 00:04:48,120 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: not how to do more? You looking? What you're looking 48 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: at is the aftermath of the grand jury deciding not 49 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: to indict Officer Wilson. A young man found hanging from 50 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: a tree in October. His mom believes someone murdered her 51 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: son targeting him. Danye became an activist in the wake 52 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: of the shooting death of Michael Brown by a white 53 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: police officer. That's why Melissa mckinn is wants St. Louis 54 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: County police to dig deeper to her son's death. He 55 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:45,920 Speaker 1: was not suicidal. This is after the uprising, the death 56 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: of Donye Dion Jones, And in my head, I was 57 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 1: just trying to figure out, why would he do this? 58 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: It made no sense. Why would he do this? As 59 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: if he would answer or somebody would answer, you know, 60 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: But for the life of me, I just couldnot figure 61 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: out how my son, who I had just seen before 62 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: I went to sleep, that was in good spirits, that 63 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: was so excited about going somewhere, and how can he 64 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: go from that to hanging from a tree in the 65 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: backyard for me to find him like that. I was lost. 66 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: My brother and Derek especially was like it didn't even 67 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: look right. It was suspect. She was telling us to 68 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: cut it down. With some of that time period I 69 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: was taken, I was trying to find the flash on 70 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: the phone, the flashlight because it was in the dark. 71 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: I took like seven pictures. So that's why that's why 72 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: I hesitated someone. I'm like, we're more done to show you. 73 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: Anything else is like that that can happen after then, 74 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, It didn't look right. You know, 75 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: everything that didn't look right, so you know, he said, 76 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: let's take pictures, and they can't undo pictures. You know 77 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: everything that was that was there a shorts down is 78 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: you know that the sheet and everything. As I looked 79 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: out the window, the back window to see what they 80 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: were doing to my side, I do remember looking looking 81 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: back there and they pull me away from the police 82 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,119 Speaker 1: pulled me away from the window, and so I started 83 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: looking out the front and I see the detective which 84 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: was the lead detective in the case, and I remember 85 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: him because he had the black eye. He was laughing 86 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: and it irritated me. It Aaron irritated me so badly 87 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: that I asked the officers that were inside it was. 88 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: It was a black female officer and a black male officer. Um, 89 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: I said, is this what you guys? Do you find 90 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: this funny? You think that this is cool to be 91 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: laughing at the scene while my son is out there 92 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: laying dead. I ran to the back window again and 93 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 1: I saw some officers laughing again, but by this time 94 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: the black officer the female officer grabbed me and they 95 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,079 Speaker 1: had me sit on the couch. They said that I 96 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: couldn't look back there, and I said, I didn't understand 97 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: why you remember that anything that struck you about being 98 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,679 Speaker 1: be detected with the black eye, very nonchalant, almost as 99 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: if he wanted to harry up and get through this, 100 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: like he did not care. Yeah, it was more like 101 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: we were wasting his time, like he had somewhere to be, 102 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: almost as if my son wasn't dead. Did you get 103 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: the impression that you knew who you were? Yes, And 104 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: the reason why is because he was nasty. He was 105 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 1: nasty more towards me than anybody it And and the 106 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: crazy part is right after seeing me out in the 107 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: front on the porch screaming and punching and fighting, he 108 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,559 Speaker 1: was laughing. He as soon as I went to the else, 109 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: he's he's laughing. It was almost as if he couldn't stop. 110 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: My neighbor saw, my family saw. It was almost like 111 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: a taunting because you can kind of like find something 112 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: funny one moment and uh it came out, but to 113 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: continue to do it one that it affected me. It 114 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: made us have to really look into who was this detective. 115 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:14,839 Speaker 1: So it's just a boisterous laugh. Yeah, yes, I just 116 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,319 Speaker 1: remember being I was crying in and out. I was 117 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: out of it. But I do remember seeing the lead 118 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: detective him the card over to whoever was sitting next 119 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: to me, which was my husban Darry. I remember him 120 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: saying that it is what it looks like, it's going 121 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: to be a suicide from us, and I'm like, I 122 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: don't understand, Like why I don't understand? And um, he said, 123 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: can you think of anything that why he would probably do? 124 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: And I'm like, I'm trying to think what would be 125 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:58,480 Speaker 1: this serious for him to to end it? And not 126 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,440 Speaker 1: just ended, but to do it so that I can 127 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: find him out there like that. And that's when I'm like, no, 128 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 1: not not protective, over protective, Danya. He would not do it, 129 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,199 Speaker 1: especially so that I would find him. But why do 130 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: it anyway when everything that he had going on? Why 131 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 1: would you do it? And I remember continuing to say that, 132 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: and I said, because his his business. He was downstairs 133 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: just doing um the Google search that I watched him. 134 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: I saw him looking at his phone at a video 135 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 1: about his business. He had just started his business. He 136 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: was so excited and they said, could have failed. I said, 137 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: he was sitting down there. He was excited. He was 138 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: talking to my brother. So he said, what was the 139 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 1: last conversation? I said, I remember him asking me to 140 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: watch his clothes because as he had somewhere to go, 141 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: and he was rushing me, and he seemed so excited 142 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,599 Speaker 1: about going somewhere, and I told him, don't rush me. 143 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: I'll get it. I'll watch it. And so I remember 144 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: coming to the steps and when I saw him watching 145 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,199 Speaker 1: the video, I said, I'm proud of you, dude, and 146 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: he said he shook his head and started looking back 147 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: at the video. That was the last time I saw him, 148 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: But the last time I saw him, I was proud. 149 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:39,079 Speaker 1: I was proud of if clothes were clean, he was 150 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:53,199 Speaker 1: ready to go. He was not suicidal, and that's why 151 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: Melissa mckenneths wants St. Louis County police to dig deeper 152 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,839 Speaker 1: into her son's death. On October seventeenth, and she found 153 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: any hanging from this tree in their backyard with bruises 154 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: on his face. McKenna says the two year old wasn't 155 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: depressed and was starting to real estate business. She believes 156 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: there's more to this story. McKennis, a prominent Ferguson activists, 157 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,599 Speaker 1: told me she thinks her family is being targeted. In 158 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: the last two months. She says they've been getting death 159 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: threats through social media. The St. Louis County Cordner says 160 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: Danye's autopsy won't be ready for weeks and they will 161 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: not give news for any preliminary reports. St. Louis County 162 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: Police told us for now this remains a suicide investigation. 163 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: Both the family and police did say there was a 164 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: chair near his body. However, family members told me the 165 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: sheets used to hang him did not come from their 166 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: house and then not used to tie the sheets were advanced, 167 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: so they don't believe dan Ye would have been capable 168 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 1: of making Eleven days after his death, with Danye now 169 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: laid to rest, Melissa made a tough decision. She posted 170 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: to do her Facebook page the photograph her brother Daniel 171 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,319 Speaker 1: had taken of Danye hanging from the tree. She captioned it, 172 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: they lynched my baby. The post went viral, which spurred 173 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,560 Speaker 1: a few local news outlets to interview Melissa at her home, 174 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 1: but most concluded that they would await the Medical Examiner's 175 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 1: office and their final report on the matter. Knowing how 176 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 1: the medical examiner was likely to find, Melissa felt she 177 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: had to get out in front of it. The mother 178 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: of Danie Jones how the press conference yesterday, hoping police 179 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: would dig further into the death of her son. Police 180 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 1: originally ruled his death a suicide, but his mother's insisting 181 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: that her son did not take his own life. Instead, 182 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: she says he was murdered. A mother knows her son, 183 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: A mother knows her child. Danye Dione Jones would not 184 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: do that. Danye Diana Jones, full of energy, spunky, just 185 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: full of spunk, had a lot a lot to little 186 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: fore and you knew it. One by one. Danie's family 187 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: members stepped up to the microphone. First, his stepfather Derek. 188 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: One thing I know, he would never Dunythine moved close. 189 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: His uncle Daniel, Oh yeah, Jones, and my niece and 190 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: my other nephews. Very closest thing I have to my 191 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: own children, because I don't have any children. He had vision, 192 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: he had plans, vision to do the wholesale real estate. 193 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: They've been properties, his sister, Militia Na. We've been together 194 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: for his whole life, his whole like, and he loved us, 195 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: and he wouldn't go out that way. Melissa made sure 196 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: to lay out what she saw as contradictions to the 197 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: suicide hypothesis that was being put out by the police. 198 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 1: The data. It happened, he had enough on his face, 199 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: His wrists had invitations on him. Okay, his pants were 200 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: rolled down, not pooped down. They were rolled down. They 201 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: weren't scrubs. Weren't scrubs, they were pants. The knots and 202 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: the sheets that did not come from our home. We're 203 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: navy knots. My son was not in any military, not 204 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: a boy Scott, none of that. Finally, Melissa tried to 205 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: make it clear that they knew Danyae as only family could. 206 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: We're not a denial. We just know Danyelle. He was 207 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: with us. He was goofy with us. If you ever 208 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: saw him anything different than goofy's because he would not 209 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: open up to you and show his goofie side. But 210 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: my son was silly. He was silly, he was happy. 211 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: I know my son. To understand the story of Melissa 212 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,400 Speaker 1: and Donya, we have to go back a little over 213 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: four years. On August nine, Mike Brown Jr. Was shot 214 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Witnesses said 215 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,159 Speaker 1: that Mike Brown's last words were hands up, don't shoot. 216 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,359 Speaker 1: The killing sparked an uprising in Ferguson in the wider 217 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: North St. Louis County area, with the predominantly black residents 218 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:47,480 Speaker 1: demanding justice. When later that year, a grand jury refused 219 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,360 Speaker 1: to indict officer Wilson, again, people took to the streets. 220 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: What you're looking at is the aftermath of the grand 221 00:17:55,800 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: jury deciding not to indict officer Wilson, or a love 222 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: play a symbol. You need to disperse immediately or you 223 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: will be subject to arrest. Do it now. Oh, this 224 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: uprising and Ferguson was arguably where the wider Black Lives 225 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: Matter movement was born, and Melissa was right there from 226 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: day one. She was eating lunch with her younger son, Javan, 227 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 1: when they heard the news that Mike Brown had been killed, 228 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: and they rushed to Canfield Green apartments where a crowd 229 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: was gathering. And I sped over there as if it 230 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: was one of my children, and there Mike Brown was 231 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: laying on the ground, and I just looked at him 232 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: and my eyes started tearing up because I started thinking 233 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: about Danyee and Givonne, you know, and I was like, 234 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: I couldn't imagine. Melissa came out to the site of 235 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: the protests and Ferguson day after day after day. She 236 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: dedicated herself to activism, demanding police accountability for the killing 237 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: of young black men, and by when protests erupted, demanding 238 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 1: that officer Jason Stockley beheld accountable for his killing of 239 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: Anthony Lamar Smith. Melissa had a lot of experience under 240 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 1: her belt, and she was seen as one of the 241 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 1: many rising leaders in the movement. Here she is during 242 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: the Jason Stockley protests, at the head of a rally 243 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 1: of what looks to be hundreds, if not thousands of people. 244 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: The crowd is motionless, waiting to begin their march while 245 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 1: Melissa amps them up over her bullhorn. Are you ready? 246 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:07,160 Speaker 1: Melissa organized the shutdowns for the Jason Stock League case. 247 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 1: The real bit when that we did was downtown. It 248 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 1: was roughly around five thousand people and it was huge. 249 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,640 Speaker 1: Melissa and her fellow activists were intentionally trying to cause 250 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: financial strain to the city of St. Louis, figuring it 251 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: was the only leverage they had to make city leaders 252 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: respond to their demands that would hurt them more than 253 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,160 Speaker 1: just as being out there and just chance. They don't 254 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 1: care about that. When we hit their pockets, it was 255 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,639 Speaker 1: more like the city was pissed. What did you hear 256 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: about the numbers of the economic toll um seven seventeen 257 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: or was it seventeen or twenty one million? Today were 258 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: PISTE office. So that's why I was getting the threats. 259 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,960 Speaker 1: The people of St. Louis who participated in the uprising 260 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: that began in would quickly learn that calling the police 261 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: to account was a dangerous prospect. Senate will come to order. 262 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: The center from the fourteens has requested a point a 263 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 1: personal privilege Center four teens you may pursue. Thank you, 264 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: Mr President. This morning, I woke up and I found 265 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 1: out another young man from my district um was murdered 266 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: in the same way, in the same fashion as two 267 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: or three other people who were active in Ferguson, people 268 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,440 Speaker 1: who were protesting on the streets to be heard. The 269 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:32,880 Speaker 1: people who have been murdered at this point were all 270 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: individuals who were seen in the media. That was then 271 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle Nadal on the morning of 272 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: May five, speaking into the Missouri General Assembly record about 273 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: the death of Edward Crawford Jr. Crawford became famous after 274 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: a newspaper photographer took a picture of him throwing a 275 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,399 Speaker 1: sparking tear gas canister away from a crowd of people 276 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: during the Ferguson uprising. He is a well liked father 277 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: of four, and the image of him wearing an American 278 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: flag shirt, his long braids flying behind him as he 279 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: held the fiery canister, well it became iconic. Late in 280 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: the night before the morning of Representative Chappelle Nadal's speech, 281 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: Crawford was shot in the backseat of a car and died. St. 282 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 1: Louis Metropolitan police department told NBC News that Crawford shot 283 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 1: himself in the backseat of a car while it was moving. 284 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: That's according to two female witnesses who were seated in 285 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: the front of the car. Details were few when Chapelle 286 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: Nadal spoke on the floor, but it would later become 287 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: clear that Crawford's sister was driving the car he was 288 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: in when he shot himself in the head. But Chappelle 289 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 1: Nadal's concerns were not unfounded. Another young man named DeAndre 290 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: Joshua had been found shot in the head in the 291 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: back seat of a car that someone had tried to 292 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:53,159 Speaker 1: set on fire unsuccessfully. St. Louis County Police and on 293 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: Wednesday they were investigating the death of a black man 294 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: found shot and set on fire near an area where 295 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: rioting erupted after a grand jury did not indict a 296 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: white policeman in the fatal shooting of a black teenager, 297 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: Police said the body of twenty year old Giandre Joshua 298 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: was discovered around nine am on Tuesday in a car 299 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 1: parked near the Canfield Green apartment complex in the St. 300 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: Louis suburb of Ferguson. Though DeAndre Joshua's family told the 301 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: New York Times that he never joined in the marches 302 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 1: for Mike Brown. Both DeAndre and his brother were coincidentally 303 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,439 Speaker 1: childhood friends with Dorian Johnson, who was the young man 304 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: walking with Mike Brown Jr. When he was killed. Then 305 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,120 Speaker 1: another young man was shot and killed, his body placed 306 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: in the backseat of his car that this time was 307 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 1: successfully set ablais. His name was Darren Seals, and he 308 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 1: was found murdered on September six. Seals wasn't so much 309 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 1: a protester as a budding revolutionary. Here he is in 310 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: a video that he made of himself. He's speaking about 311 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: the up and coming Black Lives Matter movement and how 312 00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: it's detracting energy away from Ferguson. Black lives a matter 313 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: of ship. It's blowing up. And if you notice as 314 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: is blowing up, You're not hearing about Mike Brown anymore. 315 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: Nothing about Dan Wilson anymore. Nothing handing about the you know, 316 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,880 Speaker 1: the Ferguson Police Department anymore. We're not hearing about none. 317 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,640 Speaker 1: It's corrupt ship about McCullen's a nixton. Not heard about 318 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: none of this ship no more. All you're hearing about 319 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,000 Speaker 1: Black Lives Matter now they took the energy away from first. 320 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: It's still nice ship. It's still nice Shoine. A lot 321 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: of cats move to jail for us to be the 322 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:33,880 Speaker 1: main topic in the media. A lot of cats restate life. 323 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,400 Speaker 1: Spook got shot in head. She could have she could 324 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: be dead right now, you know what I mean. A 325 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 1: lot of ship happened for this ship to grow into 326 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 1: what it became. There was an opportunity to really fight back. 327 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,199 Speaker 1: Then we'll make a change in Ferguson and Missouri as 328 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,639 Speaker 1: a whole. But as you see now they are on 329 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,640 Speaker 1: to the next city, then the next city, then next 330 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 1: city in the next city, being superstars off our ship 331 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:01,160 Speaker 1: we created here. Well we're saying, act still like them. 332 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: And I know the police was tasting them because they 333 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: was kicking the ass. They was never not kicking the ass. 334 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:09,879 Speaker 1: The only time she wasn't kicking the asses between the 335 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: rain drops. That's the only break she gave. This is 336 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: longtime St. Louis activist Anthony Shahid describing to us how 337 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:21,479 Speaker 1: both Melissa and Darren Seals were powerful organizers and how 338 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,480 Speaker 1: he believes this made them targets of police reprisal and 339 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: maybe worse, this was on the front line she stayed 340 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:30,960 Speaker 1: on the front line. She was never not on the 341 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,880 Speaker 1: front line. Those people, they would do anything to try 342 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: to take the stamele system, Melissa, And how can you 343 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: take the stame out in BacT And she thought of 344 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: talking about how these people heard gun shields, how the 345 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: police kept on working with them. In March of six 346 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 1: months before his death, Darren participated in a protest at 347 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 1: Donald Trump's St. Louis campaign rally. After he left, he 348 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: was pulled over by the police. Ultimately about eight or 349 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: nine police officers swarmed around his vehicle, in which Darren 350 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: was driving with his younger brother. A bystander filmed the 351 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: incident on his cell phone. So I'm out here and 352 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: I guess it's considered ferguson right off of West floor, saying, 353 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: and they got one too, three folds five police like 354 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:28,880 Speaker 1: five six maan jump out boys with the young dude over. 355 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 1: That's actually one of the focusing processes that they got. 356 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: When the police finally released Darren, he comes over and 357 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:41,199 Speaker 1: speaks with the man who filmed the incident. So we're 358 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: telling out some paperwork for my mother and she's in 359 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 1: the hospital right now. As I'm pulling off, I get 360 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,639 Speaker 1: pulled over right here. They pulled out point of guns 361 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: and they point the whole They pointed guns on me 362 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: and my in my fortune, all the brothers focusing p D. 363 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:56,640 Speaker 1: They went up to the car. They pulled them out, 364 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,200 Speaker 1: grab you by my heart, slammed me off the car, 365 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: pull me in cough first of my car illegally without 366 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: my permission. They say you should go to the Trump rally. 367 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 1: I said yeah. He said, you post them about up 368 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,159 Speaker 1: on Facebook. I said yeah, I said, what's that illegal? Now? 369 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: He said, no, that's nothing wrong with that, but you 370 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: might want you you might want to pick your enemies better. 371 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:23,399 Speaker 1: Threats were apparently common amongst Ferguson activists. So Darren Seals 372 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: was at that Trump rather as well, Yeah, he's pulled 373 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,280 Speaker 1: over leading and Trump and someone happened to film that. 374 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 1: And then he basically said that one of the cops 375 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,439 Speaker 1: told him that he better be careful who he makes say. 376 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,479 Speaker 1: And that's exactly what they said to us. You mat 377 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: be caringful. You better choose your your fights, your battles. Yeah, 378 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 1: you better choose your battles. Can be playing you play 379 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: in the daily game. Yeah, I was like whatever, Yeah, 380 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,359 Speaker 1: I remember her calling me after rallies, and she was like, says, like, 381 00:27:55,480 --> 00:28:01,200 Speaker 1: they are really like threatening me. This is Melissa's sister, Toya. 382 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,919 Speaker 1: She can recall many times in which Melissa told her 383 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: people were threatening her anonymously. Okay, so we have a 384 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,119 Speaker 1: weird thing, like we laughed at things that shouldn't be 385 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: laughed at. So of course you know I'm laughing, like, wait, 386 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: you gotta aftery And she was like, no, they're like 387 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: send me messages talking about um, I was right behind you. 388 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: You you're just that easy to get or who's saying 389 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:26,159 Speaker 1: oh oh yeah, like I would get messages like that, 390 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: And the one that really stuck out was you're not 391 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: hard to get. I was. We was right behind you 392 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: at the rally, at the march, you know. And sometimes 393 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: the threats came in more ominous ways. There's something that 394 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: we didn't even think somebody would take to do. The 395 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: voice you're hearing is that of Dante Carter. He too 396 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: was an activist in Ferguson waking up in the morning, 397 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: I don't repeatly protested. You see a wop tied up 398 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 1: like it's ready to hang with these news and and 399 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 1: it really get it. Did SOMETI that we changed to explain. 400 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: That's why we took the picture that the world that 401 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,440 Speaker 1: was going on. What Dante is describing here is that 402 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: on the morning of August thirty one, outside one of 403 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 1: the activist tent encampments on Florescent Avenue, someone had left 404 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: a news for them to find. They posted a picture 405 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: of it on Twitter. If you look at it, it's 406 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: very clearly and specifically a hangman's news tied with some 407 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: rough twine. We even heard that people on Twitter like 408 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 1: hang them niggers. So now waking up a scene and 409 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: it is nothing but police office right up there, even 410 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: before I guess, even even before the sinsident happened. So 411 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 1: we took upon ourself episode the world was going on. 412 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: I really is. We got inducted into this situation by 413 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: flat out being at war with the police. Like there's 414 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: no way to the water that one down. So we 415 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: really don't have much of a benefit of a doubt, 416 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: like you know, like like anything we say is going 417 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 1: to be confessed by mainstream society because they think we're crazy. 418 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: To you. This is tef Po. He's a rapper and 419 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: activist from St. Louis, a one time Harvard fellow who 420 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 1: today runs the Boycott Times, and he also happens to 421 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 1: be Molliss's cousin. We asked him to describe for us 422 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: what life was like in North St. Louis County for 423 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: black people. It is a known fact in St. Louis 424 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 1: that that area is notorious for fucked up police. We 425 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 1: grow up telling each other like, Yo, if you live 426 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: in the county after nine o'clock, I'm not coming to 427 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: get you at the end of the night, one o'clock, 428 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 1: two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. How many people 429 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,720 Speaker 1: we got with us, four or five of us fun 430 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,479 Speaker 1: that we're not getting somebody sleeping on somebody couch. Bro, 431 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: I'll take you home in the morning. I ain't driving 432 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 1: through the county at night. And if and if I 433 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: do drive through the county, it's gonna be two people 434 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: in my car. I'm not rolling. I'm not riding five 435 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: beat four or four or five black dudes in a 436 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: car driving through North County. Bro. We're getting pulled over periods. 437 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 1: My brother got shot on Christmas Eves in Ferguson leaving 438 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 1: my mom's crib. My brother's land there leading out on 439 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:02,959 Speaker 1: the parking lot, and he has to hear cops stepping 440 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: over him and you know, dropping in bombs, calling, you know, 441 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 1: filthy niggers. All they do is shoot each other. Uh, 442 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 1: you know, who gives the funk? If he dies. He's 443 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: sitting here gasping his for his final breaths, possibly, and 444 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: they're asking him who shot you? You know? Who shot you? 445 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,959 Speaker 1: You know? And that's just how we get treated, man, 446 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,480 Speaker 1: That's just how we get treated. Test is younger than 447 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: Melissa and older than Donya, but he did know Danya 448 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 1: and told us a bit about what he was like. 449 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 1: He wasn't really a negative person and he was always 450 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 1: kind of smiling. He was always on the goal. Uh. 451 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,720 Speaker 1: He was a person that was doing things and he 452 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 1: had a very bright energy. He wasn't a part of 453 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: like anything drastically negative. Danye wasn't that type of person. 454 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: I didn't expect to never see him again. When I 455 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: did see him, I didn't see him in transit doing 456 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: things where I would have to be like, yo, I'm 457 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 1: as to report back to his mom finding him in 458 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,600 Speaker 1: the backyard hung up. I will say, that's the strangest 459 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: way that you could commit suicide. The whole situation, it's 460 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: a bunch of I don't know. And that's why even 461 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: with this situation, more so than a lot of the 462 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,880 Speaker 1: other situations where people are saying folks have mysteriously been 463 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 1: killed with Dan, hanging yourself in your backyard for a 464 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 1: young kid is a weird way for them to commit suicide. 465 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: Man tying yourself up with a sheet and a chair. 466 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's stuff people do in jail, bro 467 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: when they when they know they're about the faith life, 468 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, life in North County and 469 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: his experience as an activist left to have feeling that 470 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 1: the police wouldn't reliably look into the death of his cousin, 471 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,920 Speaker 1: similar to when Darren Seals was killed. They didn't really 472 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: do an investigation. They're not going to really do an 473 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: investigation with this situation. I'm not saying that it did 474 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: did or didn't happen. I'm saying that on Danye. I'll 475 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,400 Speaker 1: say it's very candidly knowing that this will make me 476 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: a target, saying it's coming out of my mouth. The 477 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 1: police here, they're not going to investigate adequate to investigate 478 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: the depth does any prominent activists or anybody attached to 479 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: those activists. I do feel like, when you start to 480 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: turn to the pages on the local police, you may 481 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,440 Speaker 1: find some things. If I feel like, if there's something 482 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 1: to be discovered, I would not be surprised whatsoever if 483 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: the police have their dirty paws all over this. Hellos, Hi, 484 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: thanks for the callback. We reached out to Melissa in December, 485 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: two months after Danye died, hoping to picture on the 486 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,120 Speaker 1: idea of a long form investigated podcast that could potentially 487 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 1: uncover new information about the death of her son. Now, 488 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 1: I remember you guys sending a message, but at the 489 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,480 Speaker 1: time I was getting so many emails and messages and 490 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: all that mess and then I didn't know who to 491 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: trust because I wasn't trusting nobody. It's good that we 492 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: can tell about it now, but at that time I 493 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: was just I was in a very very bad space 494 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:09,000 Speaker 1: about everybody that I came in contact with. You know, 495 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: John and I both had experience working as writers, researchers, 496 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,840 Speaker 1: and documentary filmmakers. When we saw what happened to Donye 497 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,120 Speaker 1: and that Melissa was making a call out wanting people 498 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: to help her draw attention to the situation, we figured 499 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: we'd get in touch. When she called us back, I 500 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,920 Speaker 1: was at a gas station. Our goal is to to 501 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: to make a podcast that will spend like a deep 502 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:38,440 Speaker 1: amount of time exploring what happened with your son. This 503 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:41,799 Speaker 1: probably needs a couple of people who have a little 504 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: bit of investigative skills, who know how to like, who 505 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 1: will actually spend some time. I don't know how you 506 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:52,359 Speaker 1: feel about what I just said, but sure, I guess 507 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: we can work on it. You know, those people all 508 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: that were sitting outdoors, sitting outside at home, and it 509 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: in taken into consideration. Um, that man he had been 510 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 1: threatened before because he had the break um by dead 511 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 1: like he was waiting for somebody. A lot of people 512 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:25,800 Speaker 1: keep asking why did I take his picture? Um? And 513 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:29,320 Speaker 1: I didn't take his picture. My brother did a question 514 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: that people ask all the time, you know, um, why 515 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:37,239 Speaker 1: did I put it out? And which I don't even 516 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: understand why they don't understand wolves because if I hadn't 517 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: put it out, it would have been just like all 518 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: of the other is something that oh wow, that's horrible 519 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:51,600 Speaker 1: thing that happened another person, and then that that's it. 520 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,279 Speaker 1: But I just know that the one detective that gave 521 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: us his business card where he loved the one with 522 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,120 Speaker 1: a black guy did not give us his business card, 523 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:11,040 Speaker 1: gave us UM a card for the airport police. That's 524 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,759 Speaker 1: the one that gave us the most problem. I don't 525 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,560 Speaker 1: want to say so much talk about a lot of 526 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 1: things over the phone, so okay, thank you, alright, alright back. Wow. 527 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 1: Melissa was interested in talking, but not on her phone. 528 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:33,480 Speaker 1: We asked if she would be more comfortable if we 529 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:36,480 Speaker 1: sent her a burner phone, and she said yes. We 530 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:39,880 Speaker 1: shipped one off to her and waited. In the meantime, 531 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,520 Speaker 1: the St. Louis County Medical Examiners report on Danya's death 532 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,959 Speaker 1: was released and found, just as Melissa suspected it would, 533 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: that Dane had died by suicide. We called the St. 534 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 1: Louis County Police for a comment. Hey you're talking police. Hi, 535 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,960 Speaker 1: thank you so much for getting back to me on 536 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,800 Speaker 1: This is Sergeant show On McGuire, who was then a 537 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,520 Speaker 1: spokesman for County p D. It's still an active investigation 538 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 1: for us, but we've but we've been ever since the 539 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,280 Speaker 1: start of this in our detectives. What crimes against persons, 540 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,000 Speaker 1: you know where they're they're the ones that were called 541 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: to the scene. UM, all signs right off the bad 542 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:19,680 Speaker 1: point that this was a suicide. So I kind of 543 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 1: remained that as the investigation continued, as an investigation even 544 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:27,120 Speaker 1: proceeded from there, um after they talked to family and 545 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,319 Speaker 1: friends and physical evidence at the scene, and now even 546 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:33,880 Speaker 1: the medical examiners report has been released. Obviously that's a 547 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,759 Speaker 1: big part of our case as well. Um. But but 548 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,759 Speaker 1: it's one of those things that it never really lost 549 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,640 Speaker 1: focus on it being a suicide. And we were pretty 550 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,920 Speaker 1: straightforward on ever since the beginning on that when when 551 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: his mother was out on social media. And that's the 552 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,080 Speaker 1: thing here about to John, I mean, we we're not 553 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:53,480 Speaker 1: really releasing too much of this is why it's a suicide, 554 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: and you know, this is what we have and this 555 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,840 Speaker 1: is what we found out about don Ye and that 556 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,080 Speaker 1: type of stuff, because it doesn't really help anybody. Know, 557 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: we understand that his family and friends are are going 558 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:05,960 Speaker 1: through a rough time, especially you know, weeks after after 559 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:07,920 Speaker 1: this kind of breaks and she's you know, going to 560 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,239 Speaker 1: social media and trying to say that you know, people 561 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,040 Speaker 1: murdered her son and that type of stuff, and you know, 562 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,319 Speaker 1: we just we never get into those kind of engagements 563 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:20,800 Speaker 1: with a victims, uh family, We're not gonna be We 564 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:22,719 Speaker 1: don't win anything on that. We know what the back 565 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:24,800 Speaker 1: to the case are. We know, you know, what the 566 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:27,960 Speaker 1: Texas are investigating and what they saw and who they 567 00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:30,520 Speaker 1: talked to and the medical Examberage report and all that 568 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:32,879 Speaker 1: type of stuff. So we we never are ever going 569 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,560 Speaker 1: to go out there and say, well, you know, Johnnie's 570 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: mom is wrong now at this moment, are you know? 571 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,320 Speaker 1: With the medical examerage report being released, that helps with 572 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,759 Speaker 1: our investigation. So now it's more more or less of 573 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:48,160 Speaker 1: pretty much completing the paperwork and once that paperwork is done, 574 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,520 Speaker 1: you'll be able to request a copy. It's just it's 575 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:52,879 Speaker 1: still active right now. About how long do you think 576 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,960 Speaker 1: it will be until it's closed and the report becomes available. 577 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:58,359 Speaker 1: They talked to the lieutenant in that and he said 578 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,000 Speaker 1: it's more or less it could be a week down 579 00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:02,480 Speaker 1: the road, that could be a month down the road. 580 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:04,399 Speaker 1: He doesn't really know. I don't really have a good 581 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 1: time frame for you. And not saying that Danie isn't 582 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,080 Speaker 1: the form to us, but it's one of those things 583 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:11,319 Speaker 1: of them just having time to finishing up their report, um, 584 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 1: you know, and administratively, and that's kind of where we're 585 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,880 Speaker 1: at right now. Sergeant McGuire seemed very confident that the 586 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,720 Speaker 1: Medical Examiner's office had gotten it right, and his statement 587 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:24,239 Speaker 1: makes it seem like a lot of people who had 588 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,359 Speaker 1: the low down on Danyae's life and mental state had 589 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:31,280 Speaker 1: spoken with the police, and that these conversations gave detectives 590 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 1: confidence in their suicide hypothesis. He made it seem like 591 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:38,000 Speaker 1: it would all be laid bare in a few short 592 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,799 Speaker 1: weeks when the police issued their final report on the matter. 593 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:43,520 Speaker 1: I did want to ask about one more thing though 594 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:49,000 Speaker 1: she claims that in the time leading up to his death, 595 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:51,560 Speaker 1: that there were like threats against her family or that 596 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:54,799 Speaker 1: they were like menacing people who had been around her home, 597 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,560 Speaker 1: was that it all looked at um. I believe that 598 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:00,920 Speaker 1: was looked at eventually. She did not report that stuff 599 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:04,000 Speaker 1: immediately to detectives. It's part of her in this investigation. 600 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,040 Speaker 1: They didn't know anything about that. And as time went on, 601 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:09,680 Speaker 1: when she she had the public Facebook post and told 602 00:40:09,719 --> 00:40:12,839 Speaker 1: Facebook and said us, um, you know, that's that's when 603 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 1: obviously detectives were interested in talking to her about that. 604 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:26,319 Speaker 1: But it was definitely looked into eventually. The only way 605 00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 1: that I would hear Danielle's voices if I would make 606 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:35,719 Speaker 1: myself here, you know. Then I would not hear him 607 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:43,200 Speaker 1: saying my or hear him laughing downstairs, you know, because 608 00:40:43,239 --> 00:40:46,400 Speaker 1: he would be down and watching TV. And now I 609 00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:51,680 Speaker 1: hear his crazy laugh. Sometimes I can see him and 610 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:56,520 Speaker 1: the kids should talking to Dick. Sometimes I can hear 611 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:03,200 Speaker 1: see him on the red chase with his feet, his 612 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:06,200 Speaker 1: long legs and his feet, you know. That was his 613 00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:11,040 Speaker 1: favorite seat in the house, was the ran chase, and 614 00:41:11,239 --> 00:41:17,279 Speaker 1: he would sitting there chasing. When he talked. He had 615 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:22,439 Speaker 1: this very very deep voice, big boy before years old 616 00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:43,799 Speaker 1: yet and I were here. Sometimes I were here him 617 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:51,479 Speaker 1: and Militia and Javad with that inside jokes, and they'll 618 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:54,759 Speaker 1: all be just giggling and laughing so hard, and I'm 619 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:58,839 Speaker 1: just sitting there like I want to laugh, but they 620 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:02,600 Speaker 1: didn't want to say certain things because it probably was dirty. Yeah, 621 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:05,920 Speaker 1: but I can always say him laughing and so like, 622 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:08,279 Speaker 1: it's not that I'm into now, it's not that we're 623 00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:11,920 Speaker 1: into now. My son was just at a place in 624 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:15,560 Speaker 1: his life that he was more excited than I've ever 625 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:19,600 Speaker 1: seen him. He had something that he really was looking 626 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:24,600 Speaker 1: forward to. He said, just watch, I'm gonna take care 627 00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:27,920 Speaker 1: of you more tell me I didn't have to go 628 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 1: back for work, so I quick. He said, UM, that 629 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:45,480 Speaker 1: got you, But don't believe them. We knew if we 630 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:47,879 Speaker 1: wanted to help figure out what had happened to don Ye, 631 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:50,799 Speaker 1: we would have to start digging. We needed to pour 632 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 1: over the details of the medical examiners and the police 633 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:56,800 Speaker 1: department's investigations to know what they did and did not 634 00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,480 Speaker 1: take into account. We didn't know what we would find, 635 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:01,680 Speaker 1: and the only thing we promised to do was to 636 00:43:01,719 --> 00:43:04,680 Speaker 1: give Melissa the benefit of the doubt, to not look 637 00:43:04,719 --> 00:43:07,080 Speaker 1: at her as though she were crazy or that she 638 00:43:07,239 --> 00:43:10,759 Speaker 1: was in denial, but to give real consideration to at 639 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,920 Speaker 1: least the possibility that Dane didn't die by suicide from 640 00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:17,239 Speaker 1: what we could tell. That's what she never got from 641 00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:21,160 Speaker 1: the investigators, a little benefit of the doubt, someone who 642 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:24,719 Speaker 1: would look at Dane's death and keep in mind the context, 643 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:28,799 Speaker 1: the context of history, that of violence against black people 644 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,000 Speaker 1: in our country in general, and that of Melissa personally 645 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:36,080 Speaker 1: and the world she lived in. That's next time on 646 00:43:36,239 --> 00:43:43,879 Speaker 1: After the Uprising. After the Uprising is directed, produced, investigated, 647 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:47,440 Speaker 1: written and reported by myself, Rainovschelski and John Duffy. John 648 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,240 Speaker 1: Duffy was also the editor. Dave Cassidy was producer, sound engineering, 649 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,359 Speaker 1: design and mixed by Josh Condon. Executive producers were Matt 650 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:57,440 Speaker 1: McDonough and Tina x Ros for Now This, Brett Kushner 651 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:00,040 Speaker 1: for Group nine Media, and Jeff Borave was executive in 652 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:03,680 Speaker 1: charge of production. Jonathan Hartwig and Bradley Rayford were consulting producers. 653 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:07,120 Speaker 1: Eliza Craig was assistant producer and did additional reporting. Malory 654 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,560 Speaker 1: Keenoy was a writer's assistant. Kristin McVicker and Taya Wilson 655 00:44:10,600 --> 00:44:14,000 Speaker 1: were production assistants, and Haley Klesmer was a post production assistant. 656 00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:17,040 Speaker 1: Fact checking by Alison Humes, theme song and other music 657 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:20,240 Speaker 1: by Zachary Walter, legal by Keith Sclar and Peter Yazy. 658 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:24,520 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Ann Frado, Danny Gonzalez, Barbara Copple, Alex Lester, 659 00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:28,840 Speaker 1: Bethan Macaluso, Emily Maronoff, Ruth Vaka, and the Reporter's Committee 660 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:30,960 Speaker 1: for Freedom of the Press. After the Uprising is a 661 00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,440 Speaker 1: production of Double asterisk I, Heart Media and Now This 662 00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 1: in association with True Stories. You can find us on 663 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:38,920 Speaker 1: Twitter and Facebook. If you have useful information about the 664 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:41,719 Speaker 1: death of Danye Jones or anything we've covered. Please leave 665 00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:43,840 Speaker 1: a message on our tip line at three four seven 666 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,399 Speaker 1: six seven four seven four zero one