Ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the ohio constitution. We will go to ohio and then to detroit where a woman was falsely arrested and jailed while eight months pregnant due to faulty facial recognition software. Porcha woodruff is the first woman and at least the sixth person to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of ai facial recognition. All six people have been black. Then to mississippi where six white former Police Officers who called themselves the goon squad have pleaded guilty to raiding a home and torturing two black men. Not only do they brazenly committees acts commit these acts they left him lying in a pool of blood. Gathered on the porch of the house to decide how to cover it up. Amy we will speak to the two men who survived this horrific police assault. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In a major victory for reproductive rights and democracy, ohio voters rejected raising the threshold for passing constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60 . The special election tuesday, pushed by the Republicanled Legislature and funded by an illinois billionaire, came three months ahead of the november election in which voters will decide if the right to an abortion should be enshrined in the ohio constitution. The outcome of tuesdays election means only of voters half need to cast ballots in favor of the prochoice amendment. An ap poll found a majority of ohio voters support the right to abortion. Well speak with former ohio state senator nina turner after headlines. The Supreme Court has upheld the biden administrations ability to regulate ghost guns, Assembly Kits which allow buyers to build untraceable guns at home. The federal government can require manufacturers of ghost gun kits include serial numbers and conduct background checks on customers while a challenge to the rule is heard in lower courts. Justices john roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joined with the three liberal members in the 54 ruling. In sudan, deadly fighting shows no sign of slowing down nearly four months since the war between the military and the Paramilitary Rapid support forces, or rsf, broke out. Violence in sudans second most populous city omdurman has escalated over control of a bridge crossing the nile river, used by the rsf to transport weapons. The Health Care System remains on the brink of collapse as medical facilities have been systematically targeted by fighters. The u. N. Said friday the conflict has left 24 Million People, half of sudans population, in need of food and other aid but only 2. 5 million have been able to receive assistance. Over 4 Million People have been internally and externally displaced, with the largest number of refugees crossing into chad. Refugees from west darfur deplored the desperate situation they were forced to flee. The situation is tragic. There are problems, arrests and assault. The war is continuing so we left. Whoever finds a way gets out and whoever does not remains in suffering. Amy in burma, a United Nations investigation has found the Burmese Military is increasingly committing war crimes ranging from Sexual Violence to mass executions. The crimes also include the indiscriminate targeting of civilians with bombs, the burning of homes and buildings, and at times the destruction of entire villages. In april, at least 165 people, including children and babies, were killed after Burmese Military jets rained fire and bombs on the village of pazigyi. It was one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since the military junta seized power in a 2021 coup. Burmese armed forces claimed they were targeting terrorists. In brazil, eight south american leaders agreed to form an alliance to protect the amazon as they met during a highprofile summit hosted in belem by brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da silva. Bolivia, brazil, colombia, ecuador, guyana, peru, suriname, and venezuela signed on to a declaration which includes pledges to end deforestation, crack down on criminal activity in the amazon, and lift up sustainable development. But the group stopped short of agreeing to a key indigenous demand for all countries to adhere to brazils pledge to end deforestation by 2030 and to colombias pledge to halt any new oil exploration. On tuesday, indigenous groups took to the streets of belem to voice their demands. Because if there is no consent, were not going to authorize these policies. We Indigenous People say no to that. We say yes to life because the amazon is where everything is. Amy back in the United States in atlanta, support is growing for a citywide referendum that could decide the future of cop city, a massive multimilliondollar Police Training complex. The king center, run by bernice king, the daughter of Martin Luther king jr. , has joined cop city opponents in calling on atlanta officials to allow for a public vote on the project. The center criticized atlanta leadership for ignoring the ardent Community Opposition against cop city and the use of public funding. The Campaign Vote to stop cop city is working to meet an august 14 deadline to collect 70,000 signatures from atlanta voters to put a referendum on the November Ballot to stop cop city. This comes as civil and human rights organizations, including the aclu and the naacp, are urging the Homeland Security department to investigate the mass targeting and surveillance of cop city protesters as dozens of forest defenders have been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. The groups warn of the dangers of vague, overbroad, and stigmatizing terms like domestic violent extremist and militant to describe individuals who may be engaged in protected First Amendment activity. Meanwhile, an Environmental Group has sued the city of atlanta as construction of cop city has already contaminated local water streams. The lawsuit, filed by the south river watershed alliance, could temporarily Block Construction of the project. In hawaii, officials issued an emergency proclamation as wildfires on the big island and maui prompted evacuations and cut power to thousands of residents. 12 people were rescued from the water after jumping into the ocean to escape the smoke and fire. The fires have been driven in part by high winds from Hurricane Dora in the pacific. In philadelphia, the slain dancer and choreographer oshae sibley was laid to rest tuesday. A suspect has been charged with murder as a hate crime. He shouted racist and homophobic slurs at sibley and his friends while they were dancing at a brooklyn gas station last month. Sibleys loved ones paid tribute to the 28yearold dancer at his Funeral Service held at philadelphias met opera house. Shae had the power to touch peoples hearts. Oshae was oshae. Amy the Video Conferencing software zoom has come under fire after it changed its user policy, opening the door to use consumer data to train its ai system. Zoom responded to the backlash monday by denying the company would take user video or chats for ai training without consent. But Digital Rights advocates say zoom could still take user data for other purposes and that users may not easily be able to opt out of ai use if a call host chooses to allow it or is not aware of it. In 2020, democrats called for the ftc to look into zooms privacy policies, accusing it of misleading customers on the security of its encryption. In related news, zoom, an early hallmark of pandemicera remote work, is facing backlash from employees after announcing it will require workers within a 50mile radius of its offices to return to onsite work two days per week. And in california, thousands of Los Angeles City workers walked off the job for 24 hours tuesday, the first such strike in 40 years, to protest repeated labor law violations by their employers. This is city worker alfonzo williams. We all do a wonderful job. We are all needed. We are essential workers out here. We worked through the pandemic. We never wavered. Just bargain in good faith. When you dont bargain in good faith, this is what happens. Amy the oneday work stoppage comes as hollywood writers and actors remain on strike and as Los Angeles Hotel workers have staged periodic walkouts after their contract expired at the end of june. The Hotel Workers union, unite here, filed a labor complaint this week citing a number of violent retaliatory incidents at picket lines perpetrated by Hotel Security guards. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We begin todays show in ohio, where reproductive rights advocates are celebrating after voters overwhelmingly rejected a republican Ballot Initiative to make it harder to amend ohios state constitution. Republicans pushed to have tuesdays special election with the sole purpose of raising the threshold for passing constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60 before november when voters will decide if the right to an abortion should be enshrined in the ohio constitution. The Ballot Initiative also attempted to make it harder to submit future constitutional amendments by requiring signatures from all of ohios 88 counties. Preliminary results show 57 of ohio voters on tuesday rejected the republican Ballot Initiative, known simply as issue one. The Election Results marked a sharp change from 2020 when donald trump won ohio with 53 of the vote. President joe biden hailed the result saying in a statement this measure was a blatant attempt to weaken voters voices and further erode the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions. Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and tonight democracy won. The republican Megadonor Richard Uihlein of illinois, who has long been a key backer of antiabortion groups, had bankrolled the republican effort by giving 4 million to the group protect our constitution. We go now to cleveland where we are joined by former ohio state senator nina turner who is now a senior fellow at the institute on race, power, and political economy at the new school. Welcome to democracy now it is great to have you with us. If you can start off by responding to this overwhelming victory for reproductive rights advocates. Jubilation. The people of the great state of ohio have spoken resoundingly rejecting the gop overreach, which is indeed a beautiful thing and we know that folks in ohio, voters in ohio, all the political ideologies weighed in on this and they said to the gop, you have gone too far. I know the gop themselves made this strictly about abortion. I understand abortion rights activists are celebrating. But this is so much bigger than just abortion access. There will be issues on the ballot to raise the minimum wage. Who knows what other issues will be on the ballot. The people of this state have a right to weigh in as a super majority excuse me, as a simple majority and not a super majority. I am so glad the gop power grab was rejected in this state. Lots to celebrate. Amy lets talk about who is behind this. Richard uihlein. Talk about the millions he poured in and the fact that this was, i mean, the rules for ohio have been in place first century. Since 1912 it has been in play. Obviously, he threw good money i shouldnt say good money. They rejected him, too. It is not lost on many of us that their biggest outside force might as well have taken that money and set it on fire. The voters of the state of ohio did not buy what republicans were selling. It is another example of why we need campaignfinance reform in this state across the board with ultrawealthy key people can decide with the rules of engagement are going to be without regard for the people in these various states, whether it is ohio today. We know other states across the country. It is absolutely wrong. The people of the great state of ohio have set in motion this atmosphere of we are not going to let people just come in here and try to buy an election in the way they did. You remember 2011 very well, amy, when the voters of the state rejected the overreach of the gop. I was in the legislature at that time. To try to take away collective bargaining rights. That was about 62 . This issue last night failed by about 57 of the voters said absolutely not. When it is put into the hands of the voters across the state of ohio, they come together, even the republicans have a super majority in the legislature, control all of the constitutional offices in this state, but im so glad a coalition of democrats, republicans, independents, no party people came together and said not on our watch will we allow this to happen. Amy isnt true republicans, conservative republicans, were not pleased with this massive change and what it can mean for the future for other valid initiatives . If you can talk about how this doesnt only serve abortion rights advocates. Thats right. Thats right. Even Governor John Kasich was against this issue. It really is fundamentally about freedom. The freedom of the people of the state of ohio to put something on the ballot and have the voters of this state way had. While it may be abortion rights right now in the current secretary of state made it very clear the republicans drawn this up to try to defeat what will be on the ballot in november they did not even hide from it. They said this is what it was about. But beyond the issues on the ballot in november, this is about any other issue that the people of this great state have an absolute right to weigh in on. The irony that the party that talks about so much freedom would then use their power to try to take away the voices of the people in the state. He did not work. Whether youre republican, democrat, independent, the fact that if this had if issue one had passed, it impacts what anyone else would want to try to put on the ballot to get the people to weigh in on. Absolutely, this is so much bigger than abortion rights. This is about the rights of the voter of the state to weigh in and stop overreaching as they see fit. Amy nina turner, bigger than the state of ohio, have always had this national perspective, you are top person in Bernie Sanders president ial campaign as well as now you are at the new school. Looking at the map you have california, montana, kansas, michigan, kentucky, vermont all of the states are indicating that the voters, whether republican state or democratic state, want to ensure abortion rights. What does this signify for the elections in november 2024, from president on down . Hopefully, this energy will continue to percolate. I would caution the issue of abortion itself is not going to be enough to animate in a way that would push democrat over the top, but it is part of of a consensus about what true freedom and liberty looks like and having the merrick of people across the country way or whether it is Economic Freedom my freedom to be able to vote, the freedom to love, the freedom to have a living wage. We can see the percolation that is why this is not just about abortion. We see the labor front, the enormous victory by the teamsters at ups, what the writers and actors are doing right now in their protest. We could name starbucks, nurses, teachers. People across this country are not in the mood for this kind of overreach. It is my hope it is the synergy of all of these issues will catapult more people who really do care about changing and enhancing their material conditions of the poor, working poor, and barely middleclass, that that kind of Energy Continues but it wont just be about abortion. It will be about abortion and many other issues that impact the quality of peoples lives. Amy nina turner, thank you for being with us, former ohio state senator, senior fellow at the institute on race, power, and political economy at the new school. Coming up, we go to mississippi where six white former Police Officers who called themselves the goon squad have pleaded guilty to raiding a home and torturing two black men. One of than they shot in the mouth. The two men will join us after break. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A warning to our audience, this next segment contains descriptions and images of police violence. We turn now to mississippi where six white former Police Officers who called themselves the goon squad have pleaded guilty to raiding a home and torturing two black men earlier this year after first trying to cover up their actions. Some of the officers face life in prison. On january 24, Court Documents show the deputies in braxton, mississippi, after a white neighbor of one of the officers called into complaint there were black men staying there. The officer texted the others are yall available for a mission . That night, the officers burst into a home, handcuffed, beat, tasered the two men Michael Corey jenkins and Eddie Terrell parker, also sexually abused them with a sex toy while shouting racial slurs. One of the officers put a gun in jenkins mouth for a mock execution and pulled the trigger. The bullet lacerated jenkins tongue, broke his jaw, and exited through his neck. This is the u. S. Attorney last week announcing federal charges against the former officers for the attack. Not only did they brazenly commit the attack, but after taking serious Bodily Injury by firing a shot through one of the victims mouth, then left him lying in a political. Lying in a pool of blood. They gathered on the porch of the house to discuss how to cover it up. Amy after the attack, Michael Corey jenkins was actually charged with a felony based on methamphetamine the officers said they found in the raid. But records show that was a lie and the charge was dropped. In fact, the deputies planted drugs to devise an excuse for the raid and also strolled Surveillance Video stole Surveillance Video from the house. Their body cameras were off. Court documents said group of cops went used name goon squad because of their willingness to use Excessive Force and not to report it. The Associated Press found the deputies were linked to at least four Violent Attacks on black men since 2019. Two of the men died. For more we are joined by Michael Corey jenkins and Eddie Terrell parker as well as malik shabazz, civil rights attorney with black lawyers for justice who is representing them. We welcome you all to democracy now malik, can you talk about how this case was exposed . How we saw these officers charged and what you understand about the background . This not being the first vicious attack. Thank you for having us. I want to say before we get started, that michael and eddie will only be speaking they cannot speak about the specific details of what happened in the house that night, but they can talk about their reactions to the guilty verdicts and to their painandsuffering. Michael is suffering because half of his face is numb. We have sentencing coming up so we are under sensitive legal guidelines, but we are happy to be on with such a progressive audience. This case was brought to light through the determination of black lawyers for justice, myself as the attorney for Michael Jenkins and eddie parker, and mississippi counsel trent walker. From early january, we have advocated strongly and vigorously in every way and we have worked with Community Activists in mississippi and throughout the country in order to bring the truth that is coming to light today, that these defendants, Hunter Elward, christian dedmon, middleton, daniel opdyke, joshua hartfield, that they are called the goon squad. There known as the Rankin County death squad. This has been occurring for a long time under the leadership of sheriff bryan bailey who should be the subject of criminal investigation also. They have been getting away with this so long that they felt emboldened to act in such a radical and callous weight on that night of january 24, 2023. But it is through persistence, through intense legal advocacy with us advocating to the u. S. Justice department, collecting evidence, and applying legal pressure and all kinds of pressure to bring about what is now historic. Last thursday, the six defendants pled guilty to 14 federal criminal charges. They will plead guilty to more state charges monday. This is the first time that a white Mississippi Police officer has ever been held criminally responsible for harming a black person. We know plenty of Police Brutality has occurred not only in Rankin County under bryan bailey, but throughout the state of mississippi. This is a history making moment. Im just so sorry it had to come on dave accept the painandsuffering, the torture come the shooting and abuse and waterboarding of Michael Jenkins and eddie parker, our clients. Amy i cant bear to go to the men meeting you in this way for what you went through, that horrific january night, but im wondering if each of you could respond to the guilty plea of these officers and what it means to you that some of them may be facing life in prison. Michael jenkins, lets begin with you. I feel great, finally justice after months. For well, thought it would just be a slap on the wrist. But i feel great about it. Amy i know it is difficult for you to talk with a gun in your mouth, the police shot you in the mouth, lacerating your tongue, went through to your neck, shredding that area of your neck. Am only glad that you could be with us today. Did you think youre going to survive that night, michael . No, maam. My whole face is numb. My mouth is hurting right now. Amy eddie parker, if you could talk about your response to this plea deal . It is a long time coming. It is also history, too, coming from a long way of going through this since working with the same Police Officers pretty much stay out of the way so he would not end up in the situation but ended up in the situation even staying clear. I am astounded. I am real happy it is finally coming to appoint where they are getting a feeling of what they dish out to people day in and day out. Amy i misspoke. It is not a deal. They have pled guilty. They call themselves, eddie parker, they call themselves the goon squad. Your thoughts . Goon squad, that is a crime organization. I guess they were paid to go out and i believe the police, the public go handinhand. Their people just like us. They are people just like us. Held accountable. I used to say get the end of the stick treatment. They go out and do the opposite of what theyre getting paid to do. I think it is very horrendous how they can call it the goon squad so put on a badge and pretend theyre protecting people. Amy malik shabazz, i want to ask you about Damien Cameron who died in 2021 after being taken into custody by the same Rankin County shares deputies who later attacked Michael Jenkins and eddie parker. This is a clip from a wapt news report featuring jenkins mother monica lee. A news release has deputies got a call about a burglary and vandalism. When they arrived, damien was the suspect. The release says as the deputy approached him, began to fight and resist arrest. They were able to eventually get him into a patrol car. Im thinking theyre taking my son to jail. I go outside to tell my son goodbye and i love him. At that point, when i got to the side of the truck, my son was laid on the ground. Unresponsive. Amy monica lee has said she believes that the sheriff had taken action against the deputies involved in her sons death, maybe they would not have gone on to attack Michael Jenkins and eddie parker. The lawsuit also holds sheriff bailey responsible for failing to properly train the deputies involved in these incidents. This is Rankin County share bryan bailey speaking last week about the charges this former deputies pled guilty to. Based on the facts and the guilty pleas, they all lied to me the night of this incident. We have cooperated fully with all outside agencies to uncover the truth and bring justice to victims. We also sought assistance from outside agencies to repair our trust with the community. Amy that was Rankin County sheriff bryan bailey speaking last week. Malik shabazz, civil rights attorney, has brought the lawsuit on behalf of Michael Jenkins and eddie parker, if you can respond to this sheriff and to this previous case . First of all, i want to give monica lee was the mother of Damien Cameron. We represent her for the death of her son which occurred at the hands of the Rankin CountySheriffs Department and its officers, including Hunter Elward, the shooter who did not to shoot Michael Jenkins in his mouth, he placed a gun inside Michael Jenkins mouth and held it for an extended period of time, almost up to a minute, before he intentionally shot Michael Jenkins in his mouth, attempting to kill him. Miss lee is correct, if they would not have participated in a coverup around Damien Camerons death, his death is analogous and similar to George Floyds death. It was Hunter Elward and lukes dickman who put the knees on Damien Camerons back and neck, causing trauma to his neck and hemorrhages in both his eyes, meaning the compression on his neck is what led to a fixation and his actual cause of death. The autopsy mysteriously was ruled undetermined. With all of the evidence im saying and all of the gruesome photos of the neck injuries and the hemorrhages of the eyes bulging out of his head, the autopsy finding was mysteriously undetermined. The autopsy itself is missing certain information, therefore, myself and black lawyers for justice, we have our own Forensic Pathologists her coming forth shortly to show you this was homicide and that Rankin County and bryan bailey refused to provide the state medical examiner with information to reach a proper conclusion because they were all protecting the officers from criminal prosecution. Therefore the autopsy is suspicious. The autopsy and the efforts to have a genuine autopsy, it was covered up by Rankin County. And bryan bailey has been a part of this. Ms. Lee is correct. If they had not been trying to cover up, if bailey had not been trying to justify his officers he did not just not train them, he has participated in acts of Excessive Force with his department according to the courts. What Hunter Elward shot pierre woods in Rankin County on the ground nine times with his rifle and the man was no threat to him, sheriff bailey was on the scene and a federal judge ruled that bailey could not have qualified immunity because he ratified and watched it all go one in person. So the truth is coming out about the death of Damien Cameron and how they had the knees on his neck like his mother has testified, crushed the life out of Damien Cameron and did nothing about it, they lied to us, were going to bring that case that cases coming back to life. Rankin county is infested with white supremacist, ku klux klan, infiltrated the Sheriffs Department, bryan bailey has known about this. Many of these criminals were on duty up until june 1 only through the mississippi borough of investigation and u. S. Department of justice leader Kristen Clark and her Southern District in mississippi who has done a great job only through their efforts has bryan bailey sheriff try to come to some remorse. He has not even apologized to the victims. We demand that bryan bailey step down now. He is part of a pattern of practice and a culture and custom of terrorism by his department. We have blacks, whites, rich, poor that have been beaten by his officers. He has known this all along. The struggle continues in this case for compensation for these two suffering victims, jenkins and parker, but for all of the victims of Rankin County terrorism. It is the number one county for terrorism and white supremacist infiltration. Case in point, christian dedmon, it is coming out he has family members that have pled guilty in mississippi to hate crimes. I mean, a lot more is going to come out about this. Rankin county is infested with white supremacists, ku klux klan, and it is in the police department. Amy malik shabazz, can you place Rankin County for us in two ways . In history and also geographically . It is right near jackson, the capital . Yes. Attorney trent walker says states this was customary in Rankin County. They beat first and they dont ask questions later, they beat you, kill you, and your ordered not to say anything about it. Hunter elward, the shooter, actually pled guilty in federal court to another crime he had committed which contained a similar fact to what he did in the home of jenkins and parker. When these deputies busted in to begin this torture session, Hunter Elward shot his gun off as intimidation against dinkins and parker. Before he shot michael later, he shot his gun off. He pled guilty in federal court to doing the same thing to another person in Rankin County, just shooting his gun off like that. So what were saying, maam, is that all of these truths are going to come to light. Rankin county has done this for a long time. It is near jackson, mississippi. Jackson i believe that the county is sort of a reaction to jackson. Jackson is in hinds county. It is majority black and theres hostility toward jackson and rankin is like a white enclave that is next to jackson and it is set up almost like a political, social, a thesis against jackson. They are clearing rankin post of just 20 minutes away from jackson, mississippi, just like these deputies said, they did not want any black men living in the area. The mere fact there were black and in this area that they were going to carry out this mission and let them know that they were not welcome and theyre going to violate all laws and break in is because they have determined, i believe these deputies and others, in this county, have determined that Rankin County is for whites and hinds county is for blacks and theyre going to enforce it under the color of law through violence and torture. Not to mention, especially on this program, we cannot forget waterboarding. Waterboarding was where the United States military was condemned for using these techniques at abu ghraib prison in the iraq war. The military denounces. 2023, incredibly, these deputies actually waterboarded the two men you see now. They had them on their backs. They had them in handcuffs. They had them intimidated and they were pouring milk, liquids, grease all over their faces and this insane interrogation and intimidation act. After they did all this can you imagine Law Enforcement with dildos and sexual devices and their position attempting and putting it in the mouth i hate to say this it happened to the brothers, but we have to know their pain and suffering shove it in the mounds of these handcuffed down men and waterboarded like that on the ground and then hurl eggs at them and then make them strip naked in the shower to try to clean this mess up . Strip them naked in front of these criminals . It just never fails to ignite my passion and therefore tactically and strategically we are after Rankin County and we wont let up. Amy i want to end with the voices of Michael Cory Jenkins and Eddie Terrell parker, how you have lived through the aftermath of this, the trauma that you have experienced and what you want to come out of this . I mean, it looks like you were exposing an entire Sheriffs Department in mississippi. Lets begin with eddie parker. We want justice. We want justice for everyone that has gone through this with Rankin County. We want justice for the ones that are afraid to speak up, for those who cant speak up. We want something new and better to come out of this. Amy and Michael Jenkins . To make sure nobody never goes through this again. Animals dont get treated like this. I have never seen an animal treated like this. Amy i just want to thank you, Michael Corey jenkins, and Eddie Terrell parker, for your bravery and coming forward and telling your stories and also want to thank malik shabazz, the civil rights attorney with black lawyers for justice. Coming up, we go to detroit to talk to a woman who was falsely arrested and jailed while eight months pregnant due to faulty ai facial Recognition Technology. She is the first woman to be arrested for this. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We turn now to another shocking story, this one out of detroit, michigan, involving a woman named Porcha Woodruff who was eight months pregnant when police mistakenly arrested her for robbery and carjacking. Six officers showed up at her home as she was getting her kids ready for school. They took her down to the station and held her for 11 hours and then released on a 100,000 bond. Porcha woodruff says she started having contractions in jail and had to be taken to the hospital after her release due to dehydration. A month later after her arrest, prosecutors dropped the case because the Detroit Police had made the arrest based on a faulty ai, artificial intelligence, facial recognition match. According to the aclu, woodruff is the first woman, at least the sixth person, to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of facial Recognition Technology. All six people have been black. Porcha woodruff is now suing the city of detroit. She joins us, along with her attorney ivan land. We thank you both very much for being with us. Porcha, take us back to that they. I hate to make you do this. But the fact this happened to you may be a sign of things to come. Youre the first woman to be arrested on faulty facial Recognition Technology. So youre getting your daughters ready for school. What happens next . The six Police Officers came and knocked on the door. I heard the loud knock. I went down and opened the door. It was a fema Police Officer the door. She asked if i was Porcha Woodruff and i said yes. She said, i have a warrant for your arrest. In the beginning, like i said, i thought it was a joke. I asked, i said for what . What is the warrant for . She hesitated. She did not want to give me any information. She just want to be to step outside so i could be arrested. I continue to ask. Another Police Officer stepped up and interjected. He did say i had a warrant for my rest for carjacking. In the midst of the conversation, i open my door little wider so they could see i was eight months pregnant and pointed to my cars that were in the driveway at the time. Im like, i am eight months pregnant and have a car, why would i carjack anyone . I went back and forth with the Police Officers for a while trying to convince them, you have the wrong person. My kids were standing there. I told my children to run upstairs and wake up my fiance to help me explain they had the wrong person. As socalled my mother to get her on the phone. Do you have any more information . Detailed as to why they were there to arrest me. We went back and forth for a while. I was advised to go ahead and go and see what it was they were trying to pin on me. The Police Officers, they took me, handcuffed me, took me down to the Detention Center detroit, michigan. I was held there, arraigned and i was let out on personal bond. While in the Detention Center, i was experiencing back pain. I was eight months pregnant. I was already having a difficult pregnancy because i was diagnosed with just a still diabetes. Just a shoulder diabetes. Our pregnancy was a little difficult. I was experiencing anxiety. I was having panic attacks. I was trying to hold myself together because i didnt understand what was going on. At the time when it happened, i was in decent belief i was in disbelief. Nobody knew what was going on. Then i lost hope for the most part because once i got to talk to my family, they advised me that my lawyer was not able to get me out. I didnt know what to do. I was distraught. I was stressed and depressed and try to keep myself together for my unborn child. Being under that kind of stress could ultimately it ultimately could lead me to lose my child. Amy you ended up going to the hospital . I did. I went to the hospital. They monitored me. I had to explain to them what was going on because they could ceos under stress. My heart rate was low, the babies heart rate was low. They had to give me i was dehydrated. I did not eat anything while i was in the Detention Center. The food there, i would not give it to my dog. I drunk concentrated lemonade to try to hold me over. It was more so about my unborn child at the time that i was trying to focus on, even though everything us was going on, because i felt like i had no control over what was going on because i was feeling helpless. No one was listening to me. No one would listen to me. No one would take what i was saying seriously. It was as if i was already a suspect. With that being said, you know, that was a traumatizing experience. It still is. My kids are afraid. Im afraid. The police give assignee or behind me, i go into panic the police get beside me or behind me, i go into panic mode. My kids see police on the doorstep, guns on their hip. Carjacking is a serious crime. Amy i want to bring your lawyer in ivan land. If you can talk about why youre suing the city of detroit right now . First and foremost, thank you for having us. We believe facial Recognition Technology is an investigative tool and you must use it properly. If you dont, someone will get hurt is what happened with ms. Woodruff. When she was arrested, prior to her being arraigned, the officer who viewed the video footage of the real suspect actually had an interview with ms woodruff. Two hours before her arraignment. They had a conversation. She knew that ms. Woodruff was pregnant. She took pictures of ms. Woodruff. She and another detective walked out of the cell and center to another cell. She was subsequently arraigned and given a 100,000 personal bond. They were going to place a tether on her. At the time, i did not know this was going on. I attempted to have her released something called a writ of habeas corpus while i was challenging her incarceration. I learned, though, that the warrant had already been issued. Now, that detective walked could have walked her out of there but they left her in there. Ms. Woodruff was arraigned around 2 30. She was released as 7 00. While she was incarcerated, ms. Woodruff, thank god for her nursing background, she was practicing survival techniques. She was standing for 30 minutes. She was checking her polls. When the detective came for ms. Woodruff, ms. Woodruff thought she saw of wrath of fresh air because guess what . The detective was a female. Ms. Woodruff hoped she had children so that she hoped she knew what she was going through at eight months pregnant. However, she left her there. Ms. Woodruff was rushed to the hospital by her fiance. She said, getting to the hospital, because she was checking her pulse. Thank god for nursing background. She gets to the hospital, they rushed her into a room. They gave her some fluids. Ms. Woodruff was released at 3 00 a. M. She was told her doctor needed to contact her in 24 hours. Ms. Woodruff went home and got a little sleep. She had a backup she called the police and asked if she could have her phone back because her doctor it was the only way our children and doctor to get in contact with her. This detective doubled down and told her, we have to get a warrant. We want to check your phone to determine were you in the area when the crime was committed. So the Detroit Police, false or arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution and something called Elliott Larson act, which is facial recognition, biased toward darker or black individuals. It is a technique that has been used and are being used properly. Amy for context, i what to turn to joy buolamwini who is head of the justice algorithmic league. I have been so excited to see the reintroduction of the facial recognition and Biometric Technology moratorium act. Part of why i am excited to see this reintroduction is there is an opportunity to put in protections. We have seen from cities from oakland to boston, jackson, mississippi, portland, maine, that cities have been restrictions on these are facial Recognition Technology. What we saw with eight months pregnant person being arrested would not have happened and so we see the local efforts do make a difference but we cant just hope you happen to live in a city that has adopted one of these measures. That is why it is crucial we actually push forward with the federal legislation. I am very excited to see the reintroduction of that act and now is the time to push it forward. Amy i what to say that is joy buolamwini, who is head of the algorithmic justice league. I want to get Porcha Woodruffs final comment before we go to a postshow. Your thoughts on this final point of coded bias that ai is biased against people of color . I feel like it is biased. As noted, and the sixth person, the only female, that has been affected by this facial recognition. I feel like you should be properly used to actually identify dylan amy we are going as key to say that thought for part two. Sophie Fouron i have to walk really slowly, but i can actually get really close to them. Right there, royal penguins. We are between argentina and antarctica, in a windswept country the Falkland Islands or the malouines, or the malvinas, depending on where you come from. You might remember the 19al