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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 114 No. 49 Two Sections
DECEMBER 6-12, 2023
Ashley Comans vows to represent House District 34, announces campaign run Could join Reps. Powell, Mayes as Black women from region in state House by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
ASHLEY COMANS SAYS SHE’S READY TO BECOME THE HOUSE DISTRICT 34 REPRESENTATIVE. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
ROYALTY COMES TO PITTSBURGH
Remember Pa. House District 34? It’s the district of 60,000 residents that encompasses Wilkinsburg, Rankin, Swissvale, Braddock, Braddock Hills, North Braddock and East Pittsburgh, among others, and parts of the City of Pittsburgh. It’s the district that, for years, was represented by a Black woman, Summer Lee. But as most people know, Lee is now in the U.S. Congress, representing Pa.’s 12th District. A special election was held on Feb. 7, 2023, to see who would serve out the remainder of U.S. Rep. Lee’s term, and Democrat Abigail Salisbury prevailed. But in five months, the seat will be up for grabs again in the state’s Primary Election, and another Black woman, Ashley Comans, vows to make it her seat. “I spent a lot of my life living in Wilkinsburg,” said Jada Shirriel, who leads Healthy Start Pittsburgh. “I absolutely believe she (Comans) is the person that is need-
ed throughout this district. I see Ashley show up as a mother and a wife, that’s a full-time job, while also working full-time, while being in community, while being on the (Wilkinsburg) school board. Ashley is tenacious, small and mighty, I think she has friendly, thick skin, she can roll with the punches that can be needed, but still being focused on what’s important.” Shirriel made the comments at Comans’ campaign announcement, Nov. 18, at Vickey’s Soul Grill, inside the Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg. If Comans wins the Democratic Primary, she would be a virtual lock to become the Pittsburgh region’s latest African American woman to hold elected office in the state House. In addition to Congresswoman Lee, there’s newly-minted state Rep. Lindsay Powell (District 21) and Rep. La’Tasha Mayes (District 24). Amanda Barber, a Wilkinsburg School Board Director (board members are referred SEE COMANS A4
ACLU files lawsuit against McKeesport, its police department, Allegheny County Black residents say police went way over the top during search for suspect by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
THE BAMILEKE PEOPLE residing in Pittsburgh hosted a grand reception to honor Foh Njitack Ngompe Pele, the esteemed king of the Bamileke kingdom of Bafoussam in Cameroon (left). Many area Black mayors were in attendance, including Aliquippa mayor Dwan Walker, right. For more photos, see Pages A6-7. (Photo by Gail Manker)
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The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that the ACLU of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against the city of McKeesport, Allegheny County, and numerous named and unnamed police officers, regarding the violation of some McKeesport residents’ Fourth Amendment rights and the Pennsylvania Constitution during a police search for a shooting suspect in December of 2020, according to a statement from the ACLU. One of those residents is Courtney Thompkins, a Black woman who said during a news conference just steps from the McKeesport police station on Dec. 4 that officers bombarded her home, with her left to figure out why. She let them inside her home, but no one else was there. She didn’t know that a suspect was on the loose, accused of shooting a police officer, but she said
it was still uncalled for— the police’s actions at her home, or stopping her partner’s vehicle before that. “At no point did any police officer present Ms. Thompkins with a search warrant or an arrest warrant for Mr. Francis, nor did any officer articulate any basis for believing that Mr. Francis might be found in her home. In fact, (police officers) never said they were even looking for Mr. Francis,” read the lawsuit, obtained by the Courier. Koby Francis was eventually arrested in West Virginia, nine days after he was accused of sliding down the handcuffs that were placed on him, accessing a gun, and shooting a McKeesport police officer just outside the police station on Dec. 20, 2020. Francis was in a police vehicle prior to the shooting, but apparently was not checked for any weapons. He then fled the scene and was on the run for nine days. Some Black residents in
McKeesport then reported excessive harassment and a violation of their constitutional rights during the manhunt. “The way the city of McKeesport and Allegheny County police officers treated Black residents in McKeesport in December of 2020 is unconscionable,” said Solomon Furious Worlds, staff attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, in a release. “Due process and the constitutional right to privacy were tossed aside by police during numerous unlawful searches, making many of McKeesport’s Black residents feel like they were being terrorized by a militarized police force. Police can’t use a shooting as an excuse to just pick and choose which elements of the Constitution they want to follow.” Take Action Advocacy Group CEO Fawn Walker Montgomery told the Courier there were roughly 10 different police agencies scouring the small town SEE MCKEESPORT A3