Beezy Listening

I have been approved to utilize the Video Podcast feature on Anchor.fm, so to test it out I'm posting my full report on Vincent Belmonte's killing by East Cleveland Police officer Larry McDonald. If your podcast app doesn't support video, you can watch the report on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8R0yFss27M

On January 5th, 2021, Vincent Belmonte was killed by East Cleveland police officer Larry McDonald. McDonald was pursuing Belmonte on foot and claims that Belmonte turned, pointed his gun, and threatened to shoot McDonald.  We can only take McDonald’s word on this, because he shut off his bodycam moments before this alleged threat from Belmonte occurred.   Based on information currently available to the public, the case hinges entirely on believing McDonald and ignoring the physical evidence. Based on McDonald’s and the East Cleveland Police Department’s reputations, there is no reason to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Mariah Crenshaw of Chasing Justice, LLC has been tracking officer training closely for nearly 3 years now. Prior to that, Crenshaw assisted the Department of Justice in their administration of the federal consent decree that was imposed on the city of Cleveland.  

For the first “Monday with Mariah”, she joined me in my home to go over some details about Larry McDonald and the East Cleveland police that didn’t make it into my report. That conversation organically moves into a discussion about the investigation and legal actions Chasing Justice is engaged in regarding officer training.

Taking the podcast back to its musical roots today with NYC-based alternative band, Believe in Ghost! On today's show we talk about their new EP, "BOO!", their musical origins, how they navigated the pandemic, and the beef behind their new song "Keep in Touch"

I covered a Shontel Brown campaign event this weekend, and captured her having a "Please Clap" moment all her own.

(This audio is from the YouTube report, which provides more detail, but functions perfectly as a podcast. https://bit.ly/shontel-brown)

Joining me is Dr. Richard Montgomery, who shares his reactions to Shontel Brown's stump speech.

Dr. Montgomery former mayoral candidate for the city of Euclid, as well as an activist who follows Cuyahoga county politics very closely.  

I was first referred to Dr. Montgomery while working on the documentary series State of Injustice, about the systemic abuses of the Euclid Police Department, and the failures of that city’s mayor and city council to hold them accountable.

+++ SUPPORT MY WORK +++

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bzdug 

Substack: https://bzdouglas.substack.com 

PayPal: https://paypal.me/bzdouglas 

### FOOTNOTES ###

"What Cuyahoga County Residents Need to Know about Shontel Brown and her Campaign for Congress" by Keith Wilson

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown1 

"Shontel Brown outraises, outspends the field in Cuyahoga Council District 9 Democratic primary" by Andrew J. Tobias, Cleveland.com

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown2 

"Former Cuyahoa County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora Convicted of Racketeering" - FBI.gov

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown3 

"Marcia Fudge issued Hatch Act warning over political remarks at White House" by Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland.com

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown4 

"Fudge reprises Friends for Fun at Frederick’s" by R. T. Andrews, realdealnews.com

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown5

“Former deputy of Cuyahoga County auditor sentenced to prison for bribing Frank Russo and Jimmy Dimora” By James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer 

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown6

“Shontel Brown must resign as Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chair” by Editorial Board, Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown7

“Shontel Brown Approved Major Contract, Then Contractor Backed Her Campaign” by Matthew Cunningham-Cook, Sam Allard for The Intercept

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown8 

“Nina Turner Opponent Shontel Brown Is Low-Key Pleading for Super PAC Support”

by Ryan Grim, The Intercept

https://bit.ly/shontel-brown9 

Armond Budhish on Racism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Oq18AbSMI

Shontel Brown YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCARuPiqBoGzDt0cYfKYJKGg

Secretary Marcia Fudge Visits Lock 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d29iyW8_EWg

Peanut Butter Jelly Time on Green Screen

https://bit.ly/pbjellytime

Tim Collingwood is a local actor, playwright, stage manager, arts  advocate, and activist.  On this episode, we discuss his experiences and  perspectives in activism as a person on the autistic spectrum.

Please enjoy this unscripted, unedited, emergency episode announcing the release of my new documentary series State of Injustice!

Our Indiegogo Campaign to fund the pilot season ends on Wednesday 3/24. For the last day, I'll be co-hosting an all day stream-a-thon from BLM Cleveland. You can catch that stream via one of the links below. We're going to have some pretty incredible guests and discussion throughout the day, so please pop by and say hi! I never hear from you lovely listeners enough.

Stream-a-Thon Links

The stream will also be running concurrently on BLM Cleveland and BZ Listening pages, but I'd really rather drive up likes and subscribes on the doc's channels.

My guest today is John Bonifaz, the Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People.  He previously served as the Executive Director and then General Counsel of the National Voting Rights Institute, an organization he founded in 1994, and also served as the Legal Director of Voter Action, a national election integrity organization.

John joins me to have a discussion about the hot topic of impeachment. We go through the arguments in the book Bonifaz co-wrote with Ron Fein and Ben Clements, THE CONSTITUTION DEMANDS IT: The Case for the Impeachment of Donald Trump.

Follow John and FSFP:

Today’s episode is taken from a video report I posted on Wednesday. It’s the story of the Cleveland Warriors, a semi-professional football team in the National Public Safety Football League, and how their management snuck Tamir Rice’s killer, Timothy Loehmann, onto the team. When black players found out and complained, they were pushed out themselves.

I am very happy to report that this morning I awoke to learn that the president and vice president of the Warriors have both resigned in the wake of this scandal.

State of Injustice

Support BZ's Work

BZ & DZ sit down with local activist Devorah Phillips to talk about the fascist riots at the Capitol on 1/6.

Watch this episode on YouTube

My guest today is Dr. Joel Schwartz, a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with adults with childhood trauma, neurologically diverse children and adults, and is a strong proponent of the neurodiversity paradigm.

Articles: