Birds of a Feather: Fetterman Touts Endorsement from Ex-Cop Sued for Accosting Innocent Black Man – Washington Free Beacon

Fetterman pulled a shotgun on an unarmed black jogger almost a decade in the past

Chuck Ross • November 8, 2022 3:30 pm

Senate candidate John Fetterman, who pulled a shotgun on an unarmed black jogger almost a decade in the past, touted an endorsement Monday from a former cop sued for violating the civil rights of a black lawyer in Washington, D.C., in 2009.

Fetterman said he was “honored” to obtain the endorsement of Michael Fanone, a former Washington, D.C., police officer injured throughout the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. Fanone has grow to be a media darling within the aftermath of the Capitol breach for his unvarnished criticism of Republicans he says are chargeable for the breach. In an outburst on MSNBC final week, he known as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R.) a “piece of shit” for casting doubt on the 2020 presidential election outcomes.

Fetterman is touting the last-minute endorsement as he tries to hyperlink Republican Mehmet Oz to the January 6 riots. The Democrat falsely claimed final week that Oz has known as for pardons for defendants charged within the riots. Fetterman additionally in contrast the rebel to the 9/11 assaults, through which Islamic terrorists killed 2,977 Individuals.

Fanone could also be an ideal match for Fetterman, who as mayor of Braddock, Pa., pulled a shotgun on an unarmed black jogger he falsely suspected of firing photographs close to his home. Fetterman admitted after the 2013 incident that he might have damaged the regulation throughout the encounter, however he has refused to apologize to the person.

Fanone’s racially tinged incident got here in 2009, when as a member of the Metropolitan Police Division he carried out an unlawful search of a black legal professional he falsely suspected of getting medicine or weapons.

Michael Maddox, an legal professional for Howard College, the traditionally black school, alleged that Fanone and his associate accosted him whereas he was sending a piece e mail on a avenue nook in Washington, in response to the lawsuit, first reported by American Greatness. Maddox mentioned Fanone defended the search by claiming they have been in “a excessive crime space.” Maddox mentioned he started recording the officers after the incident, at which level Fanone approached him and instructed him to “cease recording.” Maddox mentioned Fanone then “assaulted” him to cease him from recording their encounter.

In his lawsuit, Maddox mentioned the District of Columbia has a protracted historical past of “maliciously stopping, looking out and detaining African-American males leading to a violation of their Constitutional rights.”

The District of Columbia settled the lawsuit with Maddox in 2014 for $175,000 in alternate for dropping Fanone and his associate as defendants within the case.

Since their respective incidents, each Fetterman and Fanone have condemned the felony justice system as inherently racist. In a memoir launched this yr, Fanone asserted that regulation enforcement “has performed a major half” in America’s “lengthy historical past of racism.” Fetterman rallied to the Black Lives Matter trigger in 2016. He has campaigned with quite a few activists who assist the motion to defund police. He touted endorsements final week from two celebrities, John Legend and Kerry Washington, who assist the controversial trigger.