At the request of family, Chairman of advocacy organization seeks answers from police into mysterious death of Mr. Phillip White.
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Though the reports only say Mr. Phillip White of Vineland, New Jersey, died while in police custody, National Awareness Alliance Chairman, Mr. Walter Hudson, asserts that the father of three died at the violent hands of the police.
“This is not my first time in the rodeo,” says Mr. Hudson, who rejected the notion that Mr. White – who witness says was beaten unconscious while handcuffed by police – died of a heart attack or an act of God.
Mr. Hudson, who worked the case of Mr. Moshowon Leach, a Pennsgrove, New Jersey man who in 2010 died while in police custody, said officials tried to tell the family Mr. Leach died of a heart attack, but an autopsy later proved Mr. Leach died of blunt force trauma to the throat.
“Living in South Jersey is like living in Selma, Alabama,” remarked Mr. Hudson, who at the time of our interview was planning a protest.
Vineland, New Jersey is right next door to Bridgeton, where Mr. Jerame Reid was killed by police in December of 2014. Mr. Hudson is the lead on that case, too – he’s worked roughly five cases in five years – and says neither town’s police department has a civilian review board.
There’s “no transparency,” said Mr. Hudson, who to this date has received no additional information on the December officer-involved shooting than what’s been made public.
As was his call in that case, Mr. Hudson has “no faith” in the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and wants an independent investigation.
He also wants the names of the officers who allegedly brutalized Mr. White.
Mr. Hudson, who described Mr. White’s mother as “very upset,” said “no one has reached out to the family” to express condolences.
“They owe the community an explanation,” he stated, firmly.
Mr. Hudson claims he’s tried to meet with the mayor, who owns a suit business, but he’s “out of town for a week.”
Mr. Hudson has also attempted to meet with the Director of Public Safety and says there’s a meeting on the books for the 14th of April, but something sooner would be better, he implied.
“The struggle continues,” Mr. Hudson says, “but we’re going to get to the bottom of it all.”
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