Two Memphis Police officers surprise girl with wheelchair after hers was stolen by a heartless criminal

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And that’s exactly why we’re launching this national crowdfunding campaign as part of our efforts to help “re-fund the police”.

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MEMPHIS, TN – Two Memphis Police officers surprised a 17-year-old girl earlier in October who had her wheelchair stolen days prior. After the teenage girl and her family gave up hope of ever getting the wheelchair back, two MPD officers were able to locate and return the wheelchair.

Annabelle Hulgan is relieved, needless to say, after Memphis Police were able to recover her wheelchair that was stolen right outside her home on October 13th. The 17-year-old has Spina Bifida and relies on the chair everyday for her mobility.

Her mother, Christen, said that on the day of the incident, she’d left her van running in the driveway outside of her home. Inside of the van was her purse, other various belongings – and a $10,000 wheelchair for Hulgan.

Christen said that on the day of the theft, her daughter claimed to have heard the van door shut outside:

“She heard a car door slam and she said mommy someone just got in the van. I said ‘oh you are being silly again no one would do that, no one is out there.’”

Reality set in when Christen and her daughter saw the van pulling out of their driveway.

Looking back on the theft, Christen said her daughter was worried sick over what had come of her wheelchair:

“She was so hurt, so hurt and she hasn’t slept in a couple of days worried about it, thinking about what happened to it.”

On October 14th, police made an arrest in the case, and recovered the stolen van – however, the wheelchair was nowhere to be seen inside of the recovered vehicle.

The family had nearly given up hope until Memphis Police said a received tip led them to finding the wheelchair abandoned of the side of the road.

Surprisingly, the wheelchair is still in good shape and working order. The teen girl’s mother called it a “miracle”:

“Like a miracle! We started screaming and I was jumping and you were screaming.”

Christen couldn’t stress the importance of that wheelchair in her daughter’s life, saying that she hopes the suspect understands what he nearly robbed Hulgan of:

“The wheelchair is an extension of her body, those are her legs, that’s part of who is she is…A consequence should be going into the special needs community, learning what this is about, learning how people need wheelchairs.”

Authorities did not release the name of the alleged thief responsible for the theft of the van and wheelchair. 

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High school student attacks disabled teacher in suspected ‘slap a teacher’ TikTok challenge

(Originally published October 11th, 2021)

COVINGTON, LA- According to reports, authorities are investigating an incident after an 18-year-old female student allegedly attacked a disabled 64-year-old teacher, knocking her from her wheelchair during what is suspected to have been a TikTok challenge. 

The high school student was arrested in St. Tammany Parish and two others were arrested days later for posting the assault on social media.

The Covington Police Department (CPD) said the student, identified as 18-year-old Larrianna Jackson, was caught on video punching the 64-year-old teacher.

Watch below:

Officers believe the attack was likely prompted by a viral social media challenge circulating on TikTok, which involves users damaging school property or physically assaulting teachers. The “slap a teacher” challenged has allegedly inspired several recent violent acts at schools.

TikTok claims that it has seen no evidence of this trend.

The “challenge” has also prompted strong responses of condemnation from the California Teachers Association and the Connecticut attorney general.

Officers examined video of the incident, during which Jackson is seen approaching her seated teacher and punching her, knocking her to the ground. Jackson then proceeded to violently punch the teacher, at which point the video ends. 

Police said another student was filming when a conversation between the teacher and Jackson turned violent. Due to injuries sustained by the attack, the teacher went to a hospital to seek medical attention. Officers alleged that the attack should be tied to the “slap a teacher” challenge. CPD said in a statement:

“In the video, you can see the school teacher sitting at her desk where she appears to be talking to Larrianna Jackson. After a moment, Jackson punches the teacher, causing the teacher to fall to the ground. As the teacher fell to the ground, Jackson continues to violently close fist-punch the teacher. The video turns off at this point.”

Jackson has been charged with battery of a school teacher, a felony and was taken to St. Tammany Parish Jail where she awaits prosecution. Two others who filmed the attack are also facing a charge of unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity.

The police department identified one of those additional suspects as 18-year-old Trinity Gervais. The third suspect was said to be a juvenile and has not been identified.

St. Tammany Schools Superintendent Frank Jabbia said that he was “devastated” to watch the footage, adding:

“For this teacher to be having a conversation with a student and then to be assaulted in this manner was very disturbing.”

Jabbia also stated that all students involved would be disciplined. It is unclear if the assaulted teacher will return to the classroom. She has been released from the hospital, but will be monitored over the next few days. Jabbia added:

“She is hurting.”

CPD said in a statement:

“If you watched the video, it sounded like they knew this was about to happen, so we’re looking into it and there may be more arrests that come out of this.”

Police stated the investigation is ongoing, but they think the attack was likely motivated by the “slap a teacher” social media challenge circulating on TikTok. TikTok has denied that claim, tweeting that the “rumored ‘slap a teacher’ dare” is an insult to educators everywhere. The video-sharing platform added:

“And while this is not a trend on TikTok, if at any point it shows up, content will be removed.”

Fox News uncovered no search results for “slap a teacher” or related phrases on TikTok. However, there were 11 videos posted by teachers discouraging assaults on teachers.

Jabbia said he was not aware of any evidence that the incident was linked to the “slap a teacher” challenge, but said any acts of violence in the school system would not be tolerated. 

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Disabled man leaving soup kitchen beaten to death with bike lock in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago

(Originally published September 15th, 2021)

CHICAGO, IL – A 67-year-old disabled man who was leaving a church soup kitchen following a verbal argument inside was reportedly attacked by the man he was arguing with inside of the church.

Authorities say that the suspect beat the victim to death with a bike lock in an alley not far from the church.

On September 10th at approximately 2:45 p.m., 67-year-old Juan Antonio Garcia Rios had just finished up having lunch at the local church’s soup kitchen located within the 1900-block of South Ashland Avenue.

Rios was on the phone with his sister after leaving the church, according to his niece Sara Garcia, and Rios’ sister reportedly heard another man’s voice calling out to her brother and approaching. Rios reportedly told his sister that he’d call her back.

However, Garcia said he never did:

“She never heard from him. He was disabled. He couldn’t even really walk, much less run. He was in a church and he had just finished eating.”

A church employee, identified only as Pamela, said that Rios had gotten into some sort of verbal altercation with another man inside of the soup kitchen, saying she saw the suspect attack Rios with what she thought was a “metal bar” in an adjacent alley to the church:

“They were arguing inside and then I guess from there it escalated… They were arguing, the guy brought out the metal bar and hit him right there.”

Staff at the church called 911 regarding the attack, with Chicago Police later describing the weapon used to beat Rios to death was a bike lock. The suspect, who remains unidentified, reportedly rode off on a white bicycle after the attack and has yet to be caught.

Garcia said her uncle was a good man, having moved to Chicago five months earlier in search of work and also to help preach the gospel:

“He was killed. He was my uncle. We want justice. We want to see if people know more information, if they can tell the cops. We just want justice because we’re so far away… He was a Christian man. His life mattered and he was loved.”

Corina Garcia Flores, Rios’ sister, can’t understand why someone would murder her brother:

“He did not do people wrong. That is what we do not understand, why all this happened.”

Flores spoke fondly of her late brother’s talents and work ethic, calling him a “jack of all trades”:

“He was what is normally called a jack of all trades. If you needed something done he would do it.”

In the police district that encompasses Pilsen and parts of the Near West Side, violent crime has increased over the previous year. According to crime statistics, the number of murders has increased by 65% since 2020, having risen from 17 at this time last year to 28 currently.

Theft and sexual assault reports have also increased as opposed to 2020, however, the number of aggravated batteries and burglaries has decreased somewhat.

Anyone with information regarding the murder of Rios is urged to contact Chicago Police or submit an anonymous tip to detectives through the CPDTip.com website.

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About The Author

Gregory Hoyt is an I.T. Marketing and Sales professional based out in Sierra Vista, Arizona. While being a staunch and outspoken advocate of law enforcement and first responders, Gregory Hoyt also has the experience of having spent nearly 5 years in prison as well. Since then, he's used his unique perspective to offer support and commentary about the criminal justice system. When not working or combating bad ideas, Hoyt also leisurely studies economics, history, and law.

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