Gov. Whitman Photo-Op Friskee Killed In Camden

WIKIPEDIA: Sherron Rolax (born June 3, 1979, died May 24, 2008 in Camden, New Jersey) of Camden, New Jersey, United States, first achieved public fame after an incident involving then New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 1996. Governor Whitman was riding along in a police patrol car when officers stopped Rolax for suspicious activity in Camden, New Jersey; they frisked him, but found nothing. Whitman then also frisked Rolax while a state trooper photographed her. The picture was later published in newspapers statewide, drawing criticism from civil rights leaders who saw this as a violation of Rolax’s civil rights and an endorsement of racial profiling by the Governor. Rolax filed a tort claim to the United States District Court against Whitman, the State, the State Police, and other state officials on April 24, 2001. The case was dismissed because it was not filed early enough,^[1] which was affirmed on appeal. On May 31, 2002, Rolax was arrested for possession of narcotics within 1000 feet of school property. Rolax plead guilty on January 27, 2003, and was sentenced on February 28, 2003, to South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Rolax was eligible for parole as of May 30, 2005, and will have completed his full term as of March 3, 2006. Rolax had two prior drug-related convictions before his guilty plea on January 27, 2003.Rolax was killed in the early morning hours of May 24, 2008 in the aftermath of a loud verbal dispute in Camden, New Jersey. He was shot and killed around 12.45 in the morning. ^[2]

INQUIRER: Man Who Gov. Whitman Frisked Shot Dead, NOT By Gov. Whitman 

*

RELATED: Two Philadelphia police officers were charged this morning with beating up a 36-year-man they found painting graffiti in August, and falsifying records to make it appear they had not been near the encounter. District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham announced the charges against Officers Sheldon Fitzgerald and Howard Hill III, both five-year veterans from the 25th district. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said the pair were suspended without pay and would be fired. Abraham said the two officers stopped David Vernitsky, 36, at 12:30 a.m. on August 26 near 4th Street and Wyoming Avenue in Feltonville, where they found him spray-painting graffiti on the wall of a friend who was newly married. She said Vernitsky fled, the officers caught him, beat him, handcuffed him and tossed him in the back of their patrol car, head first. After running a check on his records and finding no outstanding warrants against Vernitsky, the officers released him. Two friends who had seen part of the alleged assault took Vernitsky to the hospital, where he was treated for a broken jaw that required his jaw be wired shut for five weeks. He also lost three teeth. Vernitsky was not charged with anything, Abraham said.