Pubdate: Mon, 22 Aug 2005
Source: Mississauga News (CN ON)
Copyright: The Mississauga News 2005
Contact:  http://www.mississauganews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/268
Author: Louie Rosella
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

DEA SHOOTING UNWARRANTED, CHARGES WIDOW

Shooting Under Investigation

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says a 40-year-old 
Mississauga man shot dead by police in Florida earlier this month was lured 
to the state by a suspected drug dealer to buy thousands of dollars worth 
of marijuana.

Donovan Brooks' family, including his four children and former wife, 
Antoinette White of Mississauga, will be in Brooks' native Jamaica this 
weekend to attend his funeral.

White has contacted a Miami law firm founded by the late trial lawyer 
Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., to assist her in bringing a complaint against U.S. 
authorities.

"I want to see justice and nothing else," she said, adding she was outraged 
by the shooting.

White said she has no knowledge of her ex-husband's alleged drug history, 
believing Brooks to be a "good man and good father."

Police here say he has no criminal record.

"If a man does a crime, he should pay for it by going to jail. But he 
shouldn't be killed," White said. "It's not right to shoot someone like that."

The DEA says when Brooks and a friend went to meet the man on Aug. 5 at the 
Days Inn in West Palm Beach near Interstate 95 and 45th St., police were 
there waiting for him. Officers ordered Brooks and his friend to the ground 
before the fatal shooting, according to the DEA.

The male officer who shot Brooks was on assignment with the Palm Beach 
County Sheriff's Office's organized crime bureau, which assisted the DEA 
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the operation, sheriff's 
spokesman Paul Miller said Friday.

The officer was placed on paid administrative leave while the Sheriff's 
Office investigates the shooting. The officer's name was not released 
because he has worked in undercover stings and officials don't want to 
jeopardize other investigations.

The Sheriff's Office hasn't provided any further comment on the shooting, 
other than to say publicly the officer felt threatened.

Brooks, who works as a cook here, came to Canada from Jamaica in 1993, but 
spends a lot of time in New York State, where he has relatives, the family 
said.

He had two sons and two daughters with four women, White said.
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