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March 16, 2008 at 09:48:39
by Michael Richardson Page 1 of 2 page(s) |
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Duane Peak, a 15 year-old dropout with reported substance abuse problems, took out his angst against the world on August 17, 1970, when he killed an Omaha, Nebraska police officer, Larry Minard, the father of five young children. Police had been lured to a booby-trapped vacant house with a false report of a woman screaming. Instead of a rape victim, the eight responding patrolmen found only a suitcase. Officer Minard was killed instantly when the dynamite-rigged suitcase blew up in his face. Seven other officers were injured. Two years earlier, J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had ordered FBI field offices to "disrupt" the Black Panthers, a group Hoover had declared the most dangerous in America. Code-named COINTELPRO, the secret operation against the Black Panthers used illegal tactics and engaged in a wide range of misconduct against numerous individuals around the nation. When reports came in about the lethal trap that took Minard's life the Omaha district office sprang into action and assisted the Omaha Police throughout the investigation. After an intensive police sweep of Omaha's Near-Northside and the arrest of over a dozen individuals, the investigation focused on Peak who had been seen by witnesses with a suitcase around the time of the bombing. While under interrogation Peak gave a half-dozen different versions of the crime but failed to name the two individuals police wanted most. Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa (formerly David Rice) were leaders of Omaha's Black Panther chapter, the National Committee to Combat Fascism, and had been COINTELPRO targets for two years. Finally, during his last interrogation, Peak implicated Poindexter and Langa as his accomplices. That version of the crime was to be the script for Peak's preliminary hearing except that the murderous state's witness didn't stick to his story. When Peak failed to name the two Panther leaders in his morning testimony the prosecution called for a recess. When Peak returned to the stand he was wearing sunglasses and was "shaking and nervous."
When defense counsel David Herzog had Peak remove his sunglasses his eyes were red and puffy. The courtroom testimony follows:
Defense Attorney: What happened to make you shake and bring your nervous condition about now?
Duane Peak: I don't know.
Defense Attorney: You had a conversation between the time you were placed on the witness stand this morning and the present time now, isn't that correct?
Duane Peak: Yes.
Defense Attorney: And there were the same things that the police officers told you about what would happen to you, like sitting in the electric chair, isn't that correct?
Duane Peak: I didn't have a chance.
Defense Attorney: You didn't have a chance did you?
Duane Peak: No.
Defense Attorney: You are doing what they want you to do, aren't you.
Duane Peak: Yes.
After implicating Poindexter and Langa, in the solitude of his jail cell, the young killer would express remorse in a letter, known to the prosecution but withheld from the defense.
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| 4 comments |
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Free Political Prisoners Ed and Mondo
Michael, Thank you for keeping this important Supreme Court decision before us -- Hope you are continuing to send your copy to the Omaha Star, because it's the only coverage I've seen during this long wait since May. Supporters appreciate reading about the status, and it's good to remind people about the various aspects and injustices in the case. Barbara by Barbara Head (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments) on Monday, Mar 17, 2008 at 2:07:05 PM  (0+)
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Omaha Star newspaper
Barbara, Thank you for your good comment. It is a real shame the Nebraska news media has ignored this longstanding injustice. I do indeed send the articles to the Omaha Star. I would encourage you to ask the Star to continue providing news about this case. The Star is the only media outlet in the state that has shown the courage to report the facts about what happened in Omaha that hot August in 1970. The Omaha Reader did two stories about the case last year but unfortunately the paper was not error-free and left out important details of the police and prosecutorial misconduct. Sadly three killers of Officer Minard walked away from the crime while Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa remain imprisoned 37 years later. Duane Peak, the confessed bomber, got 33 months in juvenile detention and lives in the state of Washington. Raliegh House, the supplier of the dynamite that killed Officer Minard, was held overnight and released without any formal charges or prosecution, whereabouts now are unknown. The third man, who made the call that lured police into the trap, was never identified after Omaha Police asked the FBI to cancel voice analysis of the tape to identify a suspect. Of all the COINTELPRO perversions of justice this case may be the worst. Michael Richardson by Michael Richardson (107 articles, 22 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 78 comments) on Monday, Mar 17, 2008 at 2:51:34 PM (0+)
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Reply: Omaha Star coverage
Michael, A great suggestion. I'll contact the Star and ask others to do the same. I know Ed's assessment of the Reader coverage is the same as yours, so I don't know if we want to encourage more of that, but at least it was something. Your continued analysis of this situation and your ongoing coverage keeps it alive, again, thank you. Barbara by Barbara Head (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments) on Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008 at 4:56:41 PM (0+)
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March 20 2008 Omaha Star coverage p. 9
Michael, Just wanted you to know that even with all the coverage of the Obama speech on Tuesday, your article on COINTELPRO abuses in the Poindexter & Rice case still made this edition of the Omaha Star ... I will be sure to thank the editors, and hope you keep it coming. Thank you! Barbara by Barbara Head (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments) on Friday, Mar 21, 2008 at 4:19:26 PM (0+)
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