Good Morning El Paso Weekend 07.10.16

as a city and a nation mourn the events of the past week… new threats and responses emerge surrounding ceremonies. and around the borderland, elected officials and viewers are reacting to comments made by one of el paso’s top law enforcement officials. and more local reaction to the shocking events of the past week… as people in the area gather to remember. and in stormtrack weather, stephen! this is all the news you need to start your sunday, july 10th. abc-7’s “good morning el paso weekend” starts right now! “i m tired of it i’m tired of waking up and seeing another black man die at the hands of the police.” thousands of supporters of the black lives matter movement took to the street last night. the protest follows the deaths of two african american men this week at the hands of police officers. and this morning at least 120 people were arrested in baton rouge, louisianna… along with another 50 people arrested in minnesota. good morning and thank you for joing us… i’m andrew j. polk. we’ll get to the latest on the protests in just a moment but first let’s get to stormtrack weather. we are under an abc-7 first alert. let’s get your first forecast with stormtrack meteorologist stephen decatur. high pressure aloft and low level westerly winds will bring hot mostly dry weather with above normal temperatures to southern new mexico and west texas this week. there will be sufficient moisture for isolated showers and thunderstorms but most of the activity will occur around the high mountain areas. just a day after the dallas amubush. local leaders in el paso held a news conference to share condolonces to the victims killed. it was led by a prayer by chaplain carlos flores, sheriff richard wiles, county judge veronica escobar and state rep. joe moody. they all took the stand to share a few words in support for the victims. el paso’s chief of police greg allen was also there but did not speak at the podium. but it’s now the comments he shared after the conference has created a firestorm between local leaders. he spoke specifically about the protests going on for the ‘black lives matter movement’: reporter: what do you have to say about people protesting out there sunday. black lives matter people. “black lives matter, as far a i’m concerned is a radical hate group. and for that purpose alone i think the leadership of this country needs to look a little bit harder at that particular group. the consequences of what we saw in dallas is due to their efforts.” chief allen’s words has many people on opposit sides. but it did not sit well with congressman beto o’rourke who tweeted: “ep police chief has lost our confidence by blaming dallas pd murders –on black lives matter.” now–el paso leaders are calling on mayor oscar leeser and city council to take a stand against allen’s views and hold him acccountable. they penned a letter saying they were quote deeply concerned and disappointed by chief allen’s statement, saying in part: “…what chief allen’s statemen conveys about his attitude towards members of a community that he is sworn to protect raises serious questions about his leadership. it is also a betrayal of the values generations of el pasoans have stood for.” they went on to say: “the black lives matter movemen is about the same values of dignity, equality, and peaceful protest; it was not responsible for the tragedy in dallas. chief allen’s statement places el paso’s seal of approval on a sentiment that stands in stark contrast to those values and one that promotes hate itself.” the letter was signed by senator jose rodriguez, county judge veronica escobar, state rep mary gonzalez among several others. and like we said earer many people have split opinions to chief allens statements including our viewers. alot of our viewers are saying they support chief allen… but there are still plenty of viewers who disagree with what he said. terri says: “the chief needs to do his research on black lives matter. the only difference between now and back in the day is cell phone cameras, dash cams and people on the street seeing what’s going on.” pamela writes in part: ” when wearing that badge and in uniform, and as a leader you have no right to publicly express your false, uninvestigated opinion.” but viewers who say they support chief allen like nancy writes: “it takes courage to say what our chief of police said. i am not one to sugar coat anything and i appreciate someone that is firm and stands by his word and is not afraid to speak his mind.” and last comment from mario says: “i stand behind chief allen. i encourage him to continue to stand behind his beliefs. shame on those who are trying to cause division in the ranks.” and ofcourse we want to hear more from our viewers. to join this discussion now just go the kvia abc-7 facebook page. in st. paul, protestors are staging a lie-in to commemorate the lives lost this past week. they also gathered to block part of i-94, the protest starting with a march from the govenor’s mansion. law enforcement is now forming their own line across the interstate in response to the protestors. and eventually using smoke bombs to clear the air. abc’s eva pilgrim is in st. paul with the latest: overnight? protesters and police clashing? in baton rouge – footage shows one man being tased – about 30 arrested? inclucing civil rights activist? deray mckesson? a well known member of the black lives matter movement? ?streaming on periscope as he was taken into custody. nats- 4:49 “this is the police, you are under arrest.” under arrest y’all.” and in st. paul protestors under arrest y’all.” and in st. paul protestors lying on the streets and shutting down highways – nats – protestors chanting police there overnight using smoke bombs to clear out demonstrators?who they say threw rocks and fireworks at them? meanwhile in san antonio police investigating reported gunfire hitting their headquarters? the protests?spurred by those fatal shootings of two black men by police in 24 hours. nats – video of sterling on tuesday night, that close-up killing caught on camera? alton sterling losing his life. on wednesday? nats – video live stream philando castile shot in the driver’s seat of his car in minnesota after two cops pulled him over. his fiance live streaming the aftermath on facebook. nats – video live stream this morning the attorney for the officer at the center of the minnesota shooting? saying “thi heartbreaking incident had nothing to do with race. it had to do with the presence of a gun.” nats – live stream: “sir he told you he was reaching for his wallet?” and that was abc’s eva pilgrim. last night dozens of las crucens gathered at albert johnson park to participate in a black lives matter vigil. they honored the two black men who were shot earlier in the week by police. they also honored the police officers who lost their lives in the dallas shooting. many were at a loss of words and participants were also concerned with the public’s unrest. the vigil started with with words of peace — then was followed by prayer. many las crucens reflected near statue of albert johnson who is the first black mayor of las cruces. with the recent shooting in dallas and some criticizing the black lives matter protest. some residents are explaining why the group needs to push forward: “some times we really need to sit down with eachother and really understand eachother, and i think that’s where the breakdown is coming with is they don’t understand why the injustices and inequalities that are happening are happening to the african american race and it’s being overlooked.” one woman we spoke with says with all the media…we can’t hide from our problems..especially with all the events happening…we have to take care of them. happening today– in honor of the recent shootings in louisiana and minnesota — utep’s black student union and p-flag are hosting a candlelight vigil. this will be tonight at the san jacinto plaza from 8 to 10 pm. our complete coverage of the ambush in dallas continues tonight. this week’s abc-7 xtra will be about the reaction to the attack on dallas police officers, plus the relationship between police and the communities they serve. mosley hobson from black roundtable will be our guest. his group promotes discussions of social issues that affect african- americans. you don’t want to miss this important discussion. you can catch it tonight at 10:35 p-m. while dallas continues to mourn– there’s more fear and anxiety after another possible threat has police once again on edge. police confirm no suspects were found after a threat temporarily shut down a vigil for the police officers killed. officers started searching the parking garage for what was described as a suspicious person. police also denied earlier reports about gunshots in the area. they say the sound came from a swat team using explosives to break through a locked fence during the search. if you’ve missed any of our coverage: ambush in dallas – kvia.com has everything to get you caught up to speed… including the full statements made by local leaders, and a slideshow that shows the moments chaos broke out in the dallas… along with pictures honoring the 5 officers gunned down. the cincinnati entertainment district used to be the center of el paso’s night life. but over the past few years more and more bars have closed their doors and the district has had some rough times. but now the city is working to change it for the better. and they want to know what you think should happen. they held a community meeting yesterday.. and we were there and heard several suggestions: off the top :18 1:12 “it’s the best way that the cit can move forward in looking at planning and creating an attractive place for pedestrians and for businesses as well.” city rep peter svarzbein and city staff are working with community members to develop ideas on what a redesign of the cincinnati street area near mesa and utep could look like. “firs and foremost, increase the safety aspect of that intersection for folks travelling from the parking garage or utep on to the retail or commercial part of cincinnati street. “the idea is to transform the cincinnati area by starting with the street itself, making it not so much focused on just letting vehicles by, but making it more accessible for pedestrians, bikes and other uses. also, getting people not just to park on the street, but to start using the parking structure that’s right nearby as well. overall, making this a more friendly, inviting and useful area.” “and so what wil happen after this, after we’ve gotten community input is – and we’ve had several meetings over the past several months – is that we will then take this information and give it to the engineering firm that will scope out the project.” with things like wider sidewalks, more trees and benches and more iconic signage for the area… business owners in the area say there is potential – and the city already has $1.5 million to make it happen.y “i think it seem great what we’ve talked about so far. they’ve laid out three options for us as far as the closure goes. but we’re also taking into account the trolley going through there. so that plays a big factor on us as well.” andrew j. polk, abc-7. and with planning for the future in mind, groundbreaking on the new project is expected in four to five months. there will be one final community meeting on the redesign, planned for later this year in august. the exact details on that meeting will be released later. if you haven’t stepped outside during the day lately – it is hot, with a capital h! and coming up on good morning el paso weekend… this wave of weather is also bringing some advisories you need to know about. and later – the unveiling of a new memorial brings together veterans and the community. it is , right now we’ll take a live look at traffic this morning: stormtrack weather is next! you’re watching abc-7… where news comes first!