Benjamin Crump

Benjamin Crump
Born Benjamin Lloyd Crump
(1969-10-10) October 10, 1969
Lumberton, North Carolina
Alma mater Florida State University (J.D.)
Occupation Attorney
Religion Baptist[1]
Spouse(s) Genae Crump
Website Official website

Benjamin Lloyd Crump (born October 10, 1969) is an American attorney at the Tallahassee, Florida based law firm Parks & Crump, LLC[2] known for his association with the 2012/2013 George Zimmerman case. He is representing the family of Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American man shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

Early life and education

Benjamin Lloyd Crump was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, near Fort Bragg where his biological father served in the United States Army.[3] The oldest of nine siblings and step-siblings, Crump grew up in an extended family and was helped raised by his grandmother Mittie.[4] His mother Helen, worked as a hotel maid and in a local Converse shoe factory.[5] His mother sent him to attend high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he lived with her second husband, a math teacher, whom Crump identifies as his father.[5][6]

He attended Florida State University and received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 1992. Crump received his Juris Doctor from Florida State University in 1995.[7] A classmate of Crump's at Florida State University College of Law was journalist Shannon Bream.[8]

Career

Crump is known for taking on high visibility pro bono cases with widespread media attention and civil rights implications. An example was the shooting of Trayvon Martin, who on February 26, 2012 was killed by George Zimmerman. Crump represents Martin's family.[9]

Crump also represents the family of Alesia Thomas, a 35-year-old single African-American mother who died while in police custody in August 2012.[10] Journalist Chuck Philips reported that during the arrest by female Officer Mary O’Callaghan, Thomas was "slammed to the ground, handcuffed behind her back, kicked in the groin, hog-tied and stuffed into the back seat of a patrol car, where she died."[11] Crump demanded that dashboard video of the incident be released, threatening legal action and encouraging Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a federal probe.[11][12] In October 2013, one of the arresting officers was charged with felony assault of Thomas, pleading not guilty.[13] Judge Shelly Torrealba signed off on a request by the district attorney's office to only release the video to prosecutors and defense attorneys. This was to prevent the tainting of potential jury candidates O'Callaghan's attorney Robert Rico said.[14]

On August 11, 2014, the family of Michael Brown announced that they would be hiring Crump to represent their case, especially as the death had been widely compared to the Trayvon Martin case.[15][16][17]

Other clients include the family of Martin Lee Anderson, an African-American teenager who died after a beating in 2006 by guards in a Florida youth detention center; the family of Genie McMeans, Jr., an African-American driver who died after being shot by a white state Trooper; the family of Ronald Weekley Jr., a 20-year-old African American skateboarder beaten by police in Venice, California;[11][18][19][20] the family of Tamir Rice, an African-American youth who was killed by police in Cleveland, Ohio while holding an air gun (a replica of a real gun);[21] and the family of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was killed by three policeman in Pasco, Washington while throwing rocks.[22] He previously represented the family of Kendrick Johnson, an African-American high school student who was found dead at his school in Valdosta, Georgia under mysterious circumstances, but stepped down from their legal team in late 2015.[23][24] Crump is representing Corey Jones, who was killed by a plainclothes officer while waiting for a tow truck in South Florida.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Johnathan P. Hicks (April 18, 2012). "Trayvon Family's Lawyer, a Career Steeped in Civil Rights Cases". bet.com.
  2. ↑ Florida State University (2010). "Mr. Benjamin L. Crump Principal, Parks & Crump, PA". criminology.fsu.edu.
  3. ↑ The Grio (March 30, 2012). "Benjamin Crump: Martin family lawyer known for civil rights cases". thegrio.com.
  4. ↑ "Trayvon Martin Family Lawyer Is Versed In Civil Rights Cases". newsone.com. March 30, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Barbara Ash; Florida State University Law Review (2006). "BEN CRUMP Seeking Justice for All: BEATING THE ODDS Ben Crump Winning the ‘No-Win’ Cases" (PDF). law.fsu.edu.
  6. ↑ Mark Schneider; Associated Press (March 30, 2012). "Martin family lawyer known for civil rights cases When Benjamin Crump got his first call from Trayvon Martin's father last month, the attorney counseled patience.". startribune.com.
  7. ↑ "Benjamin L. Crump – Parks and Crump Attorneys at Law". Parkscrump.com. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  8. ↑ "Twitter / ShannonBream: Still surprises me whenever". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  9. ↑ "Trayvon Martin Family's Lawyer Benjamin Crump Known For Civil Rights Cases". Huffington Post. March 30, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  10. ↑ Romero, Dennis (August 30, 2012). "Alesia Thomas: Woman Dies in LAPD Custody Amid 'Questionable Tactics,' Police Say". LA Weekly.
  11. 1 2 3 Philips, Chuck (October 15, 2012). "What Happened to Alesia Thomas". Chuck Philips Post. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  12. ↑ Romero, Dennis Romero (October 15, 201). "LAPD's Alesia Thomas Beating Video Demanded By Attorney Benjamin Crump". LA Weekly. Retrieved 24 October 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ↑ Botelho, Greg (October 10, 2013). "LAPD officer charged with assaulting arrested woman, who later died". CNN. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  14. ↑ Abdollah, Tami (15 October 2013). "Mary O'Callaghan Pleads Not Guilty To Felony Assault". The Huffington Post.
  15. ↑ Swaine, Jon (12 August 2014). "Michael Brown shooting: police use teargas to crack down on protesters". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Blackburn, Doug (August 15, 2014). "Friends of Brown family called on civil-rights lawyer". USA Today. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  17. ↑ Cadet, Danielle (August 11, 2014). "Benjamin Crump Representing Michael Brown's Family After Teen's Fatal Shooting". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Benjamin Crump – Bay county camp, martin anderson case". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  19. ↑ "How lawyer got nation talking about Trayvon Martin". NPR. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  20. ↑ Schneider, Mike (March 30, 2012). "Martin Family lawyer known for civil rights cases". The Grio. Associated Press. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  21. ↑ Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Tamir Rice's family hires attorney who represented families of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin" By Patrick Cooley December 08, 2014
  22. ↑ New York Daily News: "Family of unarmed Mexican man killed by police in Pasco, Wash., hires civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump" BY Rachelle Blidner February 24, 2015
  23. ↑ "Kendrick Johnson Update: "It's a real-life murder mystery," atty Benjamin Crump says of Ga. teen's gym mat death". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  24. ↑ "Kendrick Johnson probe: Attorney exits mark shift - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  25. ↑ Robles, Frances; Hauser, Christine (22 October 2015). "Lawyers Provide Details in Police Shooting of Corey Jones in Florida". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
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