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Help Ms Burney & Kids Recover - Illegal Eviction

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On Saturday December 19th, Whitney Burney and her four children were illegally evicted from their home in Detroit and lost most of their belongings (including their own Christmas presents). Detroit Eviction Defense is asking you to help raise funds so they can get back on their feet, replace all they lost, and find a new place to live.

The Burney family were illegally evicted from their home by her landlord, a slumlord named Santea Bryant. He was assisted by no less than four Detroit cops who removed Ms. Burney and her children from her home under threat of force. She was not even allowed time to remove her possessions from the home. The slumlord falsely claimed that Ms. Burney was a squatter and that he did not know her, but the police could have easily seen that this was a lie if they had so much as looked at the long history of text messages Ms. Burney had between herself and the slumlord going back several months in which he acknowledged her as his tenant.

Whitney Burney lived in the home for several months, had paid the landlord thousands of dollars and had plenty of evidence showing that she was a legal tenant of the home. There is no confusion here. Reports are that the Detroit cops have dealt with the slumlord, Santea Bryant, before and know he is a bad actor who carries out illegal evictions. This is not the first time. The slumlord never took Whitney Burney to court. He just lied about Whitney Burney being a squatter, and the cops, with no regard for the law or Whitney Burney, helped him carry out this attack. By the time someone from Detroit Eviction Defense was able to check the home on Tuesday the slumlord had changed the locks and had either destroyed, stolen or thrown away most of Ms. Burney's belongings - including furniture and appliances as well as her children's Christmas gifts.

As a result of the illegal and violent actions of this slumlord and Detroit cops, Ms. Burney has lost her home and her belongings in the middle of this pandemic. Detroit Eviction Defense and others are working to assist Ms. Burney in this difficult and dangerous time.

Ms. Burney's landlord sexually harassed her and became hostile after she refused his advances. And instead of aiding the victim, the Detroit Police Department actively assisted the perpetrator in his attack on Whitney Burney. If you want to help Whitney Burney and to join in this fight, please contact Detroit Eviction Defense. If you know of other illegal acts by the slumlord, Santea Bryant, please contact us. If you know of other situations where Detroit cops are working with slumlords to carry out illegal evictions and attack tenants and the people of Detroit, please contact Detroit Eviction Defense. You can message us on Facebook and call us at [phone redacted]. Email us at [email redacted].

And if you are able, please contribute to this GoFundMe for Whitney Burney and her children. These are times when we as a community must rally together and support each other in a spirit of mutual aid.

Stop all evictions. Cancel Rent. No illegal evictions. Stop Detroit Cops doing the work for slumlords. Justice for Whitney Burney. No evictions, legal or illegal, during this crisis.



****************Update 1-21-2020******************

The Fundraiser for Ms Burney & her family has gone amazingly well. It is now over $8,500, surpassing our goal of $7,000. 


You may have seen the recent coverage of Ms Burney’s Case in the news but in case you missed it: https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/evicition-protest .

A huge thanks to Detroit Will Breath and their support of Ms. Burney.


 We recently raised our goal to $12,000, and wanted to give a clear explanation of why.  The money raised has helped tremendously and we well on our way to Ms. Burney being back on her feet and ready for her next home. Ms Burney has a new potential place to stay, that is a good fit, but it will not be available until next month. This has meant an extended stay in a hotel, with the extra costs that comes still being in a temporary situation.  


The Slumlord, the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police must be held accountable and pay for the damages. We expect them to reimburse Ms. Burney for her costs, but in the meantime she has to pay for everything. The City had assured her, that it would help with replacing her kids computers for school, but they have not come through on that promise.  Despite an apology from the Police, the city has not helped pay for anything.  The increased goal is to address these costs.  Thank you so much for your support any sharing of the fundraiser you are able to do.

Organizer and beneficiary

Detroit Eviction Defense
Organizer
Detroit, MI
Soummer C
Beneficiary

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