Destinee Stark

08/14/2024

Imposter Syndrome is truly such a crazy thing. I’ve been doing journalism work for years but never really claimed the title of “journalist” because I felt unqualified. I have over 172,000 combined followers across all my social media platforms where I DO JOURNALISM and somehow still felt like I wasn’t qualified to claim the title? That’s craaaazy. 🫠🤪🤦🏽‍♀️

I just finished a modern journalism certificate course by and through , which was full of so much incredible information, but I think the most valuable thing I walked away with from this course was the confidence to stand on my work and call it what it is—which is journalism. 💁🏽‍♀️👩🏽‍💻🕵🏽‍♀️

So it’s official! Changed my bio on socials and everything! 😂🫠

Introducing….

Freelance Investigative Journalist:

said something in this course that left such an impact on me. She said, “The best reason to enter this field is if you wanna be the person to hold accountability to power…if you wanna be the person who is unafraid to say, ‘Hey, this is fu**ed up,’….I think that’s the best reason to get into journalism. I think it’s the most worthwhile reason to get into journalism.”

That resonated with me and the work I’ve already been doing for years, but I just never had the courage to call it journalism.

Well, I do now and I better get to work because I’ve got stories to tell. ✍🏽📚📇

08/05/2024

Happy Battle of Montgomery Day!

We decided to run this viral playlist we created back for the anniversary!
Please feel free to knuck and buck accordingly today!

Check comments

08/05/2024

It’s a great time to have been alive to witness the Montgomery Uprising. I said what I said. ✨✊🏽❤️🖤💚

08/03/2024

I love for this take because if that ain’t the truth! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I also think a conversation that we aren’t having enough around all of this is that the infantilization of white femininity (especially when challenged or confronted by people of color) is and always has been rooted in white supremacy and misogyny—white women being viewed as innocent, delicate flowers that need protecting has been at the precipice of false claims that historically led to the lynchings of Black and Brown people.

It is this infantilizing view of white women as damsels in distress that made people who are silent about Sonya Massey getting shot in the face—by a police officer she called for help—eagerly jump to the defense of Angela Carini for getting punched in a completely consensual boxing match.

Aside from the important conversations we are having about gender and transphobia, we also need to be having conversations about racism and misogyny because they work in accordance with one another to uphold these stereotypes and systems of oppression.

08/01/2024

I kinda sorta soft-launched my podcast promo video the other day. 🫠😬 ➡️➡️➡️ Follow Blue Line Crime

This project has been several years in the making and there is still a lot of work to do before I launch episodes, but they’re coming! I figured I might as well share it now to build an audience. 🙃

If you’d like to help support this project, my Cashapp and Venmo are linked in my bio. Anything helps, no matter how small!

Music by J Jig Cicero

07/31/2024

🖤

Ida Ross-Freeman, a civil rights advocate and social worker in Canton, has died. She was 77.

07/29/2024

UPDATE: As of this morning (07/30/2024),
25-year-old Corvette Pope has been arrested in connection to Paige's death and an arrest warrant has been issued for 19-year-old Denzel Pope for aggravated murder, who is considered by Akron Police as armed and dangerous.

Original Caption: 24-year-old mother, Paige Nicole Calich—who just celebrated her birthday days earlier, was shot and killed in her home this weekend. The unnamed suspect reportedly fled on foot, and has not been apprehended yet.

There are unconfirmed rumors on social media stating that Paige was allegedly involved in some kind of physical altercation earlier that day. There are photos and names floating around on social media of those potentially involved, but I reached out to Akron Police Captain Mike Miller this morning and he told me that detectives have NOT confirmed a suspect by name as of the time of this post, therefore, I will not be sharing the name here at this time. He also stated that the Akron Police are asking the community for help in providing any information that would assist investigators.

Akron Police can be reached at 330-375-2552 if you have any information to share.

07/29/2024

Justice for Paige Nicole 💔

It is with profound sadness and heartbreak that I announce the tragic passing of Paige Nicole, a beloved mother, and friend, whose life was senselessly taken. Paige’s bright spirit and deep love for her children will be forever remembered.

Paige was involved in a physical altercation. After the confrontation, the situation escalated when the other party’s brother, who had been waiting at Paige’s home, tragically shot and killed her in front of her children. This horrifying act has left her family and our community in deep mourning.

This tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of violence and the urgent need for peaceful conflict resolution. We must come together to support Paige’s family and to advocate for change, ensuring that such heart-wrenching events do not happen again.

My thoughts and prayers are with Paige’s children and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time. I will share information soon on how our community can offer support to her family.

Let us honor Paige Nicole’s memory by promoting peace, understanding, and non-violence. Together, we can strive for a safer, more compassionate community.

07/27/2024

Canton lost an incredible soul and freedom fighter in Ms. Ida. 💔 Rest in Power Ms. Ida ✊🏽❤️🖤💚

07/26/2024

What we already knew to be true has been confirmed by autopsy! Former-Deputy Grayson shot Sonya Massey at a downward trajectory—in other words, he shot her while she was crouched or kneeling on the ground trying to shield herself from his rage.

He will not get away with this! There is no justification!

07/26/2024

A settlement reached Thursday between the Akron Bail Fund and city attorneys requires the city to implement new policies with public input.

07/26/2024

Today, Emmett Till would have turned 83 years old. In 1955, he was 14 when he was kidnapped and murdered for “inappropriately interacting with a white woman” in Mississippi. Discover how Emmett Till's death inspired a movement: http://s.si.edu/2ojo7wk



📸 Photograph of Emmett Till with his mother, Mamie Till Mobley. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Mamie Till Mobley family.

07/24/2024

After watching the body cam footage for the first time and sobbing at how awful it was a few hours ago….I got to work. Research is how I dissociate from trauma, okay? Sorry, not sorry. 🕵🏽‍♀️👩🏽‍💻🔎👀

I do, however, apologize for the audio being out of sync. I tried to fix it for over an hour and had to give up. The content is more important than my ex*****on of the video editing anyway. 🤷🏽‍♀️

07/24/2024

This was my real time reaction to viewing the body camera footage of Sonya Massey’s murder by police. I am not showing this to gain sympathy. I do not want your sympathy–what I want is for you to *DO SOMETHING* to change how our society views and disregards the value of Black Women–and more specifically–Black Women struggling with their mental health.

I also show this to serve as a reminder to those that see it, of the very real emotional toll this work takes and the collective trauma it inflicts on the Black community. Too many people turn a blind eye not only to police violence against the Black community in general, but to the traumatic trickle down effect it has on us. What I want is for white people to recognize their privilege in not having to fear that a call for help will result in their death.

It is the historical and real-time de-valorization of Black life and the dehumanization of Black bodies that upholds a system where a first responder and public servant felt comfortable withholding medical aid to a person they shot in the face because they did not want to waste their medical supplies and then had the audacity to say, “This fu***ng bitch is crazy.” This former-deputy had decided long before he pulled the trigger that Sonya Massey had no value.

Sonya Massey’s murder was a result of many systemic failures, with one of them being bias. Bias is at the foundation of every unjust murder of a Black person by police, and ironically, bias is one of the simplest things in this system to change. But due to the unwavering efforts to reinforce a biased system, it remains unchanged so that it may work just as designed.

Whether you choose to watch the footage of Sonya Massey being murdered or not, it does not change the deep-seated bias and discrimination that plagues law enforcement agencies on a global scale and serves as a catalyst for police violence. As we all process yet another murder by police, it is vital that people—white people especially—acknowledge their collective role in perpetuating and upholding anti-Blackness and mental health stigma.

While this footage is traumatic for anyone to see, and I implore anyone who watches it to process it in a safe space, it is especially important in processing this murder through the conversations we have online to acknowledge and center the Black healing of wounds that have never fully closed.

RIP Sonya 🖤

07/23/2024

I've just reached 8.5K followers on Facebook! Thank you so much for being here. 🥹🫶🏽

07/22/2024

Did former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson LIE to police dispatch about the cause of Sonya Massey’s GSW?! 😱 There’s a lot of specilation and unconfirmed theories but after spending some time going through the dispatch recordings from KSDK News and trying to decipher some of the chaos, these are my thoughts….What do you think???

(Captions are auto-generated. There may be typos or inaccuracies.)

Keep in mind that while I am sharing some facts, some of the commentary I provided is opinion-based. I try to always make it clear what is fact and what is opinion, but always strive for accuracy as much as possible. If you are unsure and need more clarity, I will do my best to provide that in the comments.

I will provide updates as they are available and I am able to.

07/22/2024

The red flags were red flagging for YEARS! 🚩🚩🚩🚩

07/22/2024

People need to be emotionally prepared to process the body cam footage of tomorrow. Black folks—protect your peace. Set boundaries. Do some self-care.

I think that based on the facts and timeline below, this will be some of the most difficult to watch body cam footage in years:

7/6–Sonya Massey was killed by former-deputy Sean Grayson.
7/10–Indiana State Police confirm use-of-force investigation.
7/17–ISP rules it an unjustified shooting and Sheriff fires Grayson.
7/18–Grayson is indicted for First Degree Murder, Aggravated Battery with a firearm, and official misconduct.

Shooting ➡️ indictment was only 12 days!! Do y’all understand how unprecedented this is for a (former) police officer?!

In addition to that, the judge denied him bail—KNOWING that he has Stage 3 Colon cancer and has a colostomy bag. 😳

The timeline from shooting to indictment is so unprecedented. 👀

Justice for Sonya Massey!

***Excuse my verbal typo—I meant to say Illinois State Police, not Indiana.

07/20/2024

Wasn’t planning on bringing this up until my “Tell All,” but then I saw the picture the City of Canton posted today highlighting Prosecutors Katie Erchick-Gilbert (who is running for judge btw) and Kristina Lockwood. Both played a role in maliciously prosecuting me and both have since been promoted.

You know I always come with receipts…

What’s interesting is that the witness the prosecution originally called for our first scheduled trial (Kim Clark) was not called by the prosecution at my final trial. Likely because he wasn’t really helpful to their narrative. 🤷🏽‍♀️ He was actually more helpful to ours, so the defense called him as a witness instead and he confirmed under oath that he was asked to testify because of his personal relationship with Nate Lockwood (Kristina Lockwood’s husband). 😂🫠 Embarrassing….

07/20/2024

While I’m spilling a little tea today…

This photo is from a post on the The City of Canton, Ohio page for a girl scouts troop that came to visit downtown to see what it takes to “be a prosecutor” and I would like to give a summary of some of the things these two— lead city prosecutor Katie Erchick Gilbert for Judge and Chief Assistant Prosector Kristina Lockwood— are responsible for (that I know I can speak to)….Please note that they both have been promoted to the positions above and at the time of my arrest, they were in lower positions.

After my arrest, my defense attorney spoke with Kristina Lockwood, who was the prosecutor originally assigned to my case. Kristina Lockwood told my attorney that she could not drop my charge because she had “marching orders” to pursue my case. At some point, Kristina Lockwood was removed from my case and it was taken over by Katie Erchick-Gilbert and Jason Reese. From what I understand, it is not common practice to assign TWO prosecutors to a fourth degree misdemeanor case (later downgraded to a minor misdemeanor)—especially not for a defendant with NO prior criminal record, and not only did TWO prosecutors try my case, but the TOP 2 attorneys for the entire City of Canton…

Apparently it wasn’t enough that my case made it all the way to trial, despite more than 98% of non-traffic misdemeanors never getting that far…they had to have the TOP 2 prosecutors for the entire city try my case TOGETHER…

I never knew for sure why Kristina Lockwood was removed from my case but I suspect it was because one of the witnesses on the prosecutions original witness list was called to testify because he was friends with Kristina Lockwood’s husband. This witness did not report a crime to the police. This witness had no real concern that a crime might’ve been committed. They were simply called after-the-fact through personal connections with the spouse of the prosecutor set to try my case. This clear conflict of interest is why I *suspect* Kristina Lockwood was removed from the case, but I likely won’t ever get a clear answer to confirm that as fact. 😏

What’s also unclear is who gave the “marching orders” to Kristina Lockwood and why. Questions I’d love concrete answers to but will likely never get.

So what it takes to be a prosecutor, at least in this law department is…well…you get it. I don’t need to say it, right?

07/19/2024

July is Disability Pride Month �

07/19/2024

In the words of Eminem — “And get ready, ‘cause this sh*t’s about to get heavy. I just settled all my lawsuits. F**K YOU DEBBIE!” 🫠😂🙃 I know the internet is such an unserious place, but seriously…

Some might think this settlement is “justice,” but I disagree. For me, justice would have been holding everyone involved in my unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution accountable instead of rewarding most of them with promotions. Justice would have been the city of Canton acknowledging their wrongdoing instead of them trying to buy my silence.

My attorneys at DiCello Levitt fought incredibly hard for me to be able to share my story publicly, on my own terms, in whatever way I see fit. My voice is non-negotiable. My silence was never for sale. And I am pleased that we could at least come to an agreement on that.

And just for transparency’s sake before people start accusing me of things in comment sections that many people often are accused of after settling a lawsuit—you should know that I don’t get the entire $25,000 (because lawyers DO deserve to be paid for their work). And to be clear—what I did receive from the net settlement just barely covered the five figure legal expenses I had to pay out for my defense but this was never about the money for me—it was about standing up to the corrupt system here in Canton and seeking accountability because if they’re violating my rights this way and I had the privilege—not only to retain my own attorneys to defend me—but also the time and resources to pursue accountability at this level. So, if they are violating the rights of citizens who DO have the privilege to fight back, they’re most certainly violating the rights of the most vulnerable citizens among us that can’t afford to fight them.

If you’ve been one of my since all this started and you’re still here, I appreciate you more than you know. 🫶🏽

Speak Truth to Power, Always. ✊🏽

Article Credit: Kelli Weir from The Canton Repository / CantonRep.com

07/19/2024

The interim police chief notified the officer of his termination, saying his actions have “brought shame on the Seattle Police Department."

07/19/2024

UPDATE FOUND SAFE!

Leigha Vasiliou
📍 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
📅 Last Seen: July 13, 2024
👤 Age Now: 16

📄 Circumstances: She was suposed to be home before dark on July 13th and never came home. Last known location is on Trowbridge Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44109. Also known to hang out on Poe around the same area. Possibly with a male named "Von".

📞 If you have any information, please contact the Strongsville Police Department (440) 580-3230

🌐 Leigha Vasiliou Database Entry: https://www.missingpeopleinamerica.org/missing/Leigha-Vasiliou



Practice pass it forward. Leave love for the missing, that they'll be found safe. What area are you putting their flyer in, online? Are you taking any additional efforts to help find them? Let's bring Leigha Vasiliou home.

07/18/2024

Happy birthday, Philando Castile. He would have turned 41 today.

He was a school cafeteria worker who frequently paid for lunches for students who owed money or could not afford to pay. ​The Philando Castile Relief Foundation (www.philandocastilefoundation.org) was established to honor and carry on his caring, loving nature.

Rest in power, Philando Castile. 🕊️

07/18/2024

FLOOD YOUR FEEDS! https://tinyurl.com/ey2vaabz

07/18/2024

This ain't sitting right with me—"An FBI spokesperson said Thursday that the agency would have no further comment beyond an earlier statement. 'As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide,' the agency previously said. 'The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division.'"

So, let me get this straight—the FBI shot and killed a 25-year-old man in his own home during a search warrant ex*****on, with no mention of the man having any weapons or threatening officers in any way, they refuse to explain anything to the family or the public and also they are going to investigate themselves....got it.

Jacob Bible, 25, was the man shot and killed by an FBI agent Monday in Carroll County. His mom said she hasn't been told why FBI had search warrant.