Justice For Chanel: A Mother's Fight for Justice

On November 3, 2020, Chanel Hines, a Black Trans woman, was shot five times by her parole officer, Jeff

Smith in Canandaigua, NY. The Office of Parole reported that the officer was executing a routine Parole violation when the altercation ensued. The media went on to report the incident, misgendering and “dead-naming” her. They reported her having been shot 3x while trying to run over the Parole officer attempting to “apprehend” her. The officer sustained no injuries. Blaque/OUT was put in touch with the family early on and have followed their journey to justice. We came to learn that witness reports greatly differed from what the police were reporting. We worked to get media outlets to correct their original reports and tell the accurate story of the 27yr old woman who was shot by law enforcement. Over the course of a month we learned just how sad and infuriating Chanel’s story was and more and more of what actually took place. Chanel was shot at 7 times through the windshield and hit by 5 bullets by Smith. The family only learned this after weeks in recovery. She was removed from the vehicle at the scene and left on the ground with no medical treatment for over an hour. Chanel was airlifted to Strong Memorial in Rochester, NY where she endured 3 emergency surgeries with no support. Chanel was denied any visits from family her entire stay at Strong despite no one being able to provide any statute that supported that. Strong pointed to the Dept of Corrections, DOC stated it was under their discretion and nothing changed. Once again, Strong’s handling of a patient in their facility for care, while under police custody was brought to light. For the majority of her stay Chanel was also denied mail, packages and calls. The first two weeks after the shooting she was only allowed two 5 minute supervised speaker phone calls with her mother, Damita under the threat of the call being disconnected if they discussed the case. When she was eventually allowed an attorney visit, the officers refused to leave the room to enable client/atty confidentiality. Chanel was shot multiple times, experienced blindness in one eye, loss of the use of her arm and hand, a collapsed lung and in surgery, lost half of one of her lungs. After three weeks, Chanel was moved to an all male upstate correctional facility with a hospital unit and once again her family was denied visits and communication. Calls eventually were restored and now Chanel sits in wait, still in pain and recovering, without visitation- all without new charges even being levied against her. Chanel’s Mother, Damita Bonnemere, her staunchest supporter, began a crusade to make sure Chanel receives the justice that she deserves. Joined by Free the People ROC, Blaque/OUT Mag, Next Generation Men of Transition, BlackCuse Pride, BLM Syracuse and countless members of

the Rochester, Geneva, and Syracuse communities, Damita is standing for her daughter and we sat down to talk with her about what this fight means for her.

TL: Can you just tell us about Chanel? It's easy to hear about her story- but who is she?

DB: You know I’d best describe Chanel as free-spirited. I always think of her as a party girl, just always on the go. If it was a boat party or someone is having a cook-out- Chanel is there! She’s been out of the country, to all the newest restaurants. If something is going on she wants to be a part of it. Chanel is very intelligent. She loves her family but sometimes at a distance because she is always on the go so we keep up through a lot of phone calls.

TL: How did you learn about what happened to her?

DB: My sister, called me and gave me a message from Chanel’s friend she was with her when everything happened. My sister told me that the friend reported that Chanel “they killed [Chanel].” My sister then called again and said she was shot. I drove, in my pajamas, to the scene. It’s a little bit of a drive so by the time I got there, they had already taken her to the hospital via the mercy flight helicopter. I didn’t get to see her that day and haven’t seen her since.

TL: As a Mom, what has it been like to be in this position?

DB: This is really, really hard. I feel like we like to tell ourselves that we are “woke” but now I feel like I was like “semiwoke”. I was that person who came out and waved when Black Lives Matters protestors came by. I’d donate here or there. I am a part of the Marshall Project so I’ve read about the school to prison pipeline and systemic racism in the criminal justice system. But in retrospect I know that I should have been doing more. Being in the middle of one of these stories you only hear about, its surreal. There is outrage and anger. I can’t believe anyone has the audacity to actually think they have the right to end someone’s life like that, because that’s what they tried to do. There is depression. There are days I don’t eat, don’t take my meds, that I don’t even want to get up out of the bed. I have nightmares. Closing my eyes and seeing what happened haunts me. I am constantly worried. Is she okay? Where is she? Is she being taken care of? And my husband and children are always worrying about me. If I’m okay and taking care of myself. But when you are a mother. No matter how old your child gets, that is ALWAYS your child and not knowing if she is okay is devastating. 27

TL: What would justice look like for you and Chanel at this point?

DB: Justice for me would be Jeff Smith (the parole officer who shot Chanel) going to prison for what he did. If I can’t see that happen, justice would be him losing everything. His job, his house- everything so he can feel the severity of what he’s done to a family. There must be consequences. If they aren’t criminal legal consequences, then civil. I also believe that there needs to be greater police accountability across the board. In these small towns, like Geneva and Canandaigua, they need oversight. They can NOT police themselves. Out here with no one watching they feel like they can do anything and there will be no consequences. That’s how this happened to Chanel. This man thought he could put seven bullets in her, take her life and that no one would see and no one would care. He didn’t know she was a fighter and that there is a whole community out here ready to stand with her and fight for her.

Damita Bonnemere on "Pink & Post" for Chanel 11/20/20

TL: What have you learned through this process?

DB: What I’ve learned is that we all need to be a little bit more aware of the issues that effect the Black, Brown, and Trans communities. We can’t only be involved with the issues that directly affect us, in the moment that they affect us. We have to be paying attention. We have to take action. It is going to take all of us. Especially Black Women to move the needle for justice. I have also learned that our children are so important.We must love them unconditionally.Mothers out there should never know this pain, almost losing or losing your child to violence.Violence perpetrated at the hands of Law enforcement.

TL: In your opinion, why do you think the State is handling Chanel's case the way they are?

DB: I think there are a couple of reasons. It is a rural, smaller area that already has issues with racism, institutional racism. A culture exists where people believe what the police say so they are almost above the law. Jeff Smith didn’t bank on the climate change that's happening right now. That people are tired. They are tired of being abused, of police misconduct, of seeing people murdered in the streets. And then of course the State just follows up to protect themselves. The Attorney General, Leticia James and Governor Cuomo rally for Black and LGBTQ votes but where are they? Where are the programs that they say are available? Where are the treatment programs and mental health services? If Chanel stole, she stole and there are consequences for that. If Jeff Smith used excessive force, he should be held accountable and there are consequences for that. Since when does justice mean someone is allowed to play judge, jury and executioner out in the street? That’s not justice. There is a different standard of law and justice for us in this country and it’s not right. We are asking for accountability. And if you aren’t willing to hold these officers accountable, we will vote you right out too. You gotta go.

Damita Bonnemere and activists from Rochester and Syracuse holding a vigil at the scene of the shooting in Canandaigua, NY Nov. 2020

TL: Many parents struggle with having a LGTBQ+ child. You are so incredibly supportive. Was that a difficult place for you to get to?

DB: Yes. It was a process. Even from a very young age Chanel exhibited traits and behaviors considered effeminate. In the beginning, especially coming from a Muslim faith, I tried to discourage it, sometimes harshly, because I felt like I was protecting her. So she wouldn’t get teased, so she wouldn’t be ….singled out by family members, so she would be liked and accepted in school and in the community. It took a long time for me to recognize the psychological trauma it causes trying to make someone be anything but what they authentically are. We do tremendous damage to our children when we don’t love them absolutely unconditionally. If they need to talk- listen to them. If they are sick, take care of them. If they need you, show up. Their sexuality or gender identity shouldn’t have anything to do with that. Love your child.

TL: Do you have any advice for parents whose children come to them and reveal that they are trans?

DB: Yes. Seek support from the local LGBTQ+ centers in your area. Seek out programs and groups that can assist you. Your child will need support and community and you will too. Learn about the fluidity of sexuality and gender expression. You will need an education to understand how expansive it can be. There is a strong learning curve there. People hear and say the letters but don’t necessarily know what they mean or Includes. You need to be able to speak the language in order to understand yourself and support them in their journey. Like I only recently learned what “bottom surgery” meant. You have to learn the language.

TL: What can people do to help Chanel?

DB: The biggest thing right now is continuing to raise money. We began raising money for her defense but there is still so much work to do. This will be a marathon, not a sprint. So we need to raise money for travel and different things to get Chanel’s story out to the people. We will be starting a new campaign soon so people can follow the ‘Justice For Chanel Hines’ Facebook page for updates on all the upcoming fundraisers, actions, and news about her recovery and case. We are also asking folks to write her, to help keep her spirits up and keep her encouraged. She can receive mail at:

Supreme Hines 19-B-0425 Wende Correctional Facility 3040 Wende Rd. Alden, NY 14004-1187

Damita Bonnemere, Ashley Gantt of Free the People ROC and Brittan Hardgers of Next Generation Men of Transition at a press conference at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY where Chanel was being held without visitation. Nov 2020